BadNews

I started going to the drag strip in 1965 with my older brother.
I was hooked immediately! I started working on cars and racing as soon as I got my NJ drivers license with my Mom's 1965 Buick Wildcat with a 425 engine. I got hooked and soon was hanging around Ralph Truppi's Sunoco gas station up on Route 22 in Greenbrook, NJ. and later at his shop, nearby. Later, I started racing my own '55 Chevy Bel Air. It was the fastest car in Plainfield High. It had a 327 - 365 hp motor, 4 speed transand a 4.56 posi. I later built several cars including
an AAR 'cuda with Ed Hamburger's "For 340's Only" parts, a '68 Camaro 396-375 hp, 4 speed, 4.10 posi, a '57 Chevy Bel Air 'wagon, 283-220 hp, 4 speed, 4.10 posi (Ralph Truppi wanna-be), and several others. My current car is a Bill Izykowski / Norm Fryer inspired (sort-of) '66 Bel Air 427 (clone)
that has a 468, TH-400, 10" Turbo Action converter and a 12 bolt with 4.10 gears, Moroso Brute Strength posi and Moser axles. It is driven fairly regularly, though not in the rain much.
It has 10.58 compression (pump gas friendly) engine, tight 10" converter and a stock suspension (other than 70/30 front and
50/50 rear drag shocks) for a smooth ride. It runs cool, even in the Florida summer heat. It is a radio and clock delete car. It is painted Tropic Turquoise with a two-tone turquoise interior including bench seat. I took it out recently because I was curious as to what it would run, and it had a 60' time of 1.673 and in the 1/8 mile ran a 7.541 at 90.73 mph. I plan to run it this weekend on a 1/4 mile track to see what it will run all out. Future plans include a set of Cragar S/S wheels and a ram-air package similar to what the 1968 Oldsmobile Ramrod W-30 and 31 cars had. I have since improved my best 60' to 1.635, best 1/8 mi to a 7.348 at 92.94, and my best 1/4 mile times of 11.639 at 114.10. I was runner up at the Bradenton NMCA event last March 2010, and took out the previous years world champ in Nostalgia Super Stock, Doug Duell in the Drag'n Wag'n '64 Plymouth Max Wedge wagon in the second round of eliminations.