To move forward, you may just have to step into the past. Reflecting on this adventure and challenge, it seems kinda poetic, at least to me it does. In an effort to keep the story brief and not have you fall asleep while reading, lets just say that as a kid growing up in Southern California during the heyday of big funny car shows, it is understandable the desire to drive such a machine.

I can remember clearly the various moments in time; going to Lions to see Gas Rhonda and his funny car. This would be the same one my dad just built from the AMT model kit. Then there is the time we went out to see Tim and Dave Beebe with their new funny car. After all, the Beebe's father and my grand father were very good friends, it was only fitting to see this effort. It was then that I had the hook set in me to some day race one of these cars. At 6 years old, most kids wanted to be a cop, doctor, astronaut; not me, I wanted to race a funny car.

Time goes by, and many memories follow; at 7 years old I got the best birthday present you could get, the Mongoose & Snake Hot Wheels set. Then there are the 64 funny car shows at Orange County, seeing "Funny Car Summer" at Los Altos drive in. Yes, growing up in So Cal was kinda cool if you were into nitro and funny cars. There were so many memorable cars too; Rat Pack, Pete's Lil Demon, Teachers Pet, Pisano & Matsubara, Holy Smokes. The list just goes on and on.

Many years go by, and I find myself in a position to buy a really decent alcohol funny car. With a ton of determination and passion, I pick up the car as a roller. Keeping my lifestyle kinda simple, I start to acquire the parts to complete the car. I soon find that I've jumped into this at the worst time. Seems that the class was just entering a technological flourish of sorts that saw many advancements for the cars. Sure, I had a budget that seemed reasonable, but in a few short years I saw the capitol investment to build a decent car sky rocket. Initially I figured I could do this on a shoe string budget, but that was blown out the window and I then found myself having to make some decisions on what I'm going to do.

After letting everything sit for a couple of years, I got some silly idea on finding an older body from the 70's era, mount it on my chassis, and build a simple, 70's style combination to go out and just have some fun with. As luck would have it, I find a Satellite/Roadrunner body for sale. After some phone calls back and forth, I strike a deal to buy this body, sight unseen (OOPS!), and have a couple of friends pick it up for me in North Carolina.

After a short while I find that I'm not alone. It turns out that there are many others who have decided to do the same type of thing with their cars. Forget racing a fuel funny car in the big show, and running a reasonably competitive alcohol funny car now takes some healthy form of cash flow. But, you can build a simple nitro motor based on what was used in the good ole days of match racing stars like Jungle Jim. And you can do it at a fraction of what it costs to build something that can run in either of the major sanctioning bodies.

I'm sure some must ask "why". Certainly there is no organized body to promote nostalgia funny cars; there are no rules on how to build one, and when you do build one, where will you run it. I cannot speak for others who have now done this, but for me, it is about a deep passion for these cars. To me, this is an extension of my hot wheels collection, and a realization of childhood dreams.

After taking delivery of the body it was apparent that much work was ahead; lesson learned about buying something like this sight unseen. Nonetheless, work commenced and in short order it was decided that using the body as a plug for a new mold would be the best course of action.

That brings us to where we are now, and what this story is all about. I've been fortunate to meet many who I watched race when I was just a kid; one of whom is Jim Murphy. Jim's line of "Holy Smokes" funny cars make up some of my favorites as a kid, and recently while chatting with Jim it has been decided that as my current car is completed, painting it like Jim's funny car from the '73 season would be a great tribute to the class and era. For me, it will be like going back in time and having the chance to drive a car that you watched as a kid from the stands.

I hope to illustrate what has gone into this project to bring it to life. I've never made a funny car body, but have had a great interest in how it is done. The following photos will help to tell the story on making a new body, and in due time we will have a running tribute to Jim and the funny cars of the 70's.

Before going any further it must be pointed out that this project has Jim's endorsement, but it doesn't mean he is throwing money into it. That part is my responsibility, and should make for some good reading if not a good lesson on how to get such a car together. This thing will be painted just like Jim's car with the only deviations coming from what ever sponsors can be picked up, and even then it will have to have Jim's OK on the final look. Needless to say, a big thank you goes out to Jim for his desire to see this happen, and providing some extra motivation for this kid. Another huge thanks goes to Don Ewald, for he is the one behind this website. I'm far from being "web savvy", so having Don help get this up is a big boost for the project.

So sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy this ride.

Coyote out!

Jim Murphy - "Holy Smokes" Plymouth Satellite - 1973

Like I said earlier, this body was purchased sight unseen. As a result I had no idea what shape it was in, both literally and figuratively. The history of this body was still unknown at the time, but would be determined, as well as be somewhat ironic. It is also obvious that the body was modified greatly as it found it’s way on a “lay down” chassis that was popular in the BB/FC ranks of the 70’s. You will also note that the mods were done in simulation to the “Alcoholic” that was driven by some guy named Dale Armstrong.

The first order of business was to remove the fender bubbles that were added. To locate the original line of the body I climbed underneath and found the transition in the material. Using a drill I made a series of 1/8 inch holes to outline the original body line from the bubbles. Playing “connect the dots” I then used a pneumatic hack saw to cut out the bubbles. You can not imagine how thick the material is either, as each bubble weighed over 5 lbs.

The body is originally in a 118 w/b length. Since we needed to lengthen this thing, the next job was cutting the body in half where I would make the stretch. Instead of making a straight vertical cut, I came down part way, and then made a horizontal cut around 7 inches long, then back down to a vertical cut. By doing this I was able to basically slide the body forward, maintaining proper alignment. You will see how this works later when I begin the splicing portion of the job.

Now that the body is in half, it made it easier to move around. This made a good time to fill in the holes left by the bubble removal. Rather than bend and hammer sheet aluminum into a form buck to cover the holes, I waxed up the section next to the holes and used that shape to make some fiberglass forms that I would fasten over the holes. Once done, I flipped the nose upside down and filled in the holes with several layers of chopped strand mat. After that hardened the nose was flipped over again and the outside was covered in plastic body filler.

After getting the front fenders into the basic original shape I moved on to the rear half of the body. There were numerous holes to fill from the spoiler, and I needed to fill the roll cage relief slots that were cut into the rear window area. The design of this body didn't allow it to be mounted low over the chassis without the roll cage interfering with the rear window. As a result, many who used this body style either cut out reliefs or made a couple of bubbles to clear the rear bars of the cage. You will also see vent holes cut out in the rear valence area; get out the mat, we have some filling to do.

In the beginning I said the history of this body wasn’t known. Well, I got a call from the guy I bought the body from. Seems he found the previous owner who used this for a BB/FC, who in turn said he bought this from Tim Beebe. Huh? Considering my family’s history with the Beebe’s, and the influence they had in my life, here I have the body from the last funny car that Tim Beebe ever owned. Then to top it off, after selling off the funny car operation, he partners up with Jim Murphy which is an effort that still continues today on Jim’s nostalgia TF team. Told ya this was ironic. At any rate, in this shot you will see that famous “Fighting Irish” green paint. If there are any doubts, many believe there was only one green Satellite funny car that ever ran.

The next photos will show the splicing process where 5 inches is added to the length. Where the two halves are clamped together you can see how the initial cut serves as a guide in lining up both ends. Once it was squared up, I used some sheet aluminum and machine screws to secure the body. A larger piece of aluminum was used to cover the blower hole too. Since the resin doesn't stick to the sheet aluminum, it also makes a good form when glassing in the area to be filled. Something you will want to think about if you ever do such a project; flip the body upside down, since gravity helps the glass lay were it should, and the resin won't drip on your head.

You may remember that 5 inches was trimmed off the lower edge of the sides, so we now must put that back on. Using more aluminum, it is screwed on from the outside utilizing what is left of the body line that transitions to the rocker panel area. On the backside I mark a line where the edge should be and proceed to lay up 2 layers of cloth. This will leave a thin smooth layer once the aluminum is peeled off

While the glass and foam was curing on the sides, I also added multiple strips of foam on the underside of the hood area. As it was, the hood wasn't the straightest, flattest place on earth, so I needed to add some material that would make it rigid. If you ever tried to use a sanding board on one of these bodies, you know how the glass just flexes underneath making it nearly impossible to remove any ripples.

So far, this job hasn’t been too difficult, but now I need to recreate the chin spoiler that was chopped off. Unlike the sides, where you only need to make a smooth, straight panel, the spoiler had a particular shape and contour. Thanks to Steve Gruenwald, he lent me several magazines that featured funny cars with this style body, and had some really good photos at different angles. Finding a good photo, I then sketched out the side profile as a pattern to transfer over to some aluminum. After attaching the pieces on both sides, I made the frontal area. Using several types of body hammers and some blocks of wood, I was able to get the shape close enough to fasten under the bumper area.

After making the aluminum form for the spoiler, I then cut up pieces of chopped strand mat and applied it to the back side. This was applied all the way up as high as the grill area, since I needed to make sure it would not break off from the final sanding and shaping that would follow.

Having all the major glass work completed, it was time to pour on the bondo; lots and lots of bondo. Followed by lots and lots of sanding. Starting with the hood area, I worked my way around, using a long board sander, taking my time, having a few beers along the way. Then took care of the spoiler, and finished up with the sides. I calculated about 40 hours of sanding (back to back weekends, 10 hours a day) to get this where it should be.

Something I failed to point out back when the body was in two halves, I also sealed up the escape hatch that was installed. For a variety of reasons, the roof needed a TON of work. You will see in the first photo a profile that shows how much the roof was concaved. I had already added 5 layers of mat and resin, along with 4 gallons of body filler. This shot is after, and still shows that it is a long way from being where it should be.

To expedite the process I used a straight edge across the roof, and where the edge would make contact, I would make a mark. Afterwards it was a matter of connecting the dots to show where the depression was. I then made a pattern of this shape, and cut out a piece of foam to bond onto the roof. Taking a body grinder I proceeded to shape the roof as if I was making a surfboard. Follow this with another 4 gallons of body filler and another 10 hours of sanding with the long board, the roof is back where it should be.

Here is another view to show how the roof now has a nice crown. You cannot imagine how thick this part is. I could have tried to push the roof out to eliminate having to apply so much material. But, without any promise that it would have worked, and putting stress on the front pillars, I just decided to back up the bondo truck and pour out quite a few gallons of plastic filler. After all, this is just going to be a plug; a very heavy plug.

With arms feeling like jello from all the sanding, it is time to move to the back end of the body. The rear window area was kinda flimsy and not all that smooth. The same can be said for the trunk lid area too. Get out the bondo, lay down a nice coat, and start sanding. Actually this part wasn’t too bad, and was the light at the end of the tunnel. Once this was done, I went over the rest of the body with a D-A sander to scuff up the shinny stuff, and feather out the really bad sand scratches. After that it was time to do some priming.

Here we are, New Years Day, and I feel fine. Being a wimp, I didn’t go out drinking the night before. Instead I was up nice and early, open up the garage, crank up the tunes and the air compressor. Being it is about 7:30 in the morning, With all the racket I’m making outside, I really hope my neighbors are not suffering from a hang-over. Nonetheless, it is time to shoot the body with a high build primer. This will give a good look at the transformation from the way the body was when we first started. As you can see, it is quite a bit different from the beginning. What will follow next is some more block sanding, working towards finer grits of paper, and eventually prepping the body to start the mold process. What you have seen thus far has taken over a year to do, making time when I have it between my primary business obligations. I hope to have more updates on the mold process around the end of Jan, beginning of Feb. So stay tuned.