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

From Tom Nicklin on FB.

 

Just picked up another large collection of old magazines to flip through...hot rod and others 1951 to 71...start with this one.

 

Wonder why they quit with the centerfolds????....

 

I imagine the accounting department didn't like them.

 

Hello,

As a photographer/journalist, the goal was a centerfold photo in any magazine. It was as large as a magazine could make a photo. The late 60s-early 70s were a time for posters, rock music, concert photos and to see a large photo in the middle of a magazine was amazing. Not only to see the color photo in the middle of a magazine, but the payout was better to purchase more photo equipment and better cameras.

But, as some folks did have a ton of those large centerfold photos on their walls, something was not right. Those creases and staple holes were ruining the actual photo. Sure, from across the room they looked like large concert posters, but, up close, those staple holes ruined the photos.

It was as if the publishers thought it was really something to have a centerfold. But if the same photo was enlarged to the full 8x10 magazine page, it would have almost the same effect without the crease and staple holes/tears.

Jnaki

As a person on the other side of photography, it was "quality" not just a large photo for effect. When I did a photo shoot for our business, I always made a 11x14 full color photo print, mounted on backing board and sometimes, if the customer wanted, it was put inside a custom-made floating, redwood frame. That size did not distort the photo and looked good hanging on a wall.

One of my experiments was a drag race photo, plus another, a car portrait developed and shot onto a 30 x 40 photo poster. They were ok, but the idea of being "large" played a good role in the presentation. As far as clarity, posters are left to the big name companies with their large format camera and their products. It was not my thing for our business.

As nice as some centerfold photography looked, it just was hard to keep the eye off of the crease and staple holes. YRMV

 

So did this require some variation in spark timing between the front and rear engines? Maybe some changes in fuel metering?

 

Eddier Sanzo and George Montgomery, it is Indy I think it was 65 bschwoeble but it could be 64, doesn't really matter it is still a great shot.

Pat

 

No, not at all. Both engines had their own ignition system, and it didn't seem to matter if one engine fired cylinder #1 at the same time that the other engine fired cylinder #7. You might wonder why we wanted to run top fuel with two unsupercharged Chevy engines. The average supercharged AA/FD 392 Hemi Chrysler was making about 1,500 to 1,600 horsepower in the early 1960's, on typically about 85% nitromethane. Our 364 inch Chevy's each made 900 horsepower naturally aspirated on Chet Herbert's engine dyno, so two of them should equal 1,800 horsepower. Our dual engine dragster weighed in at just under 1,200 pounds, at the starting line, which was about the same weight as a supercharged Chrysler dragster at that time. This would give us a 200 to 300 horsepower advantage if all was well. On top of that, a 1,500/1,600 HP Chrysler divided that HP over eight pistons and eight connecting rods, 194 HP on each rod and piston. Our combination divided 1,800 HP over 16 pistons and rods, or about 112 HP per rod and piston, which in theory offered more reliability. Our problem however is that we never could get both engines running together to make 900 HP. The front engine would, but the rear engine banged the main bearings out of the block. So, we would rebuild the rear engine and stick it in the front, and the other engine, the one that used to be in the front, we put that one in the rear. The exact same thing would happen again, the rear engine now in the front ran great, and the rear engine that had been in the front and was now in the back, banged the bearings out of the block. 283 and 327 Chevy cranks on nitro cannot take 900 HP on the nose of the crankshaft without going into some kind of harmonics...

 

Bluto explained that when the front of the crank was flexing that part of the crank actually ran backwards for a milisecond.

 

The one shot maynot be in motion...but its cool.

 

I don't know if that is true, the dual-roller chains and sprokets have 99.99% zero slack.

 

What a rush it would of been to be the photographer getting this shot ....if they hadn't invented remote cameras and mounts yet.

 

I noticed some discussion on multiple engine early dragsters....and while flipping through the old magazines in a new collection I got ,I have been running across some very interesting drag vehicles.
Including twin engine type ....mounted in different configurations .....this particular one has a pretty good article on it , with alot of tech info.
If anyone is interested in the info.... PM me and I will PM you the complete article , about 4 or so pages + pictures.
My collection ranges from 1951 to 71
Hot Rod , Car Craft, Rod & Custom, Popular Hot Rodding , and others.
Thanks
Terry (aka Rudestude)

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-picture-thread.1219009/page-12#post-14135634

Hello,

When we were active in drag racing and taking films with our little movie camera, there was a certain spot that most pro photographers were allowed to stand to get some good shots. It was right in front of the spectators stand, inside of the chain link fence on the grass area, next to the dragstrip surface. With their high powered cameras and telephoto lenses, nothing was left to chance to get the “best of the best shots” at any drag race event held at Lion’s Dragstrip.

Pro photographers at Lion’s Dragstrip in 1964 All Gas Coupe/Sedan Meet. Big John Mazmanian at the starting line
1964 Lion's Dragstrip

If the pro photographer was on assignment for a big publisher of magazines, they got the best location with added support of the dragstrip workers and management. We little guys still had to stand far away from the action and hope that our films and photos were going to be ok for later showing to our friends.

The pros? They were up close and personal with the race cars and nearness to the action. Who couldn’t get a great shot being inside of the fence, that close to the action? Ladders, tripods, telephoto lenses, fast automatic advance film cameras, etc were all of the professional packages that we mortals could only dream of using.

Jnaki

Wow, think of my movies from being that close. Perhaps, I could have gone into movie making and with my dad’s new 16mm Beaulieu Camera, built in telephoto lenses, and mouse ears. It would have looked much better in closer action. We did the best that we could with what we had at the time. A point and shoot 16mm color movie camera as simple as possible for a young kid making movies that all of our friends liked a week later after developing.
1959 Lion's Dragstrip

Kenny Lindley’s “Misfire FED” with Don Hampton driving…

 

I know these cars weren't roomy by any means, but day-um! The driver's seat was no place for a claustrophobic . . .

 

Here is another shot of the Chuck Tanko Twin.

 

On Bob Stratman's inline unblown gas SBC A/Dragsters, we used the double-row chain coupler with 36-tooth sprockets. Easy to change phasing between engines. Best performance was with both #1 TDC firing at the same time. Phasing 45 degrees out sounded good, but was down nearly 2 MPH. Important to keep the kill switch wires isolated from each other. I've seen a photo or two, where Chet had made a true V-16 by welding two blocks together with a one-piece crankshaft. Didn't see much of it, so any additional info on it would be appreciated.

 

ALL...crankshafts will do this with enough rpm.
Why do you thing the harmonic damper (NOT a "balancer" in most engines !) was developed ? To help tame this action. Hence the rubber between the hub and the reaction ring.
So the reaction ring would help smooth this harmonic...or the act of the crankshaft "twisting", as each throw would see its power stroke, not necessary running backward.

I doubt that this would have any different happening just because of the use of using two engines.
In any case, the blower/blower belt and blower in its own way actually acts as a damper.
One of the big reasons that belts break in modern Top Fuel engines, the crank is going through some heavy duty twisting as each cylinder puts large power into each crank throw, twisting the hell out of the crankshaft.
Now, throw in a misfire, there goes the belt..!

Mike

 

I understood it after thinking about it. It's just against normal thought to believe the crank going backwards at 7000 rpm. No wonder they break.

 

Sam Shinaberry far lane near the fence in the "Marble Muncher" @ClayMart

 

The cranks never broke, they just hammered the hell out of the main bearings of the rear mounted engines...

 

I have this pic also. Actively hunting more. Got a great guy on it!!!

 

Hello,

Ever since our involvement in drag racing at nearby Lion’s Dragstrip, we were always looking ahead at what was next. Nothing was written in stone, but it was a lot of fun getting our feet wet in the A/Stock class racing with the 348 powered 58 Impala. We were learning and developing our favorite racers and race cars as we enjoyed the drag racing scene all over So Cal.

When my brother and I arrived at the Riverside Raceway in late 1959, we saw a bright yellow roadster in the pits and I had to take a short film of it. it just looked mean and fast.


At the time, we liked anything sponsored by Iskenderian Cam Company. It was one of those things that teenage boys liked in our conversations, with plenty of ammunition for discussions about why Isky, and not Engle or Howard.

The Yellow Ganzer, Weeks and Palmquist roadster was attractive and set records in So Cal almost monthly. It was not an Altered Roadster, a Street Roadster or Modified Roadster. Some So Cal dragstrips had them in a Modified Roadster Class and others listed them in a Hot Roadster class. At the time, standard listings for all of the local dragstrips was, “…come as you are and we will put you in a class.”

Jnaki

It was a little confusing as mentioned earlier in a different post about Modified Roadsters. In this time period mentioned, at the Riverside Raceway, they were listed as being in the Hot Roadster class.


1959 Ganzer, Palmquist, Weeks at the Riverside Raceway
Drag Cars in Motion...

Note:
Having almost a life size edition of the You Tube film can be seen on your large screen TV through the You Tube streaming channel. It was fun watching it on a large screen. When the "sound editions" of my old drag racing films came up, you were right there in the action from 1958-64. Check it out...