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History Tets Ishimaru's Lincoln Powered Dragster - Found and Documented

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HenryJGuy, Jul 31, 2020.

  1. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    I would've never imagined it, but I have determined that an old rusty dragster chassis that my dad and I bought a couple years ago is actually the H&H Garage Special, owned and driven by Tets Ishimaru from 1957 to 1960. My dad and I bought it because we're addicted to buying old drag cars, but didn't have a clue of its history...I just thought it was a home built local car that never really saw much action. Thankfully, I was wrong!

    Once I positively ID'd the car, I was able to really get serious about finding pictures. @jnaki helped tremendously with vivid memories of the car, and beautiful video footage of it at Lions and Riverside.

    Things that helped me ID the car:
    -The main frame rails are PBY streamlined tubing, a signature of chassis builder Joe Itow
    -The "pointy" roll bar and the remains of a previous roll bar design
    -The huge radius rods (and mounting points)

    Things that I still don't know:
    -How it traveled from California to Tennessee

    With all of this information, I put together a video of the car's history and its discovery. It's a little lengthy, but I tried to cram as much info in there as possible. Maybe someday I'll find out how it ended up in Tennessee!

     
  2. Love those hairpins. Great history
     
  3. Great story and detective work! That is going to be nice when you bring the FED back to It’s glory. Very unique.
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2020

  4. arkiehotrods
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 6,803

    arkiehotrods
    Member

    Tets Ishimaru Firewater.jpg I thoroughly enjoyed the video. Very cool!
    I found this photo right here on the HAMB just now, of Tets running his boat, Firewater
     
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  5. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    @HenryJGuy . ..........Great Story and well presented! Thanks for sharing.

    Ray
     
  6. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    Yes sir, I think he gained more notoriety with his boat racing than his drag racing. I spoke with Tets' son Dale, who also races boats, and he told me that his father didn't talk about his drag racing days very much after he started racing boats. I guess he closed that chapter and moved on. Definitely a neat guy...wish I could've met him.
     
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  7. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,796

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Great presentation, looks like a 9" Ford rear, from 65 or later, if so,wonder when that was changed. It's ironic that Rodney Singer won the '59 Nats, with a 430 Lincoln, with a front drive blower. Dave and Jnaki are precious resources on here ! Good luck with this project, it's special.
     
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  8. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    I'm thinking maybe the later rear end housing was added when the round tube front axle was installed. Still some details I'd like to confirm, but glad to have come this far with it.
     
  9. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki





    Hey HENRYJGUY,

    I am humbled that I could be of some help in adding to your great research into one of our favorites from the 1959-60 era at Lions and other So Cal dragstrips. It was an excellent build and showed well in the pits or wherever they took the MEL dragster. My brother and I were always impressed that Tets Ishimaru could be the main mechanic and the driver of such a great race car. (Kudos to Joe Itow's Automotive)

    The impressive thing is that you were persistent in the research and will continue to do so. Hopefully, you will get it built to its original specs. That last known film of ours was a beautiful color that stood out in the Lions Pits every time we saw it weekly. It would be a great tribute to both guys that had a history in So Cal drag racing scene from those very early days.

    Jnaki

    Thank you for including my old films from Lions Dragstrip of Tets Ishimaru. That is history preserved and documented forever. Outstanding...
    upload_2020-8-1_4-23-50.png
    Tets Ishimaru driving “The Animal” Twin 671 Hemi powered driving the slick, hydro hull
     
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  10. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    Yes, I hope to start gathering parts to start the rebuild. Some proper wheels would be a great start, and maybe I'll be able to find an MEL engine somewhere.
     
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  11. I saw your story on YouTube under your Hot Rod Hoarder name. Awesome history of a cool dragster. I always enjoy the adventures that you document.

    Jim
     
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  12. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    Thank you for following along with our adventures. The Youtube channel has been a fun challenge for sure.
     
  13. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    So glad that you found and bought the old dragster. Lets hope that the old front axle and other parts find their way to you. I'm sure a lot of us on here will look at some of those old parts a little more closely when swap meets and such start to reopen.
    In the intro I thought I saw a brief shot of a primered '66-'67 Falcon with radiused rear fenders. Do you have any history on that one? Don't see to many Falcons of that vintage and when I worked at Wedge Engineering there was one being built there that looked similar.
     
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  14. Great viewing and read about finding out the history of your find - and big thanks to all that helped !
     
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  15. JeffB2
    Joined: Dec 18, 2006
    Posts: 9,484

    JeffB2
    Member
    from Phoenix,AZ

    The sounds of the car on the starting line and the take off down the Strip is on this Album I bought back in my Teens,it had a very unique sound. H&H.jpg
     
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  16. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki









    Hello,

    Not to take away anything from HenryJguy, but the original sound from the shown LP Album was the source for the sound to my 1959 films as stated in other, previous HAMB posts. I thank him for using my sound film for his project.

    Also, nice find @JeffB2 Here is the back cover of the LP album that we bought in late Nov-Dec 1959 at Wallich's Music City in Lakewood, CA. We listened to it countless times while we watched our early drag racing movies, although it did not coordinate with the films...no sound editing abilities back then.

    So, I would stand by the LP record with the needle on the specific So Cal racer in the film: H&H Garage, (Sidewinder, Dragmaster, Kenny Lindley/Don Hampton and Junior Thompson) and then my brother would start the film and I would start the LP track. It was close as we could get to actual sound movies that we took at Lions Dragstrip. We just had to be careful that the film did not get the dreaded melting process from the bulb heat.

    So, 56 years later, the films were digitized and so was the original LP Album. From that point on, it took some time to coordinate the original soundtrack to the actual racers on my films. (My brother would have been proud at the results from 2016) Check out the "SOUND" FILMS on my You Tube channel J Naki.
    H&H GARAGE SPECIAL

    Jnaki


    upload_2020-8-2_5-6-56.png
     
  17. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    The '66 Falcon was an all fiberglass car that we found about a year ago. It was an A/FX style car that ran in South Carolina. It was later rebuilt and ran in about 1970 (I'm assuming in a class like B/Altered). Here's a video on the history of that one:
     
  18. Boneyard51
    Joined: Dec 10, 2017
    Posts: 6,440

    Boneyard51
    Member

    There’s a MEL setting in my local salvage yard!






    Bones
     
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  19. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    Great video and detective work. Funny how two similar cars were built at opposite ends of the country. The one at Wedge was steel bodied, had a tube front axle, big block Chevy, with aluminum heads and a TH400 that were left overs from a funny car. Like yours it saw limited action only at local tracks and then disappeared.


    Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  20. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    That's pretty crazy! I love seldom seen cars...but it definitely makes it tough to document.
     
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  21. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member

    Great history as usual really like your finds and videos.
     
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  22. HenryJGuy
    Joined: Mar 8, 2007
    Posts: 238

    HenryJGuy
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    Thank you for following along with our adventures!
     
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  23. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,796

    Marty Strode
    Member

    @Beep, member on here from Texas, has a Blown/Fuel MEL,in a Comp Coupe. He hasn't posted in a long while, but might be a source.
     
  24. 97
    Joined: May 18, 2005
    Posts: 1,982

    97
    Member

  25. D-man313 owns that car now.
     
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  26. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,796

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Thanks, that is a good one !
     
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  27. D-man313
    Joined: Mar 17, 2011
    Posts: 1,163

    D-man313
    Member

    I wish I had some spare Mel parts or motor! I look forward to seeing this car come back to life.


    Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
     
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  28. Torkwrench
    Joined: Jan 28, 2005
    Posts: 2,713

    Torkwrench
    Member

    Would a 57 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser have a MEL engine in it? If so, check out photo #14 in this link. The car is basically complete, (as of a few weeks ago), except for the radio antennas, and someone stole the valve covers.

    https://rockford.craigslist.org/pts/d/la-salle-parting-225-antique-cars/7137789639.html
     
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  29. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,178

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    I remember a Lincoln-powered Top Fuel dragster in the early days of Fontana. Earl Canavan? He showed up often without much success, but I'd be glad to hear differently.
     
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