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Sep
14
Mercedes-Benz W109 300 SEL 6.3 | Dragster
2019.09 | Photoshop Chop | Dragster Conversion
“Länge läuft”
This is a German expression about cars with a long wheelbase being superior at high speed driving on the Autobahn. This concept also applies to dragsters, even though the acceleration run ends at a the 1/4 mile marker, where the fun on the German high speed road network begins. In the spirit of Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week, I created a capable Citroën DS Dragster last year. This year, a Mercedes-Benz W109 300 SEL 6.3 painted in Hellelfenbein received the same treatment. The long wheelbase was extended an additional inch in order to fit the drag slicks while retaining the rear doors. The fender flares have been altered to accomodate the wheels and the chrome trim was modified to keep the stock look. This vehicle should be comfortable on the highways with a trailer in tow and rather quick down the quarter mile on the dragstrips visited during Drag Week.
Sep
12
Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week is an event where street/strip cars are driven 1.000+ miles on public roads during a trip that includes four dragstrips and five races in five days. The coverage of the various drag week cars I have seen over the last years inspired me to create a dragster that would be a lot of fun to take there, race it and enjoy the road trip. It is based on a Citroën DS 21 Pallas, which has been converted to a tube chassis and equipped with a V8 engine and a solid rear axle. There is no exact specification yet, so you can dream about whichever engine and transmission combo you’d love to drop into this chassis. I kept the look of the Citroen DS classic, with period-correct wheels, rollcage design and graphics. The scallops are just simple lines without fill color, to keep the somewhat subdued appearance and match the factory tinted windows. The fenders are obviously radiused, as the builders would have done back in the 1970’s.
Because the participants are only allowed to use the tools they carry with them on the road trip, most people utilize a trailer to have more room for spares, generators and power tools. Some even carry welders. Instead of renting a U-Haul, I created a matching trailer. Gotta keep the style consistent, right? All the sponsor Stickers go on the trailer, to keep the car looking as clean and uncluttered as possible. Please feel free to give feedback, I appreciate all comments.
