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

More from that track.

 

I found a better shot of the dragster in the add. It's Ernie Hall's "Stripper" from Cornelius, Or. The car set the A/D record in '65 with a Desoto, then Ernie switched to a 392 Chrysler. As I remember Ernie used a Kellison body, and hand built the rest. Ed McCulloch drove drove for Ernie in the car that preceded this one. Ernie offered me the Desoto engine, blower manifold to pan for $550.00 in 1975, just one of my big mistakes in life !

 

Before Jerry raced a dragster, he ran this '38 Chevy gasser... Great sox.

 

I never realized that the "Bustle Bomb" had disk brakes, pretty advanced for the 1950's...

 

Check it out--admission $1.00

 

In about '63, I walked 7 miles to the strip one Sunday Morning. When I got to the entrance, the guy asked me if I had walked all the way from town. After telling him I lived a couple of miles on the other side of town, he let me in for free. I was pretty happy about saving a buck, so I sat in the grass ( because there weren't any grandstands) and fell asleep during the driver's meeting. When I woke up around 5:00 PM, the N/Stockers were running, and the race was over. Luckily I spotted a neighbor who gave me a ride home in a '59 Biscayne (348 - 3 speed).

 

Some other pictures of Jerry Ruth

 

Jerry Ruth's Studebaker

 

More from George Klass:


Street roadsters at Pomona...and at least one of them actually street-driven...Tom McMullen, near side, racing Jim Cassidy, in the T...Cassidy ran a blown Chrysler while McMullen was carbureted so my bet would be on the T...(I think that Dean Lowe had a race with Cassidy?)



Looks like early Pete Robinson, at least it is one of his blowers...


Looks like a promotion picture for a fuel altered meet, maybe at OCIR?? From left, Pure Hell, (Dale Emery in the cap, Rich Guasco next to him), Pure Heaven, Willie, and Mondello/Matsubara (Sush on the left of the car)...the horse?? No clue...

Boyd Penington. steel bodied A/R, at San Luis Obispo...

 

A who's who of AA/FA

 

I believe that Jim Cassidy "owned" the AA/SR class at NHRA, until the day that Hugh Tucker showed up with the Tucker & Stoll AA/Street Roadster.


This is the first iteration of the roadster, with Dave Stoll's blown Olds engine in the car. That's Hugh in the seat with Dave standing to his left (in black shirt and pants, and smiling).

 

It actually had disc brakes on all four wheels, very radical for the time...not sure where they came from, as I don't remember any production cars having them in the mid-50s, though aircraft did...This was a radical car in many ways, torsion bar suspension (note the transverse bars next to the wishbones)...and it would get even more radical after Lloyd moved to Washington state and partnered with Orville Moe, who I think ran Seattle raceway(?)...then the car got a full body including fenders...I found a picture of it at a car show but it wouldn't copy....There is also a site that says that there is a replica at Garlit's museum...but I'm not sure that this is correct...I heard a story years ago that when Garlits was searching for cars for the museum he traveled to Washington and tried to get the Bustle Bomb, but there was a conflict over who owned it, apparently Ovr Moe's wife/widow (I don't remember the details), had a claim on the car and thus Garlits had to smuggle it out of the state and back to his museum (feel free to add or correct!)

Anyway here are a couple of pictures of it, and commentary, all from Don Ewald's site:


At Santa Ana, '55



Santa Ana, notice the torsion bars, mag wheels, rare then on drag cars, caption:


Bustle-Bomb1: "This picture was taken in the pits at Santa Ana on July 17, 1955. This is the Bustle Bomb. It had a Cadillac engine in front and an Olds in the rear. The Ford rear end had one ring gear and two pinions. Originally the car had a dog clutch for the rear engine. The front engine was started and brought to the line. When the car was staged the rear engine, still not running was engaged. The car left the line with the front engine in second gear. The rear engine would start in just a few feet. The throttle arrangement on the rear engine was a dashpot affair that slowly opened the throttle. When the front engine was shifted into high using a '40 Cad gearbox the rear engine would be running at full throttle and the car would squat down in back as they had a swing axle arrangement. Both engines used were out of street rods. In this configuration the car went 147 mph." Photo & Commentary by Dave Williams



Later with the body, at the '55 Nationals...

 

We raced Cassidy once for street eliminator at Pomona, and we loaned them some Hilborn pills when they first put the injection on the blower. That T had butt loads of top end, over 130, but with a 2 speed La Salle, ET's were only in the 11.30's. Old Jim was not to happy when our little SBC trailered his T.

Pretty sure Burke's only connection with Boyd was that he drove the roadster when they ran it at El Mirage.

 

Love this story!

 

Indy. Indy.

 

Indy around 68/69.

 

ART MALONE MAR. 15, 1964 KINGDON......................................TOM
IVO vs MALONE, KINGDON.

 

33 Willys - Steve McGee earned his bones with this blown coupe from the Northwest. Terry McHardy purchased it and Steve become a very solid alcohol funny car competitor. Later, after chiefing the crew on Mel Bryson's 34 Willys, Steve purchased it, and continued to set National Records with the TX7 sponsorship. McGee currently lives in Pendelton, OR and runs the Rainbow Bar downtown. By looks of the Willys paint job, things have come full circle.

 

Here is a shot of Steve's Willys, with a more subdued paint job. I first saw Steve racing a C/G '40 Ford coupe. It was Naples Orange, with an injected small block Chevy, perhaps the most beautiful '40 coupe I have ever seen. I followed his career through the A/GS, to Top/Fuel (Black Beauty- you could buy a model of it), BB/FC and back to a Willys. The next time I see him, I will hound him for a picture of the "Little Punkin" '40 Deluxe.

 

Car Craft shot of Lawce and Gunn

 

I found another shot of Steve's Willys, with the wild paint, sitting alongside is Twig Zeigler's Willys ( Jack Coonrod built and raced it in the 60's). Jack bought it back in '85, fixed the front windshield post angle, and had a successful Nostalgia racing stint with it.

 

Vintage Memories from the good old day's.

Jimbo

 

Marty, I had a Pontiac powered 40 Ford painted 56 Packard Naples orange that I drove to high school!! Dave Mehelich painted it for $25.00!! Chris