History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

1959 nats

 

Thanks! I remember this car but never saw a photo.

 

Re 296 ardun's post above:
On the "Margie" set. Ivo reportedly paid Prudhomme $25 a race to drive the Showboat.

Roo

 

Hollish Brothers Bantam delivery, from Akron, OH, racing Lewis Carden, Birmingham, AL. Both cars held national records, and Hollish car would race Rodney Singer for Top Eliminator, lost the clutch on that run. '59 NHRA Nationals.

 

Lefty and Zane

 

Google Chrysler V-16 Rich. floydjer

 

That's great. But it's not an Allison. Nor is it a production engine of any type. The Ford GAA was originally designed and built as a V12 aircraft engine. But made production as a V8 tank engine.. The truck pictured has a V16. Tug boats have V16s. Locomotives have V16s. But not one of them and no airplanes ever had an Allison V16

 

True....But NOW you HAVE SEEN a v-16 aircraft engine.

 

Sort of. More of a proposal for a 16 cylinder aircraft engine. I have actually seen lots of aircraft engines. Now I have seen a picture of a failed proposal for a 16 cylinder aircraft engine. Now if you took 16 jugs from a 3350 and cast a crankcase and all the rest. You would have something I would really like.

 

Allison V-3420 engine.


Fisher P-75

 

Basically the same idea. picture from last page

 

More Lions:

This might be Gary Cochran's blown Ford modified roadster


Ralph Gonzales "Californian" modified roadster, blown Olds


These guys made the tow down from Tulare to race B/GS, blown Desoto


Hartzler and Steiner racing Rolema & Hill (Mazooma, is this one of your photos?), Gary Gabelich drove the H&R car though I don't know if he is driving here. (in the background is Navy family housing for sailors stationed at Long Beach Naval Station or Long Beach Naval Shipyard....they got to try and get their kids to bed each Saturday night with the sound of nitro burning to help them (!!)


No ID on this fueler


and no ID on this Thames panel...anyone?


James Warren in the Warren & Coburn Chevy fueler out on John Wenderski


The photo is in a Lions collection but I'm not sure if this is Lions or OCIR??



Afternoon qualifying...notice the road in front of the stands..that was the original fire-up road...it was pretty short, though, and later Lions installed roller starters...


Ward and Wayre "Long-Shot"...one of the longest fuelers at that time...John Mulligan drove. Glenn Ward was a barber from Garden Grove who was a long-time dragster builder/driver, Jack Wayre was the money guy...


No ID


Things going badly, though it could have been much worse if the fire had started after takeoff...not sure who this is.


A fuel modified roadster....as that abbreviated Messerschmitt roadster body makes it a "roadster"


Creitz Automotive on the track? Looks like Nando Haas in the Rader Wheels car behind the Chevy wagon (actually it looks like John Smysler standing on the tire, later of "Terrifying Toronado" fame...Smyser was a partner in the Rader Wheels car)


No ID...and no, I don't know what kind of injector that is...anyone?

 

View attachment 3198622
When Lions held a funny car meet, this is what showed up -- Long Beach freeway offramp in the background

I love the pictures and have great memories of those days. One question for the group: is that not I405 going east/west at that point that passed just north of Lions? It seems to me that in earlier days, before the 405, when we headed south, flat towing from ELA we exited the LB freeway (today's I710) north of the 405, somewhere around Del Amo and approached the track via Sante Fe and then Wardlow Road from the east?

c

 

Chuck, you're right, I mislabeled the freeway...it is the 405, which I mistakenly called the "Long Beach Freeway," here is a picture from Google Earth of about where Lions was:

It is now a container storage facility, the entrance, if I remember right, is sort of where the white building is, with the 405 right north of it.