awesome 60's drag car!!! (pics)

Here is one more pic of my dad's old drag car. This is with the hemi.

This is actually a car that was built by my father, his brother and their dad back in the 60's. It's a model 'a' coupe with a scratch built tube chassis. My dad told me the engine in the photo was a 352 Packard out of a a Nash something or other. It was bored and stroked and the intake manifold was made by them. I believe it ran high 12's with this engine. Later they switched to a 354 Hemi and it ran mid 11's at just over 120mph. This was all at Maplegrove Pa from about 1965-69. I'll have more info soon. I think my uncle has most of the e.t.'s and trap speeds recorded somewhere. Well anyway this was the car that got me interested in building my own '31 Ford. I think it's awesome.

 

that thing is BADASS!!!!! whatever happend to it????

 

Thats a neat looking car. Never seen anyone run a packard engine in anything that I can remember back then.I like it.

 

I'd build a clone in a heartbeat.

 

The car was sold in 1970. I believe if I have my story right, My father sold his interest in it to his dad and brother. My dad went to art school. My uncle and my grandfather started to get in heated arguments about what to modify on the car next. I can't remember exactly but I think it had something to do with weight distribution. These guys didn't have much money to spend so they were looking for the cheapest way to make it faster. My grandfather washed his hands of it and my uncle tried to take over. I think it sat through most of the 1969 race season without being run much. I believe it finally spun a bearing and my uncle gave up. If you can believe it he actually started building a fiberglass replica of the Bill Thomas 'Cheetah'. But alas, that never came to life. After my uncle sold it, the car was lost. He has since tried to find the people that bought it, but to no avail. The Packard engine was definitely a cool touch.

 

I really should. I started my model 'a' and went in a direction of my own but everytime I look at these pics I think...

 

Pretty cool!

 

Gasp! Does that paint have a shine to it??!! Blasphemey!!

Cool looking car, I need to scan some old pics of my dad's 32

 

thats really cool, I love my dad's stories from the past. Especially when he talks about his cars he had growing up.

 

I bet most of us are thinking the same thing. It would make a wicked tribute car.

Paul

 

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

 

Too cool !! Thanks for sharing .

 

Thats so cool, It would be awesome to clone it.

 

looks like a model from those pictures.... its cool looking

 

My uncle just sent me a TWENTY POUND box of slides and a very good portion of them are from dragstrips through-out the US during the late sixties and early seventies. Many of them are from Maple Grove (which is where they raced) I'll do what I can to get them converted to digital photos so I can share. There are hundreds of photos.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Awesome...would of loved to hear it!!..

 

nice ride, my dad put his in the wall in 72. Damn near killed him and my mom put the end to racing. Luckily he stashed some parts that I was able to use on my roadster. Sure wish I had the whole car though

 

Bonafied Badass.

 

That is one badass "mudder fudger"!!!

 

Looks way cool! If it were me I would try to clone it.

 

The quickest the 1931 Model A went with the Packard was 12.10 and 115.53 mph. The car had only two pedals. The brakes, rear only, were actuated by a handle visible in the open-door shot, all the way to the driver's right. I could depress the clutch, hold the brake, and rev the stuffing out of it. On the last light I could release the brake and clutch and start steering. Sometimes I could boil the 7" cheater slicks ($24.95 each at Western Auto) for half the track.

 

I think the old man made the log manifold from the driveshaft of the 1956 Nash that we pulled the Packard engine from. The seat came from a 1957 Renault 4CV. We enjoyed watching the gasoline rise up in the see-through fuel lines to the 4 carburetors when the electric fuel pump was turned on. Car actually used an electric pump and a mechanical pump. Gas tank was a 2 gallon Kato-Light tank.

 

There was a Model A at Turkey Run with a Packard motor in it .. They were a hell of a motor back in the day but they just never caught on .. In '56 the only motor with more hp was a Chrysler 300 I think and I'm not sure about that. The 374 Packard with 2X4's may have had more. A 352 in a Golden Hawk was 275 hp.

 

Thanks for sharing the photos and stories. Very neat to see.

 

Thanks so much for sharing this. If you'd like a bigger audience, there's also the "60's style hot rods, street, race and customs" thread and the "Drag cars in motion" thread.
This is a special treat, especially with narration by Nuke at Night, who was there, bangin' gears and hangin' on. Thanks again, guys!
Scotty

 

are the wheel wells polished aluminumor stainless...like the hood...? thats the "kinda scary" cool stuff , i like on here...bitchin

 

And to bump this thread again, WE ARE LOOKING FOR THIS CAR! More info to follow.

 

OK all you sharp eyed old racers, why would it be lettered as a B/C when it seems to be an Altered. Might the position of the rear have anything to do with it? It shouldn't.
Maybe it was easier to move up to Comp as there was a bunch of B/A cars at that time.