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Alan Currans photo
(This article was first published in the July 1972 edition of Custom Car magazine)
When Movin' Mike Hutcherson suffered a tyre collapse that led to a 100mph entanglement with Santa Pod's crash barriers last May most people thought the Nobby Hills team would abandon the big fuel dragster ranks and maybe think in terms of a funny car for '72. Their Cadillac-powered Houndog fueler was a total write-off (though we gather the motor has since been acquired by a bunch of guys with TVR connections) and with the sort of investment needed to build an all-new car many people accepted the fact that Britain was now down to four double-A diggers.
But not Nobby Hills. As he surveyed the wreckage - driver Mike Hutcherson thankfully was little more than shaken - plans were taking shape in that part of his anatomy usually covered by a big Stetson and by the end of the week Nobby was excitedly outlining the plot for '72. A better car, a faster car and, of course, a longer car. Said Nobby: 'We're gonna build a hemi Chrysler that'll knock 'em out.'
Well folks, he's done it. One hundred and ninety-eight inches wheel to wheel, Chrysler-powered and b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l . . . .
Thanks to assistance from virtually all areas of the sport, including Santa Pod Raceway and Kelly-Springfield tyres, Nobby was able to nail together some of the best-quality hardware available. Like the motor that once powered the Dennis Priddle/Rex Sluggett Tudor Rose car - a blast from the past - and packing a bunch of super-trick goodies such as Venolia pistons and rings, Mickey Thompson rods, an Isky 550 Magnum bumpstick, Federal-Mogul bearings, Keith Black valves and headers and a Schiefer magneto.
The block is a '57 Dodge 354-cuber (5.8 litres) punched out to 5.9 litres, with a stock Mopar crank. Nobby wants the new Houndog to run in the eight-second bracket without straining the motor, so present plans call for the car to run 'soft' on methanol with perhaps a whiff of nitro.
Feeding the juice through is a Moon-ised 6/71 huffer with Hilborn injection mounted on a Weiand manifold, with a set of Autolites lighting the fire. Compression ratio is 6 to 1.
Valvoline race oil, charged with a shot of Wynns provides the lube, while filtration is in the hands of a GUD unit.
Houndog's big Hemi couples to a narrowed '58 3.21-to-1 rear end, direct driven via a Shiefer clutch protected with one of Nobby's own scattershields. The Kelly slicks you see, mounted on Woolferace slot mags, may look a shade undersize, but that's part of the plot cos Nobby aint going to be happy unless Movin' Mike can boil those hides all the way through the traps. Houndog's bark will be worse than its bite . . .
Nobby built the chassis and handformed aluminium body hisself, plus he was responsible for the two-tone blue paintjob, seat construction and trimming.
Allan Herridge worked with Nobby on the front axle construction, producing the front hubs and wheels, which features Avon rubber. Front spindles are modified Ford units, while the steering is based around a BMC box. TechnoFinish of Hitchin, Herts, were responsible for the chroming.
When the car was debuted at the Custom Car Show in February it featured drum rear brakes, but a new BDR&HRA regulation calling for discs to be fitted on new diggers means that Houndog now wears a new pair of stoppers for the strip.
There you have it, nine month's work, £2000 invested and a beautiful new British slingshot. Sorry we had to run the pictures in black'n'white. Meantime, colour Nobby's car smokey
Mike Lintern
(The picture shows the car in its 1973 colours)
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