Etchells/Woods ‘93 Daytona Nitro FC available (1 Viewer)

BaldyLochs

Nitro Member
Good to see this car still intact. Will be run through the Kissimmee, FL Mecum car auction next weekend. Originally ordered/built for Chuck Etchells racing then sold a short time later to Della Woods and De Nichols, who got limited use out of it before her and De more or less parked it. Outdated by today’s standards, but it sure still looks great. I wish Della good luck with it!
 
It’s been for sale a LONG time. They wanted quite a bit for it.
Yeah; it’s interesting. It’s a tweener car. Not a Nostalgia/heritage car… but not a current cert car either. I’m from the same town/area as DW. Just trying, in my mind, to picture where this chassis and body could live long into the future. It deserves to. Della certainly made her mark; and with Chuck’s legacy …. I hope it goes for a respectable number - but it’s challenging to think of what that number is.
 
In the auction listing highlights, they claim this is the car Chuck was driving when he was the first FC to run in the 4 second range in the quarter mile. They don't specify if they are talking about the chassis, the body, or both. I wonder if there is any way to verify that claim? To my eyes, the body appears to be different than the 4 second body.... but a lot can change over 30+ years. Who knows....

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I believe Della is consigning it. I don’t know the particulars as far as reserve or what have you. But i can find out
 
I thought the four second car had an Avenger body, not a Daytona.
 
that is the link i was looking at, which does not say who is selling, or what they are asking.
for the rite price, this is a potential good chaos car? or would there be a certification issue? the plane in background in pics has tail number N784W,
which has no current registration or owner information https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N784W
della's wiki page states she purchased the 'first in the 4's' car from chuck in 1996.
 
I just saw an old add from 2020 and they were asking $150,000 RTR with some extras.

That price seems way too high. Old dragsters and funny cars just don't seem to excite the "collector car" crowd like so many other race cars do. I don't know why, but it seems like they only tend to sell in the $70,000.00 to $80,000.00 range. I recall when the Snake had his Mongoose and Snake Funny cars with original ramp truck haulers for sale, he had a fairly high reserve. But those cars were about the most recognizable and iconic Funny Cars there are. As I recall, Snake did end up getting close to his price for the cars, but only because he ended up negotiating a price with Rick Hendrick for his private collection.
 
that is the link i was looking at, which does not say who is selling, or what they are asking.
for the rite price, this is a potential good chaos car? or would there be a certification issue? the plane in background in pics has tail number N784W,
which has no current registration or owner information https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N784W
della's wiki page states she purchased the 'first in the 4's' car from chuck in 1996.
it's an auction so the price is whatever someone will pay as long as it meets reserve .
 
Yah, will be interesting to watch. Not sure if they’re actually going to the auction… but when you’re there on-site as the seller, I speak from experience- it can get intense when your lot is up there on the block under the lights. It’s really easy to pull the reserve and let it go based on emotion in the heat of the moment. My Dad ran a high-end street rod through Barrett-Jackson; and as soon as the car got up there and people started cheering and the numbers climbed …. all he had to do was nod to the auctioneer - and the reserve was gone. SOLD. Beforehand, I know for a fact that Dad had no intention of letting it go for that particular number.
The attention, lights, cameras, accolades and excitement got the best of him. Mom and I were watching from the seats like - what the f- …..??? As soon as they announce the reserve is off …. it’s showtime.
It’s a pretty exciting environment to be in.
 
That price seems way too high. Old dragsters and funny cars just don't seem to excite the "collector car" crowd like so many other race cars do. I don't know why, but it seems like they only tend to sell in the $70,000.00 to $80,000.00 range. I recall when the Snake had his Mongoose and Snake Funny cars with original ramp truck haulers for sale, he had a fairly high reserve. But those cars were about the most recognizable and iconic Funny Cars there are. As I recall, Snake did end up getting close to his price for the cars, but only because he ended up negotiating a price with Rick Hendrick for his private collection.
Just remember what the cars went for at the Tom Hanna auction. Even Tom's own car and the Crietz cars were well under $100k and they were both running cars.
 
That price seems way too high. Old dragsters and funny cars just don't seem to excite the "collector car" crowd like so many other race cars do. I don't know why, but it seems like they only tend to sell in the $70,000.00 to $80,000.00 range. I recall when the Snake had his Mongoose and Snake Funny cars with original ramp truck haulers for sale, he had a fairly high reserve. But those cars were about the most recognizable and iconic Funny Cars there are. As I recall, Snake did end up getting close to his price for the cars, but only because he ended up negotiating a price with Rick Hendrick for his private collection.
Snake's auction for the set of cars and ramp trucks stalled at a million dollars. No telling what his reserve was set at, and no telling what Hendricks paid him. I remember watching it, he drove that yellow Cuda up onto the stage, pretty wild!
 
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I was really excited back when Della bought that car; I had very high hopes of them getting back into racing again; and of course so did they. That should have been a turn-key car for the right situation. Things change though. They’re a great family and iconic in Michigan motorsports, for sure.
 
Just remember what the cars went for at the Tom Hanna auction. Even Tom's own car and the Crietz cars were well under $100k and they were both running cars.

Yes, this is partly what I was thinking about when I made my post. Now, as I recall, the Tom Hanna auction was more under-the-radar than these high-profile auctions that are more common, but that wouldn't have made much difference as outside of our small group of hard-core drag racing fans, no one knows who Tom Hanna was.
 
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