Register now to get rid of these ads!

History The 1958 NHRA Nationals

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HEMI32, May 15, 2008.

  1. Monday's "The 1957 NHRA NATIONALS" (with the Norm Jones video) and Wednesday's "The 1957 NHRA NATIONALS - Part 2" (with the Milton Arnold photographs) The Jalopy Journal Blogs (& resultant H.A.M.B. threads) really inspired me to put my flatbed scanner to work tonight.

    Although my father (Bruce Olson) didn't attend the 1957 Nats, the magazine coverage did motivate him to prep his (now my) chopped & channeled, Hemi-powered '32 5-window for the 1958 event:

    Coupe After 1958 Nats .jpg

    Back then, the car ran a 1953 331ci Chrysler Hemi with 4 Stromberg 97's:

    Coupe 1953 331ci Hemi - 1958.jpg

    In late August 1958, he & his buddy (Mike Thompson) towed the car from his home in Beach, North Dakota (border town near Glendive, Montana) to Oklahoma City to participate in the "4th Annual National Championship Drag Races":

    Coupe towed to 1958 Nats OK City.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2023
  2. At the 'Nats, the car ran in the "B ALTERED COUPE" class ... It wasn't the coupe's best performance ... they could only muster a 13.40 ET with a top speed of 107 MPH:

    Coupe @ 1958 Nats OK City.jpg

    The car no longer runs the 331ci Hemi [in 1975, it was replaced with a .060 overbore 1958 Chrysler Imperial 392ci Hemi A-1 block (~ 405ci)] ... HOWEVER, a couple "artifacts" from its 1958 visit to OKC still remain affixed to the car today:

    58 Nats Decal.jpg 58 Nats Participant Sticker.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2017
    elgringo71, El Hueso, EVL401 and 8 others like this.
  3. Goosebumps.....You are very lucky to have that family heirloom!
     
    Stogy, kidcampbell71, Spoggie and 2 others like this.
  4. Here's all twenty pages of the Event Program:

    000.jpg

    001.jpg

    002.jpg

    003.jpg

    004.jpg

    005.jpg

    006.jpg

    007.jpg

    008.jpg

    009.jpg

    010.jpg

    011.jpg

    012.jpg

    013.jpg

    014.jpg

    015.jpg

    016.jpg

    017.jpg

    018.jpg

    019.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2017
    Stogy, elgringo71, EVL401 and 9 others like this.

  5. L110Mike
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 128

    L110Mike
    Member
    from North OC

    great stuff! going to have to print that out. thanks for sharing!
     
    Stogy and els like this.
  6. I'll try to locate some more of my father's photos from the 1958 Nationals ... but in the meantime, I'm really hoping someone out there can fill in some of the details of the '58 event ... with stories, images and/or video.
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2017
    Stogy and els like this.
  7. Found this one other pic:

    Norman Woodruff's Chopped Merc Vert (aka 'The Moose').jpg

    I believe this Kustom was owned by @Bullet Nose's friend ... they drove it from Redondo Beach, CA to Oklahoma City, OK ... and back!

    I'll keep looking for pics...
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2017
    Stogy, EVL401, kidcampbell71 and 4 others like this.
  8. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    Great thread hemi32.......love it!
     
    Stogy, kidcampbell71, HEMI32 and 3 others like this.
  9. Dirty2
    Joined: Jun 13, 2004
    Posts: 8,903

    Dirty2
    Member

    Very cool ! Thanks for sharing .
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  10. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    Great thread,.... appreciate the post
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  11. hotrod mike
    Joined: Nov 21, 2006
    Posts: 1,728

    hotrod mike
    Member

    Those pictures are great. That's a great looking ride. And to have the program too, priceless. Thanks for posting this stuff. Mike
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  12. publicenemy1925
    Joined: Feb 4, 2007
    Posts: 3,187

    publicenemy1925
    Member
    from OKC, OK

    Soooo cooooooooooool, for a homer like me!
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  13. THis is a great thread, thanks for taking the time to scan this stuff....you are one lucky guy! Now, lets see if anybody has the same for 1959 and so on.......

    Don
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  14. Hotrod F-1
    Joined: Dec 19, 2006
    Posts: 581

    Hotrod F-1
    Member
    from OK

    Cool stuff! Thanks for sharing. :cool:
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  15. Prop Strike
    Joined: Feb 18, 2006
    Posts: 651

    Prop Strike
    Member

    Very cool that you still got the car. Can't get much better than a 32 with a hemi!
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  16. Chaz
    Joined: Feb 24, 2004
    Posts: 5,016

    Chaz
    Member Emeritus

    Awesome!
     
    Stogy, HEMI32 and els like this.
  17. Malcolm
    Joined: Feb 9, 2006
    Posts: 8,032

    Malcolm
    Member
    from Nebraska

    Holy shit that is cool! You are a lucky man, Hemi32!

    Thanks for sharing the history.

    Malcolm
     
    Stogy, kidcampbell71 and HEMI32 like this.
  18. Muttley
    Joined: Nov 30, 2003
    Posts: 18,500

    Muttley
    Member

    Great post.................that Kool-Aid billboard in the third pic rules.
     
    kidcampbell71 and HEMI32 like this.
  19. Bullet Nose
    Joined: Nov 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,570

    Bullet Nose
    Member

    Yes we did and we tagged along with the Drifters Car Club from Redondo Beach, CA who took 2 cars to the drags. I also have the same program as you scanned.

    Here's a picture that was taken on Route 66 in Texas on our way back to Redondo.

    Flat.jpg

    That's my friend Norman Woodruff, who owned the car, standing by the door and a member of the Drifters Car Club pointing to the flat we had somewhere in the Texas panhandle on Route 66.

    That's a really cool photo of the Merc we called "The Moose" and there's a story about how that name came about. I also have some other memories of our trip to OKC.

    Woody was my best friend in high school. After he quit school, he went to work for Ed Donovan and he built a blown DeSoto powered dragster in my garage. He also experimented with a manifold he designed and built for the DeSoto engine that had two blowers mounted side by side but it just had too much boost. He later became my brother-in-law (now ex brother-in-law) and is now married to Kathy Donovan, Ed Donovan's widow and owner of Donovan Engineering in Torrance, CA.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2014
  20. 31whitey
    Joined: Jan 2, 2007
    Posts: 2,214

    31whitey
    Member

    THANK YOU

    great stuff man

    my brain is all tingly....it loves absorbing late 50,s drag history
     
    Stogy and HEMI32 like this.
  21. TomH
    Joined: Oct 21, 2003
    Posts: 1,253

    TomH
    Member

    Wow, thanks for sharing.

    Just our luck ( currently living in North Dakota ) all the cool guys move away!!
     
    Stogy and HEMI32 like this.
  22. Rand Man
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 4,860

    Rand Man
    Member

    I love that program and I love color photos. If anyone else has programs like that, let's start a thread just for event programs. It's one hell of a historical document.
     
    Stogy and HEMI32 like this.
  23. stan292
    Joined: Dec 6, 2002
    Posts: 858

    stan292
    Member

    Hemi -

    Killer post! Thanks much for taking the time to scan the program. I'll be printing that one out for sure. Tons of great "old days" stuff.

    P.S. Notice there are NO national records for E.T.s? It was all about speed in those days.
     
    Stogy and HEMI32 like this.
  24. Von Franco
    Joined: Nov 26, 2001
    Posts: 1,285

    Von Franco
    Member

    This is way to cool man thanks ..............................
     
    Stogy and kidcampbell71 like this.
  25. ANewBeat
    Joined: May 1, 2005
    Posts: 245

    ANewBeat
    Member
    from Floriduh

    Fuckin' A !
     
    Stogy and kidcampbell71 like this.
  26. Lost1
    Joined: Oct 26, 2006
    Posts: 121

    Lost1
    Member

    Great stuff! Thanks.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  27. coop31
    Joined: Jun 24, 2006
    Posts: 160

    coop31
    Member

    Cool post! Lot's of family history which is always the best kind. Thanks
     
    Stogy and lothiandon1940 like this.
  28. Doctor Destructo
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 418

    Doctor Destructo
    Member

    Really cool nostalgia. Thanks for posting.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  29. studematt
    Joined: Feb 12, 2008
    Posts: 433

    studematt
    Member

    Cool that you have your dads awesome hotrod. Any pics of it today.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  30. nailheadroadster
    Joined: Jun 7, 2006
    Posts: 1,525

    nailheadroadster
    Member

    Very cool! Thanks for takin the time to put up this thread.
     
    Stogy likes this.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.