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

Nope, I kept it all these years in my collection of 554 stuff.

 

We've got a bunch of pics of Monkey Motion and a whole lot of other cars at Facebook's Official Irwindale Raceway group page.

 

Day 1 or so...we had to start somewhere....this could be Paradise Mesa or Santa Ana

Day 2..."Thingie, Tom "Acmo" Laughlin on the left, Bob Rounthwaite at right...Bare bones GMC powered, using the engine out of Acmo's Hollywood Graham fuel coupe. This is at Saugus, probably '52 or '53. These guys both belonged to the Glendale Coupe and Roadster club and were friends with famous hot rodder and hot rod historian Don Montgomery. I was fortunate enough to meet both at the "North Fair Oaks Speed Shop" in Pasadena, where Don used to work on his cars, and where fellow GCRC member Gil Hayward built the first "Monkey Motion" fuel altered.


Early Lakewood Auto Parts-sponsored dragster, Santa Ana. Lakewood would sponsor numerous lakes and drag cars for years...no trace of it anymore, just another strip mall. This car looks crude, but it does have a multi-tube frame when a lot of dragsters were using channel frames


Here is "Thingie," seen above with a Jimmy, now flathead equipped, under new ownership...also at Saugus.


Dode Martin, before he went into partnership with Jim Nelson to form Dragmaster. Here he is at the line at Santa Ana where the winners posed. On this day Dode beat the Bean Bandits, behind Dode's car, but lost to a fuel bike, ridden by Clem Johnson, who has the top eliminator trophy. Up through '55, fuel bikes won many a top eliminator title against the flathead/GMC powered dragsters. I think that this is around '52 or '53, note the interesting flames on the deuce roadster behind...
These photos are on several sites, but most are on George Klass's site, which continues to grow daily....

 

Dover Drag Strip Plain Busted was owned by Andy and not sure who owned the 55 Chevy

Jimbo

 

Thank You for the pics and history. I couldn't imagine drivin' that "Thingie". Wow!

 

The Beebe Bros and Sixt car (post Vinson) that later became the first Beebe and Mulligan "Fighting Irish"

Roo

 

One of the first Burkholder Brothers competition cars, unfortunately it got wadded up, though the driver (I think it was Harry) escaped....and the blown Olds went into a Fiat-bodied altered.

 

These guys were real bad ass. Experimenting with exotic fuels, almost zero real safety and so on.

 

Glenn Collins--read about the "Heidelberg Speed Shop" here: http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD Sep 2001/SOD-090601.htm

Roo

 

Looks like Geno Terranzio in the near lane with his Buick powered altered and not sure who that is in the other lane at Dover Drag Strip

 

Don Garlits from 1964 I believe at Dover Drag Strip.
Jimbo

 

They were, brought a lot of lakes experience to the drags.....including lots of caster to go straight, and yes, nitro, more than they ran at the lakes.....I was fortunate enough to meet them before they passed, they helped a dumb kid like me get better at hot rod building, because I certainly couldn't afford to pay someone to do it...

 

Thanks for letting me/us know. That era is before my time (1970s on up). If the car doesn't have a name or driver's name on it, 90% of these early drag racers I have no idea who they are. I did see Gene's "Let It Fly" supercharged altered race at Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ in early-mid 1970s though. Talked to him once in the pits late-1980s or early-1990s when he was running an alcohol funny car. Yep, brought up his old "Let It Fly" race car.