60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

What engine are you running in the olds?? this has been a great thread if anybody has any more please add.. Thank You.. Bobby...

 

The Oldsmobile originally had the 330 V-8 which we ran the first two years it raced (1990 and 91). When it finally blew up, we switched to the lighter and more economical Chevy 350. We've had about five different Chevies in it over the years.

The trouble with an Oldsmobile engine is that you can never find any used racing parts for them...and new ones are at least twice the price of equivalent Chevy parts.

 

you are correct on the modified 53-54 chevy frames .IH Scout frames were also popular around here as well

 

Hey Guys Greetings from Long Branch,N.J.Americas First Seashore Rrsort and Summer Capitol for 7 U.S. Presidents.
Back in the late 40's Tom and Jennie Nicol went to the old Long Branch Municipal Stadium for the weeklyraces but left when confronted with'standing room only' with Mrs. Nicol saying ''We'll build our own track''and thats just what they did with the new Wall Stadium opening in 1950 and it continues to operate after the Nicolls passed away(Jennie 1n 2001) under new ownership.
I first came out to the track in the late 50's (Wall on Saturday night and Atco Dragway on Sundays) and in 1968 I joined Charlie Roberts as assistant track announcer and yeah I'm still there calling the races and seeing people that I seem to know better than the people I work with every day.
The days of the coupes and coaches,Pintos,Vegas,Gremlins Corvairs,whatever body it had it was a race car a ''stock car''Chevy,Pontiac,Olds,Mopar powered didnt'matter you made it run.
I have been around so long that I have recently been inducted into the Garden State Vintage Stock Club Hall of Fame.
The club museum sponsored by Evernham motorsports is located at the speedway ,Ray was back at his home track recently to do some good old modified racing and autograph signing with Erin and his crew.
From the Pettys to the Allisons to the Truexs' to the guy or girl down the street the old one third high banked paved track at the Jersey Shore has seen them all over the years....lots of memories...lots of stories.
Thanks for remembering the Tom Skinner/Parker Bohn flame throwing 659 GMC 6 powered coupe.
The coupe and coaches,some restored some replicas of the originals
are displayed regularly at the track and on selected Sundays the cars get shake down track time.
Thanks for keeping it alive.
Lee Greenwood-Wall Speedway
W.R.A.T. -F.M. Radio

 

SLIDEWAYS..thats just looks like to much fun,,

 

A 32 Chev Coupe AND a Model A.

 

love this thread, gonna take me a couple hours to go through w/ all the good links!

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74401

This thread features all the photos I scanned from my fathers racing scrap book spanning the 50's - 70's east coast modifieds. There are also a few of his father's cars in there from the WWII era.

Woody

 

Anybody have photos of Willaims Grove in the early '60s, Tobias and LeRoy Felty.

N B R

 

I picked up my '39 Ford Coupe body recently off a guy who has a big collection of old tin. In amongst it all was this '70s Modified. Looks like it was a well built car in its day.

 

Looks like a 37 or 38 Chevy...thanks for sharing the picture! Hopefully somebody will put it back on the track in vintage events someday.

 

Here is some maybe someone can identify.

 

My dad's late model and sportsman. And a random picture of Dorney Park.

 

The days of Nazareth Big Track....

 

Interesting that Dorney Park had so many dirt type Sportsman/Modified cars running on the paved surface.

Somewhere I have a Dorney Park program with John Andretti on the cover with his coupe that began his career around 1982 or so.

 

Just found this thread after it was bumped up...

Anyway here's Jr. Tauber's '40 Ford. I think I have more shots of it at home. I'll dig 'em up if anyone is interested.



I know he ran most of the tracks in the Maryland area, probably up to the 60's.

He lives about 3-4 blocks from me and has lots of cool stuff in his garage. (That's him in the blue jacket.)

 

I like the tail/brake lights on the back of the roof for flat-towing. And the dog collar holding the door closed is cool too.

 

I was looking through some of the links on this post...
Can anybody tell me what they were using for rearends in the 50's,60's'70's? It looked like 3/4 or 1 ton truck, judging by the axle, and 8 lug wheels. Any reason for that?

 

Probably a frankland quickchange with the wide-5 bolt pattern{same as 36-39 ford}

 

3/4 ton truck axles (full floaters) were the choice of the low $ guys. The axles transmit torque only and don't retain the wheel as with a flanged axle, the wheel stay on if a axle breaks. The high $ guys ran 9 in. rears converted to full floaters or Q/Cs which come standard as such. Today, this is still true with the 9 inch and Q/Cs but the 3/4 ton is just too heavy, and not seen much nowdays. The wheel bolt pattern is now pretty much a standard 5X5.

 

Yeah, some of those old truck rears were REALLY heavy...but durable and had tall gearing. It was an affordable way to meet rules at some tracks that required full-floating axles. Many times the racers would make up adapter plates so that the wide-five wheels could be used on the eight lug truck hubs.

 

Not to be a dick but middletown ani't much of a speedway copared to flemington.

 

what is a full floating axle? and by tall gearing do you mean 411's and 530's? It seems like I have seen these axles in some of the early gassers as well...

 

A floater axle has a seperate splined hub that rides on a "snout" welded to the end of the axle tube and is driven by a axle with splines on both ends, as opposed to a axle with a flange on one end. Back in the 70s we raced a tight 1/5 mile oval and, as I recall, ran something like 6:33 gears.

 

Heres an old Circuit racer converted to road use. My Roadster body saw service as dirt tracker,anyone else put an old dirt tracker on the road?

 

I'll give it a go, I'm a old Reading guy !!

707 looks like Toby Tobias due to the bubble shield on his helmet

24 ?? no clue

59 is Jimmy Keppely

44 is Al Tasanady

Most of the pictures are from 1969 as I recognize most of the body styles.

 

Thanks MrExcite,

Here are some more pictures to relive some memories.