Modified Production

these were posted previously in another thread...
but just in case you didnt get to see them...

 

The first time I saw Lee Shepherd he and Bobby Cross were running a Maverick in M/P. They were some quick Texans!

 

Yes, that was after he crashed the Pro Stocker the first time. It was Shileno (I know I spelled that wrong) & Colman's black Camaro, F/MP. Lee, when I first met him, had a green F/MP or G/MP Chevy II wagon. He later replaced Bobby Cross in the Maverick.

Do any of you remember seeing Butch Lake's and Carroll's Corvette FI manifolds made into tunnel rams, before Edelbrock or anybody else made tunnel rams? I don't remember who had the first one, Butch or Carroll. All anybody ran before that were the cross rams.

 

HI Bob, did you reach Mike?

 

The first intake I saw like that was at Connecticut Dragway in 1966 on Ralph Ridgeway's car. Didn't Edelbrock make a "Ridgerunner" intake named for him?

 

Not that I'm aware of. He did make stud girdles, I believe his products were called Ridgerunner. I used to run his stud girdles. Vic Edelbrock "borrowed" Carroll's manifold, took it back with him after the World Finals one year. Vic sent Carroll, supposedly, their first tunnel ram. They furnished all his manifolds for some time. Carroll got upset that he didn't get the one he made back. Vic told him they had to cut it up for measurements or something. Some time later Edelbrock sent Carroll a new prototype tunel ram, made of fiberglass and plywood, for dyno testing. He kept it. It is on a shelf in the back storage room. If your ever in Amarillo, stop by Carroll's Engine & Machine, and check out his '55 Chevy and the fiberglass and plywood Edelbrock tunel ram. When asked for it back Carroll told Vic he had to cut it up to make some measurements. <G>

 

Hip hip hurray for McCrea! More Tri-5 Modifieds please!

 

If you are talking about the Rapid Rodent, I have one. I think I have a lot of scanning to do.

 

Ya ya.., do some scanning.., please

 

I knew I'm not totally loosing it! This is from an earlier discussion of Ralph Ridgeway:



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Member



Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Pr Ed County Ontario Canada
Posts: 920


</td> <td class="alt1" id="td_post_3327286" style="border-right: 1px solid rgb(229, 229, 229);"> <!-- icon and title --> Re: Ridge Runner Speed parts, Ralph Ridgeway?
<hr style="color: rgb(229, 229, 229); background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> Ralph Ridgeway Debs automotive. Inventor of the tunnel ram as we know it. I saw him run in the 1960s at Les Cedres Drag Strip in the provimce of Quebec. (About 35 miles from Cornwall, Ont.) He ran Kempville's own Bill Gaw , another inovator in his own right. Both were 55 Chevs and both were CM/P , We could hardly believe such a famous person would be at that little two lane strip. We had read about him in the hotrod mags just a couple of months previous. If I remember right and it is possible I dont since it was 40 years ago I think he started with a Chevy Rochseter Inj unit and cut the top of and made a tunnel ram of sorts.
Don
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As reqested.

 

Here's a neat one!

 

Larry Kopp and Dave Lewis.

 

Check out the Motor Wheel Fly's on the Granny Goose Vette SWEET !! Great pictures.

 

I had a chance to buy this car is about 1994 as a roller. I stopped and asked about a ’55 2dr wagon that was sitting out in a field near <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gap</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">Pa.</st1:State></st1lace> The wagon was a mess, but the owner said he had another “55 chevy for sale. He took me to a barn and inside was the car in this picture. The reason I know it is the same car is the rear wheel wells. The owner pointed out to me that someone had taken ’55 chevy front fenders, cut out the wheel well opening, and grafted it to the rear wheel wells of this car. If you look at TMcCrea’s picture, you can see that the rear wheel wells are the same line as the fronts. I’ve done a lot of body work, and that’s quite a bit of work just to make room for some bigger rear meats!
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The guy wanted about $2500 for the car, and I passed. Wonder what ever happened to it……..

jrstock55

 

Not real sure how anybody knows who was the first in the U.S. to do that. Ralph could have very well been the first in his area, but I do know who's Corvette FI manifold conversion Vic Edelbrock borrowed to work with early on. Carroll used the 1962 version, that had a removable top. Butch Lake's appeared to be an earlier one piece manifold with the top cut off. I don't know which one built his first. Carroll had Joe Mondello port his, as that was who was also doing his cylinder heads at that time.

 

Perfect, Thanks!

I can still hear that zillion rpm 287.

 

This 53 was owned by Joey Stillings and ran H/Gas. Not sure where Joey was from but he did race in Division 3.

 

my friend vinny barones A/SM camaro.

 

The story I heard on this (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) was that Caudle never got the manifold back, When Caudle asked Edelbrock about it, Vic said he had cut it up to get the measurements for the Edelbrock. Kinda ticked Caudle off. Later Edelbrock sent Caudle a "prototype" manifold to test. Yep, it's supposedly still at Caudle Automotive on a shelf.

 

I remember a great article from many years ago on the R-M 'Vette and their(including Lee-RIP) efforts to make minimum weight for the various M/P classes they ran. Lead bisquits were popular,but illegal,yet they "found" their way into a lot of cars. Usually the first thing a competitor would mention to the tech guys, "...hey,look here(or there) for some lead on so-and-so's car";the accuser was probably running with them also,but did a "better" job of hiding them.

Yup,265+/= cubes running at 10,500 R's;those were the days. And,in a car that weighed 34-3500 lbs. Lots of parts carnage there.

This could probably qualify for the "Cheating Stories" thread,but since we were discussing M/P cars,it'll work here as well.

 

......that article was called "White Line Fever" and I remember it well. It was a Car Craft article.I think when they changed class in that article they put heavy seats in it too.....

 

True story. Carroll still has it. Plywood and fiberglass construction. The fiberglass is very yellow now. Last tme I saw it was about a year ago.

 

Just the most remembered I guess?

 

so would cut or radiused wheelwells be acceptable in modified production classes? or would that have kicked you into another class?

 

anybody?

 

Mild customizing was permitted.my car ran d/mp and had the 1/4's cut.hope that helps.

 

Mild modification to fit the tires was allowed. This was typical -

 

the other granny goose is behind the vette. cool shots.

 

Another trick used in Funnycars was to cross the scales with some lead in the seat and your jacket laying over it.