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

Coincidence, I'm sure, was reading the Dec '51 issue of HRM last night, and there was a article on the newly-opened Caddo Mills drag strip (I'd scan it but scanner is down).... Management was under the Chaparrals Roadster Club, who worked closely with local law enforcement to get support for the track. On the day HRM was there, 56 cars turned out, and the winner in the coupe class was Wayne Calvert of Denton, the Calvert Automotive guy, with a flathead-powered '33 Ford coupe. Another interesting point in the story was that Larry Shinoda, the California hot rodder who went on to legend at General Motors, and then living in Texas, said that he thought Caddo Mills was the finest drag strip he had seen. Larry ran at all the top drag strips in California with fuel coupes and roadsters, so this is a real compliment....

 

He did have two cars... There's a thread on his 2 Novas on here're somewhere.

 

Bob Veselka of Corpus Christi, TX ( Mackey & Veselka 1957 NHRA Runner Up, "Goin Texas" Mustang FC )

Roy Davis of Corpus Christi, TX ( 1964 NHRA Top Gas Champion )

 

These guys were Texas legends, together or separate...here are a couple of blurred pictures of their Bantam C/C at the '58 Nationals, from the threat of the same name here:






and without the body as an A/D...notice how well the space frame is engineered


Bob Veselka's F/C Cougar, chassis might be Logge, but not sure

 

296ardun.....someone got their facts mixed up,"widdle white wabbit" never ran a dodge,,,always a small block chev,,

 

It could have been me that got the fact mixed, thanks for the correction!...(wonder what happened to it?)

 

Did more research, here is an article on Anderson and the "Wabbit" (I'm guessing this is take on Elmer Fudd)

 

..and to answer my own question, above, here it is in 2009:

 

I believe Wayne Calvert is still around and trucking along. He must be about 80+ now. He balanced a
'56 Olds engine for my '40 Ford cpe. about 5 years ago. He's a very interesting(and nice) guy.
He actually drives around Denton,TX. in a bone stock '40 Willys coupe!

 

That Bantam in post 38150 is bad ass

 

I had the pleasure of talking to Jerry Joaquin today, and I learned a little bit about the Pacers Auto Altered, aptly named the "Tasmanian Devil". This car is a record holding, fire breathing monster, sporting a heavily modified 392 Chrysler with an 8-71 blower and Enderle injection with a reported 1,200 horsepower. The has now been restored. (Jerry's the guy on the left with the big grin) Enjoy!

 

The original car is alive and well living in the Hudson Valley of NY. Bob Petrocelli (owner) takes it out to the "Nostalgia shows" in the area.

Pat

 

More stuff from Leroy Mackey and Bob Veselka, as well as Gary Watson, all from a Corpus Christi, TX...all still alive and well.

Edit: Davis was only partnered with Veselka on that one dragster above, the rest of the Bantam bodied and fuel dragsters with Veselkas name, he was partnered with Leroy Mackey.

Bob Veselka is on Facebook and sometimes chimes in on there Drag Racing Texas Style group. I spoke with Leroy Mackey several years ago, nice guy, but got out of racing in the early 60's and got into karts with his kids. I worked for Gary Watsons auto parts and engine shop in the early 2000's. I spoke with him again in 2010, but he was grumpy.

 

More...

 

Another Corpus Christi native, Bill Rogers, who still runs Rogers Precision Machine in CC.

 

And some lesser known, but totally bitchin cars from the Corpus Christi and South Texas area...

View attachment 2785609

 

Here's the mobile timing tower from Corpus Christi Dragway...this thing moved under its own power, and yes, that is a real dragster sitting on top of the nose of the mobile tower, just insane..
.

 

WOW! OUTSTANDING Texas!
GREAT stuff. Some new motion shots, real drags!
Thanks.

 

Wayne is very much alive and well,I spoke to him yesterday at the geezer reunion..and by the way his bone stock(looking)Willys coupe is powered by a small block Chev..

 

From TexasHardcore's post


Texas vs. Alabama, Fiat C/C was Birmingham's Johnny Burrell, who ran an unusual setup for a competition car; a McCulloch chain-driven blower on his 392" Chrysler...HRM did a feature on his coupe, rare for Alabama....not sure who won this race.

 

Agree, some great pictures here, thanks for posting them...

 

Lots of great stuff here recently

 

Sure is. This thread continues to amaze.

 

Darn right!!!!! Keep 'em coming!

 

Never posted here originally since not in motion but would probably still be appreciated here anyways?






Originally posted here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/estate-find-pics-dick-goss-herbert-mudersbach.823385/

 

A few more.

 

Dick Goss's fueler...this is a later one than Don Yates drove...I wonder if this is the car that Lefty Mudersbach died in? Apparently one of the slicks disintegrated, and Lefty didn't survive the crash, his widow got a settlement from the tire company...(I'm not sure if this is the same car, though)

 

Some from the Facebook Vintage Drag Racing Club...I can't guarantee that they have not been posted here before, but I don't remember seeing them on here:




Lew Arrington's Brutus...saw it first run at Fremont...LOUD!


Bakersfield, McEwen closest in the Baney car, don't know who he is racing


No ID other than Herbert Cams on the rocker covers...Sutherland?


I'm sure this has been here before, Ivo vs. Grabowski at Santa Ana, '57...Neither roadster had a rollbar but C.J. let them race anyway...These were two of the most iconic street roadsters of the time...Ivo saw Grabowski's roadster at the drive-in and had to have one...he found out where Grabowski lived, and when Norm came home one day, Ivo was in his driveway measuring his roadster's wheelbase so he could build his own. If I remember right, Ivo won.


I haven't seen this 554 shot before, not sure where it is




Not in motion, but lessons here...this is the way it used to be...you did your own work, you didn't wear uniforms covered with sponsor logos, there were no barriers around your car to keep the spectators away, etc...


Corpus Christi, maybe??


Before slipper clutches, there was a time when fuelers smoked the tires through the lights...



Another picture of the Mackey and Veselka Bantam that Texas Hardcore posted above...these guys were racers, plain and simple...this is at the NHRA Nationals, maybe '57??

 

The 554 shot is at Pomona almost to the lights. Ron DiCicco is in the seat. Larry Foust would replace Ron a month later. It is late '62 before the trees in the field on the west side were cut down.

 

These aren't old pictures, nor are they in motion, but a few years ago we went to a local car show here in Ft. Myers, and these two old drag cars were there on display. Very cool to see them still around, and they fired up the Mustang and it was VERY wicked sounding !

Don