Swamp Rat VIII was the first 426 Hemi dragster built by Garlits Automotive in Tampa Florida. The 150" wheelbase car debuted by Connie Swingle at the 1965 Fuel and Gas Championships in Bakersfield, CA. The car was built in the late fall of 1964 and featured the traditional swoopy tailpiece and torsion bar front & rear suspensions. The new Dodge 426 CID Steel Hemi engine powered it, with a Crower Imperial roller cam, Enderle fuel injection, Schiefer magneto and dual disk Schiefer clutch. In 1965 the car was front-halved, extended to 175" WB, rear torsion removed and re-named Swamp Rat X.

Big Daddy cloned SR-VIII in 2006 for the "Cacklefests". When it's not touring, the car is on display at the Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.