Crusading Poncho!

By Brian “Mongo” Baker

The Crusader Trans Am will be one of the nicest looking nostalgia funny cars out there.

Two years ago, I was bracket racing my 10-second ‘79 Trans-Am when I found this funny car by accident through a friend. I was immediately smitten with it and after striking a deal with the seller, I brought it home in April 2004.

The choice for power was never a question; it would have a true Pontiac engine in it or nothing at all. Given my love for all things Pontiac, and the fact that nobody (to the best of my knowledge) has built a "BB/FC" Pontiac powered funny car since Raymond Walker and his 421 powered "Sunshine" Vega in the mid-70's, I thought it would be fun to do. Initial plans for a 440" destroked Pontiac 455 using the modified factory block from my bracket car were nixed in favor of a stronger aftermarket block from AllPontiac.com. Their IA-2 block has been proven to 1500+ HP, whereas a modified factory block is questionable at anything above 800 HP. The engine will still be 440" and backed by a Powerglide and 4.30 gears.

The patch that inspired the car.

I had been considering many different names for the car, but it wasn't until after my father’s death in December 2004 that it finally hit me. After he died, I was looking at my dad’s Navy patches he kept neatly displayed in a frame, and one of them inspired me. Crusader! Dad served in the Navy from 1954-1958, finishing his service aboard the USS Saratoga wrenching on F8-Crusader fighters. Given that he was always very supportive of my bracket racing efforts and he always spoke of his days in the Navy as one of the highlights in his life, I thought it would be a fitting tribute in remembrance of him to name the car "Crusader.”

The chassis was built by Jim Simpson of Toledo, Ohio (presumably in the 1978-1982 timeframe) using blueprints from Jamie Sarte of L.A. The body tin wears a "Tom Hanna" badge on the dash. I've been in contact with Mr. Hanna and he advised me the last flopper body he tinned was in about 1975. The tin in this body does not appear to have been hacked from an earlier body and grafted in, as it fits both body and chassis perfectly, with no signs of modifications. The mystery remains though as to why anyone would go through the trouble of stamping a relief in the dash tin for placement of a "Tom Hanna Race Car Bodies" badge at the time of initial construction. If anyone can provide further info on how to get in touch with Jim Simpson (as I understand he is still living in the Toledo area), or any other clues as to who this car was originally built for, please contact me at mongo79@verizon.net.

The '79 Trans Am gets ready for paint.

I can't thank David Ferrin enough for coming up with such a killer and what I consider to be a "period correct" paint scheme based on an inspirational idea, a few phone calls, and a lot of emails. Scott Myers of Classic Funny Car Fabrications is applying the colors to the car. Plans are to debut the car in May 2006 at the "Pontiacs in the Park" event at Virginia Motorsports Park, with projected performance in the 7.50s. Many thanks to many friends that have helped in one way or another to get to this point, but most of all, many thanks to my wife Joann, for putting up with my madness these past 10 years.

Brian