SOLD
We see all kinds of interesting finds here on Barn Finds every day, but this has to be one of the cooler builds we’ve seen in a while. Belly Tank style racers have long been popular with the dry lake racing crowd. Reader Sundeep K has done a ton of work to this P38 style racer, including a built Model A 4-cylinder engine and a 1939 Ford transmission. It looks awesome and has to be one heck of a thrill ride to drive around in! Be sure to take a closer look at his ad via the link below.
Location: San Dimas, California
Title Status: Clean
Seller’s Description: Belly Tank, considered a small p-38 tank or p-51 tank seen at The Race of Gentlemen and was received very well. One of a kind build. It was to resemble the first belly tank ever built by Bill Burke but with a hopped up banger rather than a flathead V8.
Body Condition: Body is very clean build with a ton of small details. Painted in red oxide primer and lettered in washable paint for the next owner to remove and put their name on it next.
Mechanical Condition: The engine is a full race built Model A engine with all new internals including a Scat crank and Ross pistons with a 1939 transmission behind it. Has rear mechanical brakes. Built very period.
Auction Listing: Here on eBay
I’ve always thought it would be fun to build something like this, but buying Sundeep’s completed car would be a lot easier and quicker than building one from scratch! Our thanks to him for listing it with us. If you have a unique project sitting in your barn that needs a good home, please consider advertising it here on Barn Finds</a
Nothin’ but nine kinds of nice. Nice to see someone building this with such attention to detail. Nice that it’s being raced and shared with the public. Nice that it’s being offered to someone who will undoubtedly appreciate the concept and effort. Nice execution. Nice look. Nice tires.
And 3 more I forgot already.
Seen one on an episode of American Pickers, but never in person.
These belly tankers used to show up in the pages of Hot Rod magazine after every dry lakes meet in California in the ’50s.
They were made from belly tanks that carried extra fuel for planes in WW2 and probably also the Korean war. They were no doubt very cheap as war surplus when the wars ended. They were made to be very streamlined for low drag on the planes they were attached to—-the perfect solution to go racing at high speed with (relatively) little power and cash.
This is a nice tribute, and will draw a crowd at a car show or cruise, but nothing more. If you Google Bill Burke belly tank, the differences between those real race cars and this one are striking. The originals did everything they could to keep the engine enclosed within the body, not this car. This car would also never make it out of tech at a current day competitive race.
Steve R
Hey Steve you’re absolutely right it won’t pass any scta type event but we were allowed to run it at The Race of Gentlemen, Colorado Hot Rod dirt drags, and the RPM nationals. I promise you even without all the aerodynamic hood it has enough “GO” to scare anyone.
Sundeep K
I had the great pleasure of seeing this belly tanker being prepped for the beach on both Saturday and Sunday this most recent TROG weekend. The Mrs. and I were staying across the street. Phenomenal.
Very Cool.😎
Unsafe at any speed. But very cool, and tiny. On the eBay ad, there are a lot of pictures that show the size in perspective.
You know it’s cool when Gene Winfield stops to take a look