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

Actually no! I was starting to do a lot of other things during that time period, and racing was changing not to my liking ( at the time). Interesting, most people never heard of Ireland, even though he was in a handful of Ford racers "in" with the factory. I suspect this has to do with the racing press being in SoCal. Even today, SoCal thinks it's the center of the entire universe! Thanks for the info.

 

Hey 296ardun, I was there at Pete Orner's going out of business sale way back in the mid 60s. His then business partner was selling the remaining units and offered everything to me for a take all price. I declined the offer and a few years later bought out a local speed shop instead. Pete had a different calling. He became a professor of medical engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and now is an MD and PhD in Biomechanics of injury in California!

 

Thanks!...the power of the HAMB to link all these stories (where are you in Ohio, I lived in Granville for 16 years)

 

This either EJ Potter or Art Arfons both tinkered with various configurations of Allison powered dragsters, most likely Art as EJ didn't go much for wheelcovers. EJ stuffed Allisons in a couple of cars but got famous for his V8 motor cycles. In the earlier days of tractor pulling I spent some time towing his Ugy and Double Ugly on and off the track before the NTPA required the tractors to drive on and off the track under their own power. A true Hot Rodder and a Storyteller who is missed by many.

 

Maybe, but us readers out number ya by a bunch, and then some.

You mean .............................. we AIN"T ??????

 

I raced a Chassis Research B/D in north Texas before getting drafted in Feb. '65.
I read this thread EVERY night! Thanks to those who post. I would post some pic's but they
never seem to work since the change to this new format.

 

Also got a pic of my 272 Chevy powered C/A to post (to my amazement).

 

Billy Lagana at Dover Dragstrip around 63-64 Z-11 car

Pat

 

From George Klass: The Stone age Man, George Hutchinson, at San Fernando. George could drive almost anything, and did -- got the Rat Trap AA/FA to run straight after Don Green had almost given up on it, drove and evil-handling turbine-powered car....George's decoration was the long ostrich plume on his helmet and, yes, he did set it on fire driving!


I think that one of the guys involved in this flathead was named McCloskey, but it was sponsored by Andersen's Pea Soup company, which was in Buellton CA....This is at San Luis Obispo, late '50s. Note that the car is running stock heads, pretty unusual for a competition car


Morris Brothers at Pomona, really early '50s. Ollie Morris drove...this car was found and has been restored, though I think it was to a street-able version (?)


Here is an even earlier version of the Morris Brothers roadster, also at Pomona...notice the two customs and the hot rod behind it -- one custom has a Carson top, can't tell what kind of top the other has...I think this photo was one of the Norm Grudem collection, Norm was a caddie at the golf course on the other side of the street from the drag strip and took a bunch of classis photos in the early to mid-50s.


Bev's Steak House sponsored car, far lane, Cordy Jensen driving, rare photo of the car without the nose


Before a series of blown Chrysler powered fuelers, Cordy Jenson ran this Chev on fuel, Bev's Steak House, in Eugene, OR, was a long-term sponsor, carried on to his AA/FD cars.


Lou Cangelouse in the Missouri Missile. Lou was a really good guy, came to California to race, gave me some good tuning tips....sadly he died drag racing just before he planned to retire from driving.


I'm sort of guessing here, think this is at the NHRA Nationals, early '60s, Garlits in his wedge gas Dodge racing Bobby Vodnik in the Hirata and Hobbs car...Garlits won this race but lost in the final to Jack Chrisman in Mickey Thompson's hemi Pontiac.....corrections welcome, like Gary Reynolds said, our memories do fade!



Waterworth & Morris Bantam CC, here flathead powered at Santa Ana, later would get a gas Chrysler

 

Not sure on this one, maybe Hess & Winslow, Santa Ana

 

Dragmaster on left, wasn't sure of the car on the right, because the last time I saw it, it was flathead powered, one of the late John Bradley's many dragsters. But it appears that John sold it, because in this form it was run by the Twisters Car Club of Vista, CA, who substituted John's flathead for an Olds. (John only ran an overhead once, as far as I know, a Chrysler, but he got tired of fixing the bottom end and went back to flatheads)


No caption needed, Smoker's meet, '61, still running the beam axle and split 'bones.


Same meet, Harrell & Borsch before the wing, note the Howards chain drive. (I don't know what the black tank next to the blower was, but some guys were experimenting with water injection??)


Same meet, don't know who ran this altered, but probably from Northern California, given the Vic Hubbard sign on the grill shell.


Same meet, Ratican, Jackson, and Stearns, gas blown Olds altered...this car held the 1320 Standard A/A record and won the NHRA Nationals, either '61 or '62. I'm really stretching my memory cells, but I think that they lost at Bakersfield to Raymond Austin from Hurst, TX, in his blown Chrysler altered. These were the days of steel bodies, and Raymond's door blew open on a run, but he just wired it back on, and continued to race. Ratican and Jackson would go on to field the "Sour Sisters" fuel dragsters with Kenny Safford driving; they kept running the Olds on fuel until they couldn't keep the bottom ends in them, switching to Chrysler.
For those of us fortunate to have attended these early Smoker's meets, the memories are indelible...drag racing from almost sunup to after the sun went down....no lights at the track, but guys still ran even though the finish line was almost impossible to see...


Dick Guyette's "Isky Clown," gas Olds...Dick was a musician from North Hollywood, did Hollywood movie music...this car was bright orange and really well built.


If you saw Gene Adams B/G blown 371" Olds run, you never forgot it. ... loud and fast, went 109 in '57, got top time for B/G at the NHRA nationals that summer, but lost to an unblown car for the class.


Not sure where this is...


Fremont, not sure on IDs...maybe "Jet Car" Bob Smith nearest?


Not a lot of guys could make a BB Chevy run like Leon "Bubby" Wilton...this car has been either restored or recreated...by Bubby.
He was a wizard as a tuner and builder...one night Bob Keilty were trying to get our blown Desoto tuned at Irwindale, Keilty was standing over the engine trying to figure out why it sounded like a wounded freight train trying to destroy itself. Bubby came over, looked at Keilty as if "may I?" and took out his wrenches and worked the barrel valve until the motor began to sound like a normal fuel motor...we ran 192 that night, around 10 mph faster than we had run previously...guys like Bubby were great help to a couple of clueless guys like us....

 

Bubby is still working his magic on Tom Schifflea's funny car after many years on one of the world's coolest Willys sedans.

 

1964 British Drag Racing Festival.

 

Henry J's were made for drag racing. Like this one a lot. That engine! Perfect. Really miss that era.

 

The Locomotion Chevrolet used to be at Dover Drag Strip every Sunday.

Jimbo

 

This looks like Ken Murray out of Winnipeg Manitoba at Keystone Dragway circa 1968-70 running an injected Chrysler on fuel. Won the 1968 Canadian Nat's. If this is the same car it still survives hiding somewhere in Swift Current Saskatchewan.

 

Just received some information about this picture. This was at the 1964 British Drag Racing Festival. If you look close you can see a gentleman in a white jumpsuit this is K.S. Pittman. Also there is a gentleman with a black jacket on and black rimmed glasses looking at the Ohio George's 33 Willys that is Chuck Stolzie owner of the S&S Team.

 

The Garlits vs. Vodnik shot is from the 1963 NHRA Nationals. Garlits has won the class (driving Biddie Winward's car) on Sunday, then had to run Monday's winner of the remaining eight quickest on Monday for Top Eliminator (this was gas, as the NHRA fuel ban was still in effect). Garlits red-lit in the pictured final round, and this was the first NHRA national event to use the Xmas tree. Regards, Chase

 

Wayne Arteaga from St. Louis.
This image was posted earlier in this thread: