World famous drag racer Don Garlits has wanted to add the AMT Piranha Dragster to his museum collection for many years. He just missed purchasing the car in 1990 by only a hours. Today, he is the proud owner of the landmark "funny car" and plans to restore it to its' former beauty.

After a successful tour on the exhibition circuit, the car was sold off by AMT Corporation. It eventually ended up in the huge Harrah's Automobile Collection in Reno, NV where it was stored for many years.

In 1986, Harrah's held its' third and "final" auction where they sold off 240 prized collector cars, including Gene Winfield's "Reactor" (sporting an orange paint job) and a somewhat ratty looking Piranha Dragster. Partially in primer, missing engine parts and shod with whitewall tires, the car was Lot #175 and sold to a gentleman named Glenn from North Carolina for $6,500. Winfield's Reactor went for $14,250.

The Piranha Dragster as shown in the Harrah's Vehicle Auction magazine for June 27-29, 1986. "Poor overall condition ... not in running condition ... missing parts."

Then, in January 1990, an advertisement for the 1966 Piranha Funny Car appeared in "Hemmings Motor News" at a price of $8,000. A young man named Rich Riddell immediately called and purchased the car over the phone and sent the money the next day, just beating out Garlits who had also seen the ad. Riddell had found the car in storage at Harrah's but had missed the publicity for the sale and didn't attend the event. Rich had been a fan of the car for many years and had even met Fred Smith, one of the builders of the car.

After towing the car back to California, Riddell immediately started the task of restoring the vehicle. However, he soon lost interest in the project and it sat untouched for many years.

The front part of the lower tub still had the original Winfield paint job and lettering.