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

Bobby Tapia from the Tapia Brothers injected Chevy B/D class. We never saw it in the wire rims stage.
Perhaps early 1958... CARBS
1959 Lions Dragstrip

Hello,

Bobby Tapia from the Tapia Bros injected Chevy B/Dragster class. These little sleek FED cars were thought of later as the precursor to the popular Jr. Fuel FED class in the later 60-70s time period. They were fast, challenged some of the “big boys” and made a name for themselves in the lower dragster classes. An SBC was usually no match for a big blown Hemi, but sometimes the tables were turned.

My brother and I always thought of these guys as they ran almost the same small SBC motor as we started with in our 40 Willys. They were at Lions almost weekly constantly running hard and winning their class. Several comments that always popped up when discussing this FED… what kind of roll protection did that chassis roll bar have? And where were his legs, over the axle or under?




Tapia Bros. total 59-60


Jnaki

There is that kid with the red Pendleton standing around doing nothing but enjoying the drags. Talk about a ring side seat for the activities. It was up close and personal... Film taken by James Nak. I was on my daily lunch break and in the “wandering around” stage, that afternoon.


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LATE 59 EARLY 1960 INJECTORS
Thanks for the photo...Dave, 296ardun

Hello,

We liked all sorts of drag racing from the top gas racers with their big blown Hemi motors all the way down to the smoky 4 bangers and 6 cylinder motors. But, one racer had the look of a top gas FED, but his lightweight chassis and small SBC motor allowed him to race in the lower FED class competitions.

“Just a little background on Bobby but not too in depth: In 1957, he had a 57 Chevy 2-door that won 13 weeks in a row at Lions. That’s 13 weeks in a row, folks. In 1958, in his second stint in dragsters, he won 50 out of 52 middle eliminator races at Lions. He made the “Standard 1320" list of record holders three times in 1958. In 1961 thru 1963, he served his country.”

This little swoopy dragster had much success in the lower divisions of the FED classes. The success was due to quick reaction times at the starting line. Bob Tapia made believers out of many drag race fans with his quick little FED injected SBC race car.

Jnaki
Since he was always at Lions in those early days when we were racing there, I filmed several runs of this slick race car. A pure bred race car with a lay down and steer situation.

 

"Captain" Billy Tidwell (later married to Linda Vaughn) in the Catton and Tidwell RCS car

Roo

 

Prior to the introduction of a funny car class by the NHRA the only category that the cars fit was fuel dragster. Here Buster Couch watches Chrisman boil the hides off the line against a more conventional entry.

Roo

 

Australia's Jim Read in the Paramatta Auto Spares backed A/D. Read went on to race top fuel and won multiple Australian championships. He is still a car owner with his sons Bruce and Phil crew chiefing and driving respectively.

Roo

 

This is actually Pulsator II
http://twotogo.homestead.com/TTGHistory.html

 

Paradise Mesa, early '50s

Henslee and Cook racing Milt Alley, far side, at Santa Maria. Milt ran a Desoto while the Henslee-Cook car ran a fuel Chrysler. Milt, with the smaller engine is out in front, but the rear engine roadster is high-gear only and usually passed competitors at or before the lights.


Sumner & Burt (and maybe Mews?), at Fremont, Bill Hewitt photo.


Norris was the brother of Leonard Abbott, of Lenco fame. Sadly he would die in this car when the transmission blew, cutting the fuel line.


'37 fuel coupe, maybe at Vacaville? This is an early use of Palamedes magnesium wheels, a company that evolved into American Racing Wheels. Photo from the Jim Roten collection.




The Benham & Aicher "Hisso" Special X/D, running half of a WWI Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine. Both Ron Benham and Paul Aicher worked with me at Blair's Speed Shop. Don Blair was running sprint cars back then, so I wonder if the Halibrands on this car are from Don's stable of sprint car parts.

Here is the car in its restored version. Look longingly because, as I learned from my Australian friend Jamie Barter, the car was lost in the tragic Malibu fire of a couple of weeks ago that burned so many homes, along with the Camp Fire up north.

 

The header pipe looks like a horn builder made it.

 

More NW cars. ????& Ferguson ? my memory is gone.

 

Krone & Parmenter vs The Hawaiian at Arlington

 

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Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Car, photo and commentary by Jim Busby.
"
Thank you Dan Kaplan for this cool slide this may have been on the return road. It’s our twin 255 four cam Ford Indy engine. I don’t know where this is but probably Pomona. Or maybe OCIR where we did a test fire up. That’s my cousin Robert Burnand at the wheel. Note the twin dry sump oil tanks next to the chute,

The only other time we push test fired it was in the residential neighborhood near our shop. We fired it on 80 % and reved to 8000. That brought the Costa Mesa Police. They loved the car and followed us back to the shop to see more of it.

Yep, those were the Golden Years!

 

Sit up like normal behind a blown Hemi and you still see nothing.

 

Agreed but looking around a blower is not quite the same perspective as looking through the valley pan.
- EM

 

Two '40 Fords duel it out...maybe Paradise Mesa?

Willys at Half Moon Bay...at least that's the caption...is this HMB? Photo by Rich Read


Paradise Mesa, two roadsters and a fuel Nash Rambler...yes, a Nash.


Wells and McCloskey, maybe San Luis Obispo?


Dwarfs of Ventura in the Fiat coupe racing Milt Alley's Desoto dragster, photo by Karen White.


Prudhomme in the former Ivo Buick car racing Rod Stuckey, Bakersfield Smoker's meet.

 

Dont know if this has been posted. But I love this photo.

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Only about a dozen times (Mainly because it is a great shot)

Roo

 

Hydrozene and nitro?????

 

Obviously, the Surfers at Famosa.