[BillyShope]

Originally posted by Crazy Mopar Guy
Does anybody remember "High and Mighty", the 392 powered Plymouth that the Ramchargers team raced back in the 50's?
The car looked bizarre, but had a ton of racing innovations.

I think it was the first Ramchargers full bodied car there was? They won in "altered" class or something back in the late 50's with it.

That's right, Crazy, the "High & Mighty" was the first Ramchargers project. It ran in C/A and was powered by a 354 hemi with 392 heads. First outing was at the '59 Nationals, held, for the first time, at the Detroit Dragway, where it set best class speed for the meet. Texas' Billy Rassmussen won the class with his Dodge hemi powered car. The Ramchargers chose C/A because, with the exception of Billy's car, the class was dominated by Chevys. The Ramchargers car went on to set and reset E.T. and speed records in the class. Finally, the car was eliminated. No, not by anything powered by a Chevy, but by a little rules book. The NHRA introduced its crankshaft height rule and then changed the pounds per cubic inch from 8.6 to 8.0. With that heavy hemi engine, the first rule essentially made the car obsolete. It needed the high center of gravity to be competitive with the Chevy powered deuce coupes off the line. (It was the first car to be deliberately raised for more effective weight transfer. The valve covers were right up against the underside of the hood.) The second rule change allowed the Chevy powered cars to recapture the E.T. and speed records. (This is not to say that a modern Chevy engine couldn't exceed the specific output of that hemi engine built back in the fifties. But, that's a sword that cuts both ways.)

I was recently given the opportunity to review a press release which will be available in the weeks or months ahead. It tells of a group at Chrysler who are in the process of building a replica of the High & Mighty. This will be used for exhibition runs and, of course, to promote Daimler/Chrysler and its products. It will be as it appeared first at the '59 Nationals, ugly green primer and all.

[11echo]

I was running around orange county Calif. in the late 60's and early 70's ...AND live about 5 miles from Orange County Drag Strip. The term "high-boy" was for cars with the straight axles but were driven on the street. Their rivals were "low-boys" ...or low riders. I remember a couple of the street driven hi-boys ...a green 39 Chevy couple I use to see at the Jr. College I was going too. Also a 55 Chevy with the name "Grass Hopper" on the side above the rear wheels ...also a street driven car. Boy those were the days! The smell of orange blossoms and nitro methylene ...I wish I could smell it again! *L* ...My own ranting and ravings! ...Mark

[willys36@aol.com]

Mark, the Hot Rod Reunion comes pretty close! Got the orange trees, nitro, burning rubber, oh and the fertilizer stash just east of the track too!

[11echo]

OH! ...I have my own "fit" ...I usually hit the Pomona swap meet about every 3rd time ...and look'n thru "Part-r-Part" gets me by! *L* ...Mark

[69DartGT]

New here but the High & Mighty post caught my attention this picture was taken in 1960 at Detroit Dragway I have a couple of more but wondering if anyone could help with the names been to many years for me.

[BillyShope]

Originally posted by 69DartGT
New here but the High & Mighty post caught my attention this picture was taken in 1960 at Detroit Dragway I have a couple of more but wondering if anyone could help with the names been to many years for me.

Starting at the viewer's extreme left (furthest from the car), it's Maurie Leising, Doug Patterson, and Jack MacPherson. I'm going to ask another former Ramcharger, Barnes Daniels, to drop in and double-check my identification. I'm sure of Maurie, but I might be confused about the other two.

A little trivia: Note that, on the shirts, the club name consists of two words, but, on the car, it's one word. "Hot Rod" ran the two words together, so, rather than fight it, we changed the club name.

(Thanks for the private message alerting me to this post.)

[69DartGT]

Bill thanks for the help & here's one more picture with an extra Ram Charger.
Tom

[BillyShope]

I think I made a mistake. The fellow I labeled Jack McPherson (spelling correct this time) is, I believe, Dick Maxwell and the guy on the right in the latest picture is Jack McPherson.

Come on, Barnes, bail me out!

[Jon]

I know this is an old discussion, but I received an email today regarding it, and thought I'd pass it along. Here it is:

Dear Hotrodders,

I came upon your website and thought you should know the following:

On the picture of the high and mighty where 3 guys are standing at the front of the car - Jack McPherson is not in that picture. On the picture of the high and mighty where there are 4 guys kneeled down in front of the car - Jack McPherson is the one on the far right. I am positive of this because Jack McPherson is my uncle. If you need to know any more I will be happy to give him your email address and have him contact you. He is currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Faye McPherson Smith

[charger528]

what about the car built by ram chargers in 1959 its a 49 plymouth running a 392 hemi and a very strang intake. they named the car the high & mighty the car held a few class record back then in c/altered they raced a few seasons in the early 60s see pic.

ps they were group of factory engineers who latter had involvement in factory drag race program devolopment 426hemi ,the light weights of the early 60s.

I have great admiration for these guys and what they did for the sport.

[charger528]

I guess i wasn't quit quick enough huh.

[BillyShope]

Originally Posted by charger528

see pic.

Thanks for your contribution, but, just to clarify matters, the pictures are not of the original car, but of a clone recently built by a group of Daimler-Chrysler employees. (It's recognizable by the smaller cone angle on the exhausts.)

And, while the clone has a 392, the original started with a 354 in order to make the 8.6 pounds per cube (since changed by the NHRA) class limit for C/A.

[Stitch]

Another late reply to an old thread prompted by my email notification , hope you're all keeping well .

The Honky Tonkin 57 Chevy gasser I mentioned on the previous page has , along with a Topolino bodied altered , been invited to the California Hot Rod Reunion in October , short write up here http://www.drcreview.com/news.asp?art=242

[redsdad]

Isn't the original car the reason NHRA has a maximum allowable height of the crank centerline at rest rule now?

[Chevrolet4x4s]

That 57 is awesome
Shane