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

Indy staging lanes 1967...

 

Is that another car that ran without a blower drive idler pulley, similar to the Surfers' setup?

 

Fire up the Time Machine…

 

Malise & Lipori AA/Comp 383 Wedge-powered dragster June 1964...note the GMC 8-71 V-series blower.
Dad ran them as early as 1964 and were standard equipment on the Top Gas dragsters that followed as well as Ingenue, a fuel-burning 430 Wildcat-powered funny car in 1967.
They were the only ones at the time running an 8-71 blower, gas or fuel.

 

This is from a North East Gas Circuit handout circa 1968:

 

Before being known as the Winged Express...an early Willy Borsch.
Note the finned cast blower cover.

 

John, do you know where this is.
Looks to be an airport runway.

 

The picture of the 2 Comp roadsters appears to be at Connecticut Drag-way. Big Al Riccio and Joe Simone were local Connecticut racers. IIRC they were sponsored somewhat by Don Gallant who owned Connecticut's oldest speed shop, in Newington, Connecticut. Don is gone now (RIP) but the speed shop is still in business, now run by Don's son, Paul Gallant. Later I heard that Joe Simone crashed a front engine dragster. Don had a new chassis hanging on the wall, but I heard that Joe did not want to drive a dragster again.

 

The Time Machine appears to have Creitz 10 spoke front wheels on it.

 

I do not know...but I can find out!

 

Jeff Jahns in the Cook Brothers sidewinder says he's Number 1...

 

I noticed that too!
What was the "advantage/significants " of doing it this way?! (Or was there one?)
6sally6

 

I remember reading a quote somewhere from Jobe, "why carry all the extra stuff when you can just get the right size belt". Logical, but you would have to accurately fit the block, heads, manifold and pulleys for adequate belt tension. The blower base gasket would be the only fine tuning available to you. But I guess they didn't do as much tear down and mechanical tuning (head gasket thickness, pulley changes, etc) as they do today. They'd just run the valves and maybe change the oil.

 

There was one pulley combo that we used occasionally that didn't need the idler.

 

Madden & Downey Howard Cams Special...all candles lit!

 

Was Lefty Muddersbach way ahead of it?
I've always wondered which Howard Cams Special Lefty was way ahead of on "Livin' in the U.S.A."?

 

Hello,

“Living in the USA” was recorded in 1968. It is certainly a head bopping sound with an added bonus that has stuck in plenty of people's minds over the years. “Lefty Mudersbach...” The sad thing was there was no Lefty Mudersbach in 1968, except in our saddened memories. He passed away in 1966 at Irwindale in a tire blow out.

The song by Steve Miller starts a recording cut from the original “The Big Sounds Of The Drags” LP Album. The recording starts around 21:04 and rambles on about two double A dragsters with over 1000hp…etc Lefty Mudersbach has always been a Herbert Cams Special. The twin SBC of the Howard Cam Special at the time was driven by Glen Ward. THE FAMOUS LINE: “and he takes it…Lefty Mudersbach…” ENDS AT 21:56 and continues with some rambling until the next set of racers.

Thanks @Muttley

Jnaki

Here are the same two, twin Chevy dragsters in 1960 at Lion’s Dragstrip. Except, Jack Chrisman is driving the Howard Cam Special. It was one of the most anticipated races of that time period. This is the only “recorded on film” video of the famous race between the top two drag racers. The results are similar to the 1963 recorded album. Spoiler Alert...
1960

Drag Cars in Motion

 

Notes say Frank Cannon, Hustler V obviously at Fontana...1st set of zoomies?

 

What goes up must come down...Dandy Dick Landy triple-play!


Gonna need an alignment...

 

Note the distorted quarter panel too, those hardtop bodied AWB cars did not have a long career did they.

 

Clean shot of Connie and the cammer...

 

Excessive acid dipping was a major problem as well as a lack of sub frame connectors

 

A friend of ours had an A 990 car. Sub frames connected. NHRA and their dubious decisions at a points meet, decided sub frame connectors weren't allowed. Cut them loose and rear quarters buckled. Because the car was white, it wasn't real noticeable. But was he ever upset.

 

From above -
An instant before the clutch was let out...


Mike

 

These were the days when racers relied on roll bars. If full roll cages had been the norm at the time, this would have counteracted the buckling...

 

Coney Island Ralph Landolphi's wrecked Anglia, he was t-boned at the end of the track when the starter thought the track was clear and sent the next pair.
My dad had just built him a roll cage at his shop Brooklyn, Speed & Machine, NY that he was partners with Steve Malise, Ralph told me in 2010 when I last saw him that the cage saved his life, and from the looks of it, it did its job.