Mine is a '63 Falcon, is it too old? Also Beswick's '64 GTO was never altered. His '63 Tempest was. Don Gay's '65 GTO was later on.
It killed me to see that Mustang take the last pass at KCIR. I'd been going there since the late '60s and saw a lot of passes. US36 is a funky semi-wildcat track that's a gas to be at. Good luck with your venture.
Im never able to see real well if the beswick 64 is altered in any of my pics. The mr norms car is always in front blocking it out. I stand corrected on the beswick 64 i meant to say fx update not awb update. It just goes to show there was no exact way to build the cars back then. It was all trial and error.
The Falcon ws there this year but in the pits and in project form. Brian, I love the old pics of the race cars back then. One pic show say Arnie's "Tamless Tiger" with Cragers all the way around.The next is with some magnesium ones in front, Cragers in back. Then one with black steel wheels in back. One with hood on, another with hood off. In the beginning, front and regular stock length, later on lengthened out. It was a time of build and rebuild to be ahead of the pack. There was no right or wrong on how it came together.
Speedwise, I enjoyed visiting with you Saturday at the Hamb Drags. I like your idea for an altered wheelbase get-together at the Meltdown next year. Best thing is to keep the requirements simple, and not worry about what the NHRA FX rules were back in the '60s. Rear end moved forward, solid axle in the front, 1966 or older. I'll be there, for the 3rd year in a row.
zettle its true today to. a guy in pa wanted to do a model of the dodge. the guy is a master modeler and a detail freak.. i said ok and provided a resin body. he wanted a lot of pics to do it right. i sent him about 100 pics. he sarted on it and put the roll cage together out of brass tubing. everything was going smooth. then i got a call from him about certain things on the car. the pics i sent were from several differant years. the roll bar and other things had changed. he cut it all up and redid it. it took two years to complete but it turned out great. when i put my photo album together i followed how the car changed over the years. some times on a weekly basis. torsion bars to straight axle alchohol to nitro 727 to cluthch lenco-bruno lenco. leaf springs to 4 link. windows to no windows etc. who knows how it will come out next. im either going big big nitro or gas for a street car to do drag week..
Here' Godzilla at Thompson Drag Raceway for the 2014 Gasser Reunion. To the best of my knowledge, this car has been run as a race car since around 1962. I don't think there too many cars that have continued to be on the track for that long. It has always been a favorite of mine here in Ohio since the first time I went to the Drags in the 70's.
I would like to announce the next Phoenix Drag Reunion to be held Sunday, April 19, 2015 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park ( formerely Firebird ) here in Arizona. We are going to give special tribute to Altered Wheelbase cars because it marks the 50th anniversary of their introduction and they were first seen publicly here in Phoenix at Beeline. What a better time and place to honor and invite the cars to show, display and race? We are welcoming all altered wheelbase cars- original ones from the day and ones built afterwards. Plans are in the works for one of the big names of the day as one of my special guests to talk about those AWB & A/FX days. We will have multiple classes for 1/4 drag racing. In addition to the main event on Sunday, I will also have the track/facility available on Saturday night, April 18 to test and tune until midnight. On Sunday, gates open at 6am. We will also have a free automotive swap meet in addition to the drags, exhibitions, car show and guests. I plan to have my own AWB '65 Tempest there as well. A contract was agreed on and paid for, I have the facility rented for that entire weekend. If anyone has any questions, let me know. We are looking forward to seeing as many AWB cars in attendence as is possible. I will let in all AWB cars for free to enter the show or to display if you preregister. If you want to race, it is $30 car//driver for trophy/test and $50 for money brackets. We would like to find some chev/ford and mopar guys not afraid to run this AWB Pontiac! Even if you do not want to race though, you are most welcome to display and show. Next spring is the time, and Phoenix is the place, to celebrate the 50th anniversay of the debut of the alterwheelbase cars that changed drag racing! We hope you consider joining us! thank you, Steve Barcak www.phoenixdragreunion.com
Gladly! As of today, I am very happy to announce that "The Georgia Shaker" himself, Mr Hubert Platt will be among our special guests at the 2015 Phoenix Drag Reunion! Here is a pic of Huberts longnose Mustang with SOHC 427 Power at Beeline near Phoenix We are trying to contact everyone/anyone with an altered wheelbase car of this era- an original one or one built later to honor this great era of Drag Racing. www.phoenixdragreunion.com
Finally painted, has run a best of 11.96 at 110mph with mild 360 but soon to be a 390 and about a second quicker. rich mr. h/p king built this chassis and I did running gear and int. / paint design.
Man do these cars bring back wonderful memories or what!!!!!!!! This was the best era to be a kid growing up in for sure. I could not wait for Sunday's to roll around again so I could beg for a ride to the drag strip which was only about 52 miles away from home. Jimbo
The Jalopy Journal
