Hurst Hemi Under Glass

Hurst Hemi Under Glass is the name given to a series of exhibition drag racing cars campaigned by Hurst Performance between 1965 and 1975.

Each wheelstander was based on the current Plymouth Barracuda for the corresponding model year. The car was so named because the fuel injected Chrysler Hemi engine was placed under the Barracuda's exceptionally large rear window. The result of the rearward weight transfer was a "wheelie" down the length of the drag strip.

The Hemi Under Glass was developed by Hurst Corporation with assistance from wheelstanding exhibition racer Wild Bill Shrewsberry and was driven by Bob Riggle, who was also from Mansfield, OH. Riggle was involved with Hurst as a mechanic, fabricator and pilot of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass car and campaigned the cars with Hurst as the sponsor until later years when the Hurst Company was sold, the car ran without the "logo" and was simply known as the "Hemi Underglass."

Popular model kits of the car were produced in 1/32 scale by Aurora Plastics Corporation and in 1/25 scale by Model Products Corporation. A limited edition 1/18 scale diecast model of the 1966 car is currently available from Highway 61.[1]

Riggle returned to exhibition racing in 1992 with a replica of the 1968 car.[2] The original 1965 car is still owned by Bill Shrewsberry and is in storage in Southern California.[3][4]

While taping for Jay Leno's Garage on June 26, 2016, Riggle, with Leno riding in the passenger seat, rolled the Hemi Under Glass after turning sharply at the end of a wheelie run. Neither of the men were hurt, but the car sustained significant damage.[5] Leno was riding along to fulfill another item on his 'Bucket List.'

References

  1. ↑ http://www.simplydiecast.com/Highway-61-1966-Barracuda-Drag-Car-Hurst-Hemi-Under-Glass-118-Diecast-Preorder-P220.aspx Example of website selling the 1/18 scale model
  2. ↑ http://www.autotraderclassics.com/car-article/Fish+Special-42316.xhtml Information on the replica car
  3. ↑ http://www.hurst-shifters.com/s.nl/c.723089/it.I/id.477/.f Official Hurst home page for the Hemi Under Glass
  4. ↑ http://www.fast-autos.net/vehicles/Plymouth/1968/Hurst_Hemi_Under-Glass/6777 Photo of the replica 1968 car at Fast-autos.net
  5. ↑ "See Jay Leno crash while riding his "bucket list" car on 'Jay Leno's Garage'". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.

The Hemi Underglass debuted at the NHRA SpringNationals at Bristol Tennessee. Originally it was not intended to be a wheelstander, but they were unable to keep the front wheels on the ground. After two days of working on the chassis set up they gave up and taking a hint from the crowd's reaction to the huge bumper scraping wheelies, and decided to make it a wheel stander. I was there all four days as a worker, and talked to the Hurst crew directly.[1]

  1. ↑ Randy Broyles
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