Although legendary Mopar racer Dick Landy's racing nickname "Dandy Dick" came from his well-groomed, always dapper appearance, his prowess as an engine and chassis developer earned him the respect of his peers in drag racing. The "Dandy Dick" handle also came about because of his penchant for having the cleanest race cars and a tailored, uniform-attired support crew that presented a spotless image for his team and its sponsors. Although Dick's race cars were always spiffed with plenty of "chrome," there were equal parts of "go."
Like many restless Southern California teenagers, Dick developed a liking for fast cars at an early age. Growing up during the '50s in the San Fernando Valley, his vehicular curiosity soon brought him to building, tuning, and racing Fords. he would later earn his reputation as one of the most dedicated fans of Pentastar products, but racing Fords was where he began. It wasn't until the early '60s, when Mopar products were powered by the 413 wedge-head V-8 that he saw the light and headed permanantly into Mopar country.
Dick's decision to cast his lot with the Mopar folks came while he was running against-and losing to-local Dodges and Plymouths, usually at the San Fernando Raceway dragstrip. He soon decided it was better to join the winning side. After obtaining his first 413-powered Plymouth, he was surprised to find the box-stock Plymouth ran as fast as his much-modified and tweaked 406 Ford.
Following marginal, yet notable, success on SoCal area tracks, Dick caught the eye of the factory drag racing brass, notably Ronnie Householder. Chrysler's top drag racing development execs were keen at recognizing talent, and in Dick they saw the backyard ingenuity needed to improvise, as well as the disciplined intelligence required to work hand in hand with Chrysler's racing engineers.
Dick Landy died of kidney failure, January 11, 2007, at the age of 69.
Dick's initial Mopar was a '62 Plymouth 413 with a manually-shifted, three-speed transmission. Later came a '63 426 Plymouth that he ran until 1964, when the SoCal Dodge dealers group offered a Dodge 426 Max Wedge to the popular, rising local racing figure. Soon after, Chrysler's racing engine group, headed by the legendary Tom Hoover, introduced the 426 Hemi.
With Hemi power, Dick's Dodge quickly became a major force on the West Coast, and his reputation grew. Beginning in the stocker ranks, he quickly moved into A/Factory Experimental.
In 1965, Dick was slated to receive one of the few altered wheelbase Dodges. In those days, NHRA's rule makers had a difficult time deciding if the new Funny Cars were a passing fad or a serious drag racing category. They struggled to embrace the roaring success of the upstart new type of race cars and seemed more inclined to chase away these rebels. Their rules were created seemingly to eliminate the concept of radically modified stock cars. In the process, Dick and most of the other Mopar loyal racers were forced to seek other sanctioning bodies in which to race. They found refuge in AHRA events that had an open-door welcome, which resulted in quick success with his altered wheelbase Dodge.
This radical Dodge Dart proved to be a front runner for Dick's early Funny Car career. A big step up from the cobbled '65 Dodge altered-wheelbase ride, it was constructed with a full chassis, altered wheelbase, and steel body set considerably rearward for added weight over the rear axle. Power came from one of Dick's own 426 Dodge Hemis, a Hilborn mechanical fuel-injection system, and the long intake ram tubes that were in vogue during that period. A modified Torqueflite automatic transmission backed up the nitro-and-alcohol-burning 426 Hemi. The car's lengthy rear deck and minimal rear spoiler proved to be helpful in creating top-end downforce sufficient to keep the car glued to the era's slippery tracks during 170-plus-mph jaunts. | 
Before rule aberrations emasculated the 426 Hemi engines, cars such as Dick's Dodge Demon A-Body entry ruled the Pro Stock ranks. Seen here in its typical early-'70's trim, this Dodge was considered to be the top of the heap in West Coast Pro Stock racing. A tube chassis, designed by the then all-powerful, Detroit-based Dodge/Plymouth drag racing engineering group and constructed by Dick's in-house chassis fabricators, cloaked a 426 Hemi and four-speed Lenco planetary race transmission. A pair of Holley 4500 Dominator carburetors and careful tuning by Dick's brother, Mike Landy, put driver Dick low into the qualified field. This photo was shot at the NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, California. | 
Wheels-up and storming off the starting line was typical of most early-'70's Pro Stocks; this is highly evident in this photo of Dick blasting off the NHRA Winternationals starting line in Pomona, California. His car utilized a ladder-leaf rear suspension and 14-inch-wide slicks to achieve that hard-launching attitude. Notable is the interesting snorkel hoodscoop, an offshoot of development work performed by Chrysler's highly efficient drag racing engineering group. These dedicated Mopar engineers looked carefully at all aspects of scientifically designing drag racing vehicles capable of moving from A to B in the least time possible. no doubt that bulbous scoop spent many hours in both lab and wind tunnel to provide maximum fresh air to the pair of 4500 Holley carburetors to which it was sealed. |