Altered is a former National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing class and a current drag racing chassis configuration that forms the basis of many classes of NHRA Competition Eliminator.
The altered is "[s]ometimes called the poor man's [d]ragster". While the emblematic altered is a short-wheelbase roadster with exposed engine and front frame rails, very similar to the earliest rail dragsters, altereds can be bodied cars also.
By definition, altereds were essentially stock gas, alcohol, or nitromethane-class cars with parts removed or changed, making them ineligible for the previous class, such as Keith Ferrell's Dogcatcher, a 1936 Willys sedan delivery; built as a gasser, Ferrell deliberately left something off to run it in B/Altered.
History
The Altered category originated "for cars with moderate changes", according to the rulebook. It developed from out of the Hot Roadster, Fuel Coupé, and Fuel Sedan categories. In 1956, it was divided in three classes by weight break: A (up to ), B (), and C ( and up). Rules allowed moving the engine back up to 25% of the wheelbase, as well as chopping and channeling, which were prohibited in gassers. The class had few limits or requirements. One of the pioneers was Walt's Puffer II, an unsupercharged A/Altered Fiat Topolino powered by a 392 hemi, driven by Walt Knoch.
Of the early altereds, the #554 A Fuel Coupé (A/FC), a '34 five-window, was "[u]ndoubtedly the most famous". It was built in the middle 1950s and (campaigned by Mooneyham and Johnson, driven by "Jungle Larry" Faust) turned in a best pass of with full fenders in Street Coupé. As a hiboy, at Bakersfield in 1960, that went up to ; the next month, it was the first altered to exceed , with a trap speed of . That rose again in 1961, to , and by the time the car was retired, it had a best pass of 8.98 at . The #554 Coupé was powered by a supercharged hemi (a block) on between 40% and 75% nitro. It routinely filled the cockpit with smoke and burned rubber and clutch dust; track marshals once asked Faust if he needed help after exiting the smoking car, to which Faust casually replied, "Why? This thing does this all the time."
In 1957, NHRA banned nitro in all categories; the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) still allowed it, and Fuel Dragsters (FD), Hot Roadsters (HR), and Fuel Coupés (FC), in the days before Funny Car, went there instead: it would be Drag News and their Standard 1320 record which christened them Fuel Altereds. AHRA grouped coupés and roasters together, unlike NHRA, under Hot Car Eliminator (HCE). Independent drag strips, not NHRA sanctioned, offered venues for the fuel racers. Smokers Car Club hosted the first U.S. Fuel and Gas Championship at Famoso Raceway in March 1959. Bob Hansen won Top Fuel Eliminator (TFE) in his A/HR, with a speed of .
Early in the 1960s, as supercharging proliferated, NHRA added AA/A, BB/A, and CC/A. In 1956, the A/A class record holder, "Jazzy Jim" Nelson's '47 Topolino, was so quick, it would face dragsters in Top Eliminator at the end of meet.
Supercharged A fuel altereds, or AA/FAs, are exemplified by the famous Pure Heaven, Pure Hell, and Rat Trap.
Winged Express, piloted by "Wild Willie" Borsch, is "arguably is the most famous fuel altered of all time". The car was built for AA/A in 1961 by Phil Johnson, and converted to AA/FA specification in 1963. It continued to race into 1970.
Lynn and Dave Hough, with driver Ed Moore, from San Bernardino, California, built Nanook I in the 1960s, an unusual long-wheelbase altered, bodied as a 1929 Model A, powered by a Oldsmobile. They were given a blown hemi by Charlie Brent (after he wrecked his AA/FD), and built Nanook II around it, enabling the car to exceed at Orange County International Raceway The car was turned into a jigsaw puzzle, now "highly collectible" among drag racing fans, by Hallmark Cards. In 1975, the Houghs made an arrangement with the Super Shops retail chain in Southern California to build Nanook 4, with a '23 T body over a Norm Porter chassis and Ed Pink-built engine. It "became one of the quickest Fuel Altereds in history", turning in a 6.17 pass at , and then one of the most famous ever, when Super Shops held a raffle at the end of the 1977 season and gave the car away. After the giveaway, the Houghs moved up to Funny Car for a short time, before retiring. They returned in 2001 with Nanook 6, a perfect copy of their excellent AA/FA, Nanook 3.
Moore also drove the AA/FA The Mob, teamed with Phil Miller. The duo created several versions of the supercharged A fuel car, "and were a significant part of the West Coast Fuel Altered scene" in the early 1970s.