[fasteddie63]

Anyone have Footage Of The Tims And Ballard Bullet Running Down The Dragstrip .Such A Badass Race Car In the Day

 

[o.c.srfr]

I do not have any video of it but I remember that car pulling wheelstands in 1st and 2nd gear. I heard that it now resides in Scotland with alot of our old race cars. Truly a shame.

Eric H.

 

[Rich Duncan Jr]

I do not have any video, but I do have this picture I took of the Fiat at one of the early Sac Bug O Rama's back in the 80s. Check the background. When was the last time the North side of the race track at Sacramento, was open for spectaters?

 

[Brian Watts]

Here is a few I dug out

[img= width=457 height=600]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c13/californiakid1/0TheBulletfiatPhotobyBrianWattsCopy.jpg[/img]

 

[richieuk]

I do not have any video of it but I remember that car pulling wheelstands in 1st and 2nd gear. I heard that it now resides in Scotland with alot of our old race cars. Truly a shame.

Eric H.

Eric,why is it a shame? it was sitting doing nothing for the last 20 years or so,anyone could have bought it and returned it to its former glory but no one did,now its in Scotland and it will get restored and it will see the track once again,surely that is a good thing,that it will be driven in anger and people will get to see it again,not just gather dust somewhere under a cover,also its not like Eric B and Steve tims built it,it was someone elses car they took and moulded in there own successfull style.

I have some pictures I took more recently that I will post and you can see first hand how it has suffered and declined from lack of care!!!!


cheers richie,uk

 

[Tom Simon]

I'm with you, Richie.

I am not sure how many of these old Fiat's that Eric Ballard had, but I saw (2) Fiat racecars at ERCO back in 2001 when I was looking at buying the ex-Adam Wik's Super Street project car from Eric. Ben mentioned one was in the process of being sold.

 

[o.c.srfr]

I will tell you why . It is out racing history we are selling for the highest bidder . I disagree not anybody could have owned that car I know the history of the car and I know it did not come cheap. It is not that we are not interested in our old race cars. There is one car I would love to own a that I loved in the 80's and would love to own now. But the problem is that usually the people that find these cars are so heavy involved in the scene that they find these cars first from the original owners or current owners then purchase the car dirt cheap do a little detailing and then turn and sell the car which they paid $1500 for 15k overseas. We know that the VW gassers are the latest and greatest thing over there so the prices that these guys ask for the cars automatically eliminate anyone here in the states due to our economy unless you are lucky to have an endless supply of money. I saw these cars run at OCIR in the mid 70's to the early 80's Those were the best years of my life and VW drag racing will never be the same. I do agree with you that is nice to see an old race car restored to it's glory days. There is nothing better.

Eric H.

 

[richieuk]

Not all of us were lucky enough to see these cars first time round,either we were to young or on the wrong side of the earth!!!

As for what it cost,well Eric owned it for a long time,I am sure he didnt buy it to make a profit all those years ago??? and if it was an american domestic gasser from a similar era it would be going for 10x as much,so maybe they are actually bargains?
Yes there are certainly people out there making a living digging out these old cars and selling them on for vast profits,but this is how they make a living,good luck to them I say,if they werent out there doing this then more of these cars would be scrapped or sold to someone who didnt care for the history and they would be destroyed for ever.
And believe me our economy sucks just as bad as yours,back in the 90s all the historic cars went to Japan never to be seen again,that really is sad


cheers richie,uk

 

[dangerous]

That car is an all time favourite of mine.
I can remember reading about it in the mid 80's hot VWs mags that I used to purchase when I was still in highschool.

It is so good that it will get used again!
With the world being s small these days(good old internet!),
we can ALL see these and other cars running, within hours of their first runs.

Gene Berg told me a story when he visitd Australia in the mid ninetys,
about how Bear had run his Gold Rush car into the mid elevens with a tiny 1679cc engine,
and when he transplanted it into the fiat, it went straight into the low tens.

I am sure that with time, that the exact story may have been imbellished or exaggerated,
but when I first heard it,
those guys from that era became my heros.

Great to see it is in good hands.

 

[dangerous]

those guys from that era

Yes I know, they are still around, but you know what I mean!!!

 

[o.c.srfr]

I guess we agree to disagree with each other. I do agree it is nice to see that they are being restored to their former glory. I do agree about the Japan issue(do not even get me started with that)I disagree on people taking advantage of the situation and asking what here in the U.S. is a ridiculous amount of money which eliminates most people here in the states from purchasing these cars because on top of these prices most of these cars need to be completely restored. I can not speak for Eric but I am sure he knew about the history of the car when he raced it and knew eventually someone with a fist full of money would make him an outrageous(excuse me generous) offer that he could not refuse and he would let the car go. I know that your economy is bad but the pound is still stronger the the US dollar. You are a very lucky man being able to do this .Good luck with the car Russell.

Eric H.

 

[richieuk]

Such a bargain??????

And Eric yor right about the needing a bucket load of cash to restore,but its mainly due to the fact that the last owners were in the process of completely redesigning the chassis &suspension and destroyed all the origional parts and history in the process,but gave up half way through so all the good stuff is long gone!!!!

cheers richie,uk

 

[o.c.srfr]

So are going to restore it to the early race shop days? Or is is going to be raced under the bullet. I am sure the reason behind taking all the original parts off it was due to our NHRA safety requirements. For example the Mouse Trap car sure it would pass tech in the 70's and 80's but an NHRA official would look at that car and it would fail on the spot. Here where the money comes into play because not only do you have to restore it but now try to make it pass a tech inspection.

Eric

 

[richieuk]

So are going to restore it to the early race shop days? Or is is going to be raced under the bullet. I am sure the reason behind taking all the original parts off it was due to our NHRA safety requirements. For example the Mouse Trap car sure it would pass tech in the 70's and 80's but an NHRA official would look at that car and it would fail on the spot. Here where the money comes into play because not only do you have to restore it but now try to make it pass a tech inspection.

Eric

If you could see underneath you would know what i mean,it had nothing to do with safety or tech,they were trying to completely redesign the car,the steering & the suspension was torn out and the rear has a de dion tube,cant remember what the front had done to it.It s basically just a shell with a cage now,everything else was removed

It will be restored to Race shop days,the first incarnation but not the hardtop,the convertable version.

 

[Mat Sanchez]

I loved what the last owner did with this car when they campaigned it and contributed to its history so much! Awesome work!

Truly a shame to see someone do something with it.

 

[stevetim]

Richie if you need help to restore the fiat to origional race shop days just ask. During the years I owned the car it was raced with the origional suspension that Chas Moorse had buildt for Darrell. After I sold the car to Eric he sent the car to Norm Porter who completely changed the total suspension--both front and rear. The car has never been to the track since. Good luck, Steve
FYI the fiat was origionaly owned by Darrell, sold to Jimmy Bou in Puerto Rico. Jimmy owned the car 1975-1985. While Jimmy owned the car Bear campained it at the N.H.R.A national events 1983-1984. I bought the car from Jimmy in 1985. Sold the car to Eric in 1988. And it sat for 20 years till now. Have fun with it.

 

[BEAR]

i totally dismanteled that car for painting when i had it. i know every nut and bolt . i was in total awe when doing this .i had never seen acar so purpose built like this before .it was made to be serviced between rounds if needed.1 person could pull the eng.and trans and be sitting in the staging lanes in 30 min. it was engineered by charley moorse and darrel vittone to be as light as could be and easy to work on .they accomplished both . it was the finest race car i ever had the pridledge to drive . i can go on fir hours on this can but pecker typing is hard on an old fart. i was promised a ride when the resto is finished and i,m holding him to it aloha from hawaii BEAR

 

[Rich Duncan Jr]

Steve and Bear, thank you for adding some true history of this car. Feel free to give us some more of your story's of this car, wins and close races etc. This car was one of my favorites to watch race back in the 80s, both at the Bug In's of So Cal and Bug O Rama's of Nor Cal.

If the car was mine, I would not change a thing on the outside except the drivers name and I would run it just like that. No full on restore or changing of the paint, just suspension, motor etc. and go racing. What a pull for a promotor to advertise the original Bullet Fiat coming to race at his event.

Rich

 

[o.c.srfr]

I loved what the last owner did with this car when they campaigned it and contributed to its history so much! Awesome work!

Truly a shame to see someone do something with it.


No need to be sarcastic if that was what you where going for. It is just sad to see that all the race cars most of us here in Southern California grew up on are now gone and will not see any of the dragstrips over here anymore. I remember watching that car race the Race for Gold series at Palmdale the car was thrilling to watch.

Eric

 

[dangerous]

Yeah dont change its appearance!!

Rest those fingers Steve and Bear, and PLEASE share some more stories!
What engine combos and trannys did you guys use?