Two Small Block Chevys On Nitro And Eyeball Aero: The Story Of The Pulsator Top Fuel Dragster
If there is one year in drag racing history when the sport went totally haywire, 1965 is it. It was the time when funny cars changed by the week, the 426 Hemi first showed up in a top fuel dragster, and everyone and their brother was experimenting with aerodynamics.
In this video we look at one of the most unique top fuel dragsters of all time, Nye Frank's Pulsator. This car used two nitromethane burning, injected small block Chevy engines, a custom built chassis, and a handmade "aerodynamic" shell to take on all comers.
The story is one of an amazing era where experimentation was the way of the world at the drags. Nye Frank was a fascinating and brilliant guy who could make anything and did over the span of his life.
The Pulsator and other aerodynamic experiments are explored here as well as the Pulsator II that was the follow up act. This is one for the ages!
Bobby Davids here. Nye & I built the body in his PlayaDelRey home garage, we used urethane foam to shape the body on the chassis. Nye built a ‘spit’ so I could shape the underside. I was a car design student at the famous Art Center College of Design; we built the body in 90 days starting June 1964. We both worked on both Spirit of America cars. Surprised to see my pic with Nye in this video. The history is accurate…Bobby
This channel has unlimited potential…. Especially with the best story teller in the business on the mic
Thank you and thanks for watching!!!
Agreed. Absolutly.
I agree 💯! Subscribed! 👍🏼
The missing ingredient to all of the early streamline and twin engine nitro efforts of the day, was a lack of understanding of the effects of load. Liners went quicker without their bodywork because the engines were more effectively loaded when they had to push through the wind. Nancy's liner worked because it was a gasser. The same thing applied to twin engine cars. During the run, the combination of engines would drop cylinders until their output matched load. The thing that made this exceeding difficult to tune around, is that the engines themselves would decide which cylinders were going to be used and which ones were going to float on any given run...at any given spot during the run. Jr. Brogden went through the same issues during the same era. Adams and Enriquez tried the unblown twin fueler concept again around 1970 with the Double Eagle car, and had identical problems. They played with engine phasing to overcome it, but the knowledge of tuning for load just wasn't there yet, and didn't really become accepted science until around 1973. The failure of the Jocko/Garlits liner can also be directly attributed to this. Funnycars worked at that wheelbase and weight, but they worked because they fought the wind, which kept the engines loaded. The liner was too slippery for its own good. Had they run mostly alcohol through it, the concept may have actually worked. Somebody...and I think it was Ed Pink figured this out at around this same time, and started overdriving the pumps on their Funny Car combinations to take advantage of the bad aero, and at that point F/C's started to match the mph of the diggers, and suddenly the answers were apparent, but still not completely understood. The next phase didn't begin until Dale Armstrong, in an effort to "calm down" the ride to suit Kenny Bernstein's driving, started running fat and taking away gear, and inadvertently went faster. This led to the double pumps, double (and even triple) mags and lock up clutches that brought everything into the modern era. Ha! Sorry if I wrote a book here, but I spent a bunch of years with my head buried in this shit. Great video as always, Brian.
This is awesome! And thank you!
Damn Tony. Talk about some of this type stuff on your channel. Would make for a great weekly segment.
I was fascinated by the part where he talked about how the two engines made half power when mated together. I read your post several times to tried and catch on to what you were saying, Tony. I'm not following it just yet. I agree that load plays a role in this scenario, but there's some odd physics at play when you couple two independent engines together with a rigid coupling like that. They work against each other. The proper way to couple them is through a gearbox that provides each engine with its own torque converter. Much in the same way that a multi-engine helicopter drive works.
My thinking was if they had treated the firing order as a 16 cyl engine the front engine would not unload the aft engine. kind of like a radial engine with banks. just a theory. Impulse phasing.
Yes Tony, please go into some detail on this over on your channel. Kuh-razy! 🤯
I clearly remember drawing these things when I was a little kid. They were just so frikkin cool.
I would like to see a story of the introduction of the trans brake and how it changed drag racing Thanks for all you content
Brian Lohnes is fast becoming THE voice of drag racing, and his banter with David Freiburger during Drag Week is just priceless.
Thanks for saying that and the verbal sparring at drag week with DF is one of my absolute favorite things on the planet. Haha!
Brian you are certainly the caretaker of the coolest era in automotive history. Thanks, always enjoy your work. 👍👍
Thank you Jeff!!
In the 60's on TV, I immediately realized and LOVED the "Freight train". I reined s a 9 yr old what I Saw was unpatched in all aspects.
This video needs to be longer. One of your best Brian!
Thank you Alan! I will keep working up to the longer stuff as time goes on. Trying to improve my meager editing skills!
Well I can say I learnt something about vintage drags,them streamlines look cool
Sounds like a win to me!
The influence of drag racing’s historic innovations are timeless stories, as well as lessons, that will always hold relevance with modern racing. The significance of which cannot be understated.
Jason, thank you for that
The car at 1:25 has a fantastic history, prestigious builders and was as well finished as I've seen.
Since I was little, my older brother had a stack of automotive trading cards, and this car was one that was featured. Haven't seen his collection in decades, but still remember it. Very cool to finally learn about it!
I can only imagine the volume of sound coming from that thing on fuel like that lol awesome
So good!!
I had the honor of not only getting to know but learning many things from Nye Frank (he was married to Lee at this point) my younger brother ended up marrying Lee’s Grandaughter so I ended up spending much more time with him! I also got to work with Woody Gilmore and Pat Foster! I have been very fortunate in my Racing career!
Legends all!!
Love your videos and voiceovers. They kick all the ass.
Thank you!
In the late 1950s, there was a unique shaped car. It was built by the Cortopassi brothers in Sacramento CA. It was called the Glass Slipper, a fiberglass bodied slingshot style car. They ran it in the drag races and at Bonneville. I think it may have been the first streamlined fully enclosed dragster and definitely one of the first fiberglass bodies. It was awesome to see run. I think it was built in 1957.
The Glass Slipper is 100% a foundational piece of drag racing history. Great pull on this one.
I’m guessing calling it the “‘Glass Stripper” would have been too provocative for 1957…😅
@@mattskustomkreations As a 15 year old boy, I was not allowed to play with them!
LOVE those 60’s streamliners! Beautiful, but too heavy to be competitive. Thanks Brian!!
Thank you for enjoying it!!
Very few KZheadrs that I will switch over to in the middle of watching another video. You've become one. These stories are true treasures, Brian.
Thank you Ray!!!
Awesome video, I always loved the streamliners Thank you Brian!
Thanks Frank!!
Another great video. I could watch this channel all day. Being born in the early 80s and not getting into drag racing until i was a teenager, I obviously missed the beginnings of drag racing and as it goes most drag racing content be it TV or other sources are understandably focused on current drag racing happenings. That being said, as a person who thoroughly appreciates the history of anything I'm interested in, this channel has become priceless as far as my ability to learn the history of my favorite sport. Thank you for that and for your great work.
Awesome! Brian you bring unique drag racing content I never knew existed. There really was ingenuity back then!
Glad this is new stuff for you to enjoy!
This is by far the best history channel I have ever found. It helps that it covers the best sport.
Jon, thank you for enjoying the stuff I am doing!
Man!…sitting way out back and the rear lifting through the traps at 200mph, what a ride! Another great video mate👍
my name is Dave Harryman , I knew Nye Frank , he was my dads friend and they had the first dragster to go 150 mph on gas in 1957
He was a genius by any and all measure. His loss is tragic and still exceptionally senseless
BRIAN...you are THE BEST !!! Thanks for bringing up Roy steen..chet herbert...and nye frank. All true pioneers in auto racing. NHRA should be very glad to have you.
Thank you! They were all magnificently talented and built the foundation of the sport we love!
You're a great speaker and you do a great job
Thank you!
Thank you. Awesome!
All i can say is awesome Brian your story ttelling is second to none keep them comming Happy holidays to u and yours❤
Thank you Betty for watching and a sincere return on those happy holiday thoughts!
Quickly becoming one of my favorite channels. Love history and really love drag racing history. You’re killing it. Keep it up.
Thanks for saying that and enjoying this stuff. Glad you are getting something out of it!
Keep em coming hoss. You struck gold here dude.
Thanks for being into it!
I wish all of these were on a playlist
Love this channel - so entertaining. Thanks BL! 😊
Thanks for spending some time to watch this stuff
Muravez(aka Floyd Lippincott Jr) was a fave of mine! At the time, the combo was 392 with 327 as lead dog! They had 86'd the fancy tin/plastic shapes by then. That was a mean machine! As always, excellent work, Brian! Happy Holidays!
Almost got Muravez in trouble with his dad!
Brian thanks for bringing this oldtime drag racing info out of the cobwebs !
hanks Brian another amazing video.
Thanks for watching
As a kid in 1966 here in Australia, a U.S. drag team visited including Tony Nancy’s streamliner. Being only young I was unable to visit Sydney’s Castlereagh strip to see them run myself, but I remember having an up close look at Nancy’s dragster when it was on display for promotional purposes in a local department store. As Brian aptly describes it, the streamlined dragster seemed like a spaceship from the future to my young mind. Keep up the great memories and content. Thanks.
Fantastic and thank you for watching!
Great vid!!!!!! 🏁🏁
Thank you!!
Drag racing had a rule book that allowed for many innovative cars. Really appreciate your covering it's history. I grew up with an older brother that drag raced and had a lot of time at the track. After becoming more time at the ovals Tony Stewart has restarted my interest in drag racing and I am happily subscribed to your fine channel.
Terry, thank you!!!
This channel is amazing!! There’s a lot of wrong ways to talk about and share this old stuff and a lot of people accomplish that well… Now THIS is where it’s at!
Thank you!! I am having a blast making these.
Outstanding video !
Man i love this channel. Where else are you going to see all of this great racing history from someone that knows what they are talking about. Thank you sir.
Thanks for the kind words and thank you for watching!
Great video Brian.
Hey thanks for taking the time to make this video. I remember reading about or seeing some of these names and cars back in the 80s and 90s and it was nice to be reminded of this type of automotive history.
Thanks for taking the time to watch it!
This was an AWESOME video , please keep it going . I'm a certified Garlits stalker and I cannot get enough of the mid to late 60s history of innovation that your covering . Thanks again
Garlits = the greatest! Thanks for watching this.
great stuff, thank you from italy, robert
SO glad I've found this channel. Loving the coverage showing the innovation of the era which had led to the way these cars are today.
Thanks for diggin’ it!
These stories and the old racing footage are super interesting! Subscribed.
Thank you!!
Thoroughly enjoyed the history lesson ! Would have Loved to See One full pass of each car you mentioned. There is something magical about watching old drag racing footage ! It's kinda like a mini bike. They bring a smile to your face and a flood of fond memories every time you ride one ! Don't believe me ! Hop on one and prove me wrong !
If I had been able to find a whole run I’d have shared it for sure. Or was not for a lack of effort. The mini-bike analogy is fantastic and accurate!
Just mint 👌👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍an nitro 327s WOW 😳😳😦..I just got done with a 63 283 but it ant on nitro tho.. great video 👍👍👍
Great video, Brian! I love this stuff. My father's hot rod magazines are all from the late 70's/80's and I don't get to see all the prospecting early drivers did.
Brother you are a GODSEND to us enthusiasts!! My dad has been racing since the 60s and he loves watching your videos with me!! Thanks again and KEEP IT GOING brother! 🤠🤞🏽❤️🔥 #LCODM #YessIndeed
That makes me really happy! Thank you!
Thanks Brian…such off the wall concepts, sometimes I wonder if they were smoking too many left handed cigarettes
Hahah - hey in an era with no play book, these guys made their own!
Another great video brother. Keep them coming...
Very well done and very interesting ! This is great stuff , and I eagerly await the next lesson ! Many thanks.
Keep the awesome videos coming brian! I always listened to dorkomotive and my grandfather listened as well then we got to talk about the stories at night in the shop, now I listen to them all here an tell him about them. Keep up the awesome work!
That is awesome! Thank you very much!
How are pumping out this content so quick? These are so well researched and literally every episode is interesting and well done. Thank you sir.
Thanks for enjoying them! I love the research and telling the stories.
Lack of torsional damping in the system probably caused wild spark scatter in the rear engine. If the bearings were being pounded out of the rear engine, that points to spark timing that was very, very advanced.
This sounds like a great explanation. Thanks Andy
The second Tony Nancy Wedge II can be seen live and in person at the Museum of American Speed, Lincoln, Nebraska.
I love watching your videos! This is yet another example of awesome work! Hopefully we can get some longer videos in the future.
You are one of multiple people who has asked for longer stuff, so if you want it, I will bring it! Thank you for watching!
I had always thought that the Great American Hot Rodder would find a way to harness aerodynamics just like they did every other aspect of automotive technology. In its own way, this car shows that was true - and of all things, the MOTORS were the problem. Wow.
Wild, right?
Thanks again, good stuff!
Thank you Chuck!
Thanks from old New Orleans 😎 Jake's speed shop !
Man, one of the great places in the USA. LOVE it down there.
My dad owns one, such an awesome truck
Another great video Brian! Makes me wonder how the firing orders of the engines were set. Both TDC? 90° offset? 180 out? Sounds like they sure fought against each other. My fav channel!
Thank you!!
Shhhhh! The drivers name was" Floyd Lippincott " 😉
Indeed, hope his parents do not find out now!
UncleTonysGarage"s comment is really interesting and some responses to his comment feed into the coupled engine mystery. I have only seen twin engine stuff work when they each have an axle to drive as is the case in modern piston powered land speed racers. But tuning them is fun I bet. BRM (and others in 50's F-1) made V-16 engines with their output taken mid crank/block to a side-winder type gearbox (later motorbike designers inspired by this I guess). I often wonder how tractor pulling teams tune 5 engines chain driving one output shaft. If the twin engined streamliners ran as true v-16's then they most likely would have broken crankshafts (they already would have figured this) from torsional vibrations from 16 power events ringing through each crank (this probably also would have exploded the chain coupler). My 2 cents is that they needed the engines to to have mirrored firing patterns (from mid point of both assembled engines) and a torsion shaft chained/geared directly on front and back of both cranks (to cop all the torsional abuse, perhaps designed into a machined billet deeper sump). Running both engines off one blower is a good idea but look at what RR, Allison, Daimler Benz etc in aero engine development did to properly tune their induction systems on only 12 cylinders in one block. As a rule coupled engines have only ever worked with fuel and ignition driven from one point for each respective device/system for all, not twinned (excluding magneto redundency of twinning them). Coupled aero piston engines without exception either drove co-axial contra rotating seperate propellers, or had very cumbersome and heavy coupling/decoupling capable gearboxes to drive a single propeller. And of those I have seen that only Allisons V-3420 worked with any acceptable reliability in the YB-29 (probably why Allison later made really good heavy vehicle gearboxes). Napier also did well with stacked 12 cylinder boxer engines to make the Sabre engine. It had paired firing events but they fired mirrored in both axis eg FTR+FBL...then 4th row TR+BL etc so no excessive torsional build up occured where they geared together in the nose case. Their later Nomad engine took engine balance, torsional dampening, and coupled power recovery turbines to the limit, and probably still bests most modern equivalent gas turbines for thermal efficiency at that power. But yes they were much heavier.
Man, this is fantastic information. Wow.
Thank you. Your video was great at stirring up info I forgot I'de even gathered. Love the commenters here too. Subscribed 👍@@brianlohnes3079
I always liked the Ormsby streamliner. Like, let's take an indy car drag racing lol
Another banger
Thank you!!
I want to see the IceKutter racing!
You and me both!
That's definitely some inward steering!
Between the injector stacks!!
@@brianlohnes3079 The rigging of the steering and throttle linkage is epic.
Enjoy your content!
Brian , there is a very provocative history concerning Don Garlits full bodied dragster . The body was designed and built by a major gearhead and artist by the he name of Jock Johnson. I spent a month or so with the man who was hired by my neighbor Harley Klentz who was building a Baja 1000 Ford f150 for the owner of a Ford dealership. Jocko was a very unique individual who could build anything, His body design is still on display and was sponsored by Wally Moon I believe ( there are two) was tested by Garlits and found to be unstable at top end, try his developed heated disagreement between the two men that was never resolved I guess. I look up to both those guys and Harley Klentz as innovators who excelled at thinking outside the box
Jocko is one of drag racing’s great eccentric geniuses. His rejection letter back to the hall of fame is legendary.
A dragster's slicks throw up and forward lots of air, which they eventually drive through, open it's not a problem. Eclosing those slicks causes a build up of air which as they found out causes the rear to rise. So how is it enclosed funny cars don't suffer this, the huge rear wing 🤔🤔 6:32
Great story! Love to hear something about Sneaky Pete Robinson and his ground effects dragster (if it hasn't been done already)!
Man, Robinson was so smart. So many neat things he did or tried to do
Always awesome videos my friend. Maybe a video about jach chairman's white comet.
That one is coming soon!
The problem with the teardrop body is, it's going the wrong way, a teardrop falls fat end first. One of the Nancy streamliners Wedge II was destroyed in England at the International Drag Fest. 1964 driven by Dante Duce.
I would like to hear about Jackos stuff. Streamliner and his radial engine.
He is certainly on my list!
My Father Bob Muravez drove this Pulsator with the body and the pulsator 2 non bodied car
Awesome as always! But I wanna know why the two motors didn't jive. Was it a harmonics problem or something?
The power loss & engine damage with the twin engines was a phasing issue. We solved it years later with the 4 engine Herbert car.
What was going on with all that? Why'd it work on gas but with nitro the rear engine seemed like it was dead and being driven by the front engine resulting in it being shredded? It wasn't apparently since it did add 50 HP but from the results you'd think that the power from the front engine was going through the rear one that was just along for the ride. What was going in with all that?
@@dukecraig2402 The simple explanation is power pulses acting against each other are absorbed by the less dominant engine. That results in less HP coming out the end of that combo & that engine suffering internal damage. The best survival time we had was with splined crank connections & one ignition system for two engines but that wasn't feasible with 4 engines in a row with two turned around backwards to counteract chassis torque.
Brian Lohnes for president
No thank you. Hahahah - appreciate you watching!!
If you change your mind you have my vote 😂 . You could make a new law that forces drag strips back open and have freiburger as VP. All jokes aside Thanks for doing all this research your commitment is intense and I’ve learned a lot because of it.
I like your videos have watched several of them but did they or someone else ever find out why the rear engine did not live up to the power it had when hooked together
Was never fully explored and I could never find a definitive answer. A bit of a mystery!
Any engineers have any idea what the issue was with those two motors? My hunch is the chain link coupling of the two drive shates is the culprit. Something about harmonics, or load balancing induced by the inherent play of the chain.
Can you cover the Gary Ormsby streamliner or 1986 to 88 streamliners.
I'm pretty sure I saw the body and under tray for sale. As a kid in Scotland late 80s I liked Gary Ormsby. Great channel.
Where do you find photos of all these old dragsters?
Looots of old magazines, lots of research in my library of books, and the internet.
Here we are 50+ years later. Any of the current engine building wizards care to speculate why the Pulsators rear engine was being beat to death by the front engine? Coupling the two small blocks together essentially created a V16 engine. Maybe they needed to change the firing order of the engines to simulate the firing order of a V16? Steve Morris? Your thoughts?
Reminds me of Chaperrall
Good call!
Did they ever figure out what caused the engine problem?
It was basically a phasing issue, the engines were effectively kind of fighting each other.
kzhead.info/sun/isesnKeQnJWGenA/bejne.html A shot of the Pulsator leaving the line at 0:37. Some other historic iron on there. More for the Brian L grist mill. Thanks Brian.
👍
Do you have anything about the "Odd Couple" ?? It was a small block Chevy and a Hemi...... strange car.
My fuel dragster design is going to rotate the Earth...! It will have a sidewinder mounted hemi behind the driver to eliminate chassis torque with two turbochargers, one off of each cylinder bank feeding a dual port intake manifold. It will have a rubber traction belt rotating between the drive wheel and to a forward mounted idler wheel to maximize traction contact area and also eliminate wheel stand. It will rotate the Earth...!!! You'll see...!!!
I like where your head it at here. Haha
Wanna drive it...???@@brianlohnes3079
When you said the second engine the bearings were bad regardless of which engine was there let you know the problem was in the crankshaft it was not strong enough and probably was twisted out of shape in the second motor
Whu….wait…..HOLD UP ! You mean to tell me that Tony Nancy beat Don Garlits by 6(?) years to fielding a rear engine top fueler ?! More of that story please.
Rear engine dragsters existed from the 1950s forward. Garlits’ did the best job of solving their faults and making them a winning combo.
Hey, are you friends with Tommy Byrd of The Hotrod Hoarder channel? I feel like you two need to know one another if not already.
You bet! Have know Tommy for years and he is a fantastic guy.
You bet! Have know Tommy for years and he is an awesome guy.
I wonder why the second engine ran so poorly? Did they ever figure it out? I’m guessing the torque pulses of the front engine caused crank twisting on the second engine. Anybody know ?
You are on the ball here.
Why didn’t the engines work together? Phasing?
It seems the common thought is indeed phasing was the issue
i have built several twin engine cars.... the trick is the timing between the engines. and NO I will not tell you what that is... I learned the hard way and I am happy to build you a twin car if you want but get the timing wrong.... and the rear crank takes a beating.
So, is it known if anyone ever figured out why the 2 nitro engines hated each other?
I never could find the official explanation. That said, many good answers here in the comments!