My neighbor stopped by the garage a few weeks back and brought some pics along. He believes he took them in the late 50's (probably early 60's) at track in NJ. I recognize the Lnydwood Welding name. Can anyone identify the location, maybe Island Dragway or Englishtown?
No idea on the track, but isn't that Albert the Alligator from the POGO comic strip painted (not all that well) on the insert? Gary
Its not Englishtown, could it be Allentown? The Lee's Auto Body Shop Dragster looks like it may be from PA. but its hard to make out the lettering on the car.
I took a hard look at the original pic and it looks like Lee's Auto Body Shop was from Forty Forty which is near Wilkes Barre, PA
Great photos, Thanks for posting them. That Lyndwood rail is the early style with the straight up rollbar, someone will ID it I'm sure. Bob
Not Allentown. OP stated NJ. I have never been to ATCO. Is that a possibility? Close enough to Fourty Fort to be a possibility.
With what looks to be hills in the background, I don't think it's Atco or Englishtown. It's pretty flat around here. J.
My guess is it's Island Dragway which is not far from the PA. border with N.J. and they have similar looking mountains like the ones in the photo's. Island Dragway was also known as Great Meadows year ago when those photo's would have been taken. Jimbo
Here is a link to a photo from Island Dragway located in Great Meadows, N.J. This sure looks like the mountains in the photo to me. https://www.google.com/search?site=...outube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaVOi-5uHp00;1280;720
There were short-lived drag strips in Flemington and Manville in NJ. Probably around 1962. And at some time there was drag racing in Forty Fort, PA. Maybe around 1960. There was a dragster chassis builder in Wilkes-Barre, PA, named Pat Bilbow (sp?). Don't know if he was Lynwood. At one time he ran a rail with two nailheads. Saw it at Island its first time out. Never got it running well enough to make a pass. And he sold a chassis to Matt Herbert of Metuchen, NJ, who ran a nailhead. He ran Island and other tracks. Bilbow and Herbert were friends so if Lynwood was in fact Bilbow, Herbert would likely put that name on his dragster. So the pictured dragster could have been either Herbert or Bilbow or ?. Just my $.02
Pat Bilbow was Lyndwood Welding. Lyndwood is a section of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. were his shop was located. His son Bob still runs the shop and is a HAMB Member. Bob