[Dragsinger]

This is the famous ElectraGran 100 mpg carburetor developed by my Grandmother, Zonie Chandler. [Electra for electric and Gran for Granny] She developed this design after WWII because fuel was still rationed. Her original idea came when she worked at an electric motor shop during the war. She continually improved those motors and they ran cooler, smoother, made more power on less electricity with each improvement.

The test car was her 51 Plymouth. After some experimenting, it consistently achieved 100 + mpg, uphill with a headwind and low tire pressure. Her cousin, Smokey Chandler, utilized the design at the 52 Dayton 500. His 52 Hudson Hornet, equipped with two ElectraGran carbs, ran the complete 500-mile race without a fuel stop.

I recall us seated at the table having a radio dinner [before the days of TV] and listening to testimony after testimony about the milage folks we getting. One guy said he was making money from the gas he was having to drain out and resale.

Shortly after, President Truman called Granny and asked her to meet with him in Washington. At the meeting, he explained that her 100 mpg carb would ruin the oil industry. He asked her to remove it from the market and convinced the oil companies to reward Granny for doing so.

Granny came home with a suitcase full of thousand dollar bills.

I still have all original drawings and spec sheets and from time to time will build an ElectraGran just to keep in practice. Here is an example I am working up for a neighbor kids wagon.

Larry Woodfin