Dragmaster Boosted Dodge’s Performance Image

Two San Diego County men, Jim Nelson and Dode Martin, were pioneers in the California racing scene. Nelson had his roots going back to running on the dry lake beds, and he also drag raced at the Santa Ana Dragstrip way back when. Having a close relationship with Wally Parks, he then became one of the original NHRA Technical Inspectors, right at the start of NHRA in 1951. He went on to continue racing and became known as a great engine builder as well. A member of the “Oilers” car club, Nelson also was the machine shop manager at Masters Automotive in Oceanside, CA.

JIM NELSON

The town next to Oceanside is Fallbrook, CA, and that’s where Dode Martin lived, also a drag racer. Martin built his first dragster in 1950 and raced it at the Santa Ana Dragstrip, plus numerous other California tracks. His home-built car was “crude” according to Martin, and he started with gasoline, switched to alcohol, and eventually 100-percent nitromethane. Martin and Nelson had raced one another but were just acquaintances. Then, circa 1954, Martin went to the shop that Nelson worked at and inquired about some machining work for a Chrysler HEMI^® engine he was working on for his car club, the “Shafters.”

DODE MARTIN

Both men lived close by to one another and with Nelson having a hot engine, and with Martin having a state-of-the-art chassis, they decided to join forces. Their first car was the “Dragliner”, which led them to traveling across the country to racing events. They took turns driving, no matter who did better, then the next time out the other was behind the wheel.

After a drag strip operator ordered ten duplicates of the dragster chassis they were running at the time (for prizes to winners of the “Top Eliminator” class) and that was what prompted them to start the dragster chassis business together, Dragmaster Company.

DRAGSTER CHASSIS

Back in the 1950s, building a dragster was a “start from scratch and do it all yourself” situation until Jim Nelson and Dode Martin came along with their Dragmaster dragsters. Commercially available though their catalog, the Dragster Dart chassis was simple in design, came with all critical welds and joints magnafluxed, with all welds sanded and detailed. Standard wheelbase was 112 inches and available in either mild steel (1015 spec) or 4130 chromoly. Over 200 were sold in varied wheelbase lengths.

WALLY PARKS PUT IT TOGETHER: DODGE + DRAGMASTER

It was October of 1961 when the Dodge factory West Coast PR guy Jack McFarland went searching for a way to get Dodge cars more noticed in the world of drag racing. Dode Martin had explained it this way in an interview years back: “Jim Nelson and I had the Dragmaster Company, yes I was involved with the Dodge Corporation. Dodge went and saw Wally Parks with the NHRA and said: ‘We are getting behind on sales, it seems the racing type cars are bringing the sales up. Ford and Chevrolet are beating us. Is there something that we can do?’ So Wally Parks said that  Dragmaster Company, Jim Nelson and Dode Martin, they are top guys right now, why don’t we contact them and have a meeting.”

So we did that, then they started shipping us some cars and stuff, so we could hop-up and make them go faster. And sure enough, Dodge went right to the top! Because we can make ’em go!”

SUPERCHARGED WEDGE

“Dragmaster Dart” was the direct result of their new affiliation with Dodge, using their 112-inch wheelbased dragster chassis (4130 tubing). The engine chosen for the new Dodge-powered dragster was the big block wedge, which was 425.6 cubic inches in size. 425.6? Yes, it came to be because they researched the internals of the 383 and 413 V8 versions offered by the corporation, and it was determined that a 383 block (with 4.25-inch bore) mated to a 413 crankshaft (3.75-inch stroke) would be the best drag race combination, all possible with minor machining to the main bearing bores.

The specially prepared block featured an Isky 282-degree camshaft, stepped pistons (7.0:1 compression ratio) and aluminum connecting rods. Ported cylinder heads (from a Chrysler 300H) were added and Crane provided a Hi-Rev spring. A GMC 6-71 supercharger with Hilborn injector was used. The Weiand Typhoon 413 aluminum manifold had to be cut down to fit the low-block 383. 2-inch diameter x 28-inch long headers were fabricated. Spark provided from a Mallory Mini-Mag, power put to the ground via a Schiefer flywheel and clutch. Halibrand Quick-Change rear axle with 3.78:1 gears. Overall weight of the car was 1,100 pounds.

The Dodge-powered Dragmaster creation won it all at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals! The Top Eliminator win, 8.54 seconds at 171 mph, proved to all that attention to details pays off, and Jim Nelson drove a perfect race. The Dodge factory was ecstatic! Their top racing public relations representative Frank Wylie sent a congratulatory telegram immediately to their Dragmaster’s State Street Carlsbad shop. People were definitely now aware that Dodge is a hot number on the drag strip!

This vintage drag artifact was the very first vehicle that was donated to the NHRA Wally Parks Museum. Restored back in 1970 by Nelson and Martin, it was presented to Wally Parks and for many years displayed at the NHRA headquarters’ lobby in North Hollywood. Because of this, the Dragmaster Dart was the very first car that was destined for display at the NHRA museum.

Faithfully restored and brought back to its 1962 full glory, the Mopar_® wedge-powered dragster can today be seen at the NHRA Wally Parks Museum in Pomona, CA, along with other Dragmaster drag cars. Here it’s shown in a picture that Dodge had displayed in his Fallbrook hobby shop, taken at the Bakersfield Hot Rod Reunion 1997.

413 GOLDEN LANCER

The association with Dodge also included modifying a production 1962 Dodge Lancer, the Carlsbad shop installed a 413 Ramcharger engine in the compact car, requiring fenderwell exit headers and modified engine mounts. A 727 TorqueFlite was used. The result was running a 12.68 et at 113 mph running in the A/FX class.

SLANT-SIX DRAGSTER

The idea came up to build a Slant Six-powered dragster when Jim Nelson and Dode Martin found that they had a surplus engine, the 225-cid six-cylinder that came out of the Dodge Lancer project. Consultation with Hilborn Injection took place and the end result was a fuel injection system designed from “foreign car” research (Maserati) the company had previously done. The injection pump is driven from the forward end of the camshaft, secured by a welded plate to the timing chain cover. 13:1 compression pistons and an Isky 505-A camshaft used, and valve sizes diameters increased (1.75-inch intake, 1.50-inch exhaust) and straight tuned exhaust header pipes. The 1,079-pound “Dragmaster Dart 6” rail ran a TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and delivered a10.70 second run in the 1/4-mile at 126.41-mph, running in the D/Dragster class.

413 LONG RAM DRAGSTER

Also created by the Dragmaster crew was the “Dragmaster 8” dragster with a 413 “long ram” intake, down-swept headers, Vertex magneto, chromed 4-bolt valve covers. Large custom-fabricated air scoops aided intake to the Carter AFBs and fitted was a polished aluminum solid motor mount attached to the front of the engine.

RAM TRUCK BY DRAGMASTER

Dragmaster was chosen to build a Dodge D-100 half-ton pickup for promotional purposes for San Diego radio disc jockey Dick Boynton, running a 114-inch wheelbase short bed for the NHRA B/FX class. Known as the “Flying Barn Door” and powered by a heavily re-worked 413 Max Wedge engine, it was backed with a B&M-modified pushbutton TorqueFlite, 4.89:1 rear gearing. Unfortunately, the weight bias was 70-percent front, 30-percent rear, 3,900 pounds total. It was a challenge to get off the line with traction, and the tailgate was said to be lead-filled! The camshaft upgrade came from Bruce Crower and a set of fenderwell headers were welded-up measuring 42 inches in tube length. The truck ran a best of 12.69 at 109.75 miles per hour at the 1963 Winternationals. With limited “bite” and requiring a sensitive amount of throttle on the launch, impressive nonetheless This Dodge truck was a crowd favorite everywhere it raced. 

1964 DODGE CHARGERS  

For 1963, the Dragmaster Company was given the task of designing and building three 1964 Dodge 330 2-door sedans for as “promotional” vehicles, starting with Super Stock aluminum-front end cars and modified for “S/XS” type performances. Power came from wedge engines enlarged to 480-cid (1/2-inch strokers, aluminum M/T rods, 8.7:1 compression ratio) and fitted with 6-71 superchargers, topped with Hilborn four-port fuel injection. Safety roll bar added and super-duty rear springs added for traction, 10-inch wide M&H Racemaster slicks. 3,300 pounds. Jimmy Nix and Jim Johnson drivers.

They were “exhibition” vehicles and not racecars by definition, except to run up against one another. The drivers had strict rules not be involved in direct side-by-side with cars of others makes, such as the Mercury Comets and Pontiacs. Popular car customizer at the time, Dean Jeffries, opened up and rolled the rear wheel openings, designed aluminum pans from the front and rear, and applied the custom candy paint. The name lettered on the sides, “Dodge Chargers”, would be fully capitalized later as a new line of Charger cars coming for the 1966 model year.

Advertising with the Dodge Chargers drag cars included these words: “YOUNG-HO DODGE! Street, strip or showroom – Dodge is a winner. Dodge celebrates its Golden Anniversary this year. (Sales are up almost 30% over last year’s, making ’64 the best selling year in our 50-year history.) Yet Dodge is more youthful than ever. Always experimenting. Looking for the action. And finding it. Tucson Dragway – where a Dodge Charger set a new S/FX record of 135.33 mph in the quarter-mile. That’s the Dodge spirit…Young-Ho! It swings. Try it yourself.”

The credit that goes to this great exposure the 1964 “Dodge Chargers” created all goes to the Carlsbad, CA, shop and talented crew of the Dragmaster Company. Some credit these Dodge Chargers to being the direct forerunner to the Funny Cars of 1965.

After these promotions with Chrysler Corporation’s Dodge Division, Dragmaster turned their attention to building kits for the street rod segment of the industry, offering the same high-quality components as their Dragmaster Dart dragster chassis. 

DODE’S HOBBY SHOP IN FALLBROOK

Nestled away in the small community of Fallbrook, CA, is the long-time home of Dodge Martin and there he had build a nice-sized shop, complete with machinery and welding equipment to construct racecars from scratch. Very much “old school” all the way!

NITRO FIRE-UPS

There’s nothing like vintage HEMI engines running on nitromethane in the middle of a citrus grove! When Dode and his wife “Muggins” put on hot rod parties at their Fallbrook home, surrounded by acreage of orange and lemon trees, there would be hundreds of people showing up and a good time had by all. Food and beverages provided, it was like a family get-together. Among the highlights, besides checking out all the hot rods that showed up and were parked all over the property, there were AA/FD (Nitro Fuel Dragsters) on hand to fire up the big HEMI engines, fantastic sounds that really got the crowd excited!

DODE, THE STAR OF THE SHOW

Young or old, long-time drag racing fan or new to the scene, everyone wanted to chat with the legendary drag racer/innovator/car builder Dode Martin! Hearing firsthand his stories, he was a true pioneer and very humble, but when he started to share a memory, it was filled with names and details, it was like a history lesson from a man who was there.

HISTORICAL PICTURES GALORE

Inside the shop, the walls and tables had all kinds of historical framed photos, catalogs, prints, so much to see and absorb. Conversations revolved about the good ol’ days (with many memories and references of partner Jim Nelson), as well as the recent drag cars that Dode had restored, re-created. No shortage of cool nostalgia items to marvel at!

“D 138”

It was while in his shop in 2011 that Dode shared with me that early in the 1950s he was going to Santa Ana Dragstrip when he had noticed that another car (known as “The Bug”) was stripped down of unnecessary parts. He then decided to come back the next week, with almost everything deleted from the car, all to save weight. C.J. Hart was the strip manager and once he saw Dode’s car, he didn’t know what to call it. “What the heck am I going to call your car?” Dode remembered what he said. “It’s not a lakester and it’s not a roadster. I’m calling it a dragster.” And right then and there, Dode said that Hart painted a big “D” on both sides of the car. “As far as I’m concerned, dragsters got their name on that day.” 

RECREATING THE ISKY-U-FAB SPECIAL

The nitromethane-fueled Cook and Bedwell “Isky U-Fab” dragster ran two back-to-back runs in excess of 160 mph in 1957, rocking the drag racing world. It caused the NHRA to ban nitromethane afterwards. A youngster named Ray Lake had traveled with the Cook and Bedwell car as a crew guy in the era, and in 2011 he started gathering parts, along with Ron Johnson, to properly re-create the car that he remembered so well.

Aiding in the process were numerous period photos found to provide details. Scotty Fenn Chassis Research chassis, 354-cid HEMI, all the various parts and pieces including six Stromberg 48s and a Weiand U-Fab intake. It was a big job in re-creating such a famous drag car, and it would take someone with not only talent but also history in the sport to pull it off!

ENTER DODE MARTIN

Ron Johnson, who himself had re-created important dragsters (including the Tommy Ivo Barnstormer). helped in getting the car re-born and here’s how he explained the Dode Martin connection: “I asked Dode if he was up for a project. He was pretty dubious. But then I told him what the project was. His eyes lit up and after a hurried consultation with his assistants, he agreed to build the car. When I called Ray that Dode would build the car, he was virtually overcome with the all-star cast and quickly agreed.”

To make the re-creation fully authentic, there needed to be a special camshaft made for it, as after all it says “Isky” on each side. Here, Johnson picks up the story: “When I talked to Ed Iskenderian about the project and getting the cam and lifters, he thought it was pretty funny that ‘Dragmaster’ Dode Martin was building a Chassis Research car! The irony has not been lost on us either.” Dode did it all for the sake of history.

DEBUT AT SNAKE’S SHOP

The finished car was displayed at the Don Prudhomme Open House event (Vista, CA) that took place November 2012. It’s extremely detained in every way, and a lot of credit for that goes to Dode’s shop helpers, Kyle Phillips and Aaron Holland, both very accomplished fabricators and craftsmen.

FAMOUS DRAGMASTER EMPLOYEES

ROLAND LEONG

A young, teen-aged hot rodder from Honolulu, HI, Roland Leong, got his apprenticeship in the drag racing business at the Carlsbad Dragmaster shop. Roland’s mother Teddy fully supported Roland’s love of drag racing and worked a deal with Jim Nelson to have her son travel to California and work in the shop. It all worked out well for Leong, as he not much later became one of the heroes of professional nitro drag racing, owner of both successful Top Fuel dragsters and AA/Funny Cars.

DANNY ONGAIS

Known as “On The Gas” and the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” also atom Hawaii, a young Danny Ongais came to Dragmaster to learn the racing trade, and he was a motorcycle racer with a reputation of going fast. After sweeping floors and doing the dirty jobs like Roland had to do, he showed interest in driving a dragster and ended up being as quick on his first run in the Dragmaster Dart as it had ever gone before. He got the gig! In short order, Ongais graduated to Gas Dragsters, Top Fuel, Funny Cars and then as an IndyCar, Formula 1, and Formula 5000 driver.

FAMOUS MOONEYES CAR

Dean Moon’s “Mooneyes” dragster, a promotional vehicle from 1962 that he used as his rolling advertisement for the Moon Equipment business, Santa Fe Springs, CA. Moon had chosen the Dragmaster Company for the chassis, having it built with the optional double loop roll bar. Still to this day, the Bright Yellow Mooneyes dragster is a major part of the advertising and promotion of the Mooneyes company, both in the USA and Japan. The car, the Dragmaster chassis, is world famous!

INTERNATIONAL HALL OF FAME MEMBERS

Both men were inducted into the International Hall of Fame, Nelson first in 1991, then Martin in 1998. The Dragmaster Company had such an impact in drag racing back in the early days, plus both men were heavily involved in the construction and management of Carlsbad Raceway, which opened in 1964. Huge accomplishments for certain. 

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NOTABLE QUOTES

Quote by Jim Nelson circa 1989 when asked if he had any regrets: “No, we made a lot of money, because we made a lot of wins. We did our share of winning. Everybody thought we were a couple of country boys who didn’t know anything. We showed ’em different.”

Quote by Dode Martin circa 2014 when asked what was fun for him: “All of it is fun but building the cars and finding the right parts is fun to me. It’s all savable no matter what, and with the right tooling you can do it all.”

George James “Jim” Nelson 1927-2012

Dorin “Dode” Kent Martin 1925-2018

Author: James Maxwell