History FAMILY DRAGSTER HISTORY..(the early days)...PART 1...with pics...

Since 1956, my moms parents have been into hot rods.
Jim and Alison Lee got married young and found a common vein-horsepower. They are probably best remembered for their GREAT EXPECTATIONS don long, ed pink powered top fuel car from the golden age of slingshot racing....Ill get to that in a later thread, but right now i wanna focus on the pictures i have amassed from the Early Days of their racing career....

My grandpa Jim got into hot rodding and street racing early on with a 6 deuce olds powered 32 chevy coupe....when that wasnt enuff, he ended up putting a blower on it and ran it as a B/Altered.....with funding from my grandma Alison, they tired of the constant slow action and built up a 464 stroker gas burnin Oldsmobile...and called up Pat Bilbow of Lynwood welding company....



Here they are at Capitol Raceway in mid '61...



Getting strapped in and ready to push off in '62....



New "space age" firesuit!



Photos by John Durand that garnered a center section feature in Hot Rod Magazine..







the early days...no face mask...



"Nanny" checking the chute at the line....



Awesome close up of the blower belt shield made of expanded metal material....still hangin in the attic...

 

Too cool. I never made the connection with you and your Grandpa Jim. Do you know Mike Lewis? His daughter (my friend) was named after Allison Lee.

 

Well by the end of 63..things were changing...progression was a definate key in the early 60s....so for the 1964 season, a new 130 inch Logghe chassis was ordered...



Here "Pop" is leavin hard at Aquasco Maryland against the hard runnin digger of Gaines and Marino...1964...





Hagerstown, Maryland...



Aquasco....



Good color shot...Featured in an issue of "CARS" magazine....





Besides the Sour Sisters Olds Powered fueler of Kenny Safford, my grandparents were the last holdouts to running a Chrysler.....period.

At the beginning of the 1965 season, Pop had a hairy top end crash in the Logghe car...folded in half at the top end running about 180....between that, my mom and uncle on the way to being born, and another non racing related accident, it was time to focus on a hired driver and more power....
So they dropped the now fuel burning Oldsmobile into a chassis that was the third made by none other than Don Long...shallow roll bar, shorty body...the good stuff.



Pop made a few passes in it and decided it was time...



So a call was made to "Surfer" Hank Westmoreland....and Ed Pink...

As i keep scannin up the albums, ill keep adding installments...their is literally thousands of pics..so i will do my best...
Next stop...Tom Raley..National records...TOP FUEL!!!

 

Yes sir...talked to Mike at bowling green a few weeks ago when he was gettin ready to burn the WonderWagon on down the strip...great guy..

T. Hilton

 

Nice photo's too, can't wait to read more.

 

and on a side note, if anyone has any memories or thoughts theyd like to share if you remember them from their racing days, their 50th aniversary
is comin up next month...would like to make a big banner with some quotes....PM Me...

Tyler Hilton

 

Great thread Tyler! Man you really look like your Grandfather. You going up to York this weekend?

 

Sweet, can't wait to read more! Do you happen to know who they're running against in this photo? It looks like a car that my Dad has pictures of running at the dragstrip in Suffolk, Virginia.

 

The car in the far lane I believe is Dick Swecker of Staunton , VA

 

Can't wait for the next installment.
Awesome family history.

my family liked ceramics and boats........

 

Todd,

Grandparents are goin up friday night, to sign autographs and whatever....im thinkin of ridin up with em...stayin all day saturday as well....what are you plannin??

 

Ill be there at about 10am Sat and stay most of the day.

 

Hmm, it may be. The distinct thing about the car in my Dad's pictures and the one that Eastcoast57 posted is that the blower case is painted burgundy and black on the sides, but maybe your picture is before they did that?

 

yes, pretty sure it is Swecker...the front wing, fuel tank, headers..shallow roll bar..and the name rings the bell...

 

Awsome pics! Thanks for the info and posting all the great pics!!!

 

Cool, thanks for the information VA HAMB and eastcoast57 . I'll have to scan my Dad's pictures and post them. He has quite a few from the strip at Suffolk. They're all from about 61-64 before he entered the Air Force.

 

Two great folks with an amazing history. I am anxious to see and hear more. Thanks, Mike

 

Pretty sure I have pics here somewhere of your pops fed running against my dad and uncle at Aquasco. Pretty sure the same fed is in the staging lanes in some pics when my mom was running at Capitol.
Glad its not just me that was born into this.

 

This shot was posted on the Trophy Girls thread a couple day's ago. It really belongs here. I'm thinking it was taken in '61 or '62 at a year end banquet. Maybe the Eastern Drag News "Top Dog" awards.

It was great to see you again in Bowling Green.

 

Rich,
thanks for that flick....ol Linda posin...NHRA Division 1 champions and record holders in 67 id say from Westmoreland's run at York....did you recover from Bowling Green??

T. Hilton

 

Wow!!! Kickass pics!
Stuff like this is what makes the HAMB so special....thanks for taking the time to post these!

 

just got finished scanning a bunch more....and getting some facts straight from the sources themselves....will post tomoorow....

T. Hilton

 

Awesome!

 

Can't wait! Awesome family history you've got there. Too cool...

 

Best post I have seen for ages.

Spend as much time with your Grandparents as you can, they are people to be admired.

 

awesome post, and a great story...keep it goin'

 

Agree, please keep posting. Jim and Allison Lee were a first-class act, and they got a lot of respect on the West Coast and everyplace else. Hank Westmoreland was a year behind me at Pasadena High School (drove a white '57 Chev), and had great driving skills. He could have driven (and did) for a lot of left coast cars, but went all the way to Virginia to drive for the Lees. To me, that says a lot about how good a team they were.

 

I am without words this is outstanding and thank them both. now thats a familey pitcher album worth looking thru

 

Great photos, thanks for posting them! Is the Lyndwood up in the attic with that blower belt guard?

 

You just made my evening......awsome history and trophy girls.