History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

[Larry T]

Originally Posted by drofrockology

and now we know what made him so rambunctious.

Probably still does, and he still runs a dragster in NHRA. At least he did a couple of years ago.

[applekrate]

Originally Posted by partsrivet

The lights are green as the AA/FD's of Boyd and Griffith on the left and the Green Gang from, Angleton TX light the tires at Pel State Raceway in Opelousas, LA in April of 1967. The NHRA offical in the blue shirt standing behind the two cars is my then boss Willie Redford from AEECO in Dallas. Willie had previously driven the Carroll Brothers AA/FD and at the time was working with Division Director Dale Ham and Division Tech Director Chuck Nelson in overseeing the division points races. It was at this event that I caught my first and only picture to appear in National Dragster. Dale was concerned that the photographer hired for the event was spending too much time carousing with the locals and not enough shooting pictures, so he asked to shoot some extras to fill out the coverage. A press pass that finally paid off! I tried to sell prints made from these slides, but got a lot of flak due to the poor quality of the reproductions I had done. Hard lessons at a young age. They're still not the best, but there's no going back to repeat this scene.

partsrivet- thanks not only for the pics but, adding the text really adds to your posts. I wish others would/could do the same when possible.

[killerbunny]

Originally Posted by ajmopar

last I checked a high riser is a 427 FE Ford, I think he was asking what car the motor is in

Ford..

[storm king]

Great Picture of the Kingfish Barracuda! There just weren't enough 'Cudas done like that, and that's a great picture of that car.

[Tom S. in Tn.]

Originally Posted by ajmopar

last I checked a high riser is a 427 FE Ford, I think he was asking what car the motor is in

Just looking back through the windshield, it appears to be a tri-5.
I'm curious about this one, because there was a time big block Fords were running circles around W's before mark IV's came readily available, and who would build a new car when you spent years on the one you have and it's the way you want it.

This Mod elim S/R in the near lane, photo'd in Hardinsburg Ky., went from a 409 to a hi-riser out of a Thunderbolt, and finally to a big block over the years. The owner stated he always wanted to go back to the Ford, but they were too hard to come by in the late 60's early 70's.
He won about as many races as he lost, but the notoriety of this car remains today. Motors come and motors let go, but the cars used to be legendary.
Tom S. in Tn.

[Tom S. in Tn.]

Originally Posted by storm king

Great Picture of the Kingfish Barracuda! There just weren't enough 'Cudas done like that, and that's a great picture of that car.

And I concur, exactly. Mr. Taylor was a champion of a man as well, and became very successful in business. He made me the first specialty hi-stall speed convertor for a C-6 I ever had out of old 6 cyl and CruisO' parts, back before small Pinto C-4's or any custom manufacturing. Tom S.

[Tom S. in Tn.]

Originally Posted by applekrate

partsrivet- thanks not only for the pics but, adding the text really adds to your posts. I wish others would/could do the same when possible.

And while I'm on a roll here, I agree totally 100% with this statement. It's the commentary and hearing the story that paints the picture for me,.... and the accompanying photo's don't matter if they are full color or B&W.
Sometimes I'm taken back with the story alone. Tom S.

[Analog Dog]

I agree...I think it's a 55-57 Chevy with a FE...weird...

[edweird]

Originally Posted by Tom S. in Tn.

Now on with the show.
What car is this hi-riser in? Looks Chev to me.
Great photo's! Wish I had made some back then. Tom S. in Tn.

tom s. i do believe its in this 58 ford. old blue.

[partsrivet]

This is the final run for the 1966 World Championship in Comp Eliminator at Tulsa. The Vette belongs to Deloy Naeb of Brighton Colorado and he's up against the tough Stormin Bull F gasser of Ferd Napfel, from Maryland as I recall. Naeb caught him for the championship in an close run. Goes to show even fenders and gas can be exciting.

[partsrivet]

Something a bit more recent that my other posts is this scene from Beech Bend KY in 2005. Since the cars all do burnouts and back up to the starting line, it's hardly like the old days but I worked on catching two doing their burnouts at once as an homage to times past. For me, these nostalgia races are the only thing of interest at the strips nowadays. No, it's not exactly the same at the 60's, but when Anglia and Willys gassers are running or the fuel cars push down at night for the Cacklefest, you can lose yourself for a bit, especially at a place like Beech Bend which reminds me a lot of the old Green Valley strip near Ft Worth. If these more current scenes are unwelcome in this thread, let me know and I'll avoid posting more.

[partsrivet]

More fenders and gas action from what I always believed to be the best races of all-the NHRA Nationals. The field was staggering and I was so mesmerized by the parade of familiar names I'd only read about I often didn't bother to take a shot. In 1967 I rode to Indy with the Griffin-Usery-Smith A fuel car from Dallas (a story in itself) and we stayed at the Travelodge near downtown, which like most places was jammed with racers. We were next to the Paris Brothers from Illinois and on the other side was Jan Ridell from Tiffin Ohio with his altered. Lots of great bull sessions after racing-didn't matter what kind of car you had or who you were. And although I can't remember the fellows name, one guy staying there actually DROVE an old Studebaker (N/S or some such) out to the track. Had his tools in the trunk and popped the header cap when he got out there! Awesome! Now that was a FUN time. So thanks to Carson and Taylor (whoever you were) as well as all the other racers for the wonderful memories.

[partsrivet]

Jim Hayter from Cushing Oklahoma makes a run at the Div 4 points race at La Place, La on a scorching May morning in 1967. This was one of the stronger Jr Stock cars in Div 4, a bracket which admittedly had much less participation than say Div 1 or 3. When I was working at AEECO about this time, Willie Redford, who knew Jim told me he was looking for a driver/mechanic for a factory Camero Jim was getting. Well, I'm not the world's greatest mechanic (to say the least!) and it would have entailed a move to Oklahoma while I was already thinking of leaving the plains once and for all, so I decided not to try for it. Maybe I'd have gotten it-maybe not. But it's one of those forks in the road that we all wonder about once we've gone in a different direction.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Analog Dog

I agree...I think it's a 55-57 Chevy with a FE...weird...

Originally Posted by edweird

tom s. i do believe its in this 58 ford. old blue.

If we could just see the bumper then we would know for sure...

[Tom S. in Tn.]

Originally Posted by edweird

tom s. i do believe its in this 58 ford. old blue.

Thanx. I lost my self there for a minute.

[rooman]

Originally Posted by partsrivet

More fenders and gas action from what I always believed to be the best races of all-the NHRA Nationals. The field was staggering and I was so mesmerized by the parade of familiar names I'd only read about I often didn't bother to take a shot. In 1967 I rode to Indy with the Griffin-Usery-Smith A fuel car from Dallas (a story in itself) and we stayed at the Travelodge near downtown, which like most places was jammed with racers. We were next to the Paris Brothers from Illinois and on the other side was Jan Ridell from Tiffin Ohio with his altered. Lots of great bull sessions after racing-didn't matter what kind of car you had or who you were. And although I can't remember the fellows name, one guy staying there actually DROVE an old Studebaker (N/S or some such) out to the track. Had his tools in the trunk and popped the header cap when he got out there! Awesome! Now that was a FUN time. So thanks to Carson and Taylor (whoever you were) as well as all the other racers for the wonderful memories.

I would bet that the Studebaker was Ted Harbit's Chicken Hawk, a legendary car in the midwest. Ted raced the car forever until its untimely demise at Muncie a few years back. In its later days it ran a blown motor and was a lot quicker than in the N/S days. I actually did some work on the car in the mid/late 90's when I worked out of the Automotion speed shop on Indy's south side.

Roo

[mosconiac]

I want to once again thank all of the contributors to this thread. I was born in '68, so I missed the golden era of drag racing & hot rodding for that matter. Your efforts here help me understand what that era must have been like.

BTW, I collected 50's & 60's era rodding magazines when I was a kid. My Momma told me I was born 25 years too late.

[indybigjohn]

I think you're right about the Chicken Hawk, Rooman. We used to love it when Ted showed up for a regular bracket race.

[Johnny C.]

Any more information on this car? Specs? Is it around anywhere? Anyone know what happened to it? I have looked everywhere and can't come up with anything.

Originally Posted by Muttley

[jimdillon]

Originally Posted by partsrivet

This is the final run for the 1966 World Championship in Comp Eliminator at Tulsa. The Vette belongs to Deloy Naeb of Brighton Colorado and he's up against the tough Stormin Bull F gasser of Ferd Napfel, from Maryland as I recall. Naeb caught him for the championship in an close run. Goes to show even fenders and gas can be exciting.

partsrivet, great pic of Naeb's Vette. This car sold on ebay a few years ago in somewhat original condition (minus the engine-new owner allegedly found an original engine to the car). Great pic of it in competition.-Jim