NHRA didn't like the early Funny cars at first, so the other sanctions took them with open arms. MELTDOWN DRAGS JULY 18-20 2014 www.meltdowndrags.com
These cars and their drivers were what we were coming to see in 1965 as the transfomation from gas to nitro took place. The cars were called A/FX, Altered Wheelbase, Match Racers and Funny Cars but had no common name. Track managers dreamed up every catchy slogan known to mankind in an attempt to get their share of fans. Match Bash was one of them But by 1966 "Funny Car" had stuck as the name for the unlimited cars although some track operators continued to use slogans. My October '66 issue of Hot Rod has coverage of, as they stated, "The Funny Car Meet of the Year", the Super Stock Magazine Nationals held at New York National Raceway.
I thought I saw an old flyer in a recent mag that had a race for" Match Bash" somewhere in the South in the 70s ? hope to start working on my Match bash 65 Comet again soon, maybe to get it to Riverdale this next August!! 14-71 Blown,square bird injector, Alcohol 406 SBC, 400 Turbo, 9" Ford Altered wheelbase, front fenders lenthend 7", tube axle. got most all the parts, just need the time and ambition!! the Hamb helps get inthused !! need some more posts on this thread !! Chris
I'm assuming it's going to be pretty light, but will that 400 load the motor enough on launch? We had a project (sold a while back) that we had to rethink our trans selection for that reason. 2.48 1st was way too low to load it enough. Ours was to be an injected Fiat Topo altered on a F/C chassis with an all in wt of 2200#. Just sharing info learned...
I Took a race type blower manifold and made a plate to set the 14-71 way back to put the the bottom outlet in the middle of the intake ports,sort of like the current Funny cars,had to use a front drive for the Mag, im goin to under drive the blower, so it dosen't heat the air as much as an overdriven 6-71. the 14-71 makes 526 cu. in . of air per revelution so it doesn't have to spin very fast to supply enough air to 406 cu. in. as for the 400 turbo's 2.46 first gear, im going to run 3.89 rear gears and a tighter than usual converter. if that doesn't work, I can allways start out in second gear. just fun to mess around with these unusual combinations!! Chris
An interesting thread, perhaps I can add some historical perspective of the "match racing years". To fully understand "match racing" or "match bash", etc., you need to understand the times that this whole thing flourished. When we talk about sanctioning bodies, we are really talking about the NHRA. Yes, there were other drag racing sanctioning bodies in the early days (AHRA, NASCAR, etc.) but the dominant one was (and still is) the NHRA. The NHRA was formed in 1951, in association with Hot Rod Magazine. They did not promote or host drag events, but they did work with others (mostly car clubs) around the country that did hold drag events. In 1953 or '54, NHRA sent this "Safety Safari" team around the nation to work with car clubs in putting on drag events. It was mostly a PR deal, to counteract the street racing image then associated with hot rodding. NHRA did not put on their own events until 1955, when they held their first "national event" in the mid west. This event became known as the NHRA Nationals, and was held once a year and was the ONLY yearly NHRA event held until 1961, at which time NHRA created the Winternationls at Pomona. NHRA now had two "national events", the Winternationals in February and the Nationals in September. They did not add anymore national events until 1965 (the Spring Nationals in Bristol, TN and the World Finals in Tulsa, OK). With that background, what we had was a national sport growing like crazy and up until 1965, only two places where we could all get together from all around the country and race each other, to establish a kind of king-of-the-hill in the various classes. But that was only twice a year. That left a lot of weekends for racing on a local or regional level. And at all of those local events, NHRA class rules didn't really matter. S/S cars raced all around the country, many of which would never have been declared legal at NHRA national events. In 1962, the FX class was introduced by NHRA (described more in depth on another thread on this board). Racers around the nation jumped on the FX bandwagon and built FX cars, some from scratch and some by modifying their S/S cars. But what good was having a neat FX car if you could only race it (officially) at only two events a year? What about all those other weekends? Creative drag strip promoters offered some more well known FX racers the opportunity to match race each other, and for $$. Racers were "booked in" (meaning that the drag strip promoter advertised that one well known racer was going to be racing some other well known racer, this Sunday, in a 2 out of 3 match race). Class rules didn't really matter much. Add a blower, use fuel injection, jack the wheelbase around, who cares? Who cares about building a "legal" car for only two events a year? Besides, there was almost no money racing at NHRA events. But I can buy a cheap Chevelle coupe, drop in a 409 engine, gut the hell out of the car to make it lighter, add some drag slips, and presto, I can tow around the country and maybe pick up some match race money. And the best part was that you didn't need to be a "factory driver" to do it. Tom Sturm's Chevelle, a 409 S/S engine under the hood, built in about five days from spare parts laying around in the garage. Cars like this sprang up all around the nation, and 95% of them would never be classified as "legal NHRA FX" cars. And so what? And match racing was born...
Sometimes it's tough to remember what led to what, and when. We all can pinpoint when the FX class came into being. It was introduced by NHRA for the 1962 Winternationals. But to try and pinpoint the exact date of the transition from Factory Experimental to Funny Car is not that easy. I guess we would need to agree that the match race cars, starting in 1962 and 1963, and then really rolling in 1964, finally led to this. The 1965 factory altered wheelbase Dodges and Plymouths were the first "official" Funny Cars, introduced just prior to the Winternationals. Until then, I had never heard the term "funny car" used. The Dodges and Plymouths were not built to be funny cars, they were built to be NHRA Factory Experimental cars. But NHRA said "no" as far as including them in the FX class. The problem was that NHRA did not have a class for them. They either needed to race as an Altered or in one of the Dragster classes. But by 1966, NHRA did create a "Funny Car" class. The first NHRA Funny Car rules: Reprinted from the April 1, 1966 issue of National DRAGSTER Five new classes for Funny Cars have been added to the National Hot Rod Association's 1966 competition rules. The new section's classes will be blown as Experimental Stock (XS), and are for 1964 and later highly modified stock cars. In order to allow their participation in the '66 World Championship Series and other events at NHRA sanctioned strips, the late-model hot rod XS classes will have their own set of national records, with standard elapsed time records for the Eliminator handicaps. The five XS classes will be determined primarily by total car weight, with minimum permissible weights per class as follows: <TABLE width=450> <TBODY> <TR> <TD>A/XS</TD> <TD>2000 lbs. min.</TD></TR> <TR> <TD>B/XS</TD> <TD>2600 lbs. min.</TD></TR> <TR> <TD>C/XS</TD> <TD>3000 lbs. min.</TD></TR> <TR> <TD>D/XS</TD> <TD>3200 lbs. min.</TD></TR> <TR> <TD>E/XS</TD> <TD>3400 lbs. min.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Only one engine is allowed per car, which must be mounted up front. Make or model of engine is optional, as long as it is an automobile engine of 1964 or later production. Maximum permissible engine setback is 25-percent of the total wheelbase, measured from the centerline of the front spindles to the engine's nearest spark plug hole. Maximum allowable engine displacement for A/XS cars is unlimited. Maximum for all other XS cars is 430 cubic inches. Engine modifications are optional in XS classes, but superchargers are not permissible. Either carburetors or injectors are acceptable in the A/XS and B/XS classes, but the other three classes are restricted to carburetors only. Fuel type is optional for A/XS class. The other four XS classes are limited to gasoline only. Bodies must be of a type manufactured for 1964 or later stock cars, unaltered in size and general contour. Fiberglass or aluminum bodies and components may be used. Four stock type fenders are required, which may be elongated to accommodate axle relocations. Frames may be stock production, altered production or special tubular construction. Full automotive type front suspension is required. Rigid mounted rear axles are permissible. Minimum permissible wheelbase for all XS cars is 100 inches. Safety hubs are required. Locked differentials are not allowed. Wheel track width may not be narrowed more than four inches per the original specifications for the type of body used. Four-wheel-drive or front-drive cars are not eligible to compete in XS classes. A roll cage, suitably reinforced and braced, is required for all A/XS cars. All other XS classes require roll bars. Maximum removable weight for ballast is 100 lbs. No disguised ballast is permitted. Parachutes are required on all A/XS cars and on all cars in other XS classes having two-wheel brakes. Fire-protective suits are required for drivers of all fuel-burning A/XS cars and are recommended for others. Explosion-proof flywheels and pressure plates are required in all stick-shift cars in XS classes, as are adequate scattershields. Safety rules applying to NHRA's Altered classes generally pertain to the XS classes, with Fuel class rules in effect for fuel-burning A/XS cars. Eliminator handicaps for the five new XS classes will be based on official elapsed-time records, per NHRA's national records procedure. Cars in the A/XS class will compete in the Competition Eliminator category, while cars in B/XS, C/XS, D/XS and E/XS will run in Street Eliminator finals.
So today one could afford to build a gennie 65-6 era match racer with the right body and some evening fab work. I imagine a conservatively modified 65 Plymouth, not too much 'shove' on the 'K' frame, a big wedge, swap meet cross ram, steel wheels out back and skinny 5 spoke wheels up front, some real basic tin work inside. Some borderline "hippy" paint work, keep it around 10sec flat to avoid current regs and non-era components... Hey, maybe this!! Yes, we bought this last summer and this is our intent...
I'm doing a Chevy II....similar theme....but it has to be streetable too. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=853793
that was when the cars had personalities. now they all look like a bar of soap. (boring) dang it.. born 35 years too late !! everything was better then..
the term match bash was used back in the day. super stock mag had a feature every month devoted to the hottest ss and fx cars match racing. they would show box scores and called it match bash.
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