1965 Plymouth 2% A/FX cars

[fullmetaljacket]

Aha - thanks; I googled the address but guessed "Detroit", not knowing the suburbs, and didn't think of trying "Amblewagon".
The Mule was built @ Chrysler's Woodward Garage, with Amblewagon subsequently doing the conversion work on all but a couple of the initial/contract-racer cars (Missile VII Plymouth & Flynn's Dodge sedan).

Topside. You are correct. Good eyes. I don't know what came over me to recognize the white Dodge to be the Plymouth 558 (Woodward garage) car. I guess my biases on the Plymouths came to fruit. LOL. That Dodge might very well be Bud's ??????"The Hemi Honker" car at curb side pick up.
If someone can retrieve (I have it somewhere) a profile pic of the actual white 558 car (before the injector stacks), the scoop is just as high as the one on the white Dodge.

 

[topside]

No worries - yeah, somewhere I have the rt side profile photo of the mule.
In my Missile file, I pulled up this shot at the Winternationals - looks like the later scoop, though the car's "only" a 2%-er at this point, Tom Grove up.
Confusing as hell, haha - or I need better photos...or eyes...

 

[fullmetaljacket]

No worries - yeah, somewhere I have the rt side profile photo of the mule.
In my Missile file, I pulled up this shot at the Winternationals - looks like the later scoop, though the car's "only" a 2%-er at this point, Tom Grove up.
Confusing as hell, haha - or I need better photos...or eyes...

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This is an excellent photo of that 2%er. The scoop looks more squared and even across the upper front lip plain and just a hair lower. Could be the photos playing tricks. The white Dodge and the 558 Plymouth seemed to have a crested affect on the scoops center even though there isn't yet any presence of a support post/stud.

 

[topside]

Good photo of Strickler @ Lions, 1965. Can't find any Mule photos today except this one with injectors...

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

i didn't see these pics in this thread , thought everyone would like the factory pics . lots of suits , lol .

 

[fullmetaljacket]

i didn't see these pics in this thread , thought everyone would like the factory pics . lots of suits , lol .

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Yeah, most of those suits are prominent racers cleaned up and in disguise as nice guys. LOL. Love the Lab Coat gent attending to some mechanical venture on the left. I grew up surrounded by those polished porcelain cinderblocks in schools and such.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Good photo of Strickler @ Lions, 1965. Can't find any Mule photos today except this one with injectors...

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It is clear that the 10/15 Strickler car has a slightly higher AFX scoop with a more down sloped transition towards the rear of the hood as compared to the 2% FXer. There must have been some additional experimentation with those factory experimental's.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

i didn't see these pics in this thread , thought everyone would like the factory pics . lots of suits , lol .

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Boy.... I bet those Amblewagon assembly guys are probably still living with much to tell. They would have to be in their late 70's or early eighties by now and must have been proud of their contribution. I'd love to have a conversation with them.

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

or better to write a book of the projects .

 

[fullmetaljacket]

i didn't see these pics in this thread , thought everyone would like the factory pics . lots of suits , lol .

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Note this picture with the young lady showcasing the 10/15 fiberglass package on a scale. Obviously staged as one can see that the ropes have no tension to them. Even with the lightness of those parts, the ropes would have tension.

What intrigues me more are the front fenders with a 10/15 type wheel well opening. The doors are without the post channel pillar installed (which Chrysler supplied aluminum ones) and notice the A-990 low profile type scoop. This leads me to believe that this was a publicity image in order to sell said parts over the counter to prospective racers coming up the food chain.
I wonder who was doing the plating on the bumpers. Mysteries in the winds of time.

 

[topside]

I've seen the photo with the gal & parts, maybe in HotRod ? It was so long ago I don't clearly recall the context, except something about how Chrysler was light-weighting their cars for drag racing...Peterson Publishing had a big photo studio on Sunset Blvd - they shot one of my cars there - and were easily capable of staging that, but it makes sense that Chrysler would announce availability for the general racing public.
Funny how the more this topic gets delved into, how the questions multiply !

 

[rmchrgr]

 

[fullmetaljacket]

And there it is.... behind door number 2. The elusive profile image of public enemy #1 even though this is the Dodge. Ramcharger saves the day and my fellow Zoo Yorker Tony-D sets the tone.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I've seen the photo with the gal & parts, maybe in HotRod ? It was so long ago I don't clearly recall the context, except something about how Chrysler was light-weighting their cars for drag racing...Peterson Publishing had a big photo studio on Sunset Blvd - they shot one of my cars there - and were easily capable of staging that, but it makes sense that Chrysler would announce availability for the general racing public.
Funny how the more this topic gets delved into, how the questions multiply !

Yes Tops, This is a cold case going HOT like a Columbo meets Kojak meets Kolchak meets Scooby Doo episode. I even think Scooby's "Mystery Machine" van had a slightly altered wheel base. LOL.

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

i saw an unfinished plymouth at bakersfield fomosa hotrod reunion about twenty years ago , the guy claimed it was a factory altered car with the stretched nose and rear end relocated . it was for sale as a driver with a 440 auto combo . i guess i should have bought it , lol oh well .

 

[fullmetaljacket]

i saw an unfinished plymouth at bakersfield fomosa hotrod reunion about twenty years ago , the guy claimed it was a factory altered car with the stretched nose and rear end relocated . it was for sale as a driver with a 440 auto combo . i guess i should have bought it , lol oh well .

Don't sweat it. Some people are building much better copies of the cars to this day. One of them is on this site and currently creating what I think is probably the best example out there.
With all due respect to what the factory and a few fabricators did back in the day, people have to remember that the 1965 10/15 cars were an overt batch specifically created to achieve dominance whereas the 2% cars, all (8) of them, were covert operations and there folks, lies the true lies.

 

[rmchrgr]

OK, here's another view of that "mule" picture (I guess?) from above with the guys in suits, as named in the caption. Kind of a H.O.F. group there. Note the institutional cinder block walls.

This next pic is fairly informative (if correct) regarding the development timeline.

These are from a book I got last summer called Early Funny Cars. Little pricey yes, but lots of good pics and some interesting info.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

OK, here's another view of that "mule" picture (I guess?) from above with the guys in suits, as named in the caption. Kind of a H.O.F. group there. Note the institutional cinder block walls.

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This next pic is fairly informative (if correct) regarding the development timeline.
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These are from a book I got last summer called Early Funny Cars. Little pricey yes, but lots of good pics and some interesting info.

MEN IN BLACK.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

OK, here's another view of that "mule" picture (I guess?) from above with the guys in suits, as named in the caption. Kind of a H.O.F. group there. Note the institutional cinder block walls.

View attachment 1399788

This next pic is fairly informative (if correct) regarding the development timeline.
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These are from a book I got last summer called Early Funny Cars. Little pricey yes, but lots of good pics and some interesting info.

I've always loved that photo of The Lawman's '64 2%er. When I first saw it, I immediately beelined to the senior gentleman with the cigar hanging out his mouth. He looks like he was at the track playing hooky from his day job as a railroad roundhouse operator. I wonder who he was in the thick of the crowd.
What's fascinating is how the scoops (Max Wedge, A-864 Hemi and Dragster AFX) actually reveal the tale much better by virtue of their presence at various stages in the campaign.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I've always loved that photo. When I first saw it, I immediately beelined to the old train depot senior with the cigar hanging out his mouth. I wonder who he was in the thick of the crowd.
What's fascinating is how scoops (Max Wedge, A864 Hemi and Dragster AFX) actually reveal the tale much better by virtue of their presence at various stages in the campaign.

Looking at that photo with the Hall Of Fame suits looking on, the caption below shows that someone did not do their homework. That there is the 558 Mule car at the Woodward garage and not one of the 50 factory A990's that were more openly available.