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

Noel Black’s Bonneville car testing at the Fremont, CA dragstrip. Noel lost his life when the car crashed on the salt.

 

I have two fairly good excuses; I am old and I may be not hitting on all cylinders. Either way, I screwed up considering that the caption said "Ford".
You have to admit that when I screwed up I did it on a world wide stage.
Thanks to @DDDenny for trying to give me some cover.

 

I'm just breaking your balls. I have to edit about a third of my posts due to miss spelling or words out of place, so I really don't have much room to talk.

 

He was, the whole sad story was in a Hot Rod feature. I worked with Steve before his funny car days. He was a good guy, taught me a lot about engine building. He ran out of money racing funny cars, and got into the drug crowd looking for easy money. It got worse, and he was shot leaving a restaurant. The killing made the New York Times.

 

Wayne Meli just sent me these pictures...made my day...and it's still early!

That's dad's AA/Comp dragster with the 8-71 blown Wedge motor, I don't know who's dragster that is with the unusual black scoop.

Yes, dad ran the GMC V 8-71 blower as early as 1964...that was his thing.
They ran this car through 1965 were it set the Cecil County track speed record.

Pictured in the car and working on it is driver Steve Malise, who was dad's partner at Brooklyn Speed & Machine and also the dealer principal at Mid-County Buick in Brooklyn.

 

But wait...it get's even better!

In living color, we show the Comp dragster and of course, dad with no shirt on...as always,lol!

First look at The Silencer, the blue 'flake '66 model that they ran for a short time before constructing That Gold Car for the '68 season.

I have so few pictures of Silencer so these are really cool, again with dad's signature 8-71 blower AND the modified Hilborn scoop, new zoomie headers and that cool trailer painted by Wendell...notice the Buick wheels,lol.

The last picture showing The Silencer running at night is one of the few I have on file.

Those 2 pictures of dad & Steve by the trailer and in the car...Priceless!

 

One more picture of the 8-71 blown Wedge AA/Comp dragster...this was the only 8-71-blown car in the country at the time, fuel or gas.

 

Tom Abbott Chute Metal dragster sports one of the first ballistic blower restraints, mid-60's.

 

I responded to this (I think) photo a couple years back and found it hard to believe that I had never heard of them or seen another photo since, definately must not have been widely used.

 

Halibrand adjustable-width dirt track wheels ended up on many drag cars...

 

Alley and DeWitt at Bakersfield


Doug Robinson at Bakersfield. Doug built my B/FD at the same time he was building his own fueler. Credit is removed but it could be a Charles Milikan photo


Rudy Perez photo, Half Moon Bay


The "Bad News Ghost" at Fontana. The car is the old Cyr & Hopper TE-440, with Demar Ray's engine. The engine came out of the original "Bad News Coupe" after it crashed. Bob Sidebotham drove. The car went some rounds at the Fuel & Gas Championships at Bakersfield in '61 before losing an oil filter. Bill Scharing photo. (Dean Lowe reminded me that the engine was Demar's, and not Bruce McDowell's).


Charles "Scotty" Scott on a run at Pomona. This was his street roadster that he ran before staring the famous Ardun T roadster. Photo from Pat Gahanal's newsletter.


Far side: If the Greek could run the ChiZler and Bud, Don and John the GuZler, why not the FiZler? James Warren and Roger Coburn ran it, here at Fremont, Bill Hewitt photo


Harry Duncan's '34 far side, painted "Duncan purple" and running either a blown Ardun or a 364" Chrysler. Harry owned a construction company and built some really nice cars. Norm Grudem photo


Don Prudhomme in the former Ivo single-engine car, with Dave Zeuschel's blown Chrysler. The car later went to Denver, run by Heth and Thompson.


Harry Duncan again, here at Saugus with a blown Ardun. Harry's grandson gave this photo to Craig Wise, I believe.


The Yeakel Cadillac powered Chassis Research dragster, with Lou Baney's fuel Cadillac. Kenny Arnold is behind the wheel, with Baney second from left in the white shirt. Builder Scotty Fenn at right. Scotty would later claim to have no association with the car as apparently a funding dispute broke out. Later Emery Cook and Cliff Bedwell bought the car and dropped a fuel Chrysler in it, and shattered the drag racing top speed with a 166mph blast at Lions. The Southern California fuel ban started a week later.


Porter & Reis in the Olds car against the Brissette fueler, Pomona. Steve Porter and Herb Reis build some strong Olds-powered top fuel cars before going their separate ways, and to Chrysler power. Might be a Manuel Maldonado photo.


Dawson Hadley at Pomona, Norm Grudem photo

 

Another just surfaced picture of dad's AA/Comp dragster circa 1964, freshly built, not even lettered.

 

Thanks for the photos, and the info about them.

 

Thanks 296ardun I always enjoy your posts because I learn something about the cars every time. the story on each car is as good as seeing them


Chrome don’t get ya home

 

Dave, the engine that ran in Bruce McDowell's Bad news coupe belonged to Demar Ray. Demar was an engine builder of some note. He built the little blown 4 bangers for Ell's Lohn's "Wee Ell" Bonneville streamliners.

 

Dean Lowe same goes for you thanks for all your contributions I like the cars but the history of them is just as important


Chrome don’t get ya home

 

Sorokin...Surfers 2

 

Thanks, Dean, I had forgotten Demar Ray, "Ray Engineering." I saw the Wee Eel at Bonneville in '59, but didn't know that Demar built its engines.

 

Those bottom 4 look like Safety Racing, like my, 7 inchers.

 

This car is sitting in my garage .

 

Gotta see more pictures!!!....