Tommy Ivo’s four-engine Showboat dragster remains one of the most audacious and incredible pieces of machinery to ever assault the drag strip. At first glance it seems about as complex as a hammer, but this video showing Tommy Ivo giving a mechanical and historical tour of the car itself reveals it is a pretty complicated machine.
The biggest thing we took away from it was the gained knowledge that Mickey Thompson was heavily involved in the original construction of the car with respect to planning and parts sourcing. This proves yet again what a giant Thompson was in his heyday.
This video seems to have been made for display purposes at the stillborn “America’s Car Collection” museum that was being built and filled by Ralph Whitworth. When the economy tanked, the massive plans for the museum went down with it.
Listen to “TV Tom” spin a great yarn about “The Showboat.” Late in its career, the Showboat was rebodied as “The Wagonmaster” and stil exists as such. The car in the modern scenes of video is actually a near flawless reproduction.
