Fuel Altered’s are just plain wicked. If you’ve ever had the fortune of watching one of the original, short wheelbase, edge-of-your-seat monsters attempt to traverse the quarter mile without hitting anything, this is one fact you can attest to. And just like the early Funny Cars and slingshot dragsters of the day, coming to a conclusion as to which of these ghastly beasts is the alpha altered is an argument that could be debated to the end of time. But smack in the middle of the conversation simply has to be Rich Guasco’s “Pure Hell.”
T
he “Pure Hell” AA/FAA, under the guidance of Guasco, has gone through three iterations over the decades, with the most recent being retired in 1998. The original was built in the early 1960’s and campaigned around the drag racing hotbed of southern California at famous venues such as Fontana, Irwindale, Lions, and Fremont and initially driven by Don Petrich who turned over the controls to Dale “The Snail” Emery a couple of years later. Following a crash into a drainage ditch at
Fremont, Pure Hell went though its second incarnation, which saw the installation of a coil-over shock setup for improved weight transfer on the nitro-burning, small block-powered altered. Despite the crash, the car used the same chassis from 1964 through 1969 and featured a raised and angled engine placement that, upon launch, would shift the weight onto the rear tires for traction.
It also made the front end light, thus being on the edge of control and adding to the lore of fuel altereds. By 1968, Pure Hell was sporting a nitro-gulping Hemi between its ultra short wheelbase, along with a slip-style clutch that was just coming of its own during the time period. As well, technology in tires and suspension theory was evolving and by the close of the 1960’s, Pure Hell had a more low slung design than that seen in years prior, with the center of gravity dropped lower in the chassis.
Something interesting of note on Pure Hell was the paint scheme. The car was always painted by Tony DelRio, who would use whatever colors he had left after a week at his body shop. He would spay the flames in enamel and accidentally overspray them with clear lacquer, leading to a crackled look in the paint.
The latest version of Pure Hell, which featured a modern chassis with all of the safety features reuiqred by NHRA was driven at nostalgia events across the country by Larry Huff and tuned by Guasco, before its retirement in 1998. Another modernized (and stretched) Pure Hell exists today, competing in match races and reunion events, along with a restored version of the original that has highligthed many “Cacklefests” in recent years. And Guasco and Emery, who made the Pure Hell famous, have been there every step of the way.
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