I loved the vintage front engine Top Fuel Dragsters and that's what inspirers me to build my 1/25 scale replicas of the cars that shaped Top Fuel racing today. My replicas are built as close to the original car as possible. The Replicas I build are the AA/FDs that I feel will bring back memories of peoples personal experiences when they saw these cars race every weekend and every racer was a potential winner like poker players battling at the same table.

My car's are ones that haven't been built by any modeler that I know of. In preparation for these projects I talk with the chassis builders ( Fuller, Gilmore, Attebury, Foster and Uyehara ), drivers, crews and fans. I scour as much printed and web site material as I can to obtain detailed information on each AA/FD replica . I've also crewed in the sport for 30 years... from the last days of the front engine dragsters to today's Nostalgia Top Fuel in order to gain the knowledge to construct these cars.

In 1970 I constructed my first AA/FD, a Don Long 225" w/b with a blown 392. I rebuilt this car two years ago and named it "Bad Habit " and haven't stop since. Each scratch built dragster takes about 3 to 4 months to complete, and consist of 350 to 450 parts to complete each replica.

Brass tubing, rod, channel and steel wire are used for the chassis and front and rear axle assemblies. .016'' brass sheet and aftermarket resin bodies are modified or fabricated from scratch for the bodies. 000-120 countersunk slot screws (Dzus fasteners) are used to mount the bodies. The wheels and tires plus the motor parts are chosen from different manufactured kits and detailed to match for each replica. The clutch can, motorplate and fuel tank are made from brass sheet. The final details like fuel lines, steering box, pedals, cables, spark plug wires w/looms, brake cylinder w/lines etc. are scratch built from various materials to complete the replica. All replicated parts are painted to match the real parts after pre-assembly and then the final assembly is done. Custom made decals were made by Skip Samples and Joe Curtis. The only showing of my replicas will be at the California Hot Rod Reunion for every Nostalgia Drag Racing Fan to see and enjoy. This is my contribution to Drag Racing history, and I love to recreate it.

Roger C. Lee