| HISTORY
OF THE GRUZEN RACINGS's |
| Driver: Dave Gruzen |
Owners: Joel & Dee
Gruzen |
Born in 1987 as a Fuel Funny Car, and campaigned
thru 1999 by Jeff Bennet
of San Diego, both as a Funny Car and Retro Fuel Altered. During
the 1999
March Meet, it made an appearance with the Fiat body, late Hemi
engine, and
a load of NITRO that propelled it down the 1/4 mile at 5.83
seconds, at
245 MPH.
In December 2000, Gruzen Racing purchased the
car as a "roller" with the
Fiat body. Six months later, the process of converting it to
a "Nostalgia" (or
Classic) appearing altered began. The roll cage was updated
to SFI 10.1c
spec; the 30" Funny Car overhang was removed, and the entire
steering system
was reworked to allow for the fire bottles to be mounted inside
the frame rails.
The chasis was then fitted with a Small Block Chevy (SBC) and
a California
Performance Transmission (Art Carr) glide and torque converter.
Initially,
this setup was not considered as an appropriate combination
for a Nitro burning
fuel altered. We think it works very well. The car was completed
in September
2002, and made its debut as the "Merciless Mouse"
at the 2002 California
Hot Rod Reunion, and as a participant in the inaugural "Ring
of Fire".
After two test outings, Good Guys (Vintage Racing Association)
asked if the car
could be made available for their June 2003 race to be held
at Pomona CA. The
purpose was to conduct exhibition runs as a Fuel Altered to
determine spectator
response, with the possibility leading to the formation of a
VRA "Fuel Altered"
class. The car ran a 6.86et, on 7 cylinders, with the motor
"dead" at 1000ft
Crowd response was great.
WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK OUR SPONSORS WHO
HELP MAKE THE "MERCILESS MOUSE" MOVE
California Performance Transmissions (Art Carr), Huntington
Beach, CA. Valley Head
Service (Larry Ofria) Northridge CA. James Higby Engineering,
San Fernando CA., DJ Safety,
Tujunga CA., Steve Long Cams, Corona CA., Auto Balancing Inc.,
Southgate CA.,
Tim Brown/Cornwell Tools, Lakewood CA., Chris Bubb Paint, Palmdale
CA.,
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Air Flow Research (AFR), Pacoima CA., Kendall
Motor Oil/AP Fischer, Long Beach CA.,
California Discount Warehouse, Long Beach CA., Moondeyham Blowers,
Bellflower, CA.
