Great stuff, Ryan! You're going to need another vacation once you get all of this sorted out. Hope Mom is healing well. This right here just epitomizes "home-brewed" hot-rodding. It may not be pretty, but he's out there having fun with it.
Man, that just takes you back. And to see the drag cars, rods and some customs in the parking area, all aspects of the hobby are covered. How cool!
That's one pile of the right stuff...that was the year Stogy began breathing...dayuum...look what I was missing... There is a number of familiar rides in that batch O pics... Thanks for sharing...these priceless gems... ...love this...the DealBreaker has arrived to settle the score... Credit to Photographer, Owner
Badass photos. I wonder where in texas this was. You can see what looks like a coal fired power plant in the background.
But wheres the overweight, covered in tattoo girls lounging all over all the cars? They always claim to be "traditional pinups." Great shots, That cameo truck is killer. Would like to know the back story on the 57 that had a bad day. That poor 5 window turned into a 3 window looks absolutely sinister!
Mr. Peabody set the Time Machine for June 1960. "What's back there, Mr Peabody?" "Sherman, it's the start of Drag Racing with the Bitchen cars ever".
Great to see unpublished pics of August “Hands” Hartkopf and his 1956 Chevy!! Heard so many stories about him while growing up in south Texas!
^^^ I had an industrial loft on the fabled Dallas' "Racer's Row" .. got to see real splayed on the wall home movies of Hands & Green Valley's best Texas racing. Great time to be Texan.
June 1960 Hello, IN DECEMBER OF 1959, we were introduced, in real life, to the SCORPION from Texas. Bobby Langley’s FED had set plenty of records prior to the Western showing at Riverside Raceway in December of 1959. We had seen photos and read the stories in the Drag News. It was someone from Texas with a very cool looking race car, setting records, not just the racers from So Cal. Then, after the showing in December 1959 at Riverside Raceway, we also saw Bobby Langley at the Smokers’ March Meet in 1960. That Texas based FED was an impressive build, all the way down/up to the custom made, dragon finned, Hilborn two port injector air scoop. It was a cool race car to film and walk around admiring the build. Bobby Langley's Scorpion at Riverside 1959 and Bakersfield 1960. Jnaki My brother liked the black and red trimmed Scorpion at Riverside, but as So Cal brothers, we favored the West Coast racers and Art Chrisman’s Hustler FED, the most. By the way, the race at Riverside Raceway was noted as the East VS. West challenge, with the biggest names in drag racing from all over competing in 1959.
Oh my to think I was only 6 years old then. What a great bunch of original hotrods. I've never seen so many early Pickups transformed for dragging. How cool is that. Thanks for sharing Ryan
Great photos from when it really happened. The '57 Bel Air might have been rolled, there's an injected 210 in there, too. Noticed the FI badge while checking out the front end on the FED. Cool how a lot of multiple carb applications used a plate above them. I guess to control turbulence?
One of my wife's dad's cousins had been good friends with him and told some of those stories. As in how one side of his block was bored larger than the other and if they tore his engine down to measure it he would pull the head on the side that passed muster. Or that he let them use "his" micrometer to measure with. Fantastic photos of what must have been a pretty big meet at the time. From this snagged off the net Aug 1 1960 creds to Dave Ray/DragList.com It looks like the photos Ryan posted were taken at Caddo Mills. I think that Jean, My dad and I went to a drag race there in 1970 when Dad flew to Texas to meet his first born grandson. There had been flyers in the parts houses in Waco for a big race up around Dallas-Fort Worth that we went to.
@wbrw32 @1-SHOT ... HAMB red phone is ringing. Apologies ahead of time .. if previous frequent contributions on the Texas threads .. maybe seem to repeat. Always good to hear from you, regardless.
I was told by my Father and Grandfather the reason for the plates over the top of the carbs was that, at speed the air going over the carb throats would create a vacuum and could actually suck the fuel out of the bowl. They were there and raced in the early to mid 60's in So Cal. Wish I had their pictures and FED...… all got lost and sold off when my dad and his brothers went to Vietnam.
Interesting. Makes ya wonder how it was ordered from the factory. Its also missing the V8 louvers in the fender. Someone put down some money for a hot car off the dealership lot
^Fender louvers were Bel Air pieces, and would also have ahd stainless all the way around the windows. 8 cylinders were designated by a ''vee'' on the hood & trunk with Chevrolet scripts, instead of 6 cyl crest on trunk.
Pretty sure this coupe belongs to a fellow Hamber. Need to check. Thanks Ryan, one after another of great memories. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
