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Father/son drag racing is alive and well, thanks to Jim (left) and Brett Henry, who spend their summers match-racing each other in their fuel altered roadsters. Another son, Brent, drives an alcohol funny car on the NHRA circuit.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Although the Henrys' 1948 Ford sedan looks more like an old-time street hot rod, cars like this actually began the "altered" class in drag racing. The barn-find car runs minus hood and fenders because Jim Henry didn't want to build another fat-fendered Ford that looks like everybody else's.

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Jim Henry built the "Black Mariah" in a couple of weeks' time after the fuel-altered racing bug bit him again. The injected Hemi-powered car produces between 1,400 to 1,700 horsepower, depending on how much nitromethane is dumped into the tiny 3-1/2 gallon fuel tank just ahead of the engine.

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The stripped-down '48 Ford Tudor and the purpose-built 1923 T fuel roadster illustrate the evolution of the altered class in drag racing.

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The rear of the '48, in flat black primer, is basically stock, with the original bumper, tail lights and deck lid handle. Pinstriping and hand-chalked graphics give it a vintage feel.

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Cleverly placed pinstriped cobwebs accent the contours of the Ford sedan's taillights.

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Another nice use of the cobweb theme accents the vent window with its vintage decals.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

A Dodge Dakota pickup gave up its bench seat for the Ford sedan project; it received the discount-store seat cover treatment. That's one of Jim Henry's fanciful art pieces on the seat, a "Bulgarian vampire skull."

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The classic '40s two-spoke steering wheel remains in place inside the sedan, still fitted with an antique steering knob.

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The '48 Ford Tudor DeLuxe is powered by a hi-compression 350 Chevy race engine originally built for Brett Henry's Camaro.

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With the front end of the '48 Ford open to the elements, Jim Henry chose a '34 Chevy swap meet grille shell with heavy patina to house the radiator. The traditional street rod-style headlights are mounted on old MoPar connecting rods.

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The high-mounted twin Deist drag chutes can really snap the driver's head forward at the end of a 160 mph-plus run. Jim Henry says he tries to ease the impact by deploying the parachutes one at a time.

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Jim Henry crafted the flamed end panels of the wing that perches atop the roll cage on his race car. The wing itself is built with internal struts, like an aircraft wing.

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Jim Henry dabbles in primitive automotive artwork; his skull-type shift knob was cut down from a Hurst shift ball. That pedal on the right is what you push to make the Black Mariah go, in a hurry.

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Driver accommodations in the Black Mariah are Spartan, at best: an unpadded aluminum seat, a removable steering wheel, "brass knuckle" brake lever, a single oil pressure gauge and a 2-speed racing Powerglide shift lever.

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Holzman Race Cars built the roll cage in the Black Mariah, attaching it to the fully boxed Spirit Industries frame. Note the twin parachute release rings at shoulder level.

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Front wheels on the Black Mariah are salt-flats-styled wheels similar to those used on the legendary Marcellus-Borsch AA/FA. Jim Henry chose 1940 vintage dirt track tires for his brief journeys down the quarter mile.

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The Black Mariah currently puts power to the pavement via a set of Hoosier 12-inch wide, 29-inch tall drag slicks spun by an 8-3/4-inch MoPar rear end. Jim Henry says in his more than 50 years of drag racing, he's never broken a Chrysler rear end.

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Jim Henry went to the Bible for inspiration when he named his second fuel-altered roadster. He found the name Mariah and he liked it, and the car is black, so ....

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The warning label across the rear of the '23 T deck is a testament to the unpredictable handling qualities of a nitromethane-powered short-wheelbase roadster.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

A classic set of Hilborn injectors with medium-length tubes sit atop the aluminum 426 Chrysler Hemi, which has been bored and stroked to 489 cubic inches. It uses a Vertex magneto and a Lunati roller cam, GRR aluminum rods and CNC-ported Stage 5 Top Fuel dragster heads.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle