This is the car when Joe was
driving at Beeline in 1968 when the car got it’s named.
Joe Haggerty in the seat at Green
Valley Raceway in Ft. Worth TX. Look at the number sign with
a plastic Tommy gun attached.
Joe on the top end at
Green Valley.
The next few shots are the new
body at Dennis Tarkington’s home shop, Lone Star Race Car
Bodies in Louisville TX.
Larry In the freshly
re-done Rat Patrol.
Larry on a burn out at
Dallas International Raceway.
This is after another burn out
at Dallas notice weight on front end, wings and oil under engine.
Outside of Burk’s Auto Parts
in Mesquite TX. The car was kept there and the Burk’s helped
Larry with expenses and machine work.
Another shot of Larry
at El Paso TX.
Skipper Harder, former driver
for the U. S. Kids of Dallas. Skipper Crashed the Rat at Bowmont
TX. in 1973. The car was cut up and made into a roadster by Joe
Haggerty and raced as the Blue Rat.
Joe views the remains of the
Rat Patrol (Blue Rat) in a storage shed out in the Texas country
side.
Here is a flipped photo to get
a better idea of the cage for the recreation of the car.
The original axle and Radius
rod still exist, so Don traced them on to past board for future
build reference.
The first sketch made to take
dimensions from the hanging cage in the barn.
Shop sketch to work up tube sizes
and work out order for tubing and misc parts.
First things first, all lined
up on the chassis table at Don Ross Fabricating in Garland TX.
Just outside of Dallas.
Top and bottom hoops
set up on fixtures and clamped in place.
1-1/4” and 1-1/8th”
tubes stuck in for a look see at what a 205” car with 26-1/2”
engine spacing looks like.
Rear end, Seat and fire wall
uprights tacked in place along with roll hoop and upright.
Butt and jack tube detail.
Front axle, torsion bar
in fixture and tacked up.
One of the first pieces of aluminum
work needed is the seat. Then all the fitting can be done with
the driver in place.
Don Ross’ version of an
in and out de-coupler “Safety Slider” shown held in
the engaged position.
“Safety Slider” and
drive line sliding cover attached to an aluminum pinion plate.
The rear end also has two tabs on the bottom for anti spin.
Modified sprint car shifter to
slide coupler in and out and lock over center in the out position.
The modification is a motorcycle type lever in place of the modern
cnc lever. These levers are handmade four at a time after some
mill work on an old Bridgeport mill.
Pedal and bell crank
linkage for the injector.
Kenneth Reierson in one
of the fittings, I told him to smile, he said he was.
The five and a half gallon
fuel tank before and after welding.
The headers were built from one
of the original headers that were on the car. Then we later realized
that they pointed at the tires and while Cackling burned a large
spot on the tires. Don built a new set at 52* instead of 42*.
Starting on the nose
side panels after bending the bottom roll under
Fitting driver side panels.
Engine side panels still
a little big on the top in places.
One cold winter day, Dennis Tarkington
the original body builder dropped by. Left to right Jimmy Garritson,
Dennis Tarkington and Joe Haggerty look over a scrap book.
First fit of the cowl.
Cowl marked for final
trimming and fit up.
Fitting rear nose top
panel.
The nose point comes
into shape.
All the tin is fitted
and the cars on the ground on all fours for the first time.
A look into the office
before Kenneth picked up the car.
Finished nose cone.
The first roll out at Don Ross
Fabricating, it’s ready to go into the trailer for a ride
to the town of Cranfield Gap TX.
The rat’s new home
at Kenneth’s shop in the Gap as he calls it.
Kenneth priming his body
panels.
The chassis being stripped
of parts so it can be painted.
The nose just after clear
was applied.
Rolled out after assembly for
a trip back to Dallas for hand lettering by Brian Bass.
The end result of Bass’
work, it looks exactly like the original car. All the lettering
is the same as before with an added small “in memory of
“above Larry’s name. Also Lone star Race car Bodies
is still on the nose. A small button on top of the nose has the
“Ross” family crest and body by Don Ross Fabricating
in Gray around it.
Kenneth found an old
alky 392 motor.
The 392 in assembly stages
at Paul Feuess’ shop.
After a couple of days
thrash the car was just test fired with a squirt of alky.
All the office is shined
up and ready to go.
The “Kwikill” system
bottle of Don Ross’ design is mounted up at the front of
the block and is actuated by a driver pull cable. This will shoot
a charge of Halon into the injector to kill a runaway motor should
that situation arise.
Kenneth climbing out
after a fire up at a party at his home, the Gap.
Cackling at an event
in Ardmore OK. In 2011.
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