Dismantling the car exposed some of the tricks of the day to make the car light, but still strong.

More holes nicely aligned. Bagshaw is a perfectionist, so even if it would not be visible, it had to be done right.

The Ron Butler fabricated panels covering the cowl were carefully removed by Bucky and Cole so they could be cleaned up and re-installed. Once removed, more weight reduction artistry was revealed.

Another angle for instruction in Pro Stock construction circa 1970.

They must have wore out few hole saw blades building it back then, so where was this one sitting all these years, sure will be a nice one once it's finished.

Lots of saw blades, no doubt. Side pic of car in process.

So how fast was this car back in it's day?

Racerx
Good question. I'm sure you know that Grumpy Jenkins had the first nine second Pro Stock run, a 9.98 at the 1970 Winternationals. Bagshaw's car was eventually in that range, and by the time the car was sold in 1974, Bagshaw reports that the car was running 9.20's at 145 mph.

Since we're talking horsepower, we were thrilled when Bagshaw agreed to do the rebuild on the Hemi motor that would go in the car. Bagshaw is longtime friends with Ron Shaver, owner of Shaver Specialties Racing Engines in Torrance, CA. Ron gladly offered Bill a space at his shop to build this motor. Bagshaw did an outstanding job putting it together with mostly period correct parts. Note Krylon "Cherry Red" engine block, as used by Bagshaw in 1970.

Very cool!

At Shaver Specialties Racing Engines, the Bagshaw-built 426 engine was installed on the dyno. After some break in runs and a couple days of tuning, the motor produced 679 horsepower at 7800 rpm.

Finished Red Light Bandit 426 Hemi engine, complete with Holley carbs found by Moparts legendary HemiFred. The carbs were then sent to Holley, and restored to new condition. Bagshaw then contacted Ron Butler and asked him to duplicate the trick carb linkage that they used back in 1970. To our delight, Butler agreed to make the linkage, and even by today's standards, it still looks state of the art.

What a great car to restore. I've heard Bill has intense notes from every car he raced. I would image this car has nearly unmatched ability to document and recreate the car to a specific time point.

Quote:

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Bagshaw is a perfectionist,

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Troy here worked for Bill for years at Pro Parts. IIRC, there were specific instructions on how to sweep the floors!

Not surprised about Bagshaw's instructions on sweeping, he definitely likes things done right. That's why his race cars were so impeccable.

Back to build pics... still checking out dismantled shell with floor work done, Bucky is showing present owner of the RLB, John Gastman, sections of floor that had to be trimmed to work around cage. The idea was to leave Ron Butler's work undisturbed.

Speaking of the work of Ron Butler, here's a quick pic of the engine compartment panels from the original car that have been cleaned and stripped.

A lot of time was spent looking at pics of the car in its original state, and making sure to return it to period correct status. Left to right, Bucky, Cole (fabricator), and present owner John Gastman.

Cowl panel set on the car, not yet installed.

Ron Butler inner fender panel, stripped, set on the car, not installed.

Butler cage front bar, cleaned up.

We left Bucky's shop, but not without a quick look at his SS/AH race car. We are big Bucky fans, and certainly wanted to see Bucky spend time getting ready to race. Bucky ended up having to sacrifice testing time on his race car in order to complete the Red Light Bandit, and it was much appreciated.