Around the same time that AA/FD racers were experimenting with ways to move the nitro-burning and volatile engine behind the drivers compartment for the sake of safety, so too were the Funny Car racers of the era. Hall of Famer Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen put the ball in motion in 1965 with his Plymouth Dealers Barracuda, and throughout much of the next decade, several other racers put their own engineering twist on the rear engine flopper concept, gaining varied levels of success.

Image: Steve Reyes

One of the most immaculately prepared rear engine floppers of the time belonged to Californian Dave Bowman. Prior to going Funny Car racing, Bowman had piloted Top Fuel cars and fuel altereds, providing the driving skills that would come in handy for something as unruly as a rear engine car.

Bowman’s first “California Stud” Mustang was a former Gas Ronda owned machine and was raced just a handful of times in 1971. For the ’72 season, he built a brand new “Stud”; this time a Chevy Vega Panel Wagon. The car is described as having several negative design attributes out of the box, including a space frame chassis, the panel body, and a cast iron Hemi powerplant, in addition to the already inherent challenges of a rear engine configuration.

Photo from Drag Race Memories, info from Draglist files

Despite those points, however, Bowman’s “California Stud” was the only rear engine Funny Car besides Jim Dunn to ever make the final round at a major racing event. Bowman runnered-up at the PDA (Professional Drag Racers Association) race at Orange County. Before Bowman took the car off the asphalt and converted it into a sand racing machine, it recorded a best of 7.20-seconds at 190 miles per hour. And with the chrome polished wheels and all-blue shaded paint scheme, it sure looked good doing it, too.