{"id":42297,"date":"2017-07-28T06:53:35","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T13:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=42297"},"modified":"2018-08-16T12:34:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T19:34:11","slug":"the-green-monster-cackles-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/the-green-monster-cackles-again\/","title":{"rendered":"The Green Monster Cackles Again"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
Words and photos by Paul Garson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind the helmet\u2019s dark tinted bubble face mask, Jon Rowley takes hold of his monstrous dream come true. The Amado, Ariz. resident has traveled with his milestone car to Los Angeles to take part in a milestone event – the recent 2017 preview opening of the Lions Drag Strip Museum in Compton, Clif. And he needed the mask when the nitro methane race fumes started wafting about as the \u201cfuelie\u201d cars lit up their engines during the mandatory \u201ccacklefest.\u201d You could feel the cackling symphony of mega-horsepower vibrating through your bones\u2026 Much to the audience\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first saw the Green Monster when I was a young kid in Akron, Ohio, and decided I had to make it mine,” said Jon. “It only took about half a century.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
Just add a couple wings and getting airborne is no problem.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While this AA dragster dominated – make that terrorized – the country\u2019s dragstrips and blasted speed records during the mid- to late-1950s, turning back the pages of history, we learn that \u201cGreen Monster\u201d had siblings, as it were. There were several such vehicles, some powered by conventional automobile engines, but the real monsters took low level flight via jet aircraft engines. The minds, and wrenches, behind the \u201cmonsters\u201d were brothers Art and Walt Afrons, serious gearheads focused on going fast, real fast. Moreover, nicknamed the \u201cJunkyard Geniuses,\u201d they built their unique machines on a small budget, outclassing the big spenders thanks to the innovative thinking practiced in their shop located on Pickle Road in Akron.<\/p>\n

\"The
Jon Rowley is all hands on when it comes to his pride and joy\u2026 and a lifetime quest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crediting with building the first jet dragster and cars that would form the foundation of top fuel dragsters, the brothers built their first \u201cGreen Monster\u201d circa 1952. It was technically a trike, since it rolled on a three-wheeled chassis stuffed with a 6-cylinder Oldsmobile motor. This is where the lineage of \u201cgreen\u201d entered the picture, since the Afrons, working on a budget, painted the vehicle with some left over John Deere tractor green paint. The name \u201cGreen Monster\u201d was attributed to race announcer Ed \u201cPaskey\u201d Piasczik, who coined the term at its first appearance. That opening salvo was less than dramatic, the car only managing to clock 85 mph, some 20 miles slower than the fastest car against which it ran.<\/p>\n

\"The
Look closely and you can just read \u201cAllison\u201d embossed on the cylinder covers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Performance improved drastically the next year when the Afrons launched Green Monster II, a real fire-breather that measured 20 feet long on not three wheels, but six. It was propelled by an Allison V-12 aircraft engine, the same U.S. made engine developed for WWII aircraft, including the famous Lockheed P-38 Lightning that ran a pair of the V-12s enhanced further by turbocharging. Continuing development eventually increased the engine\u2019s output from 1000 to over 2,300 HP. The Allison also made history via the iconic P-51 Mustang fighter.<\/p>\n

With a single Allison in place, Green Monster II took only nine seconds to clock 140 mph, topping out at 270 mph on street tires. The \u201ctiger\u2019s jaw\u201d graphics, actually painted on the car by Afrons\u2019 mother, were inspired by the famous WWII Curtis P-40 Flying Tiger fighters flown by American volunteers in the early days of the Second World War in China.<\/p>\n

\"The
Even more bite than its bark! That toothy grin has been a trademark for more than 50 years. Green Monster pit crew naturally wear the right color. Note the quad of rear rubber.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brothers made over 25 variations; one Monster hit 564 mph, and thrice held the land speed record during 1964 and 1965, eventually succumbing to Craig Breedlove’s 600.601 MPH Spirit of America – Sonic I.<\/p>\n

Seen here is Green Monster #5, built by the Afrons in 1955, now owned, restored and driven by Jon. When first built, it ran a 770 cubic inch Ranger aircraft engine mounted upside down and backwards, but it was not monster motor enough, thus the eventual upscaling to the V-12 1720 cu. in. Allison.<\/p>\n

\"The
Signage from the 2011 Indianapolis U.S. Nationals \u201cCacklefest.\u201d During the occasion of the NHRA’s 60 Anniversary, 22 quality so-called cacklecars were invited to strut their stuff, including Jon and his #5 Green Monster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Green Monster #5, as seen here, was campaigned from 1955-1958 in every NHRA National event, eventually clocking 157.89 at the 1957 First International Drag Meet in Chester, SC. In that same year, #5 changed hands when Lee Pendleton of Ashtabula, Ohio wrangled the Green Monster into his own stable of dragsters. Lee made his own \u201cupgrades,\u201d including narrowing the rear axle, adding dual slicks and cooling the brakes with air scoops. Then a fender bender required a new nose, and repairs were made before #5 again changed hands, going to fabricator par excellence Charlie Hall of Tucson, who added the distinctive integrated mirrors, further enhancing the car\u2019s personality. After another mishap in the early \u201860s, the car went into hibernation.<\/p>\n

\"The
Pushcar truck gives Green Monster a bit of a tugboat push up to the line before lighting up the engine for all to hear\u2026 and fear!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And here Jon Rowley enters the picture, his long quest realized. In 2008 he bought the car from his longtime friend Charlie and began the meticulous restoration, hunting down parts from the West Coast. His goal: Having it ready to re-launch for the 2009 NHRA Hot Rod Reunion. The work took placed at Chrisman\u2019s CARS in Santa Ana, Calif. It was no small challenge getting the AllisonV-12 roaring again after 50 years, but no problem thanks to Yancey\u2019s Allison, the facility located in Rialto, Calif. As for the famous \u201cGreen Monster\u201d graphics, the repaint was handed over to Dan Rusk in Tucson. Now \u201cas new\u201d and after years of flying beneath the radar, it\u2019s back on track.<\/p>\n

Currently Jon Rowley and Green Monster #5 tour the country, much to the enjoyment of all who have the pleasure of meeting both Jon and his scary cool friend.<\/p>\n

\"The
Jon Rowley and author Paul \u201cAsk Me\u201d Garson do the selfie-thing at the Lions Dragstrip Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI first saw the Green Monster when I was a young kid in Akron, Ohio, and decided I had to make it mine,” said Jon. “It only took about half a century.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":42299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,3470,5029,3399],"tags":[5464,5209,5462,5463,41,7,5339,1728],"class_list":["post-42297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-news","category-racing","category-nhra","tag-afron-brothers","tag-green-monster","tag-green-monster-5","tag-jon-rowley","tag-news","tag-nhra","tag-paul-garson","tag-racing-history"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/lead-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-b0d","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42307,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42297\/revisions\/42307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}