60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

That pic of your #44 Ford is taken at Anderson Speedway. That's the day YOUR partner invited me to try the car out. Remember I beat his best lap time by almost 2 seconds with oil blowing outa' the V/C breathers.

Sorry, but I can't resist including pics of my REAL OLD '36 Chevy coupe that eats that #44 Ford up and spits it out . I'm more old school than the #44. Straight axle, drum brakes and at least 40 less cubic inches.

Was a real old race car in the late 60's. Think it ran in Virginia. Don't have the full history.

 

Yeah, guys....I think the same mentality is starting to hit vintage racing that turned hot-rodding into STREET rodding. Too many people want their cars to perform like the new ones and just have the look of the old ones.

To me, if you want your race car to handle and run like the new ones or your hot rod to drive and ride like new cars, you are kind of in the wrong hobby. Isn't part of the fun supposed to be that you are driving a peice of history and experiencing how it was for the "old timers" who drove them when they were the current technology?

 

To that I say, "Amen Brother"

 

You were a lot faster in it than he was, but remember the last time he practiced at Anderson we had just finished the car, the first time, and he stuck it into turn one wall. Everything but the drivers compartment of the cage was wasted, the frame was a throw away and most of the body had to be changed out. Even if he hadn't tried to knock the wall down we know you would still set a faster time.

And yeah the "?" is oldschool, one of the few thats left with the NVRA. By the way that announcer fellow is intrested and may buy my 55 Chevy #84.

 

I guess it is kind of hard to forget new technology in a build;and whenever people look like they are having lo-buck fun the high$ guys want to play too.
Some of the old tech. is best left in the past though; the original roll cage in 56h's chev : plumbing pipe and driveshaft tubes, the original driver had some balls!!!
nvra sorry about the ga.-nc. comment. I grabbed those shots off the nvra website, and it looks like the SC. guys build the style I like !

 

You ought to have some stories to tell...... BTW, Mimi Lazarro, Louie's youngest daughter posts over at DTD every once in awhile. I can't think of her username, but you'll know it when you see it.

DAMN....I love this thread!

Jan

 

Leave it to a retired "tire engineer" to be caught with sticker tires on his vintage car! LOL

 

Does anyone out there know anything of Nels Williams, who built some of the strongest running cars in eastern Nebraska/western Iowa in the 50s & early 60s? My Dad knew him well and has a bunch of good stories about him. Nels was very unusual for the time and place in that he built and owned the cars but didn't drive them.

 

My dad says it's probably Gerald Chamberlain driving that car at that time. Power was a Ford 427... and he's already built a model of it. I sent him the photos because I didn't think he had.. lol..

 

Here is a 100" Texas Modified"
It's a nance style chassis

 

Some years ago he brought that car out to a vintage show at the Pikes Peak Intl. Speedway, in conjuction with a IRL race. So happens that Chris Economacki was the Grand Marshall for the IRL race and seemed very impressed with the car. Made several complimentory comments about it during the vintage car parade laps. I don't think he had ever seen a NCRA/southwest modified up close before.

 

#707...."Deasey's Donkey".

Frankie Schneider told me that he has a 37 or 38 Ford that the Deaseys started to build into a stocker in the 60's. Frankie said they were planning to use an independent rear suspension in the car. He says that by the time they welded in all the steel plate necessary to mount the unique rearend components...it was determined that the car would be too heavy and thus uncompetitive. I guess they left it at Frankie's garage and moved on to a different car. Still there 40 years later!

 

I remember going by his place like 25 years ago. You knew it was his place because there must have been 50 or 60 old stock cars lined up in the woods around it.

 

around 62// this was a 38ford coupe bigblock edsel powered run riverhead islip freeport built by joe sodal drive mousey kempster

 

What can I say. Ya' caught me with those new high $dollar$ tars!!!!!!!!!!!

About the only way I can keep the 2,650 lb. "Chit Box" to run with the feather light 1,900 - 2,000 lb. southern "Skeeter" cars with wings.

Hell, one guy, Levie Jones (of quick change rear end fame) was running a magnesium SBC engine block he cast in his own foundry. I stood there when his car went across the scales at 1,850 lb. .

Rules said no aluminum engine blocks. His was magnesium!!!!!!!!! It fit the rules, what could I say?

 

Before there were computer generated graphics, there were tech illustrators. This one was done by the best, David Kimble

 

I'm doing some research on a couple 1970's Cup cars, can you oval track guys offer any suggestions on web sites or books that would have a good collection of NACSAR pictures and race information from 1971-1973. Cars I'm interested in are 1971 Monte Carlo #93 Driven by Richard Brown in '71 and Buck Baker in '72 and the 1973 #15 Bud Moore Torino driven by Bobby Issac. Thanks in advance...

 

Here are a few of my Dad's from the late 60's. Ran around the MO, OK, AR, KS area.

 

HKestes,
Raced with your dad [Harley] back in the day. He was a hard charging driver that was very hard to out run. I am still racing the old modifieds in vintage races all over the country. I am racing a 31 model A with a 300 ford 6 cyl. Just got home from the Cornhusker
Vintage Nationals in Columbus, Nebraska. At 65 years old I am still having a blast with the old cars. Oh yeah, yes I am guilty. I have cut up a bunch of 32,33,34 Ford and chevy coupes. When I go to car shows and see a nice old coupe, I still think " boy that would make a good dirt car. Some of us just see things from a different angle.

Andy Anderson

 

If I remember right, this picture was at Eldora--Little hoops--big noogies

 

Hey guys, great thread. Can't wait for my dad to come over and show him all the great photos and links. He's been a dirt fan for years. Although I'm a youngin' when we're talkin' about most of these guys I remember a few of them still ran when I went to the races (76-81 or so). These are his prime years.
I grew up at Flemington when it was dirt and would spend hours there standing on the roof of our family wagon in the infield. We'd even put lawn chairs up there sometimes. When we'd get home we'd be covered with the black, smelly dust you could only get at Flemington Speedway. My dad would open the doors and literally hose out the entire interior of that Ford wagon. The water just went through the holes in floor of that $85 car. That was our race chaser, as well as our daily transportation. My dad would drive that car anywhere, anytime, as long there was a race to see.
When Flemington shut down for the pavement it was all over. No more sliding action, no dirt in your face (the few times we sat in the 4th turn), It was gone. At the other tracks the cars didn't seem to go as fast to me, guess 'cause that was home.
Been to lots of east coast tracks over those years, Flemington, East Windsor, Bridgeport, Nazareth (both little and the big track when it reopened), Penn National, and of course, Syracuse. Even traveled out to Eldora once to see the Outlaws. That was some serious racing.
Came to find out just this Summer that my Grandfather (mom's father) used to race Jalopies in NJ in the 40s. Somewhere in Middlesex/county? I guess it wasn't much of a career as no-one in my family ever mentioned it. Could be that my mom never knew. Her brother told me. Kinda cool to have learned that. Unfortunetley he passed long before I was old enough to talk to him.
Keep the pix. coming....Mike.

 

Forty Years of Stock Car Racing Vol 3, by Greg Fielden. Any kind of race information you could want in there. Stock Car Racing back issues might do the trick for specific car photos.

 

Junkyard Jan, Saw where MiMi sang the star spangled banner at the Syracuse race last weekend, Have'nt gone to a race since Lou passed away,cept for the memorial race at Fonda shortly after. Truely one of the last low buck racers! Win or lose you never went hungry after the races with Louie. He made the best pasta &sauce you ever had! Races seemed to have lost there "luster" If you know what I mean. He is sorely missed.

 

This is a kickass thread.

I race stockcars up north here in Ontario, so I've had a chance to meet some of these dudes in the pits. I've had the pleasure of watching these cars race, in the Canadian Vintage Modifieds series. They're all required to run sixes with a single carb, but they can still tear ass around the track.

Steve Lyons, this guy, here:




Has a neat one, a '32 Frontenac! These are a helluv a lot of fun to watch.



And hey rustynewyorker, your pops has some great builds there! I got one of these on the go myself.

 

Mid West driver Roy Hamilton's little girl Viki does her Danica impression. This was probally just after WWII

 

"Rules said no aluminum engine blocks. His was magnesium!!!!!!!!! It fit the rules, what could I say?"

And I thought the only under hood "mag" was a magneto distributor!!??!!

Sounds like Jones might have been friends with Smokey Yunick. "It doesn't say you can't...so that means you can".

 

The Rapid Roman Richie Evans, From Rome Ny

 

Big Blocks Were Popular Early 70's Then Small Blocks Came Back With Mufflers

 

I started racing at 4 1/2 years old in a quarter midget raced thru 16 years old gave it up got back into it when i was 40 and hung my helmet up in 2004 43 . still in my blood and on long island it was the best back in the 40's - 70-s then they sold the land where Islip raceway was , the home of the figure eight and the home of the televised demolition derby with 200 cars . then they sold and closed freeport raceway and now the last track is Riverhead raceway which they said is sold but still has a opening day of nay 2008.

 

Thanks for the info, I just ordered Vol 3 on Amazon, should be here in a few days, looking forward to reading it...I have picked up most of the 72 and 72 Stock Car Racing mags on ebay over the last few months. Thanks again!