FUNNY CAR HISTORY FOR THE STREET: Steve Magnante’s Rampage

June 19, 2017
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Steve Magnante with his 1963 Dodge Dart “Rampage” funny car (Lot #63).

Back in the mid-1960s, the wildest door-slammer drag race machine was the altered-wheelbase funny car. Heroes like Dick Landy, Sox & Martin, Dyno Don Nicholson, Pete Seaton and others pioneered the first Funny Cars two years before the fiberglass flip-top Mercury Comets arrived in 1966. An outgrowth of the NHRA Factory Experimental (FX) category, Chrysler got the altered-wheelbase ball rolling in 1964 to boost traction. But before long, racers of every make borrowed Chrysler’s recipe and created wild “run what ya brung” altered-wheelbase match racers for the exhibition match racing circuit.

Longtime Barrett-Jackson TV commentator and Hot Rod magazine Tech Editor (1997-2004), Steve Magnante has been a cheerleader for the altered-wheelbase era for over 20 years. His mission is to bring back the excitement of the altered-wheelbase circus through numerous magazine articles, a how-to book, instructional DVDs ‒ and by building street-driven tributes like the Rampage Dodge Dart, which he’s selling at the 2017 Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction at No Reserve.

The car has been featured in Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hot Rod DeLuxe, Car Craft, Muscle Car Review and Mopar Muscle and was also the subject of Magnante’s CarTech book “How-To Build Altered Wheelbase Funny Cars for the Street. “The Rampage looks wild, but is a street legal car,” Magnante is quick to point out. “I’ve covered over 8,000 street miles since I built it in 2008.” With its cross-rammed Max Wedge, push-button TorqueFlite and beefy M/T Raider slicks, Rampage gets attention wherever it goes.

Based on a solid California Dart, the raw external appearance is purely intentional. “It never fails,” Magnante says. “Folks run up and say ‘I used to watch this car race when I was a kid in Chicago,’ but I always tell them it’s a tribute.” With its perfect blend of barn-find looks, nostalgia drag-racing cues and expensive driveline parts (the 426 Max Wedge is actually a 512 stroker with aluminum heads), the Rampage is sure to appeal to a buyer who loves drag racing history – and attention.

For up-to-date information about this car, click HERE.