I was going to wait some time to post this picture but I think now is the appropiate time. In the '90s I invited Ralph to come to one of my Super Stock drag race reunions and he told me no one in drag racing would care if he was there. I assured him he was wrong. He and his wife came and I can tell you every drag racing legend there treated him almost like God. He was into his 80s but came back for several more. We became good friends. Through the reunions I organized I became friends with over 100 drag racing legends and there was not one more loved than Ralph Moody.
frank , i believe i saw a group photo in a recent mag showing many of the drag racing greats from the '60's at one of your super stock reunions . in the center of the front row was ralph moody . i've always referred to mr. moody as "the godfather" , as he was so talented in so many areas ; and , i believe , made nascar what it was in the '60's....tho i would hope not what it's come to be today !! . i've never heard or read a bad word about mr. moody , so it comes as no surprise that he was so highly regarded at your super stock reunions . i attended the first 2 or 3 super stock reunions , starting in 1995 . i came with friends charlie morris , joel naprstek , and jim amos . i believe you know them well . while mr moody was not in attendance in those years , i did get to meet some of my other heroes , including phil bonner , dick brannan , bill lawton , bob tasca, sr. , and "hugh baby" [ one of the coolest nicknames in drag racing !] platt . those were great times . thanks for the memories . "genuine jack" kissling
Did you happen to buy an RC cast scattershield for it a while back, from a guy a little north of your location?
This is a great thread, and an outstanding example of how many people there are on the HAMB with stories to share about any topic from those days. Keep 'em coming!
Frank, Just sent you a bunch of photos. Hope you like them. Thanks for posting if you choose to. Mr. Moody was a prince. He was one of the nicest and most humble legends I have ever met.
My car is not one of those three. It was a 428 car that was converted to SOHC power and sponsored by Foulger Ford. Jack Chrisman was the crew chief on the car and a bunch of other salt regulars were part of it as well. It was white in its early days and later red. The MT red car became a Grand Am car and I believe the last person to race it was Buudy Arrington's dad and then it was parted out. The blue car is with Brent Hajack and I have heard rumors that the yellow car is still around.
BRENT hajek !! couldn't remember his last name , then "mis-remembered" his first name . DARN , it's awful getting old !! the only thing good about it is i got to see some of those great old cars , races , and drivers !!
Holman Moody built between 8 - 15 of these A/FX Mustangs installing the SOHC 427 at first but due to supply problems 427 High-Risers in the end.
Dog, you have the widest variety of the coolest pics. I know Moore ran the Boss Mustangs and Gurney ran the Cougars in the TransAm series. Did Holman Moody run any cars in TransAm? Kevin
Fomoco T/A effort 1967 Mustang: Shelby Team (Titus/others) Cougar: Bud Moore Team (Gurney/Jones/others)) 1968 Mustang: Shelby Team (repeat of '67) No Cougar (Bud almost beat Shelby in '67) 1969 Mustang: Shelby Team (Revson/Gurney/others) Mustang: Bud Moore team (Jones/Follmer) 1970 Mustang: Bud Moore Team (Jones/Follmer) 1971 Mustang: Bud Moore Team (Jones/Follmer/Gregg) No H&M T/A effort. H&M did build a number of Grand American Mustangs for NASCAR's "Baby Grand" series (and the odd Firebird, too!)
holman moody built the wood bothers motors right up to jack roush buyout in 1997 they were still winning races then with morgan shepherd
Tommy Turner was an engine wizard. He did not have nearly as much equipment as other top NASCAR engine builders but kept turning out competitive engines. I really enjoyed stopping by the H&M shop occasionally and Tommy would invite me into the engine room to catch up on "stuff". He was truly a great guy.
One of those won the Street Stock track championship at Bowman Gray Stadium last season, in an all-steel '67 Falcon body! It was a real fan favorite too, an old-school factory-bodied race car racing against all the plastic and fabricated tin cars. There were two of those Falcons built originally and its sister car is being raced in the vintage short-track circuit now. How many vintage cars have won track championships recently? Sorry, I know this is slightly off-topic but I thought it was interesting that some of those old rare H-M parts are still winning championships today.
David Earl "Swede" Savage was an accomplished 21 year old motorcycle racer with "Hollywood" looks in 1967 when he rode his bike out to Riverside Raceway for Ford Motor Company's test session. He lived in the nearby San Bernardino mountains. Ford PR executive Monte Roberts was impressed with the long wheelstands Savage was doing on his motorcycle and when he found out his "macho" name took him under his wing. His first Nascar race was in a Holman-Moody Ford. Savage was so good that after only a few starts in stock car racing Dan Gurney offered him a ride in sports cars. Over the next 7 years he became one of the best. But at the '73 Indy 500 after leading several laps in a Patrick Racing car he crashed hard. A crew member on another Patrick Racing car was running to the wreckage and was killed instantly when struck by a rescue truck. Savage died 33 days later. But it was a Holman & Moody Ford that Swede got his start in automobile racing.
I also went to the old H & M shop in signal hill back in the day. Would be interested in finding out about those H & M 300 intakes and racing type mods they did to the 300. Building a 300 powered drag car go for the old gasser or FX period look.
Good subject for a thread Frank. Here's a few pictures that I took when visiting Lee Holman at the Charlotte Airport location, must have been in the late 1990's ... I was doing some artwork with Lee (which is still unfinished) in a speculative joint venture. The shots show Lee Holman with some GT-40 tubs, a finished GT-40 in the shop and a cammer motor that was sitting around at the time. Joel
growing up around Charlotte I always heard great stories about H/M, The majority of them came from a very talented gentleman named Monty Harwell, his dad worked for H/M back in the day and raced falcons with 300's stuffed in them in europe. I was fortunate to work with him for 3 years at Fatmans during of which I got to hear a very rich history of not H/M but Nascar as well! I am very proud to be from here h
WOW!!!! Thats a cool car any more info on it??? That H/M intake is on my 65 Comet drag car it went the best of 11.14@118mph in the 1/4 mile on a DESTROKED 300 (272ci)
Good to see you here Joel. Folks, Joel did the Super Stock-A/FX-Funny Car Hall of Fame wall for me that Don Garlits was kind enough to let us use a wall in his museum. There are 100 members. Ralph Moody is one of them. In the background behind the cars you can see a full size Sox & Martin Altered Wheelbase '65 Plymouth that Joel hand painted.
The Jalopy Journal
