Driver Riley Takayama (center) is flanked by the Matsuda brothers on either side. Do these guys look like they are having fun or what?

George Matsuda started out drag racing in the 50th state ago with a ’33 Chevy altered powered by a “nail head” Buick engine. Since then he has raced a variety of front and rear engined dragsters, but he eventually returned to his first love and had another Matsuda family member Bobby build him his current racecar.

The car is your basic Fiat Altered except that instead of a 80-90 inch wheelbase it is has a relatively long 130-inch wheelbase so it is a lot better handling than one of it short wheelbase cousins. It is powered by a supercharged mouse-motored Chevy that George Matsuda built himself and burns a diet of straight methanol for fuel.

The engine is a 350-ci iron Chevy block with a set of ProComp aluminum heads with Brodix valve covers. A Hilborn dash-one pump with no overdrive sends the fuel to the Enderle “bugcatcher.” An MSD ignition system fires the NGK 69ES plugs. Burned gases exit through a set of owner-built two-inch Funny Car style headers. A Melling oil pump and a owner-built seven-quart oil pan take care of the engine oiling. The supercharger is a very old Mark Danekas 6-71 that once was on one of Jeb Allen’s Top Fuel motors.