62-65 Superstock Mopars picture thread..

I don't recall that name from the 60s. I think when I saw those '64s out at Lodi, they had different drivers.

Hey, that's a great article on how the car got to Aus. If you guys have kept it in basically stock (or should I say SS) form, it's probably worth a heck of a lot more than you all paid for it originally, including the shipping.

 

This is the '64 AFX "2%" car. As far as I know the four '64 AFX cars(2-Plymouth, 2-Dodges) came down the line as Max Wedge cars and were later converted to Hemis when the engines were available. That is the reason for this hoodscoop. Later it got the hemi scoop. Bill Stiles told me they ran the Strickler AFX car with a wedge a few times but then installed the hemi very soon after getting the car.

A buddy of mine owns this car now and it is in MD unrestored. A member on here owns the two Dodges. The Golden Commandos car is MIA as far as I know. The four '64 AFX cars were Dodge-1.Strickler 2.Ramchargers, Plymouth-1.Melrose 2.Golden Commandos

 

Hey guys.........These cars are still winning. Here is a page from "National Dragster" from after the NHRA Finals in Pomona last year. I don't know the history of Shaul's car (original?...clone?) but it is a legal NHRA Stocker and won Stock Eliminator.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, "Troublemaker". I may have been responsible for some of the confusion as I mistakenly posted pictures of the Missile #6 as Missile #4. I have since found some more pictures I took at Fremont on that same day clearly showing the same car. From the shot of the car on the trailer it can readily be seen that the wheelbase is a little off from "stock".

 

Been There,these shots are awesome! Check out Butch Leal's T-bolt in the background in the one shot. Do you have anymore shots from that day? These '64 AFX cars are very cool. '61-'66 was the era of drag racing in my opinion.

 

Nice photos. One question: why the homemade scoop?

Regards,

Peter

 

Nothing wrong with "livin in the past," so to speak, when modern-era cars (and for several decades now) lack the really cool-looking and attractive, vintage automotive design and styling--both inside and out--and plain 'n' simple, brute, bad-ass Hemi-fied horsepower under the hood.

Pete

 

A 2-door Plymouth wagon?? First time I've seen this! I never, ever knew one was produced! What's the deal with these? Any background about them? Any similar Dodges? I guess it was Mopar's version of the Chevrolet Nomad.

Regards,

Pete

 

What a SIN! What the hell was wrong with people like that??? I would figure SOMEONE associated with this car would have the SENSE to say NO, don't butcher this original factory S/S car; let's park it, or put it up for sale and use the money to get a plain-jane, six-cylinder or small-block V-8 body either a) brand new, b) low-mileage used car, or c) make some calls to the local wrecking yards to see if any salvadgeable, i.e., not 'totally' totaled wrecks were available. I know this was the '60s and these cars were "born to run," but WTF? Were drag racers that effin' short-sighted back then, or were they just plain lazy and didn't give a damn about cutting-up what they already had?

What a sin...

Pete

 

I'll have to look around and see what I have. I have other Missile pictures but I think that most of them are from Half Moon Bay. I may also have some more Fremont pictures but probably not from that particular day. That must have been some big championship points meet which I usually tried to attend because of the big name fields that they attracted. Often I would take a camera with just a few shots left on the roll, mainly to show the guys at school or post on my wall in the dorm room. If I had had any idea at the time of the interest in the factory drag cars of that era almost 50 years later, believe me, I would have taken a hell of a lot more pictures.....and kept better notes of the dates and car specs.

 

Count me as a sinner, Pete. I had a vey nice '63 Fury 2 Dr which I put 130,000+ miles on and then traded for a '68 Charger, mainly because the 318 in the '63 wasn't fast enough. In those days bigger blocks and faster cars were being produced by the factories every year, up through 1970. Part of Chrysler's marketing plan was to get you to want to trade in your perfectly good Mopar for a newer and faster one (and more expensive, lol)Those Mopars from the mid 60s were very popular, in fact seemed like a dime-a-dozen, and none of us had any idea that they would be so hard to find 40 years later that some guys would try to restore hulks or try to convert 4drs to 2 dr HTs.

 

They were born as race cars and died as race cars,life goes on.This car with it's history would be worth way more left as an AWB if it still survived then it would restored back factory anyway.

 

My son, you are forgiven. No, you are no sinner, at least not in this matter, for you did not destroy an original factory race Hemi Super Stocker. Modifying, i.e., hot rodding Detroit's latest and not-so-latest offerings back then, and well into the 1970s up to when the musclecar restoration era began (starting in 1983 thanks to a series of articles in Car Craft magazine, then later other periodicals) in no way is comparable to what was done to the car in question and others like it.

Regards,

Pete

 

Did you ever see a picture of this car before it was 'transformed'? I have an issue of Car Craft from 1965 or so where this car was featured hence my displeasure.

I do agree, once modified past the point of no return as this car was (and others like it), it makes no logical (and financial) sense to return the car back to its like new factory condition (due to its major 'hacking').

Regards,

Pete

 

What a sin...



I mean, why not just get a salvageable body shell from the boneyard because that's just basically what you're going to be using, if you're going to create this abomination??

I'm not blaming Joe Smith (however he did further hack it up and made it look a lot worse!) so much but the previous owner (Fenner Tubbs) who ruined a rare and (especially today) valuable very low production factory race car.



Pete

P.S. I just found out Joe Smith and Fenner Tubbs = same guy. Shame-shame, Joe...you really f****d it up.

 

They altered the 64 not the 65 I say good for them it was a year old race car get over it.

 

I guess the factory was stupid for parting out 65 A990's to build the 65 A/FX program cars and cutting up the 4 64 cars to build the 2% cars also.Were would drag racing be without these dumb ass's?How dare they make history.

 

I thought you guys might enjoy seeing my old 63 Savoy. It was a steel car raced with fiberglass front fenders hood and bumpers. It was orginally owned by Oliver bros in St. Albans West Virginia, I bought it in 66. I raced it till early 70's and sold it in Springfield IL. I raced Stan Byrd at Clay City before his car was altered. It was named Blue Max before anyone heard of Raymond Beatle. If there are any other photos out there I would love to have them.

 

P246 ..

I know Joe , personally ..Nice guy, still works full time building cars and has built 1000's of moving pieces of art .



You would have to been there in 1965 to understand how, why, etc that these cars ended up as they did .

It was a time to experiment , win on Sunday / sell on Monday .
There wasn't 1000's and 1000's of go-fast parts like today

The NHRA had a much tighter rein on rules, you could not just take any ol car and use it ..most cases, to run a certain class ..

It had to be THAT vin# ..THAT those cars came with .

They were brave men to drive those cars like that with limited safety equipment .

The idea was to go fast , as fast as they could,easy HP-- cut weight

The cars got bigger/ better every year, year after year ..

They were like dixie cups, use them up wear them out and throw them away .

Easy now to look back some 45 years and say why ? But just as today when you see young kids marking up their skin .

Tomorrow is tomorrow.. live for today


Joe Smith has built /saved enough B-bodys since that time he has repiad his sin of cutting up one car

PS

Fenner Tubbs was the dealership he worked at and most likely was the people whom made the decision to do that .

pss

Joe recently lost his only son to Pneumonia

Take care

 

Dude, you are one odd duck with that rant.

They were used drag cars and new cars back then, nobody cared that today they would be worth money.

Look at all the 32 Fords that were destroyed on dirt tracks.

You show a total lack of grasping drag history and what these cars were about if you think they were short sighted back then and messing these cars up. Altered wheel base cars are a major bit of drag history.

Once a drag car was done it was done, they moved on to new cars.

The Ramchargers did not even hang on to any of the cars they used.

 

Here are couple I ran across recently that I posted on my blog:

 

I don't know who was driving this Mopar, but no question as to where it was racing, circa 1964.

 

"Troublemaker", you'll love these. Match race at Fremont circa late '63 or early '64. Melrose Missile vs one of Gas Ronda's T-bolts. Sorry for the distance shots....a telescopic lens setup was way beyond my budget in those days.

 

Found one more for you too, SS63......Milne Bros car (still don't remember who was driving it, though) vs Hayden Proffitt during SS elims at Lodi, Calif, circa 1965.

 

My notes show this as Melrose Missile II vs the Blair's Speed Shop car, SS Elims @ Lodi, Calif, circa early 1963.

 

I keep looking for action shots of Gary Usher racing to pop up someday:

 

I have that album

 

Sir keep posting,these are awesome!

 

Thank you again Beentherebefore.

With regards to the modifying of these cars in the early days, they didnt care or think that the cars would be worth more money they only cared about going faster.

Where would the sport be without these pioneers and factory experimentals ?

My car is a factory SuperStock 63 Plymouth Belvedere with a massive history, unfortunately the car has been tubbed, it was done late 70's when that was the way to go.
One day I will get a donnor car and get the rear end back how it should be but for now it will do.