The Snake II funny car. Photos courtesy Barrett-Jackson.
Don Prudhomme initially preferred dragsters to funny cars, because in his mind, early floppers weren't all that quick. It was a chassis built by "Lil" John Buttera and wrapped in a fiberglass Plymouth Barracuda body, dubbed the Snake II, that would change his mind, and thanks to sponsorship and marketing from Hot Wheels, turn "The Snake" into a household name. Next January, Prudhomme will be selling the restored Snake II Plymouth Barracuda in a no-reserve auction hosted by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona.
It was rival Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, whose mother and stepfather both worked for the Mattel Toy Company, who opened the door to Hot Wheels sponsorship. The deal was a lucrative one, and seemingly overnight Prudhomme and McEwen went from eking out a meager living to running the best of equipment, hauled with modern (and sponsor-festooned) trucks. To capitalize on the growing interest in funny cars, Mattel insisted the pair run both dragsters and funny cars, though fans (especially young fans) generally preferred the latter.
Under the banner of Wildlife Racing (named for the Snake – Mongoose tie in), Prudhomme and McEwen toured the country from 1970 – '72, engaging in match races and running at AHRA and NHRA events. The Snake ran a Barracuda body (first yellow, with Hot Wheels sponsorship, then the red, white and blue Snake II livery seen here, beginning with the 1971 season), while The Mongoose preferred the Plymouth Duster's shape. As author Bob McClurg points out in Diggers, Funnies, Gassers & Altereds, Prudhomme's Snake II Barracuda delivered a pass of 7.08 at 208 mph on its very first run.
One Snake II body was destroyed in a racing fire, but Prudhomme himself describes the one headed to auction as an original, sold to another racer but never used in-period. The Snake stayed with the Barracuda body style through 1973, sponsored by Carefree Sugarless Gum after the Mattel and Hot Wheels deal expired at the end of 1972, and he says it's likely this chassis ran a few races wearing the yellow Carefree livery.
In 1974, Prudhomme attempted to run a Chevrolet Vega (with U.S. Army sponsorship) underpinned by a new "laydown design" chassis from Buttera, but The Snake could never get comfortable in the car and sold it after just a few races. The Barracuda body style, now wearing a red, white and blue Army livery, made a brief return, but in 1975 Prudhomme debuted a Chevy Monza that would go on to rack up an impressive 13 national event wins in just two seasons.
As described in a 2012 video, the Snake II set to cross the block features its original Buttera-built chassis (with a front suspension, something absent from later funny cars), and its original cast-iron block V-8. In a conversation with Hemmings senior editor Jim Donnelly, Prudhomme confirmed the Ed Pink-built 426 Hemi is the car's first engine, and is currently mated to a Lenco two-speed transmission. Per the racer's own recollection, the car ran as fast as 226 MPH, turning a low E.T. of "around 6.62" seconds.
While the Snake II never achieved the success of Prudhomme's later cars, it does represent a significant milestone in his career, and is being offered from the racer's personal collection. Prudhomme himself describes it as the last remaining original Hot Wheels car, and the Barracuda was also seen in the 2013 film, Snake & Mongoose. It's being offered in running condition at no reserve, and The Snake is letting it go because, as he puts it, "it's time to buy someone else's stuff instead of my own."
The Scottsdale sale will take at Westworld of Scottsdale from January 14 – 22, 2017. For additional information, visit Barrett-Jackson.com.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2fISryo
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