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History NHRA Junior Stock

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by colesy, Aug 12, 2007.

  1. So you want a new 1960 SD389 Pontiac do you? Well, ordering starts here, mister! Pick your evil...straight from the (DIRO) Dealer Installed Replacement Options parts catalogue. Here is an early 1960 ad.
     

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  2. For all of you SD Pontiac fans, I am posting the June 2007 Musclecar Review article in it's entirety, entitled Super Duty. It's an overview on the SD program. There are a few nice shots of original (legendary) SD Pontiac's included so enjoy, and remember...then tell us about your experiences with the Super Duty.

    Part I pgs 1-4

    Part II see next post
     

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  3. Part II pgs 4-8

    Super Duty article
    June 2007 Musclecar Review
     

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  4. Now the campanion article on Arnie, ''The Farmer'' Beswick, in the July, 2007 Musclecar Review.

    pgs 1-6
     

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  5. Another shot of Jim Wangers and his 1960 ''Hot Chief'' 389 SD Pontiac Catalina at the 1960 NHRA Nationals in Detriot.
     

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    Last edited: Jun 1, 2013
  6. Beswick's 62 Mr. 'B' Passionate Poncho SD421 sponsored by Seltzer Pontiac.
     

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  7. An article dated 1963, (unknown publication) entitled, Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac's, recounting the Hot Chief's history and racing success.

    This one offers more insight on tech including quarter mile success by year and car involved. I found it very informative.

    pgs 1-5
     

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    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  8. Two more SD Pontiac pics between 60-63, and the infamous Mickey Thompson ad showcasing his new Pontiac Hemi heads, circa 1963.

    Quite an interesting feat for M-T in the early days, since he never owned a foundry. You know where this stuff really came from, right? PONTIAC and their SD group, along with their money, and expertise. Consider the 1959-60
    Challenger projects at B-Ville...alot of technology going on there for one man to handle, even one as talented as M-T himself.
     

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  9. TroubleMaker427;
    Talking 390-401 hp Starliners...did your father's car actually come equipped with the 3x2 setup, or was it an over-the-counter deal?

    Do you know what the difference in times were between the 4V, and the 3x2s?
    What about the difference in times between the stock cast iron exhausts and true headers?
    What did the '61's weigh stock and in class?

    Do you have any pics from when it was raced?
     
  10. I want to see some pics of the early Starliners in action on the strip, especially the 1960 models. Anyone have any? Who were the top guns in your area?

    What were the times for the 60 352-360 HP?
     
  11. pontiac421
    Joined: May 31, 2013
    Posts: 35

    pontiac421
    BANNED

    Dyno tests showed the Tri-Power added about 10 H.P. to the 375 rating of the Hi-Po 390. All Tri-Power set ups were dealer installed in 1961. To add more mystery to the Hi-Po 375, the 5th digit of the ,which designates the engine, is "Z" .....But it could be a pedestrian 390/300 hydraulic lifer street engine !!!
     
  12. Anyone remember any other oddball combinations run in the 59-64 period?

    Oldsmobile? I know that they were not popuilar but someone must have ran at least one...F-85 turbo V8?

    Buick had the big Invicta with Len ''Pop'' Kennedy and Kenne-Bell, but, what about the 61-63 Special with the V6, or the aluminum 215 V8?

    How about the big whale Mercury's?

    How about the regular 1959 Ford?

    How about the Corvair?

    I know that many of these were not top contenders in ther respective class, but they must have been run at one time, or another, in the lower classes.

    Pic, articles, stories?
     
  13. I realize that the 390-401 hp 3x2 setup was dealer installed.

    What I meant to ask TroubleMaker427 was if his father actually purchased the car through the dealership with the package installed by them, or, did he buy the package and install it himself, at a later date, like so many other's seemed to have done.

    I know of guys that actually ordered their car and had the dealership install the package prior to them even picking up the car. Others simply purchased the complete setup later and installed it as the year went by.

    I always understood that the Z code was for the standard 390-300 base 4V engine, and ordering either of the High Performance Special engines did not change the VIN, until 1962.

    I have read some Ford literature where authors quote a separate Q-code for these HP engines, but, apparently, that isn't correct.

    I know that the P-code was the 390-330 hp police option.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  14. pontiac421
    Joined: May 31, 2013
    Posts: 35

    pontiac421
    BANNED

    I have also seen "Q" code quoted but there never was a '61 "Q" according to every Ford expert I've talked to including Charlie Morris and Greg Donahue!
     
  15. pontiac421
    Joined: May 31, 2013
    Posts: 35

    pontiac421
    BANNED

    I owned a 1959 T-Bird with the "J' code 430 Lincoln engine and a 3-speed stick shift on the column!!! They were actually very popular in Nascar, but I've never seen one at the Drags.
     
  16. J-code 59 T-Birds were rare. Big heavy low-revving engine! I would have liked to see their strip potential.

    I know a married couple with original top line engined 56 & 57s; both red, and very cool...husband used to street race a 312 dual-carbed '56.
     
  17. Chevies anyone?
     

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  18. I thought that these two Dick Brannan pics would really grab your attention. Well, what about it fellow Chevy, Mopar, and Poncho lovers?
     

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  19. Hi Benchracer,
    Unfortunately I don't have any photos of Dad racing his original Starliner. Somethings Dad has told me about his Starliner are as follows:

    The three two's came in a box in the trunk. His car arrived on a Friday. Dad took the car out for the weekend with the single four and street raced the heck out of it. He then dropped the car back off to the dealer on Monday and they installed the three two's. He reinstalled the single four during the winter for ease of driving....LOL

    Dad also was sponsored by the dealer a bit and got parts at cost. The dealer held the order to the very last day to submit it hoping to have the ability to order it with a four speed. They never became available and Dad's car was a T-85 OD car. Four speeds were never available from the factory in '61 Ford's no matter what some people say. There is Ford paperwork stating a four speed was available for Pikes Peak and possibly the US Nats. I believe this was to "fool" the sanctioning bodies into allowing them. If they were in '61s they were either dealer installed or done by the owner. It would not shock me to find out these cars got GM T-10s. In fact even into very early '62 model year a four speed still wasn't available. A friend has his uncles '62 390-375 T-85 Galaxie. It was a very early car and his uncle could not get either a 406 or a 4-speed when the car was ordered (before 12/61).

    Dad's car ended up first with 390 heads with 430 Lincoln valves then 406 heads. Eventually he bought a 427-425 and a T-10 over the counter in 1963 and put it in the car(including the long cast iron manifolds). He did this after he blew up the 390 on the way to Niagra Falls on my parent honeymoon (7/63) with a 4:71 rear gear.... It was his only car!!!

    Sorry for going long. Here are a few more photos of Dad's original car in the shots. The shot with the woman is my Mom when they were dating. The dealership photo is Hampstead Motors where the car was delivered and many "warranty repairs" took place...
     

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    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  20. Here are the bad boy Romy Hammes 62 Fords ready for anything...
     

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  21. I love all of it. Thanks! Pics are awesome. Interesting story about how things worked back then.

    BTW, the 3-spd OD and the 3x2's were supposed to be very good for cruising. Fords trips' were considered the best engineered at the time; mechanical linkage and smooth operation.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  22. Talking about the Richard Caprio '62; here is another POV.
     

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  23. pontiac421
    Joined: May 31, 2013
    Posts: 35

    pontiac421
    BANNED

    Back in the day. buying the Hi-Po engine ALWAYS included a package of HD springs and shocks, larger diameter exhaust pipes, larger and re routed fuel lines etc. Today, these provide vital clues to a car's original provenance.... especially in a GM car where the VIN reveals nothing!!
    I have a '63 427 Galaxie and when I rebuilt the motor the mechanic noticed the passenger brake line didn't run under the engine like on other Fords, but in front of it.....Ford didn't want the brake line in a vulnerable spot on a 427 racing engine !!! Something to look for when viewing an "all original" 427 Ford !!!!
     
  24. Rivals? Friend or Foe?
     

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  25. Anyone recall seeing this hauler on the strip?

    First three photos are said to be a 1963 F-100. The last picture is of the supposed 1964 Jack Whitby truck. They both appear be be the same truck with slightly different lettering.

    Anyone know for sure?
     

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    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  26. Can anyone tell me anything more about this one? Did you see it in action? Who was there?
     

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  27. Another story I grew up hearing was about a Sunday at Mason Dixon Dragway in I think 1962. Dad had just mowed down all comers to take Super Stock for the day. He said he pulled up to get his timeslip at the booth after his win in the final and the track worker said "You might have beat those other guys, but let's see you beat "Crazy Horse"! Dad said "who the hell is "Crazy Horse"?

    Crazy Horse was a hot '62 Pontiac from I think some place in southwestern Virginia that had came north to race at Mason Dixon.

    The track then set up an impromptu match race between the two. Dad said when the flag dropped he jumped the Pontiac by two car lengths and that was all she wrote, the Pontiac just shut off and drove on down the track. Dad said his car left really hard for the time and often won most races in the first 60' of the track. He said there was a chance the Pontiac would have caught him if he didn't shut off. That happened to be Dad's day and he was the hero....
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  28. Here is a shot of the previously mentioned "Crazy Horse". Anyone remember this car?
     

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  29. Yeah, talking to most guys you will hear that the 60-64 era Fords were big, heavy, underpowered and slow, compared to other brand x cars, but, when the other side of the coin is flipped, sometimes, you get a more accurate picture of what really happened.

    I actually have a modern book about Chevies with numerous interviews from the nineties, with various key Chev personel, and many were quoted as saying that there were indeed plenty of very tough Fords around slected parts of the country, especially in NASCAR, but, also on the strip. Same engineeres flat out stated that the venerated 409 was not competitive with the Fords after 1962 on the NASCAR circuit, thus the development of the Mark II 427 mystery engine, and the subsequent street oriented Mark IV big bock rat 396 in 1965.

    Fords were admittedly not big winners in the top stock classes at prestigious
    national events, but, were indeed winners on many of the nations strips against what should have been lighter, more powerful and sometimes better equipped drag strip competition.

    Thanks again for some refreshing fodder against those pesky other guys. LOL!
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  30. I recall the ''Crazy Horse'' moniker being attached to some early Poncho's. I am not sure about this particular car, but, I will look it up and see what I have. I will post my findings soon...
     

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