Legends of the Quarter-Mile

Presented by

The Drag Racing Heritage Foundation

Dean Moon

Moon Automotive

Dean Moon was the consummate “Hot Rodder” He built and raced cars from the Dry Lake’s to the Drag Strip and at the same time built a company that became an icon in the world of Hot Rodding.Starting the business from meager beginnings he grew it into a world wide name and made the “Mooneyes” logo a part of the history in the sport. Many of the products are still used today and several are very sought after by the people restoring and recreating the cars from yesterday. Though Dean left us on Jun 4,1987 he left behind a legacy that will live on as long as there are Hot Rodders. Not only did he entertain and educate us but he also motivated and challenged us to go faster and succeed.

The first known “Moon” Logo Few of these exist now and this
one is on a cabinet in the shop at Mooneyes.

Dean (On Right) with his Buddies from the “Hutters” Car Club. The Club was
named after the Hula Hut Drive-In in Whittier, California where they hung out

Dean’s first open air workshop was behind his Dad’s Moon Cafe where he
and his friends built his first race car a ‘32 Tudor

Dean did his first Moon Fuel Block in High School shop class and in 1950 made
sand cast molds and the first production models were offered for sale

Dean produced many variations of the Moon throttle pedal but this
was the first to really get the Hot Rodder’s attention 

The Moon Disc was an instant success. They were claimed to add 7 mph at speeds over 190 mph. They are still hand spun today but in the late ‘50’s they sold over 10,000 in a single month.

The Moon Tanks were another big success as they could be had with a hand operated pump that made sure a constant fuel pressure was being delivered to the induction system.

One of Dean’s Projects was a Bill Devin bodied,Harley Klentz tube chassis combination Drag Racing and LSR Sports Car. The “Moonbeam” was initially powered by a “Potvin” blown Small Block Chevy that set an AHRA record of 12.29 sec.@132.35mph in 1961 and later went 10.52 sec.@144mph. Dean also just missed the 200 mph Club at Bonneville. The car was later driven by Gary Cagle and Dante Duce

One of the early “Moon” sponsored cars was Creighton Hunter’s innovative 1957 “Slice-O-Pie” dragster that featured an aluminum wedge shaped body with a “sidewinding” 276ci Mercury with direct chain drive and a hand operated jack stand starting system.

Dean built the famous Mooneyes Dragster as a Test-bench and Promotional Tool.
In its first outing in 1961 it went 147@10.29

The “Mooneyes” was changed to a top mounted blower in 1962 and with Gary Cagle
driving went 153.06@9.52 to take Middle Eliminator at the Winternationals

Built from a Dragmaster Chassis Kit and powered by a Potvin Blown Chevy
the car brought Dean fame and Attention

The “Moon Transporter” also became well known for hauling Dean’s and
others cars to all types of events

The “Moonliner” was built by Jocko Johnson and was originally powered by an Allison V-12 but was later changed to a Big Block Chevy. It was only used for Exhibition Runs and Car Shows and has been restored by Mooneyes USA

A project of Deans that was never finished this hauler was made in part from an
El Camino and powered by a Chevy V-8.

To Purchase this Great Book on Dean Moon and Mooneyes CLICK on the photo

I would like to Thank Gary Naito and Mooneyes USA as well as David Fetherston for their help with this article. Photos used with permission of Mooneyes USA.