(Words and Photos by Mike Bradford) – In the racing world, if you don’t have deep pockets and want to go faster, one car is sold to fund the new toy. More often than not, the old car is forever lost, out of sight and mind while all effort is focused on the replacement. Such was the case with the Duster bodied BB/Funny car pictured here owned by John and Rodalyn Knox of Weare NH.

(CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

The year 1968 saw John turning wrenches and Rodalyn behind the wheel of a hemi powered ’66 Belvedere II in the top stock class. The duo progressed up to super stock and in 1972 the decision was made to go funny car racing. Their first flopper was a ‘cuda body draped over a wide style Logghe chassis. After a couple years that car was sold to finance this one. In 1971 the Chicago based Powers and Riley top fuel team wanted to try their hand at funny car racing and had this chassis built. The transition proved to be very expensive with several engine failures and a fire that severely burned David Powers. Those difficulties prompted the car to be sold to the Schnectady NY based Chuck Bowen/ Ed Kopper team who raced in the A/Funny car class several years with a ‘Cuda body. In late 1973 this well-traveled chassis ended up in John and Rodalyn’s possession soon to be known as the Country Girl.

Trucked to New Hampshire and freshened up the ‘cuda bodied car was run for two years then a call to S&W Race Cars along with a $750.00 check delivered a brand new Duster body. The “Country Girl” funny car was in the thick of the match racing scene up and down the east coast. John recalls, “One of our favorite wins was the 1975 Grand American held at New England Dragway in Epping NH.” Once again the quest for speed in the form of a AA nitro fueled flopper would see a “For Sale” sign taped to the windshield of this Duster in 1977. After two years of nitro racing that car was sold and after a brief rest, the couple entered the arena of tractor pulling where Rodalyn was voted NTPA’s “Rookie of the year” in 1990. World championchips were earned in the unlimited class for ’95, ’97 and ’98. At times her throttle hand controlled up to six supercharged hemi engines powering the “Sassy Massey” tractor.

In 1999 a good friend of John’s, Reggie Bernier, who collects and refurbishes vintage race cars heard of a Duster funny car body for sale in northern Maine. After a lengthy drive what he saw was very disappointing. The roof had been cut and sitting outside in the elements for 16 years had taken a huge toll. He quickly baulked at the $200 asking price and while getting into his truck for the ride home, the owner who was trying to sell his property, offered the body to Reggie for free. Such a deal. Upon getting the broken shell back to his Stratham NH shop, Reggie assessed the damage and proceeded to attach the roof and unfold the badly crushed rocker panels. Not long after that he wondered if this could be the remains of the “Country Girl” and called John to see if his hunch was correct. “Within a few minutes of looking it over, I knew it was our old body,” John explained.

At that time, John was paying regular visits to Charlie Bell, a friend and fellow funny car racer who was in a tough battle with cancer which he lost in 2001. Upon hearing of the unearthing of the Duster body, Charlie suggested John should consider bringing the car back to life and offered one of his old chassis to the project. John accepted and went to work. It soon became clear that the donated frame wasn’t going to work without a ton of modifications. “It was a modern car that we were trying to put an old body on and it just wouldn’t fit. The wheelbase was 5 inches too long, the upsweep in back of the engine was different as was the roll cage placement, so we reluctantly gave up,” John said.

“One Sunday evening I got a call from a guy in Maine who heard that I was trying to restore the funny car. He was bracket racing an altered “T” powered by a small block Chevy and was told when purchased 8 years prior that it was once a funny car named “Country Girl” Wanting to move on to other things, the car in Maine was for sale, so John quickly hit I-95 north to verify the authenticity. “Low and behold, after quick look I knew it was the chassis that belonged under our Duster body,” John explained. With the correct frame in his possession, the build was back on.

The major fiberglass reconstruction was done by Reggie Bernier then Blair Smith smoothed things out and applied the pearl white “Flip Flop” paint with a stripe of blue lace down the center. Blair’s expertise with an air brush was also put to good use. David Beard took care of a few minor chassis issues and rebuilt the torsion bar front suspension. No stick on graphics here as Kenny Reed got the nod to letter the girl. Another big helper with the car was close friend Chris Skirkey who travels with it while making local appearances.

John Knox, his son Brian and crew build some of the most impressive and winning supercharged hemi engines in the truck and tractor pulling world at their shop, Sassy Racing Engines. So when it was time to assemble a period correct bullet, they rolled up their sleeves and went to work. An aluminum Milodon 4.280 bore block similar to the one John purchased from Sox & Martin in late 1973 cradles a Keith Black 4 3/8″ stroke crank which gave Rodalyn 511 cu in of elephant power to tickle with her right foot. The block from ’73 was casting #008, and according to John, “we were one of the first teams on the east coast to run this particular piece, serial # 007 was in Jungle Jim’s car.” Brooks rods pinned to Venolia slugs handle the squeeze. A set of cast aluminum water type heads are fed by a magnesium 8-71 Bowers supercharger that sits atop a Cragar manifold. Controlling the airflow is an early style small shaft Enderle bird catcher hat. Ignition chores are performed by a Cirello magneto. While the engine build was happening, John got a call from a gentleman who had heard about the project and donated the original chrome steel valve covers used on the car some 20 years prior.

The 1300 estimated hp is funneled through a 2 disc, 11″ Crowerglide clutch and into a Lenco 3 speed planetary tranny ending up in a Ford 9″ rearend using a 4:10 gearset. A set of Hurst/Airheart floating disc brakes working with a 10′ parachute helped slow things down. In 1975 when the body was mated to the chassis, Bob Ellison and Rick McGarvey were on hand to help out so it’s no surprise and very cool that in 2002 they once again played a major role with the hookup. All of the internal tin work is original. Sadly Mr. Ellison, one of John’s dear friends died in 2004 from injuries suffered when his A/Gas Willys crashed.Rolling stock consists of spindle mounted 15″ rough cast American magnesium wheels up front and polished aluminum 16X14 tail enders that are mated to M&H Racemaster 33″ tall slicks.

In the day with Rodalyn at the controls, this Duster roamed the east coast turning consistent 7.30 laps with a best run of 7.10 @ 197 mph. In 1975 she held both of the New England Dragway BB/FC records of 7.35 et. and 189.7 mph. Now the trio attends car shows around New England where the flopper still cackles. Last year the country girl and her guy were inducted into the NTPA and New England Dragway hall of fame for their sucess in both venues. John and Rodalyn are quick to thank everyone who played a role in bringing this car back from the dead and the fans who enjoy reliving memories of watching this hot rod do its stuff.