60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Just to show there is a parallel universe, some photo from New Zealand taken through the late 60's - 70's. These look similar to you're modifieds, but are a full contact class (hit em out of the way).


And another from the more modern era

I appreciate looking at the many old photos posted on this board. They seem to have captured a feel/spirit of days gone by, not dis-similar to here in NZ.
Thankyou.

 

I believe the 04 coupe was owned and driven by WJ Grez from Westfield MA. I used to slot race with him in Holyoke, MA and at Richie's Hobbies at the X in Springfield, MA back in 1966 thru 1968. He ran this car several times at Monadnock in Winchester NH in the 70's.

And he was a Big Boy.

Ed Mudd
Pete Corey 11

 

Aren't these called "Banger Class "Cars?I saw some film footage many years back of an American GI racing "Bangers" while he was stationed overseas `

 

Welcome New Zealand, got some friends over there that studied over here and played sports.

 

Bullfather, Great pictures of Gil, Parker and Rene. Is Parker still alive? Denny Z

 

Pete Corey II Trust me thats Ralph's 04 I work on Ralph's cars Now an raced back then against him. I live in Holyoke an knew Grez too.

I have a pic of Billy Greco driving the car with a Big Block in it the last 30 years the cars have been Black an Gold ,as is the latest mod "zero"

 

Hi, they are called 'Bangers' in the UK, but here in NZ they are called Stockcars. They started out the same looking as your'es in the 50's. Today they are more like a heavy sprintcar that hits.
Thankyou.

 

Yesterday, the owner of the '36 Chevy Coupe Dale Earnhardt tribute car sent me an e-mail voicing his displeasure with my slanted reporting of the car build. He felt I minimized his builder role in its construction. Unfortunately those are the parts I didn't participate in, hence the reason for my reporting error.

"I", want to go on the record to correct my narrative and give Terry Kamp, the owner/builder the credit he justly deserves. Please read the e-mail he sent me. My apologies to Terry are in order. I only wish he had posted pics and a narrative here instead of me.

NOTE: this does not diminish the role Mike Matheny and "I" had in it's construction, to include the number of no cost hours spent doing research, providing technical input, performing hands on work and being second quessed on multiple occasions. .

Here is Terry's note:

Saw your recent posting on HAMBY and to say it politely, I don't appreciate your minimizing my involvement on this project vs your role as "I", "I", "I". While I have personally built/restored some 25 antiques, street rods and classics over the past 50 years I fully admit I had no previous race car build/technology experience when I came up with the idea to recreate a '60's modified. That's why I paid you and Mike to build my chassis. While the chassis represents roughly 15% of the total 1100 hours invested in this build I have never tried to minimize your role on this project.
Your post on HAMBY states I contracted out the the sheet metal, body work and paint.......not true. I paid for a metal fabricators assistance because he had the equipment to do the job; however, I was deeply involved in every decision and spent over 250 hours (every Saturday for a year) personally bending tubing, making templates, shearing steel, sawing steel, bending and forming steel for floor pans, firewall, wheel tubs, doors, grinding welds etc. I also spent over 100 hours on body prep, block sanding, color coat sanding, pinstripe, etc. I rebuilt the fuel cell and made the stainless hold-down straps. I also vaguely remember helping you assemble the quick change (beat the shit out of the tubes, drill and tap tube 8 hold bolts, carrier bolts, fit axles, safety drive hubs, etc). Think I also participated with 2 engine assemblies. I did about 50% of the wiring, helped install all the glass. Over 200 hours were spent by me on final assembly of doors, trunk, hood, power windows, fuel/brake system, seats, steering, engine, tranny, driveshaft, etc. I did not "contract out" a high % of this build; in fact I busted my ass for three years.....investing some 600 hours into this project. Your damn right I built it, and am very comfortable saying so........

 

Ahh shit, it has power windows?

 

Interesting that the owner criticizes you:
I don't appreciate your minimizing my involvement on this project vs your role as "I", "I", "I".
because, when referring to work done on the car, you actually wrote "he" more often than you wrote "I". You even had started out by saying that the only reason you initiated the post was that, to your surprise, the owner himself had failed to do so.
The focus of your post was and should have been the car, not the car's builders. Maybe it could have been more precise regarding the relative contributions of its builders, and no doubt the man is justifiably proud of his work, but life is too short to get hung up on this stuff. At the least, he could have been more gracious in his message to you.

 

Bull, post 8405, is that Hickory?

 

Horace Drake

 

Hoop Schaible

 

Bob Trout and Sammy Beavers

 

Thanks for your response. It sheds a neutral party's slant on the situation.

I agree, I made a mistake in the focus of my narrative. I wrongly took the self initiative to showcase the car here. It was the owners place to do so. Perhaps I felt compelled to so because I was married to this project in some form for the past three years.

My emotional attachment to rekindle some of the race car building I did 30+ years ago drove over the top of my logical thinking. A mistake I will not make again. It was a fun project and the owner/builder deserves any accolades he receives.

 

You both deserve a lot of credit, if he isn't happy by now he never will be.

 

I don't think that's Hickory. They have had signs above the guardrails, all the way around the track, except at the grandstands for as long as I can remember all the way back into the early 60's. My uncle used to race @ Hickory and my family is from that area. There is a big graveyard across the creek, west of the speedway, on the same side of the road and the owners and the city had them install the signs to help contain the noise and they have always had to work with the graveyard owners to schedule funerals on the weekends to avoid the race car noise. Also, the signs block the view of the racing for those who wanted to park in the graveyard in their cars and watch the racing. To me, Hickory has to be one of the hardest tracks on the ears, because it is so loud inside the track, or at least it was when we were there with the Modifieds back in the late 70's and 80's, before mufflers.

 

Modified driver I think you handled this whole situation very well. There should be more people like you in this world.

 

Parker Bohn passed away some years back. The car owner, Tom Skinner passed away in the past couple of years.

 

Islip Speedway

The photo of Gil, I'm not sure.

 

If I make re-posts of the same photos...sorry...but I don't hear anyone complaining if and when I have lol