NO. 36 ENTRY Reath Automotive-Clay Smith Spl. DRIVER Jerry L. Norek CITY Long Beach, Calif. CAR '29 Ford ENGINE '5? Chrysler
NO. 192 ENTRY Rodney Singer DRIVER Rodney Singer CITY Houston, Texas CAR dragster ENGINE '54 Cadillac
NO. 197 ENTRY Joe Mailliard's Automotive Eng. DRIVER Dave Crowe (or perhaps Jack Chrisman) CITY Long Beach, Calif. CAR dragster ENGINE '57 Chrysler NOTE: This (chain driven) "sidewinder" dragster. was built in 1957 by Paul Nicolini & (his father-in-law) Harry Duncan. Plagued with bent axles, broken chains, & many aborted runs; Nicolini sold the chassis to Chuck Jones. Jones teamed up with (machinist) Joe Mailliard and (dry lakes & drag racer) Wayne Reed to campaign the car in '58 & '59. With Jack Chrisman in the seat, this sidewinder dragster consistently ran low 9's ... with a best ET of 9.050 @ 162mph!
NO. 203 ENTRY Gerald Louis Dilbeck DRIVER Gerald Louis Dilbeck CITY Ontario, Calif. CAR '34 Ford ENGINE '57 Chev. NO. 284 ENTRY The T and T Special DRIVER Jack W. Tipps CITY Lubbock, Texas CAR '31 Ford ENGINE '56 Chev.
NO. 329 ENTRY Berkshire Beetle DRIVER Walter Markert Jr. CITY Amherst, Mass. CAR dragster ENGINE '53 DeSoto
NO. 396 ENTRY Greco & Smith Racing Team DRIVER R. E. Smith CITY Norwalk, Calif. CAR '32 Ford ENGINE '56 Olds NO. 370 ENTRY Fenn & Warwick Spl. DRIVER Richard Warwick CITY Houston, Texas CAR '32 Ford ENGINE '57 Chev.
Here's a picture I found on another website ..... NO. 224 ENTRY Lone Ranger DRIVER Bob Tennant CITY Akron, Ohio CAR dragster ENGINE Ranger V-12
Woody's dragster was built after our trip to OKC. I remembered this post and recently found a photo of the DeSoto powered dragster that was taken after he sold the Moose. You can see the taillight of his J-2 powered 57 Olds hardtop coupe in my driveway as they were getting ready to load the car on his trailer to go racing. My best guess is that this was taken around 1960 or 61 .....
THEY HAD A CAR SHOW? Why didn't I know that? Maybe that's why I saw the chopped Pickup and chopped Merc sitting over near there.
I'll say it in words,,,Three hundred and thirty thousand dollars...You may verify with Barrett-Jackson,,,
Thanks to Hemi32 for reposting my pictures from the Oklahoma Nationals in 57 & 58. That was a real experience as a 17 yr old on a 600 mi trip with the boys. There was a package price for entry, pit pass, lodging in a dorm on the fairgrounds and meals in the cafeteria. I just recently viewed 8mm film coverage of those events taken by a friend. But without the sound, something is lost. deChrome
After looking at the B & W photo of the 54 Chevy, I'm wondering if I have others from that roll of film. Another project on my long list of to dos.
While looking at photos on George Klass' website, I spotted Bones' Ranchero in the background of this photo ..... I'm not sure what the bottom rail on this "dragster" is. Looks like a piece of flat stock. Hemi32 provided the following info about this car ..... NO. 325 ENTRY Purple Dragon II DRIVER Eddie Hill {yes, that Eddie Hill } CITY Lufkin, Texas CAR dragster ENGINE '58 Pontiac In this March 18, 2011 National Dragster article entitled "1958: New Alliances, New Stars, and Ingenuity in Action": Phil Burgess said: ... and out of Lufkin, Texas, came a relative unknown, Eddie Hill, who built a dragster he called Purple Dragon II. The '58 Pontiac-powered dragster was built with aluminum framerails and, in a precursor of the 1990s, had small front tires ...
Found a pic of yet another '58 Nats entry (in @3dnsouth's 2010 Memphis Rodders thread): NO. 43 ENTRY Harass DRIVER Bill Williams CITY Memphis, Tenn. CAR '32 Ford ENGINE '57 Chev.
Time for a new photo I found ..... Info from Hemi32 about this car ..... NO. 265 ENTRY The Mean Texan DRIVER Wesley M. Bevly, Jr. CITY Clarkwood, Texas CAR dragster ENGINE '56 Chrysler
I found another slide and believe this is the parking lot because I see some empty trailers parked there. And it's time for a bump too.
I was going through some old negatives I found, and this one was taken in Redondo Beach, CA, just before we left for Oklahoma City. My friend's chopped Merc, that we drove, was in front of the 57 Ford convertible that's towing the Drifters' gray 35 coupe. My friend Woody is on the right .....
Hello BN, Here is a movie clip of the Drifters coupe at Lions in 1959 for you. Nice historic photograph find. Those were the days... for sure. Jnaki
Cool thread!! '58 Nats was my first drag race. Taken by my older brother @ 12 yrs. old. The start of it all, as they say.
I was just looking at the program for the drags (on Page 1 of this thread) and noticed Entry No. 253. It was owned and driven by Frank Fries Jr from Topeka, KS. Not sure what class it would have been in but I've never heard of anyone racing a 1956 Ferrari at the drags. It also says the engine is a "750 Monza". What the hell is that?
In 1958, NHRA had a "Sports Cars" class (Sp): A 1954 Ferrari "750 Monza" engine was a 3.0L (2953.21cc) DOHC Inline 4-cylinder with dual Weber 58DCOA3 carbs, so Frank's '56 Ferrari most likely ran in the B/Sp class.
Brian @Bass brought this (recently posted) YouTube video to my attention: Don Cramer and Charles "Jr" Hurley from Springfield , MO were participants at 57 and 58 OKC Nationals. C&H Engineering was their business. C&H opened in 1957. Long gone since early 60's but certainly not forgotten.
The Jalopy Journal
