Jim Green's 1967 AA/FD Dragster - "The Assassin"

The "Assassin", the brain child of Jim Crooke, first came to life in 1967, when Crooke decided to leave his position as "Crew Chief/Gopher" for the highly successful Jerry "The King" Ruth and build his own AA/Fuel Dragster. The car featured a Don Long chassis, body by Tom Hanna, paint by George Cerney Jr., artwork and lettering by Tom Kelley and upholstery by Tony Nancy. At the heart of the Assassin was a Ford 427 SOHC engine built by the renowned Ed Pink.

Completed and ready to race in December 1967, the Assassin was trailered from Seattle to Southern California's Orange County International Raceway. There, Bob Muravez a.k.a. Floyd Lippencott, Jr. drove it to a first ever six second run, 6.98 ET at 227 mph on the car's fourth pass. The Assassin went on to make Northwest Drag racing history during the NHRA Division 6 race at Mission, BC on July 19, 1968. During qualifying it made the first ever 6-second run at a Northwest track with a 6.95 ET at 223 mph and went on to win the race.

Jim Crooke sold the Assassin (minus engine) in the fall of 1968 and over the years it passed through the hands of several owners. With Crooke's help it was acquired by current owner Jim Green in October 2001 and the beautiful restoration was completed in February 2003. Restoration required a few miracles. The unique tail section seemed lost without a trace and other rare parts were missing. Slowly but surely things came together. One of the most intense moments was the marathon final assembly of the car - and it's 47 boxes of parts - in about three days, so it could make it's debut at the NHRA Museum, then go on to the renowned NHRA Winternationals called Cacklefest, on February 7, 2003.

Please be sure to spend some time checking out this beautifully restored piece of Northwest Drag Racing history. Oh, and don't go anywhere at lunch time. As a special treat, Jim will fire the car up and treat us all to the unique sounds of a Ford 427 SOHC powered 60's AA/Fuel Dragster.