Current photos of modern day "Nostalgia" race cars

Top fuel 2005

 

More top fuel? 2005

 

Cool stuff from the shade. 2005

 

Black Magic and Rollin Stone 2005

 

62 Chevy and 64 Plymouth 2005

 

tom s. in tenn.
that 631/2 galaxie had a 406ci for power, runs pretty good too! If you care to remember "back in the day" at many of the local tracks, you were liable to run in ANY class- depending on the "tech inspector". That particular car (if it had any fiberglass- would run s/s- m/p- gas- or any no. of classes. Don't forget rules were meant to be broken! later, matt.

 

Mine at Norwalk

 

This is my Senior Dragster as I call it. I updated the body to give it more of a traditional look. I race it now almost exclusively now at Picton Airfield Armdrop Drag Races. (Spelled FUN!)
It is powered by a slant six , now 246 cubes .
I have had more fun with this car then any car I have ever owned.
Don

 

63 Galaxie and 65 Chevelle during stock eliminations. BG 2005

 

These burnouts are a nice reminder of the dump-the-clutch days. Since I'd been away from racing for many years, the reverse moves caught me by surprise.

 

A scene I never tire of. BG 2005

 

Diggers at sunset. BG 2005

 

Ferdinand and Rat Now BG 2009. I love this stuff!

 

Pandamonium 2009

 

Nice car and one to be proud of to. The photo brings back many memories when these and their counterparts filled the staging lanes. Thanx; Tom S.

 

Not a restoration or tribute car,this is the real deal! My 62 pontiac lightwieght super duty from 1962. Only 47 of these made.This one had the lightwieght frame and body,aluminum front end and bumpers,421 +0.060. Pics are not so good ,I had to scan old photos.

 

Lightweight frame???

Production numbers were 178. 162 Catalinas and a reported 16 Grand Prix's with a total production of 225 Super Duty engines. The "extra" engines were service replacements.

 

The 62 frame had the inner boxed section omitted. It was not hole sawed like the 63.I had one of the extra motors,still have some of it! There was a station wagon too.I bought my "hardtop" car new.An engineer from milford delivered it to me.The "47" Ireferred to is cars built with the same options as mine.

The production #'s I have are;

1-24 catalina 2 dr post sedans (362p)
25-162 catalina 2 dr "hardtop" (362p)
163-178 grand prix 2 dr spt cpe (962p)

There were 18 SD motors released for raceing in aug 61 (to be put in catalina's)

There were 10pair of front and rear al bumpers (61)

The safari (wagon) info came from the guy that got me my car. He worked at GM Milford in the early 60's. The cars were stamped on production dies,then the panels were acid reduced before being assembled without sealants. All of this work was done on weekends.

 

This is perfect.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1732593&d=1346855199

 

Beaver Spings 2012:

 

BRIAN STAIRS, Placentia, CA, the Jim Morrison of nostalgia drag racing, was a regular at western NDRA and ANRA events. This car even made it to The World Gasser Championships in Denver. "I believe" it to be the 3rd quickest blown gas car in history. Input accepted. This "Timz" body, with Willys rear fenders, was built by Dave Giordano (now at Rods West with Don Waldron). It followed Stairs' very "popular" blown SBC Anglia which "floundered" at Phoenix. After fixing a bent rear housing, which made the car wander at speed and stepping up to a "hemi kit" from Honest Charlie, The Beatnik clicked an 8.15 at Bakersfield. Death smoke was visible in the lights, the car was parked, and sold to a racer in S. Carolina or thereabouts, to compete in some nostalgia gas series there. I have seen a similar car from outside the country, but do not know if it is the same one.

 

The 2nd quickest blown gas car in nostalgia drag racing history was owned by GARY and HARRIET FORE, Chino, CA, at the time. Times of 8.15 and 8.14 were recorded at Goodguys Pomona gasser race. I think the 14 was Burch (below) driving with his arm across his chest in high gear. {Great story} This car was built by Mike Ruth and the crew at Pro Chassis. Another Dave Giordano body, this one got got cut a LOT, to end up as pictured. A KB made the music after Gary lobbied to run aluminum blocks in A/GS (game changer). An air-shifted B&J handed the power to a modular Mark Williams rear end. Appropriate(SWC)blue color was applied at Leonard Woods' (the W on SWC cars) Chino Hills Ford, drying on the way to Denver to back up a challenge to all blown gas cars. This chromoly "high safety" cadillac replaced Gary's black beauty which met it's demise on the unprepared surface at the first Hot Rod Reunion, where officials would not even put the car's name on his credentials. Gary WOULD NOT change over to alcohol and run AA/S, and as the smaller nostalgia organizations were choked down, this car was a test bed for many things blown gas, even a 14-71. The car was sold to Bill and Beth Burch, Gary's crew chief, run in A/G, meeting it's demise and all the highlight reels at Bakersfield. The Foreplay name proved to be true as Gary and Harriet built a jet Mustang Funny Car and moved to Missouri. It was to be named Heated Foreplay, but that would be even harder to sell, so check out the web site supercobrajetjfc.

 

THE QUICKEST BLOWN GAS CAR in nostalgia racing history (probably history period) was the beautifully prepared '41 Willys coupe of RON NUNES, Livermore, CA. I video taped two passes at Sears Point in '95 resulting in a 7.73 and a 7.77. At that time, blown gas, naturally aspirated gas or alcohol, and blown alcohol ran together in A/Gas Eliminator at Goodguys west coast events. An extra half pound per cubic inch (totalling 5.5) was put on the blown alcohol cars for "parity". Even though he owned the quickest blown gas car on the planet (input accepted), in an attempt to be competetive, Nunes was experimenting with running billet heads w/no water, on gas. On the second run, near the finish line, a blower explosion nearly blew the front end off the car, causing the hood to dart across the track and nail a beautiful '57 driven by one Rick Finch. Intake temp was reported to be above 440 degrees. See WCDs posts - drag cars in motion thread p.1439 #28764 and p.1504 #30062. When I find my notes on the specifics of this car, I will edit this post. The writing was on the wall and after the Pleasanton gasser meeting, where there was supposed to be a vote on gassers running gas that was sidestepped, he built an equally beautiful blown alcohol '63 Corvette which I will talk about later.

 

Here is RICK FINCH's '57 Belair, powered by an injected BBC. Prepared at Finch's body shop, this car was too beautiful, and quick, to be a dart board for a flying Willys hood. (See previous story) Ione ,CA racer was seen mostly at Goodguys VRA in A/Gas Eliminator.

 

Reminds me of the Gunter Bros car.

 

Hmmmmm......8/11 Bakersfield. Shows you SK that day!

 

Good Question. Was it ever answered?

 

Another SERIOUS blown gas car belonged to HOWARD and DAN ANDERSON of Applegate, CA. 8.32 is what my memory comes up with, as this car's best. Input accepted. I think this one ran a trick 354 hemi. It was quite a nice car with distinctive purple anodized aluminum everywhere. It even looked beautiful on it's side at Sacramento on James Elzingre's It's a Gas video. This car competed everywhere. A leaking freeze plug and steam under the right rear caused it's demise at a later Sears Point event. Check scoreboard: Car may have been crashed on 2nd quickest run in history of blown gas! The Anderson brothers built a multi-championship 38 Chev to follow up.

 

I am getting a little out of order here, but am following up with a post on 33-36 Willys thread. Bill Fitting's, Nevada City, CA, blown gas 2 Door sedan was shot at '93 Pleasanton Willys Roundup. Second and third shots ANRA Bakersfield. This beautiful Bill's Blue 33 may have been built for a Goodguys Baddest Street Rod class. (Inspired by Moreland's 40 sedan and Fat Jack's 47 Ford) It was plenty BAD and beautiful and, sadly, drove over its own fluids and got wadded up later that year. No clue why I can't get the track shot (new car on a license pass at Sears Point '92 just before the tires started rubbing at speed) to upload.

 

my studebomb.