Fred
Jaramillo
1991 Spitzer built rear engine dragster
I purchased the car on December 31, 1995 and I am the
third owner. The dragster chassis was built to except
either a Big Block Chevrolet or a big Block Chrysler Powerplant.
The dragster has never had a Chevrolet between its frame
rails. The first owners built a Chrysler engine for it
and were new to the sport of drag racing. The first team
that owned my dragster went through a few engines, because
the driver kept overreving it. The expense of the engines
caused them to exceed their budget. They then sold the
car and broken engine to Rick Allison of Indianapolis,
Indiana. Rick rebuilt the engine and raced the car one
time. In that one time, a cracked cylinder and the realization
that dragsters were not as fun as his high powered doorslammers,
made the decision to put the car up for sale. I found
the ad in the National Dragster in early December and
began making arrangements to purchase and pick up my new
dragster less the engine. I had the motor from my 70 'Cuda,
which bolted right in.
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I ran that motor for my first year with the dragster.
I sold the 'Cuda in February of 1997 and the motor that
was in my dragster. So that's when I decided to build
the motor I had been dreaming about, my Bandit 1.
My Bandit 1 motor is a 471 cubic inch Big Block Mopar
and it is stock all the way to the block and timing cover.
Okay, so those are the only two stock parts in the entire
motor. My motor came from a big '73 Chrysler. I chose
the 400 block because of the power I intended to build.
600 horsepower is all that the RB/B motor will safely
handle and with an estimated 750 horsepower that was to
be built, the 400 B/Block was the best choice. Not only
for strength was the 400 used, but for its bigger bore.
The only thing now was to build some stroke into the Bandit
1.
The motor uses stroker 4340 crank, clevite bearings, eagle
steel rods and .030 oversized Venolia pistons round out
the rotating assembly. B1 cylinder heads and matching
components are used to get all that air in and out of
the Bandit 1. A Holley 1050 dominator is what dumps the
fuel that feeds all 471 cubic inches of my Mopar. A set
of Bandit Racing Mufflers built by me quiet the exhaust
to acceptable levels required by NHRA. The motor was assembled
at Bosque Tire and Auto, and Coats and Colors powdercoated
the parts to keep them looking nice.
The dragster chassis had 97 runs on it when I purchased
it. I have since made over a thousand runs on it. I have
won many times with this car and I can honestly say it
is the best race car I have ever owned. I race it at NHRA
National and Divisional events, big money bracket races
in the southern states, and the Mopar Challenge Series
events put on by the Mopar Muscle Club of New Mexico.
It also holds the current Mopar challenge series championship.
It is powdercoated with gold vein and was applied by my
sponsors, Coats and Colors in Albuquerque, NM. I also
get support from my mom and dad who own and manage Bosque
Tire and Auto, in Bosque Farms, NM. My other sponsors
include Mark Gill of Snap On Tools in Los Lunas and San
Bar Construction who have recently moved from Bosque Farms
to Albuquerque. And I can't forget my crew members (because
they won't let me) Mom, Dad, Jenn, Deanna, Boom and Leila.
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