Roger Sinistri was pretty good at building and tuning for sure. His son Roger Sinistri Jr. posted on this thread a few years ago. He not only had an hand in the Zorro car (which I believe is still around) but built some other record holders. I have not tracked the possible records on Lickety Split but have files on a few of the Corvettes he built to some National records, such as the Trautman Nugent 60 Vette, and the 61 Vettes of Paul Albert called Rapid Rabbit (64 Indy) and last but not least Larry Lombardo in Buckshot (68 Indy-Roger is the heavier set gentleman holding the trophy with Larry). I am not sure of where the Truatman car is-may have to check my records but the Lombardo 61 is still around in some of the original livery. The Rapid Rabbit car burned to the ground sadly. He also built Skip Bechtel's 64 Vette although I have nothing on that car. Lee Crupi another great engine builder name is on the rear quarter of the Trautman/Nugent car and he built the engine that was in the car when this picture was taken. I do not have a picture with Sinistri on the car. Lee Crupi also built the engine in the Bonzai 61 that later was Carmen Rotunda's car called Shotgun and the nemesis of Lombardo's car. I am sure I am missing some stuff on Roger but he had a talent for making cars perform to their highest potential/
Yes Zorro was an east coast car and Rodger Sinistri had many cars using his engines. Remember the Buckshot Corvette driven by Larry Lombardo that won at Indy back in either 67 or 68 he also used Sinistri engines. I think he was located in Pottsville, Pa. Jim Hill
Haven't got a clue about the Olds but the picture of Lennie "Pop" Kennedy in the Reynolds Buick was almost certainly taken at the 1961 U.S. Nationals since that was the seventh edition of the classic event. That would have been the first year that it was contested at the current venue, Indianapolis Raceway Park. There is a highly informative thread to be found at <http://classracer.com/classforum/showthread.php?t=56717> that describes the relatively chaotic Stock classification scene during the 1961/62 season. Our own tech guru (The Kentuckian) contributed to that thread and it's certainly worth reading for anyone who would like to seek out more information on the fuel that was being poured onto the performance fires by factories and innovators back in the day!
Interesting photo Loudbang, that's one I have never seen before. This car and the Phillips 66 station where it was photographed at were owned by Marv Luvro from Sioux Falls. As you can tell by the trophies, the car ran very well. One of my earliest jobs was at this station, THANKS for the memories.
That's great, this is why I keep it going posting cars and somebody knows it or it was their car. I was wondering if anyone would know the car. My Buddy in our car club had one like it but RED he waxed and polished it so much he wore the paint of the tops of the fenders.
Mike Caputo at Atco. I owned this car for some time, then sold it back to him. Sadly, he didn't survive long enough to to revive the car. This is how I found it I believe his family still has it in So. Jersey. Verne
From the dover site :https://doverdragstrip.com Mimi Stephen Pontiac used to see this car a lot when I had to grab any parts there.
The "Mimi" name was used into the Pro Stock era by a racer named, I think, Bill Blanding? It seems that he was from somewhere in New York state? c
I believe that's the same team, Chuck .They were from a ways upstate, and Dover , kind of southeast, but not too awful far away.
Nice find, LB I'm surprised this car doesn't show up more often. Very competitive in it's day. Owned by Ed Kovitch, driven by Bob "The Dog" Gaudreau, and sponsored by Stephen Pontiac, who fielded several more cars later on, all the way to Pro Stock
LB, you got a "twofer" with the shot of John Barkley at Riverside. The '55 in the far lane was another West Coast notable of the Junior Stock era, Willard Wright. For as "cool," articulate, and polished as was Big John, Willard was an in-your-face, die-hard, blue-collar, Stocker fanatic. I hasten to state that the preceding comment was in no way intended disparage Willard, he was one of the hardest-working, most intensely committed racers to be found anywhere. All of us out here raced against him, most of us lost rounds to him at one time or another, but no one disrespected his work ethic or his level of focus on the track. Willard, sadly, lost his life doing what he loved most, just where he loved to be, slightly in the lead at the finish line. See this posting <https://dragstripdeaths.webs.com/197074.htm>. You will note that the cause of that accident was what today is referred to as "excessive finish-line braking" but I would suggest that, if such an investigation were to be feasible, that a possible mitigating factor might have been that, in an effort to reduce unsprung weight, he'd turned his brake drums so far that one of them failed when he jammed on the binders. That would have been vintage procedure for a guy who named most of his cars, "White Trash." This hypothesis may sound outrageous and politically incorrect in 2019 but that was Willard's way of competing. He was highly respected but something of a "loner" off the track. The sport was built off the backs of guys like Willard Wright.
Ok, I am back! I am the dirt car guy trying to build a tribute of my brothers nhra stocker. Had some serious health issues and then the wife had to have surgery. But both on the mend now. Took time and money. Health insurance is a JOKE! Bought a 57 chevy 210 2dr sedan. Looked for a car that was not a easy factory restore but wasn't a car 1' in the ground in some grove. Found a guys gasser project (frame not cut off) but leaf springs are mounted inside frame and has tubular front A arms. Easy to fix those problems..I have read the 1968 rule book. Now it was said that i can ask questions on this thread(remember a x dirt racer here). U old savvy drag racers get ready to be annoyed. Rules say no interior gutting, carpet headliner etc. windows have to function. Dash has to be stock with instrument cluster and wiring. U can have auxiliary tach and Gauges. Ok do factory gauges have to work ,I mean how much wiring. I was going to make my own harness,with stock ing key and turn s,brake lights,tail lights and head lights. Just wire idiot lights and use auxiliary tach,temp,oil. That's 1/ 2 the mess it came with. Now the heater, photos I have seen has nothing outside of fire wall. The car I have has a factory fire wall with all but s column and master cylinder holes filled in , actually frenched. Do u have to have any heater stuff inside the car. Like heater controls or ducks etc. I know they did some lightening to inside of the doors on aggregation but windows still functioned. Don't know if is was legal. They had a spare set of doors ready for it.lol. Sorry for the long tech post. Just want it period correct with rule stretching and all. Have a full fab shop so can make any torque arms or suspension stuff. And need ideas for a seat bar or roll bar for a seat belt harness to mount to. And want to use a fuel cell with a actual mount not just bolted to the trunk if legal. We sell afco shocks so any shocks ideas? They have drag shocks but only know dirt. Thanks for any information. Oh yeah was there a rule change because it doesn't come out to m/sa in 1968 rule book?. It's 245 hp powerglide 210 sedan 57 chevy. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I don’t think gayges were required to work. Only the fuel gauge works in my 57 and there are ni sending units for the oil pressure or water temp. Heaters were an option in 57 so you would not have to have one. Unless you are trying to perfectly replicate a car I would not sweat some of the small things. Just make the motor appear correct,i.e. intake carb and maybe the heads, put the 7 inch tires on it and come out and have fun. The 57 I am lucky enough to have is only period correct, other than a couple of safety features, because it sat from 71’ until I got it.
The Jalopy Journal
