1968 Hemi Under Glass
While Bob’s favorite car is the ’66, I have to say that mine is the ’68. It was the first one that I bought, and I admit that I like the looks and sound of the supercharger over the Hillborn style fuel injection. That’s just a personal preference. The other reason I like this car so much is because it’s the only one that I got to ride in as a passenger while Bob drove it down the track. Altogether, I made 4 trips with him. They were all full quarter mile passes with no troubles.
When I first bought the car, it was with the understanding that he had to take me down the track in it. He has done that with very few people over the years, and I was very excited about it. It was the first car with a passenger seat – the ’66 and ’67 cars didn’t have them, although we did decide to put one in the ’69 when we built the car (more about that mistake later!).
It was a couple months after I bought the car that I got the opportunity to experience the car myself on the track. Bob had come down to a dragstrip on the West side of Phoenix, and that’s where I got my chance. It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done!!! I had no idea how busy Bob would be driving this car for 10 seconds. He was slamming gears, slamming brakes and playing with the throttle the whole time. I admit that up until that point in time, I had hopes that I’d actually be able to drive the car at least once on the track. After that trip, I realized that I wasn’t up to the task. It takes an unbelievable amount of skill and practice to drive a 2,500 horsepower car on 2 wheels at 120 mph.
Here’s some pictures of Bob and I getting ready to make the trip!
Bob’s final run in any of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass cars was in this ’68 car in March, 2016 at Muscle Cars at the Strip in Las Vegas, NV. It was a spectacular full quarter mile run on 2 wheels and ended Bob’s 50 years of driving these amazing cars. Thanks, Bob for all the fun we had!
