Roy Fjastad

SPE Chassis

Roy Fjastad, like many others involved in the “Golden Days” of Drag Racing started his racing adventures in the early 50’s at C.J. Hart’s Santa Ana Drag strip, where he won his first trophy in 1952. After that, the “hook was set” and as Roy describes it, his whole life revolved around Drag Racing. He also tried his hand at the Bonneville Salt Flats starting in 1960 and has since held 5 speed records.

As a member of the famed “Road Kings” car club in the 50’s along with others such as Tommy Ivo, Don Prudhomme and Bob Muravez, Roy started building chassis for himself and his friends and when he found himself out of work after being laid off from his regular job, he went to Chassis Research and applied for a job, where he worked for more than a year learning the trade from Scotty Fenn.

Roy left Chassis Research when his regular job became available again but in 1965 decided it was time to step up and went in business for himself opening the doors at Speed Products Engineering. This was the beginning of what Roy describes as his most fun and profitable business of the three businesses he has had to date. Over the course of the next eight years, along with his wife and son he produced 225 dragster chassis as well as a few funny cars. Although he built some chassis from the beginning, one of his main things in the beginning was the parts he manufactured and sold to most all the other chassis builders of the era.

Roy designed and built one of the first two-piece couplers, which allowed motor changes without the hassle of a new coupler each time, and his design is still in use to today. He also produced many of the brackets that were needed for chassis building and pioneered the process of stamping them as opposed to the normal method of flame cutting and sanding to finish size. The stamping of these parts not only produced more uniform parts but also cut the cost of the labor-intensive sanding process to remove the flashing left from the flame cutting. He also produced bell housings, steering wheels, and disc brake kits. He also laced the wire spoke front wheels in house as well.

SPE fabricated some of the top dragsters of the time period including such notables as the Howard’s Cam “Rattler”, Raymond Godman’s “Tennessee Bo-Weevil and the Gas House Gang, just to name a few. He built both Gas and Fuel dragsters and used a unique front axle design that incorporated a 6-bend design that made a trademark style axle that could easily recognized over those of the other builders. When the rear engine dragster made their way into the sport, Roy also started to build them but after building only 13 of the RED design cars, he found them to be un-profitable and decided it was time for a change.

In 1973 Roy sold SPE to Ken Cox and it still exist today. The solid base that Roy had lain down for the company enabled it to continue and flourish for another 30 years. Although they are not a chassis manufacture, they build steering boxes, spindles and other part used in the building of racecars.

While operating Speed Products Engineering, Roy along with a friend also had a business that produced T-Buckets for the street rodders and manufactured a considerable number of them but in the early seventies, when the muscle cars became the car of choice for the younger crowd business became a little lean and Roy stopped the building of the T-Buckets as well, but after selling SPE he returned to the street rods and produced “deuce” frame rails as well as other products for the newly energized street rod market.

In 1980 Roy returned to one of his first loves, Bonneville, and has been on the salt every year since with his Modified Roadster which he has taken to 234 mph. Roy ran a streamliner as well but two car proved to be too much work so recently he sold the ‘liner in order to concentrate on the Roadster and on his position as the president of the “200 MPH Club” that honor those who set a new record in excess of the elusive 200 mph mark

Roy’s days are now spent running yet another business that he describes as a “retirement” business. Full Bore Race Products manufactures and sells many items including a unique valve adjusting tool that is used in drag racing, NASCAR, boat racing and almost anything that requires the adjustment of valves. He also produces quarter-turn fasteners and other items that can be seen and purchased on his website www.fullborerace.com

Roy considers himself one of the lucky ones that racing was good to and allowed him to make a living doing the things he enjoyed.

While he has no active involvement in drag racing today he keeps abreast of the nostalgia events and regularly attends the California Hot Rod Reunion and was an Honoree in 1999. With the contributions that Roy Fjastd has made to Drag Racing, Bonneville and Street Rods, he certainly has to be considered among the “Pioneers and Innovators”

All the photos below were furnished to me by Roy Fjastad and I have no way of knowing who the photographers were.
If any one deserves photo credit or wants them removed please CONTACT ME

The last car that Roy drove 1963, 64' (Photographer Unknown)

Raymond Godman's "Tennesee Bo Weevil" was one of many of the great cars that SPS built

Larry Dixon Sr. was one of Roy's customers that appreciated the quality of his work as shown by the inscription on this photo. Notice the signature front axle design.

John Wiebe was yet another top runner that used an SPE chassis

No ID on this SPE car

A posed shot of the "Beachcomber" car that Roy built with another "Thank You" on it

The Brannin Bros. AA/GD car was one of the many gas dragsters to some out of the SPE shop.

Another SPE car was the Bob Coleman entry

A SPE advertisement for some of the many parts that Roy built.

CONTINUE to Page Two of the SPE Story

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