The original 1960s PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL has been found and restored by a team led by Scott Snizek, son of the driver – George Snizek – of the NHRA national-record-holding, Hemi-powered AA/Altered.
My relationship with Pacers Auto, Charlie Dodge, George Snizek, and TAZ – the PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL AA/A – dates back to 1963 and 1964 when I was covering the NHRA Indy Nationals for CUSTOM RODDER and CARS magazines. That’s when and where I first met Charlie & George. Late in 1964, we moved from Forest Hills in NYC to East Rockaway in Nassau County, LI, between Hewlett Harbor and Oceanside. In Oceanside, Pacers Auto was a full-service speed shop with a great reputation for engine building, metal fab, racecar prep, and working with superchargers and fuel injection. In 1965, I photographed TAZ at Island Dragway, Great Meadows, NJ, and someone photographed me taking the shot that ended up gracing the cover of the October issue of CARS!
In July 1966, George Snizek piloted the Tasmanian Devil to record times in AA/FA – 164 mph in 9.32 seconds – during Anniversary Day celebrations at Island Dragway. Over the next couple of years, I worked with Charlie & George on magazine project cars, tuning road test vehicles, and created the CARS Magazine Racing Team. The first cars to display our team livery were the TASMANIAN DEVIL Altered and AA/Fuel Dragster, powered by blown and injected Chrysler Hemis, built and campaigned by Pacers Auto. Both cars – tuned by Charlie Dodge and driven by George Snizek – set NHRA National Records in AA/A, CC/FD & AA/FD!
Decades later I reconnected with George and his son, Scott, on Facebook. Charlie had passed away, and the Snizeks were the last connections to my original relationship with Pacers Auto, and many of the great competition cars they built over the years, including unique racing trucks, popular with New York fire departments participating in motorized drill team competitions.
I continue to maintain a relationship with the Snizeks as well as contact with artists Howie Nisgor and Gary Kupfer, who have been involved with the team restoring TAZ. Interestingly, I first met Howie in 1960 when he was a 17-year-old high schooler pinstriping hot rods and customs at a show at Rupp Chevrolet, Lynbrook, NY. I was covering the show for CUSTOM RODDER magazine. Gary and I first met in the mid-1960s when he was doing paint and custom work for Motion Performance. He went on to be involved with most of the important 1960s-1970s Motion and Baldwin-Motion road and track cars.
Scott Snizek writes about the Tasmanian Devil Tribute, Pacers Auto, his dad, and locating, restoring, and show-prepping the original TAZ. And, all the people involved in bringing this iconic racecar back to life. Martyn L. Schorr
In October 1967, Charlie Dodge and George Snizek retired TAZ, the legendary PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL racecar, selling it to Bob Petrucelli, a talented architect and longtime fan. He purchased it hoping to continue its winning heritage by racing it like my Dad and Charlie did for years. They sold Bob the car for $5,000 under the condition that the Pacers’ name would be kept on the car, otherwise the price would have been $6,000!
Having competed since 1962, TAZ was taken apart to restore it to its former glory, a commitment that lasted some four years. It was repainted and re-lettered in 1969, and rules required a roll cage and fire suppression system, added in 1971. Everything else remained original, including the Pacers name. It was shown at numerous shows over the years with several wins but the motor was never fired up! After a divorce and health issues, Bob stored the Altered roadster along with its original enclosed trailer.
In July 2018, Bob’s daughter, Laura, contacted me through the Pacers Auto website, letting me know that she had the original PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL. They had talked about donating the car to the NHRA Museum in CA and wanted to know if I was interested in purchasing it. I was incredibly excited to learn that I could bring it back to our family. It is a common custom in drag racing to see if original owners were interested in getting their car back before offering it for sale or donating it to a museum.
A legendary, record-holding racecar, she offered it to me for $100,000, the typical cost today of a modern high-performance car. While we were thousands of miles apart in price, I spoke to my friend Artie Schilling to bounce ideas off and keep my drafted offer quiet. I had to politely educate Laura that the price she put on the car was based on the accolades of my dad and Charlie Dodge, and that her dad didn’t continue to add any history to the car. He also repainted it and added a roll cage, taking away from its originality.
Technically, that negates it from being called “original.” Yes, it once was iconic, but with the changes, it became a new version, and the Pacers’ provenance was severed. Pacers is a registered trademark, and I had to protect the IP and history of the company which I had just accomplished with a recreation (Tribute) when that project had gone south. We also had been racing the Pacers Tribute which had just been repaired following a crash at Lebanon Valley, so I knew the current prices of parts and labor for literally the same car. I drafted an offer that I first ran by Artie Schilling to see if it conveyed all the nuances and showed what the true value is. Much like the seller education portion of an episode of Pawn Stars, I sent the offer out and heard nothing back for years!
Fast forward to August 2021. Laura contacted me again to see if I was still interested in buying the original PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL. We spoke and I set a date to meet her at the storage unit in Highland, NY. I didn’t ask for a price this time or mention anything about it. I hadn’t seen the car up close in about ten years, but knew it had to show considerable signs of aging. Laura confirmed that when we spoke. I met her in September while my Dad was at the Deadman’s Curve Hot Rod & Custom Show in Mahwah, NJ. The car was being kept inside a storage facility on its trailer, along with spare parts and boxes that Laura had moved from her father’s house. TAZ had been neglected and subject to the harsh upstate New York winters and temperature swings. Despite being inside, all the metal was corroded or rusted. The aluminum and magnesium parts that had been chromed had pieces of plating flaking off. The paint was cracked everywhere and looked like a dry lakebed!
While its patina was cool, it had Petrucelli’s name on it, and the gold leaf and lettering looked awful. I felt that there was way too much to do and I couldn’t justify the expense. EVERYTHING had to be redone. And, I didn’t know how the engine internals looked so I would be taking a chance. As Laura and I were talking and looking at the car, I filled in the blanks of the stories that her dad told her. She understood and could see that I knew the entire history of the car and the people involved with building, racing, and supporting TAZ.
She told me that as part of her divorce agreement, the small apartment that she was in with her new husband, two kids, and dad, had to be sold and everyone had to go. So did the storage unit. While I was figuring out the numbers in my head, I made her an offer and she accepted. I also offered to pay the storage unit fees for September, October, and November since I probably couldn’t get back up until Thanksgiving. We put the unit in my name for those months and I was given a key and the code. I completed the deal on September 11th, 2021 to tie in the date with our friend Jerry Joaquin’s original reason for wanting to build the Tasmanian Devil recreation (Tribute): To honor first responders lost in the WTC attacks, and to memorialize a racecar of his childhood racing heroes – Charlie Dodge & George Snizek.
It was a dream come true! Still keeping it a secret from my Dad, I called Artie Shilling and shared the good news. He suggested contacting Joe Quitoni at Joe Que’s Autobody, Poughkeepsie, NY, just three miles away. Joe agreed to pick up the trailer and car in October. The only thing that I took home with me that day was the surfer-style intake scoop that was on the car when it ran fuel in 1966-1967.
I went over to a family friend, Pacers fan, and Joe’s uncle, Dennis Quitoni’s house to tell him the news. He saw the scoop and said, “Oh that’s cool, where did you find that?” I said it came with the motor that I bought. He said, “What kind of motor?” I said a 1958 supercharged Hemi. I said it came with the whole car. He said, “What kind of car was it in?” I said an Altered from the 1960s and then just shut up. He threw one guess out and said, “You bought your father’s car?” I said yup! He said, “Does he know?” Nope! And, that was the start of planning how we were going to get the project done secretly to surprise my dad. We started with Joe Que’s Autobody. Dad always said the car had something magical about it, and the magic had kicked in. Joe flat-bedded the original PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL to his shop in October 2021 – exactly 54 years after it had been sold to Bob Petrucelli!
Once the car was at Joe Que’s, I went back up with Dennis for a reunion and to take the Hemi to Dennis’ shop, Performance Services, West Hempstead, NY, for disassembly and rebuilding. Joe recommended that artist Howie Nisgor do all the gold leaf and lettering at his shop. Howie was an old-school artist who ironically attended Valley Stream Central like my father, only much later. Artie Shilling offered his services and I also wanted Gary Kupfer, better known as “The Local Brush,” to be involved. He was my direct connection to Wendel John Paolo who originally lettered the Pacers’ racecars with the CARS Magazine logos. Wendel, who unfortunately had passed away many years ago, had been taught by Gary.
The livery restoration team wound up being Howie Nisgor and Gary Kupfer, while Artie Shilling and Joe Quitoni would do the bodywork. Next, Dennis Quitoni and I focused on the motor. It took a bunch of phone calls to trusted friends to make sure that I wasn’t hurting the value of the car by restoring it to its original condition and changing the cowl to Snizek and Dodge. It was where the CARS Magazine lettering was, and I wanted to keep that connection as well. I decided to put it on the belly pan below the Pacers Auto gold-leaf logo. I figured that any side shot of the car would always show the importance of the relationship that Marty Schorr and CARS had with my Dad, Charlie, and Pacers Auto.
I also wanted Performance Services on the car. Dennis had been part of the Tribute, above, as my crew chief, mentor, project coordinator, and a key part of the restoration as he was the replacement for “Uncle Charlie” Dodge’s engine expertise. Dennis was the person who kept the project going while I was in the hospital and rehab for four months, the result of an auto accident. To Dad and I, he will always be one of the Pacers. The project was kept super quiet by giving all of Dad’s friends, including Marty Schorr, a heads-up so that word wouldn’t leak out and I’d be able to surprise him. Thankfully, everybody respectfully honored our secret!
When we started the restoration, I would go to work each day and then go over to Dennis’s shop to put in another two to three hours a night working on the motor. On December 6th, I was in a work-related accident when our van was cut off, hit a tree, and flipped. I broke my right ankle and my left foot and was not able to put weight on my feet for four months. I ran the project with Dennis from my laptop while in Elmhurst Hospital!
I sourced a replacement surplus 6-71 blower from an equipment yard in Massachusetts and had it shipped to Dennis, who disassembled it and had it boiled clean. Next, I had NBP Polishing, Staten Island, NY make it look like fine jewelry. Then, Hank Wilko rebuilt it using original Delta parts. I sent out all the aluminum pieces to be stripped at New England Chrome Plating, and then polished by Justin at Central Connecticut Coatings. Located in East Hartford, CT, both companies had previously done the chrome work on our TAZ Tribute.
During the months that I was in the hospital, I could sense that Dad was depressed. My Mom had been in the hospital with Covid and was sent to a Coney Island hospital where she spent five months. She got out in the spring but now I was in the hospital. I called Dennis and asked if we could surprise Dad without the car being done. It’s only a surprise once. It would be great to have him involved in the restoration and get his mind off things. Dennis thought it was a great idea. Once I got out of the hospital in March and was walking with canes, Dennis called Dad and said, “Can you take a ride with me to get a car?” I joined them and the three of us made the trip. On the way up Dad asked what kind of car we were picking up. All Dennis said was “an Altered” and never elaborated.
When we got to the shop, Dad and I walked around and spotted a bare rolling chassis. His first comment was, “Look, it has the same friction shocks that I had on my racecar.” Dennis asked him if anything else looked familiar. “It also has the same 12-spoke American Racing front wheels.” After Dennis said, “Everything should look familiar, it’s YOUR car, it all started to come together.” The surprise party had started!
That’s when Dad discovered that I had found and bought back the original TASMANIAN DEVIL before being involved in an accident and that the team had been restoring it. In a corner were a fresh white fiberglass body, grille surround, and scoop. And next to it was the sign that Bob had used when he showed it. My dad was speechless. Joe Que’s wife and I recorded the whole thing. We took the chassis back with us, left the body to be lettered, brought the chassis to Performance Services, and reinstalled the motor.
That was when it started taking shape. TAZ was back and looking as good as new. We took it home and I brought the belly pan to Gary Kupfer for lettering and I sent the scoop to Artie Shilling in South Carolina. The magneto was rebuilt by Spud Miller, Fuel Injection Ent., Philomath, OR, and Bill Klein flow tested the fuel system at C&C Auto Performance, Manassas, VA. The headers were Cerakoted by Bonehead Performance, Feasterville-Trevose, PA, and the guys from A&B Upholstery, Baldwin, NY came to Dennis’ shop to make a template for the tonneau cover. I had “Kevin the Polisher” glass bead the white fuzz from the magnesium rims and “Lenny the Painter” Cerakote a few pieces. I located an original Eelco fuel tank and after using every grit of sandpaper to smooth out the corrosion on the tank, Kevin made it shine like new!
We debuted TAZ in January 2024 at Drag Fest, Lebanon, PA, the indoor racecar show produced by Andy Goodman, Motorama Productions. Our good friend and Top Fuel driver “Nitro Joe” Morrison did the introduction during the reveal, and it truly was a big hit. We fired up TAZ at the Syracuse Nationals to lead off Al Liebman’s raucous Nitro Row Thunderfest. It was the first time that the Hemi had been run since 1967. It sounded as mean as ever and threw flames five feet out of the zoomies, unfortunately burning the front corners of the tonneau cover and body. It was spectacular to see and hear TAZ when it roared to life. With the help of friends Jim Gloyd and Troy Liebl, we took some fuel and air out and it ran and sounded exactly the way it did before being silenced for 57 years. Next, when Dad & I took the TASMANIAN DEVIL and (Tribute) trailer to the Tobay Beach Car Show in the Town of Oyster Bay for its Long Island, NY homecoming!
There’s always more to do with a racecar. Down the road, my father and I are looking forward to showing fans and friends the original and Tribute TAZ, side by side. Only the Tribute will continue to be raced, while the original will be for shows and cacklefests. As Ed Eaton Sr., New York National Speedway owner who invented drag racing’s Christmas Tree, said to me before passing away. “This car, (pointing to the Tribute I race) doesn’t have to ever go fast, because the original was the fastest in multiple classes back in the day.”
The original PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL continues to take people down memory lane, recalling a time – 1963-1966 – when its ground-shaking runs won trophies and set NHRA National Records. And, turned local Long Island hot rodders and drag racers Charlie Dodge and George Snizek, right, into national heroes!
For more about the heritage of the PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL, please visit https://pacersauto.com/
The reveal of the restored original PACERS’ TASMANIAN DEVIL video, @ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1111483850211446