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eBay Find: Kenny Bernstein’s 1987 Buick Batmobile LeSabre Funny Car Body


eBay Find: Kenny Bernstein’s 1987 Buick Batmobile LeSabre Funny Car Body

This could be the drag racing barn find of the decade. The infamous 1987 Buick LeSabre Funny Car body used by Kenny Bernstein but designed and perfected by Dale Armstrong was located in a storage yard in Florida. This was the car that essentially created the look of the modern “speed blob” Funny Cars we see today. It was incredibly controversial in 1987 and it was only allowed to run for the entire season because Dale Armstrong threw a fastball by the NHRA tech inspectors who initially looked at the body. This is an amazing piece of history!

Dale Armstrong’s genius is no stranger to us here at BangShift.com. If it is to you, than read our pocket bio of the greatest nitro crew chief in drag racing history here.

This car was one of his master works and showed just how far ahead his brain was than anyone else’s at the time. Backed with mega-bucks from Budweiser, Armstrong was able to chase any of the engineering windmills he wanted to. In 1986 he set his sights on creating the ultimate Funny Car body, and for the time he did. This was the first body that saw extensive wind tunnel testing, the first that used the “shrunken dog house” (where the driver sits), and the first to use the rounded box shape that all the bodies use now.

It also looked absolutely nothing like a 1987 Buick LeSabre. Let that sink in for a second, a Buick LeSabre?! Amazing, Buick did have a factory presence in the sport at that time. Sweet memories.

The “fastball” thrown by Armstrong that went right past the bats of NHRA tech inspectors was the fact that the body exploited the then loose rules regarding dimensional specs. When officials came to inspect it, Armstrong showed them the body in primer and with the “dog house” area still solid, as he had not cut the windows and windshield out yet. This masked the radical look that the car would have in race trim. They gave it their stamp of approval and by the end of the first race, had told the team that just about everyting but the paint job would be illegal in 1988 so they better enjoy 1987.

They did, and handily won the championship, in run away fashion.

The body apparently changed hands several times and was then left to sit in a Florida storage yard for years. Amazingly, it is in really good shape and with some ‘glass work and a fresh coat of paint, will make a kick ass museum exhibit. This is just the body, there is no chassis being sold with it.

We have to thank MSD Ignition’s graphics man Robert Martin for the tip. Robert is also the owner of SouthwestDrags.com, a kick ass site you need to gawk at as well.

$20K buys you a true piece of drag racing history. Got the bucks?

Source — eBay Motors — Kenny Bernstein’s 1987 Buick Batmobile Funny Car Body

Batmobile 1987 Buick LeSabre


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