History "Body In White" Factory backed race cars....

This is pretty much my thinking as well, although there is something stached deep in my memory banks that keeps bringing up the '69-'70 Bud Moore prepped Mustang Trans-Am cars. I will check this out over the weekend, see if I can find anything.

 

If you add up the information in the posts it will reveal that the "body in white" is a part that could be ordered through the dealer network. It would save the racers time in stripping down a car to racing weight. My sources told my that the GM body in white program started around 1961 but they were VERY difficult to obtain. Only a few racers that were sponsored by GM or by a big dealer could get them as they did not have a VIN or serial number. The first Ford body in white that I remember was in 1965 for the drag racers a/fx program.

 

Very interesting.....

 

Way OT but at least its racing we have them at work too and we won the best new product at sema this year at HPD

http://i.autoblog.com/photos/sema-2011-honda-civic-body-in-white/

 

I'm assuming that Body In White applies only to an automobile body and not other components such as intake manifolds with a corporate part number. I'm only knowledgable about Mopar's history on this subject, but I'm aware that GM had a corporate racing ban which occurred after the 1964 NASCAR season ...am I right about this? So with that being said ...were GM racers with corporate connections, such as Arnie Beswick, supplied with naked bodies in white in order to build cars like his Mystery Tornado GTO S/FX car?

 

First bodies in white that I'm aware of were around '66, with Plymouths and Dodges going to Ray Nichels for NASCAR. Lee Holman told me that the first body in white he remembered at Holman/Moody was a '66 Fairlane. That makes sense, because all those cars were unibodies. With a frame car, they used more of the suspension and steering parts. I was once shown a pic of 15 '68 Torino BIW's sitting outside the Holman/Moody shop in Charlotte, getting ready to be built.

Back in the day, the biggest recipients of BIW's were the NASCAR shops. H/M, Nichels, Petty, Moore, etc. Some of the early AFX cars came from H/M, too, but they were built from stripper rolling Mustangs.

 

Well, I'm trying to find out what the earliest versions were on the these cars so we could keep it on topic.....

 

DAMN! So you mean to say that GM was violating the terms of their own racing ban, and name GM racers were actually factory backed??!! I just cant believe it!

 

.... And those mustangs were white also...

 

Roger Penske

1967

"Finally with lots of back-door help from Chevrolet, that first car won a TransAm at Bryar, half way through the 1967 series. The secret was a special set of body panels that Chevrolet had produced by stopping the Camaro production stamping presses and making one set with very thin steel.
This was a very expensive process but very effective. Unfortunately in practice for the next race, he crashed heavily and destroyed all the light bodywork."

1968

"For 1968 Roger and Mark had a “body-in-white” acid dipped and prepared an all new 1968 car, adding the weight back in choice areas to balance the car and make the minimum weight. In its debut at Daytona it suffered cracked cylinder heads and lost to a Mustang. Vince Piggins, Mr. Camaro at Chevrolet, strongly suggested that Penske enter two cars at Sebring, the second TransAm of the year, which would be a 12-hour event within an event. Not having time to prepare a second car, Mark retrieved “The Lightweight” which had gone back to Godsall, for a one-race partnership. Roger and Mark fooled the tech inspectors by putting 1968 grille and taillights on the 1967 car and painting both cars identically. Then they sent the legal 1968 car to tech twice, once with Number 15 and once with Number 16, this worked so well that they repeated the process in qualifying and “The Lightweight” actually qualified them both. We know this because Mark put it into his book, “The Unfair Advantage”."

 

I think the bodies in white began in the later 60s with the Darts and 'Cuda SS/B cars. They were sent to Hurst as bodies, not complete cars, as I understand it. After that Chrysler would build a body in white for any real "racer" wanting one....at a price....

 

Interesting....
http://www.moparmax.com/features/2006/i_5-report-1.html

http://www.moparmax.com/features/2006/images/05-report/report.pdf

 

I'd be interested in who your sources are. I've never heard anyone refer to Dave Strickler's 61 car as being a body in white car. He was a pretty big driver back then.

The reason that they used Bel Airs instead of Impalas is because the Bel Airs had rubber mats and not carpeting. There would be no point to using the Bel Air if the Impalas were available as a "body in white" Thankfully it was not available in 62 either which gave birth to the classic "bubble top" Bel Air race cars. If they could use the Impala body the term bubble top would not exist today. That term was born in 62 for the Bel Air SS

 

The Hurst built Hemi A bodies were not Body In White cars ...they were Chrysler Package Cars. Chrysler's Body In White program was only a body, whereas the Hurst package cars were a complete running and driving vehicle. I used to have a Mopar Performance Chassis Manual from the late 90s that explained this, but no longer have it. Might someone else have the manual and be able to scan the explanation?

 

The original fleet of BO29 cars were complete 383 big block cars which were sent across town to Hurst for the Hemi Super Stock conversion process. These cars had VIN tags and paperwork for all who selected the correct option boxes to purchase them from Chrysler. They did however have a disclaimer that stated that they were not intended for public highway use and were not covered by any type of corporate warranty.

 

And those were all white... At least the Darts were.. When those were completed, they had the 'glass front end with the black gelcoat finish..

 

Those were all primer gray with black gelcoat on the fiberglass body components. None of them were painted white by Hurst or Chrysler.

You need to reallize that with Chrysler, a body in white is simply nothing more than a body. That means no wheels, interior, engine or anything else that is not part of the body. My father's documented Plymouth Arrow was purchased through the Body In White program and was nothing more than a roof, rear quarters and floorpan assembly which had been primed and then painted white ...that's all.

 

Thats right.

 

I hate to be picky But that car was built in Japan. that was a hell of a drive for a body in white. I circle tracked Arrows for 9 years and road raced them for another 9 years and have 2 sitting here now . One we owned was a pro built droop nosed IMSA RS road racer built with Chrysler help.

 

I worked at a Dodge dealer in the mid 80's any current body was available as a body in white . It was a stripped shell with all sheet metal and no VIN. Ford currently offers a Mustang body in white. The deal is order it pay for it and it is pick up at the factory only no shipping no attached parts .

 

My source was a GM factory backed racer that was given a body in white in early 62. He ran a 409 in his. He did run the 427 (mystery motor) in the factory car a few times. He had to tow it back to Florida from Detroit. It was accidently crushed in the late 80's by an employee. Note: the term "body in white" did not mean that they all were white.......just a bare fresh factory body. They were not advertised in any way.

 

Bob Glidden's factory backed "Body In White" 1978 NHRA World Champion Pro Stock Plymouth Arrow



The very same car campained by Paul Gentilozzi in 1979

 

I didnt know whether or not the Gentilozzi car was built from a body in white, but Gliddens car was. I have heard that from several other sources, including Car Craft at the time. A990's info on the hemi darts jives with what I know about them as well, and I was a mopar guy before it was cool to be a Mopar guy. And I have period photos of the darts waiting to be picked up at the factory in grey primer. The photos are common knowledge and have been published several times, starting with High Performance Cars magazines article in '68 about Charlie Castaldos car.

 

Just stumbled across this while I was looking at Ram Jet engines a few minutes ago. Advertised as Body in White for $7000.00 from Scoggins Dickey.
Larry T

 

Come on folks ...post some more "Body In White" race cars if you will!

 

The red and silver Arrow that my father owned is not the original Glidden Arrow. As I stated ...Paul had Wayne Farr build his 1st Arrow somewhat patterned after Glidden's car and that is the car that my father owned and raced for a very long time. Wayne Farr was a renowned Funny Car chassis builder and Gentilozzi's Arrow was his 1st attempt at building a door slammer ...unfortunately, it did not run with the pack. Paul Gentilozzi purchased Bob Glidden's red, white and blue Plymouth Arrow in 1979 and went Pro Stock racing himself. The real key is the rear wheel openings on each car since they are very different ...our red and silver car had an oval opening where Glidden's car was stretched so much that it looked rectangular.

 

Hey, I had a stock Fire Arrow! Not that means anything! I sold the Fiat on the right for the then new 1979 Fire Arrow (Mitsubishi) on the left. Great little car. But ifn they were made in Japan, how easy was it to get bodies in white? Gary

 

A couple more

 

supposedly a 1931 ford factory race car.