I spectated the '62 Nationals. Although Mickey brought three dragsters, one of them had some unrepairable problem and didn't run. I frankly can't remember if it was also a hemi. Mickey said later that he was just as surprised by the hemi's Top Eliminator finish as was his crew. He had hoped to do well with the twin-engine dragster, which had a single 6-71 blowing into a pair of 215 c.i. aluminum V8s, one with Buick heads and the other with Pontiac/Olds heads.
The hemi dragster was run a few times after Indy, by Jack Chrisman on nitro (I think he then owned it), but it had reliability issues as a fueler.
Strange story: although since 1985 I've made good use of M/T hemi heads, in '62 I was not a fan of Mickey copying Chrysler hemi head design. I was already into building Pontiac engines and wished that Mickey would have stayed "true" to the Pontiac wedge heads that pushed him to 406 mph at Bonneville just two years prior. And at $1,000 a pair I couldn't imagine him selling more than a few pairs- which wasn't too far off, with no more than maybe 20 pairs ever sold.
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Anybody else on this planet campaign a M/T hemi Pontiac for eleven seasons?
... or has built a record breaking DOHC hemi four cylinder Pontiac?
... or has driven a couple laps of Nuerburgring with Tri-Power Pontiac power?(back in 1967)
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