The eBay ad for this remarkable, surviving piece of yesteryear refers to this dragster as a ‘barn find’, and while the condition of the car would lead us to believe it’s probably led a slightly better life than one in solitude, collecting dust and rust holes in a dilapidated barn, the cool factor really makes that point irrelevant.

According to the seller, the front engine dragster you see here was built in 1973 by noted chassis builder Jim Davis, who built and drove front and rear engine cars through the 1960s and 70s, both in Texas and in the drag racing hotbed of Southern California. Beyond his drag racing endeavors, for which he is still a recognizable name among racers active in the 60s, Davis is also credited for building some of the early motorcycle frames for Arlen Ness.

Per the seller, this car is just one of three, and while we’re not certain if Davis only built three rear engine cars or three rear engine cars with Jack Hagerman bodies on them, he most certainly assembled far more than three cars during his years. This one was built and raced by Hawaii native German Farias, and is said to have been run competitively until 1987.

Behind the roll cage rests a 500 cubic-inch, supercharged Keith Black Hemi with a two-speed Lenco, and a 9-inch Ford rear end. The car sports the nickname “Fatso” on the windshield, a reference to German’s son, Larry, who drove the family’s earlier dragsters and was likely the pilot of this car, as well.

As you can see looking at the car, it’s as legit as an old school race car gets, with chrome littering the drivetrain, from the valve covers and the headers to the bell housing, the wing uprights, and even the rear end housing. It’s also got the top-mounted from canard wings and the side canard pods just forward of the motor, both of which were high-cotton technology in the 1970s. That, combined with the paint and hand-brushed lettering, is all stuff you just don’t see on race cars these days. As the saying goes, they don’t make ‘em like they used to, and this is a fine example.

Making this one very cool package deal, the seller has the original trailer and trailer signage that the car was hauled around in that goes with the sale, plus all of the original SFI chassis certification cards, the original trailer registration, technical notes the team had scribbled while racing the car, and even some old photos of it in its heyday.