The famous "HEMI UNDER GLASS"

"HEMI UNDER GLASS"

Wheelstander

The massive Shell/Pennzoil/Quaker State display at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas offered attendees a rare opportunity for an up-close look at the 1968 version of the famous “Hemi under Glass” exhibition wheel stander.

The supercharged Hemi powered Plymouth Barracuda was conceived in 1965 and according to legend sketched onto a cocktail napkin by Hot Rod magazine editor Ray Brock for George Hurst. Brock intended it to be a competitive racer, but testing uncovered a problem– the mid-engine placement of the supercharged Hemi engine caused the lightened front end of the car to jump into the air at the hit of the accelerator pedal.

Instead of a competitive race car, Hurst, a master promoter, put the wheel standing car on tour and it became a huge hit with spectators and spawned dozens of imitators.   

The “Hemi Under Glass” has only had three drivers through the years – Bob Shrewsberry, Bob Riggle and the current driver, Mike Mantel. 

Shrewsberry left  the "Hemi Under Glass" and Hurst after one season, and developed his own "LA Dart" wheel stander ( a later version featured the supercharged Hemi engine in the car's trunk) sponsored by LA area Dodge dealers.  Later in the late seventies Shrewsberry toured the "Berry Wagon" a fiberglass 1930 Ford Model delivery truck wheelstander sponsored by the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park.     

The original 1965 "Hemi Under Glass" power train was used for the construction of the 1968 Barracuda body style and the 1965 car no longer exists.  Multiple versions of the  second generation "Hemi Under Glass" toured the country for Hurst through 1970, then the company was sold and Hurst just sponsored the cars until Riggle was injured in a crash in 1975.

 

Bob Riggle reintroduced the "Hemi Under Glass" in 1992 and performed with the car until another crash in 2016, after which Mantel became the designated driver.  The author was assured by Shell officials that the car shown at SEMA 2019 was not the same car crashed on the famous episode of "Jay Leno's Garage." 

Mantel planned to introduce a new  modern "Hellephant" supercharged 1,000 hp and 950 lb-ft of torque Hemi powered LX- class Dodge "Hemi under Glass" Challenger for the 2020 season.  

All photos by the author 

1973 Datsun 240Z tribute resto-mod racer

The Shell Oil Company outdoor display at the 2018 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas featured an interesting 1973 Datsun 240Z “resto-mod” race car built as a homage to the Bob Sharp Racing 240Z racers of the nineteen seventies.

Bob Sharp began racing in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events with a series of Datsun racers that carried the #33 to help promote his Datsun dealership, and he eventually convinced the Nissan Motor Company Limited to provide factory backing for his racing efforts.   

After he retired as an active driver in 1976 with six SCCA national championships to his credit, Bob became even more famous as Bob Sharp Racing (BSR) built and fielded winning Datsun race cars for his son Scott, Sam Posey, Jim Fitzgerald, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and part-time amateur racer and actor Paul Newman.

Canadian road racer commissioned Cyrious Garageworks of Oakville Ontario to restore and update an original 240Z race car which had been raced sparingly in period and then sat unused for twenty years.  

After the crew at Cyrious repaired several poorly fabricated period modifications, they built a modern style touring car roll cage before they dropped in a 1990’s era Nissan RB25 turbocharged twin-overhead camshaft inline six-cylinder engine and transmission.

This car makes extensive use of Japanese aftermarket parts, notably the TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny Pandem body kit which includes wheel flares at all four corners, a front air dam and rear spoiler, and 6666 custom wheels which are reminiscent in appearance of nineteen seventies BBS wheels. Of course, for lubricants the Datsun 240 Z uses nothing but Quaker State products a division of Shell Oil Products.   

All photos by the author