Equally miraculous was a 1986 tip that Lytle, then living in Hawaii, received from someone in Sacramento, Calif., where Big Al’s body had been stored in a rented garage for years. Had someone who saw the shell sitting outdoors waited even 24 more hours before alerting Lytle, the body would’ve been hauled off by the storage building’s new owner, likely to the nearest landfill.
Rushing back to the mainland to rescue his baby, Jim decided that this historic hunk of fiberglass belonged not in another dark storage locker, but in a museum. It didn’t take a curator named Garlits too long to accept Lytle’s offer to haul the body — by now resting upon 1927 Dodge frame rails, which both matched the wheelbase and came free of charge — across country, then personally restore it in Big’s back shop. In this configuration, sans P-51 powerplant, the original Big Al II has been on display in the Museum Of Drag Racing since December 1988.
Comparison with a stock '34 Tudor illustrates the work that went into
both the original and reproduction bodies. Lytle built this from a
17-piece kit by Redneck Fiberglass, duplicating the original Big Al II's drastic top chop. Tom Mitchell of PPG donated the finish work and paint.
(Photo courtesy Jim Lytle)
Ironically, the complete clone that Lytle assembled in 2005 is much more representative of his original car. Starting with a reproduction Speedway Motors ’34 frame and front suspension, Jim virtually duplicated Big Al’s Ford chassis, then dropped in a fresh Allison that he scored for a fraction of its value. “It had been built for a boat racer who bailed after putting down a $38,000 deposit,” he explained. “Allisons are going for $50,000 to more than a hundred grand for an aircraft-certified engine, and this one was all rebuilt. All I paid was the balance owed. Even so, I had to cash out some credit cards to come up with the $18,000.”
The clone car’s body began as 17 plastic pieces from Redneck, which Lytle cut and blended into an exact match of his homemade original. “I used 150 pounds of aircraft glass cloth to give it some strength and many, many gallons of resin to glue it all together,” he said.” Tom Mitchell of PPG took it from there, finishing the body and applying the paint at his Indianapolis shop, free of charge. The goal was to debut a brand-new Big Al III at Goodguys’ Indy Hot Rod Nationals.
“Without help from the people of Sheridan, Indiana — complete strangers, from a town of 2500 residents — I wouldn’t have made it,” conceded Lytle. “As hot rodders heard about my project, and my deadline, they came out of the woodwork with help and parts. I lived in Tim Timmons’s shop and built the whole car in 36 days, from May 6th to June 10th — the day that Scott Childers hauled the car to Indy in a nice, enclosed rig donated by his dad, Jim Childers.” Later last year, the car also appeared at NHRA’s Hot Rod Reunion and California Hot Rod Reunion.
 Jim Lytle's fleet of Allison-powered creations is described and illustrated in this heavyweight, enameled, 18x24-inch poster available from www.HotRodNostalgia.com for $19.95, plus delivery. |
“In 1963, the original car cost me $3000 to build,” he recalled. “In 2005, I spent 48 grand — just on parts!” Much of that investment was recouped when he subsequently sold the clone to eclectic collector Rodney Rucker, who’s building a museum in Winslow, Ariz., that will house the car. Lytle, 70, is hopeful that the new owner will retain him to get the Allison running for Cacklefest appearances.
“I’m glad I built a second car, for a couple of reasons,” he said. “No 43-year-old fiberglass body would be able to withstand travel, especially in the sorry state that our roads are in today. Also, accidents happen, and fires. It would be terrible to risk losing the original. It’s still safe in Florida, for hardcore fans to enjoy, and sparking interest in the original. Meanwhile, the new car is out on the road, educating another generation about Big Al. I could not be happier about the way it all turned out.”
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