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Jerry Bickel

Nitro Cane

Nitro Member
According to Compplus.com he seems to be cranking door slammers out faster than Detroit. Good for him. Nice looking cars too.
 
You guys treed me on this, I was going to start the same thread, but it's worth taking the time to go back several pages on Compplus, there are several more absolutely gorgeous Bickel cars that have rolled out in recent months. I've always been an altered/FC/dragster guy, but the Bickel pieces make me want a door car!!
 
My buddy works at Bickel's and builds Rickie's cars. He knows exactly what he wants down to the last ounce of weight ! Hell of a racer.
 
Bickel not only builds a first class car, he runs a first class business. He has emerged as the go to Pro Mod/Top Sportsman builder and at a perfect time. Power added door slammers are one of the few growing segments in drag racing. Also, as the no prep "outlaws" gain popularity and are moving to light weight Pro Mod style cars JBRC will be even busier in the future.
 
.... Also, as the no prep "outlaws" gain popularity and are moving to light weight Pro Mod style cars JBRC will be even busier in the future.

Especially at the rate the no-prep outlaws crash them! :eek:

One of our cars was built in Jerry Bickel’s shop, although not by Bickel himself. We tracked down the original owners who were from southern IL – just across the river from Bickel’s MO shop. The year was 1984, and the story is they wanted a competitive S/G car, and the inexpensive way to get one was to build a kit car. They did have fabrication skills, but elected to start with an Alston kit shipped to Bickel’s. Welding and fabrication was done by Bill Kuhlmann - of "first over 200 mph in a door car" fame - when he was an employee of Bickel’s. Bickel oversaw the construction and made some changes to the kit as he saw fit. Once it was a roller the owners completed the tinwork, wiring, plumbing, etc. It's a quality car, but compared to the stuff being built there now it looks archaic!

Why did I tell you this story? I don’t know! :D I guess it’s just the closest I’ll come to owning one of Jerry’s pieces of rolling artwork!
 
We are up here in Brainerd racing this week, talking to some of my buddies they said its almost impossible to get a Bickel car right now. Evidently, an order accumulating to 21 cars was put in by our racing peers in the middle east and their season starts pretty soon. When you are hot, you are hot. Bickel has a great business and deserved following, but its also hard to not greatly respect the one off craftsmanship of Tommy Mauney.
 
I watch the PDRA race in Memphis 70% of cars in Pro/Mod and P/N were Bickel cars. I tell you these P/N cars are fast and fun to watch 3. 50. / 220mph in 1/8 mile.
 

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