Engineering:Big Al II

From HandWiki
Big Al II
Overview
Production1963
DesignerJim Lytle
Body and chassis
Body styleFunny Car
Relatedall funny cars
Powertrain
EngineAllison V-1710

Big Al II is a pioneering funny car built in 1963 by Jim Lytle. It started the trend to flip-top fiberglass 'flopper' bodies.[1]

Lytle's chopped '34 Tudor project cost just US$2000, and was powered by an Allison V-1710.[1] The body was hand made.[2]

Big Al II ran just three times, all in 1964 at Lion's Dragway, setting a record for full-bodied drag racers, before being retired.[2]

The idea was copied by Ford and Mercury for their Mercury Comet Cyclones.[2] It would inspire “every flopper body ever formed”.[2]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wallace (2016), pp. 24, 26.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wallace (2016), p. 26.

Sources

  • Wallace, Dave (November 2016). "50 Years of Funny Cars". Drag Racer: 24, 26.