60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Dostie that was it lol

 

I know it isn't period correct, but I just had to toss up a pic of our mod at last week's season opener, a UMP dirt modified... powered by an 18* 430 SBC...


You like the 'hearse'?

 

I'm guessing this is the car you saw Leck in. I believe he drove it in '74. That year Tremont built a new Pinto for Chuck Ely. Leck got the hand-me-down.

 

That's the car. I love the look of the various tracks cars back then. They were all quite distinctive then. This car looks like a near twin to the car that Butch Jelley drove then. I'll have to dig out the Leckonby #115 shot that I have.
Thanks for sharing. Love to see more.
Joel

 

Yep

an the was the time when they all looked alike TC's 28 ,J&F's 52/152,all copied from one car--Cagle's 24

The next one copied was the Leto 50 Gremlin for TC the Bob Rossell built .
My fav was Goober's 111 I miss him RIP Tony

Any word on Kathi Tremont ?

 

18 deg 430 . . . . . .

And they say Modified racing isn't affordable anymore.

I ran with the UMP in Missouri a few times, and a lot of guys from STL would visit us in the hinterlands.

Who built that chassis? The cage looks very small (as in tight to the driver). Have they been changing the rules? There used to be a rule about minimum interior dimensions on the halo.

Slick looking ride, I'd kill to be in the seat.

But with hardware like that, it's no wonder the modifieds (the supposed "budget" race car) are shedding racers to other classes.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have the coin to run a mill like that, and the manpower and money for test and tune time to really sort out a four bar car like it ought to be.

Love it while you can afford it, I'm betting the Modified will go the way of the Open Late Model at the weekly shows. Only the big money goes fast => lower car counts => low purses => yet lower car counts => no more class.

 

Tremont built the #115 Coach as seen in the picture.

The #28 Coach was built at Billy Young's garage on Shear Rd. in West Sand Lake, NY within shouting distance of Tremont's shop.

The #28 was a Bill Rossell built chassis Young bought for his driver Tommy Correllis. When Tommy left the #28 for Leto's #50, Butch Jelly took the ride over.

At that time Rossell built several cars for Cagle. Many used square tubing, including the roll cage. I guess that's why ya' see so many cars, at that time, using square tubing for bumpers and side nerfs. When I built my #7 'Cuda, like the others, I followed and used that stuff too, but not for the cage.

 

story on red farmer,the car ain't right,but the driver sure as hell is!http://www.tomsroom.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ots&action=display&thread=2030

 

My Willys coach if far enough along (just need to finish the graphics and align the chassis) that I'm starting to look for parts for my Czarnecki car. What are the period correct Chrysler leaf springs to use (off which model)?

I'm also still trying to contact Gentleman Jack Lecuyer, last info I received was he is driving truck. Any help to contact him is greatly appreciated.

Also can anyone post pics of track logos from the sixties and seventies, I'm interested in Stafford and Seekonk, if they are same as what they are now...nevermind.

Thanks, Barry
[email protected]

 

some neat ones

 

Everything we have is well-used... we do this deal on the cheap and usually whip a lotta tail doing it. The car has literally 22 year old chrome Carrera shocks on it from our old limited LM back in '88. We really piss off a lot of folks that have all the new high dollar stuff. Some folks have more money in their shocks than we have in the whole chassis!

The 18* heads are some very early GM originals that, believe it or not, came from RCR and were driven by Dale. The car is a 2003 Bob Pierce chassis that we bought wrecked for $200, and put a new front stub on. It's purely the angle that makes the cage look small, I'm 6'6" 350# and I can get in and out of the car without issue. Our driver is MUCH smaller than me.

On our team, we have over 160 years of combined racing experience... that helps us to know where to focus our efforts where it'll really count. I bought a 408 last year that will end up in my tub project. It has Brodix 11RI heads custom ported with a matched intake by Draime, originally from a Chub Frank motor. All good stuff in the bottom, Lunati crank, Oliver rods, JE pistons, Comp cam... 650hp for $3000... SCORE!!! That's our 'backup' motor... hehehe.

 

bill brice

 

evans later years

brice

brice

 

I don't really know her but I see her all the time. She sells Tremont T-shirts and such at the Valley just about every week. If you send me a PM with your real name, I could tell her you said hello. Opening night = April 18th.

 

That right there ain't hurtin' anything either.

I'm calling BS on 20 yr old shocks though, unless you've got a stash of NOS stuff, or they're old but super high end take-a-parts (which cost a ton of money when they were new) that you've been rebuilding for twenty years.

I've worn out racing shocks in less than a single season when it's wet and rough.

Hell, I've never seen a shock make it more than a full season without getting bent, dented, mashed, creased, twisted, or generally destroyed. Dirt racing shocks don't live long and fulfilling lives.

But whatever, it is what it is. For every outfit doing it "on the cheap", there are a thirty that are just spending the money. Not everyone can find old RCR 18 deg stuff for a song (or 20 yr old racing shocks that work as good or better than new ones ).

I always liked hanging with the old timers at the track. They always had good stories, and they always had interesting advice (not always useful, but interesting none the less).

However, there's another trait I've observed a lot from old timers. They rarely tell the truth, especially about their motors, their chassis, and their setup. They guard their knowledge fiercely, and rightly so, they spent a lifetime gathering it.

I don't begrudge them guarding their edge, that's what it's all about, but don't blow smoke up my ass about how old and broke-ass your "little" motor is.

I once had a guy chase me down from half a straight back to take a heat race win from me. Tacky track, wide open all the way around, for the entire race. Never lifted once. I could hear him coming for five laps, and then he went by.

Later that night, he told me he was running a 355 with steel heads and stock rods.

The next week, on the way to the driver's meeting, I made a pit stop at his car and had a peek at the motor. It was painted black, but cast into both the heads and the block were the letters "BRODIX". Steel head 355 my ass.

I guess they think it adds to their mystique to lie about their stuff and what they spend on it. Makes them better racers to win without spending anything, but in my experience, anyone that talks about how little they spend and how old and non-cutting edge their stuff is, while they're winning everything loose at both ends, is lying to your face.

Experience is priceless, but knowhow cannot overcome a car that is 400# heavier and makes 350 HP less than your closest competitor. An awesome driver can take a 10th place car and win with it, but no driver can take 30 yr old 10th place car and win with it. I've seen this tried first hand, and it isn't pretty.

No offense to you guys or your car, I hope you all continue to have success.

I've just heard that tune too many times at too many tracks to take it without a grain of salt.

 

Blackie Watt #88, Tom Baldwin #7, Roger Burdick #54, #V9- Unknown, Jim Shampine in Roger Treichler's #74, Bryan Osgood #09, Dick Emerson #13, Ed Rafferty #04. All photos taken by Joseph Maynard Johnson, Langhorne 1970.

 

Here's a car my uncle raced in the late 60s http://www.catamountstadium.com/bear_ridge.htm

 

WOW, They are some AWESOME pictures of the modifieds at Langhorne!!!

 

Hey guys & gals,
Fred Sipala's daughter Andrea emailed me asking if I had any pictures of her dad's car. Fred was a Modified driver at Islip Speedway in the 1970's, he drove the X91 car. I only had 2 photos for her, so I was hoping you all could check and if you have any pics of him you can post them here and I will direct her here to this site to copy them. She is trying to put together something nice for him for his birthday next month! Thanks for you help.

Sincerely, Kris Holmberg

 

Great ... thanks for posting these. Is that Jelley in the 28 after Corellis vacated the car? Did the X become the #115?
Joel

 

When my partner's brother moved from the limiteds to LMs, all the shocks got put in a couple 5 gal buckets and buried in the garage. They literally are from 1988!

The heads kinda suck, now we know why they were cheap... they don't cool very well at all. They are one of GM's earliest designs of the 18* stuff, and it's a good thing they redesigned the heads.

I don't blame ya for not believing me... none of our competitors do, either! I swear my mother's life on the info I've given, though. It's funny that you think I'm an old-timer... I'm 33!

 

Here's two from 1974, Butch Jelley at Lebanon Valley in the 28 and Dave Leckonby at Cairo Speedway the day that it opened running in the track. Both cars had down tubes here.

The 28 in my picture and the 28 in Hank61's shot look a bit different. Were there two 28's?
Joel

 

HA! I'm 30. You're still older than I am.