History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Was that car built to replace their beautiful 28/29 roadster Dean?

Roo

 

Dean is correct, this is Jeep Hampshire driving the Cedarquist brothers roadster...the rest of the story is below:


Not many cars took the Junior Eliminator spot from M&S...Jeep Hampshire was driving, here is the story from Jeep: A little later I went out to the "Pond" to watch George Bolthoff drive Bill Martin's 400 Jr. top fuel dragster. The Cedarquist Bros.-Ryan had their AA/FR in competition, but Butch was laboring getting the car down the track. Tim wanted me to make a pass in it just to make sure the car wasn't at fault. I declined, but Tim was so persistent that I finally agreed to make a run on condition that he upped the nitro percentage to 50%. With a more potent mixture in the tank, I whipped that roadster to a personal best of 9.10-179 mph that day. Somewhat emboldened, the brothers impetuously challenged the legendary Mooneyham-Sharp fuel coupe for the No. 1 spot on the Drag News Jr. Eliminator list. I only drove the roadster a few times, but on the night of the big challenge, it was #52 defeating the infamous #554 blue coupe. In round #1, Larry (Faust) was out on me but at about half track the engine detonated with a deafening concussion and I roared past for the win. Gene Mooneyham was unable to repair the carnage so the Cedarquist Bros. walked away with the #1 title.



...and the '29 that Roo referred to...it has been restored, but not to original specs, has a modern roll bar...bottom photo is Jim Miles coupe....they were all members of the Burbank Road Kings at the time
...and here is the Cederquist Brothers story, from "Elite Magazine"

Success On The Drag Strip - Butch Cederquist
Stephanie Struyck Elgin

Hot Rod. The term first came about in the 1930’s in southern California, where car fanatics modified and raced their cars. Most of the first hot rods were old cars, and as time progressed, so too did its popularity. Hot rod modification included replacing engines with more powerful ones, wheels and tires were improved for traction and handling and hot rodders took pride in the appearance of their cars as well. Interest in racing grew tremendously and became “the thing to do” post World War II.

Enter hot rodder and Castaic resident, “Butch” to the scene.

Born in Jamestown, New York, Donald Cederquist, a.k.a. Butch, made his way to the west coast with his family at the age of 10. “They all call me Butch…my sister gave me the nickname when I was knee high to a grasshopper and it just stuck.”

Butch and his brother Dave (who sadly passed away last year), entered the racing scene in 1955. Together, the brothers ran the following classes for three years: the C Street Roadster, B Street Roadster and A Street Roadster. While running these classes, the Cederquist Brothers racing team held records at the San Fernando, Pomona, Paradise Mesa, Bakersfield, Colton, Saugus and Inyokern drag strips. “We started racing more and more cars, and got several records as time progressed.”

In 1958, they started running the B/G Roadster and the A/G Roadster. That same year, Tim Ryan became a partner of the Cederquist Brothers racing team. The team saw success on the drag strip as their A/G Roadster, #52, became the first A/G Roadster to run over 150 miles per hour at the Lions Drag Strip in January of 1962. Number 52, built by Butch and Dave, along with the help Tim, broke track records everywhere and even graced the cover of the November 1960 issue of Hot Rod Magazine.

Just a few years later, #52 was sold and later recovered by Bill Yager. “When Bill found it, it was a bucket of rust, but he’s had it for the last 40 years, and restored it to its former glory,” states Butch. Bill asked if he could put the Cederquist name as well as the #52 back on the hot rod and Butch happily obliged.

The significance of the #52? “Everyone asks me that,” states Butch, “but I don’t know why. I like the #25, but there were too many of those, so I just flipped it.”

Bill, who now lives in Milford, Delaware, shipped the hot rod all the way to southern California and now, some 52 years later…#52 has reunited with Butch, temporarily.

 

I get a kick out of the guy Squinting through the Brownie Hawkeye viewfinder trying to get a decent picture. I remember my days at the drags with an identical camera. The digital age has made things so much simper.

 

Me too, had one for years, took it to my first Smoker's meet in '60, but it finally broke in half before I got my first picture....I wish I saved all the pictures I did take, at Santa Ana, San Fernando, San Gabriel, etc...

 

Didn't someone on here comment that this car is alive and racing now?

 

Yes it is, it was found in a Canadian National Forest and is racing with the Geezer Gassers Group now.

 

Ouch Dean! Not sure how to take the comment haha. Clearly many of the early race cars focused on function over form but there were some beautiful cars as well. The Cedarquist Brothers altered was very nice and at first glance is similar in configuration to my dad's. I remember talking to Gene Mooneyham at one of the early CHRRs when his 554 coupe was on display. After giving it a careful once over he chuckled and said that when he was running the car it never looked like this. They were more interested in going fast! And they clearly did. What a great time in drag racing history to have so many heavy hitters going at it on a regular basis every week.

 

Do you know which car it is?

 

What is the ' Geezer Gasser's Group ' ?

Thanks , Don

 

Google it. Looks a lot like Quain Stotts group.

 

Smog Rat, no offense meant to your dad, or his roadster. It was functional, and hauled ass. The Cedarquist Brothers cars were well detailed show pieces, but I believe Boyd's roadster out performed theirs. On thing they had in common, both cars were beat by Gene's 554 for the #1 Jr. Eliminator spot.

 

This is true, Gene first built the 554 for go...here are some early reminders ... no chrome to speak of, just horsepower:


Dean is right, both Boyd and the Cedarquist brothers got beat by the 554, but not before Jeep Hampshire drove the 52 to victory when Gene blew his engine (see above)

 

No offense taken Dean! Gene and his coupe were obviously very tough to beat and proved it many times. To be the best you had to beat the best and my dad was fortunate enough to take his turn at the top.

 

On another hard pass at Lion's from 1964

 

Art Chrisman, '51, at Santa Ana, blew up that day...from the Eric Rickman collection


Back in '57 or '58 (I forgot which), HRM asked Calvin Rice and Ed Cortopassi to challenge some standing KM records then held by German cars, before WWII. Both Rice and the Cortopassi & Butler car broke the existing records. The runs were held at March AFB, near Riverside.





Here is the Cortopassi & Butler "Glass Slipper" on one of the record runs, from the Eric Rickman collection


Hamberis & Mitchell, at Lions, before the Chrysler


No, you didn't need candy paint and chrome to win a trophy...Jack Bible with his A/G Winternationals trophy...I think that Waldo Hirshfield was also involved in this car...when asked about the color, Hirshfield called it "candy apple dirt."


Union Grove, WI...the roadster looks like an early version of the Dennison, Arlansky, and Knox fuel roadster.


Calvin Rice in the J.E. Riley construction car, with Doug Hartlett's blown Chrysler



Customs raced too, especially if they came out of the Ayala Brothers shop, because both Al and Gil loved to race and sometimes fitted their customs with engines by the likes of builders like Fritz Voight. This is Wally Welch's '41 convertible at Santa Ana (The Ayala Brothers were friends with drag racers like Doug Thorley and Big John Mazmanian and painted their race cars)



Wally Welch's custom in the Santa Ana pits


A photo montage from Santa Ana...don't know who put it together

 

Impressive wheel stand on a regular street

 

This is Badazz !

 

I wonder if that Willy's is another one that Ron Normann might have restored.

Jimbo

 

The Greek and Garlits, lining up to match race...not sure where, Oswego? Union Grove?


Cole & Wilkinson, near lane, San Luis Obispo


From Texas...back in the days when phone numbers were five in number...and no area codes


Really early Santa Ana...banger powered


Peggy Hart was one of the first women to drive, at Santa Ana, but she was not the only woman to race there, this is the 5-window that Diane Vandenberg drove


Rice's Auto Parts, rear engined dragster, Bill Sanders driving. This car has not only a Willys nose for streamlining, but also a Willys 4-cylinder...this is Santa Ana, really early '50s, from the Eric Rickman collection


Early shot of Pomona...the pump house at the end was finally removed by the owners after numerous driver complaints



This is either Don Montgomery or Tom "Acmo" McLaughlin at Santa Ana. '36 Cord with either a GMC 6 or a Buick straight 8...Don's car had a different number and different wheel covers in the pictures in his book, so I'm not sure this is his. Acmo ran a similar car, though I think it was a Hollywood Graham...

 

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This is either Don Montgomery or Tom "Acmo" McLaughlin at Santa Ana. '36 Cord with either a GMC 6 or a Buick straight 8...Don's car had a different number and different wheel covers in the pictures in his book, so I'm not sure this is his. Acmo ran a similar car, though I think it was a Hollywood Graham...[/QUOTE]

There are some absolutely phenomenal pictures on this thread, but this has got to be one of the best.

 

wow

 

In motion. Leaving on a trailer!

 

OK. I'm going to let it slide. This time! But I've got my eye on you, wiseguy!