History Stock-S/S-F/X 1959-1966

A poor shot of the Buzzard 1 on the line at Island Dragway in NJ ... the year 1962. It was a 350-348 car (pretty sure the hp rating for a '60) When the 1962 Buzzard 2 was bought this car was sold to a pal, believe his last name was Digiacomo. This car would often win S/S (we called it Little S/S) and Buzzard 2 would win SS/S. 1962 was the only year NHRA has the Super Super Stock classification.

Joel

 

Arlen Vanke came to Island Dragway with his lightweight Tin Indian 421 Pontiac for an NHRA points meet in 1962. He won SS/S and top stock that day. Here's the Nat. Dragster photo of that meet.

Joel

 

The slides from that day got water damage over the years but here's my shot of Vanke at Island in '62 for that NHRA Regional.

Joel

 

Again I apologize for the damaged image ... Billy Lagana at the Island Dragway Regional meet the Vanke won in 1962. Lagana ran two cars in '62 as I recall ... one was his own Impala the other one that he ran for Oak Hill Chevrolet which continued into '63 and '64 with his "Locomotion" 1963 Z-11. Lagana's home track was Dover Dragway in NY.

Joel

 

Sounds like alot I've learned Dean. I'd say Amblewagon did Leal's car and Sox & Martin's car. Seems to me I'd heard Sox/Martin tell a story of going to pick it up. I'd say they did the conversion of their A990 S/S car ... they may have even built the A990 car ... ? I have some tech stuff on the AWB cars too but I don't think I have an accounting of which cars were built where. I've seen photos of Landy holding what looks like full size blueprints ... and I'm pretty sure they did exist. That may lead creedence to his building his own car ... first I'd heard that though. I'm sure he did the AWB conversion on his '64 car.
Bill Stiles said that their car was essentially a pile of dipped-too-long "stuff" that they then took and built into Strickler's car. I'm sure you know that his car had a full cage and subframe of sorts. Strickler was running his '64 S/S car at Beeline. I think by then the 2% car was probably sold to George Whalen to become his "Rebel" car.

Joel

 

My apologies if I've given the wrong information or was confusing in my reply. The AWB CMG car that we're talking about being converted was a '65 car. The "Suspect" story is about the '64 CMG car. For all I know the '64 CMG hemi may have been converted at some point too, many of them were ... although I'm pretty sure it (CMG '64) went down to Jimmy Arnold in the Alabama, FL panhandle area. It was a strong car at the 1965 Daytona S/S Bonnanza/NASCAR meet early that year.

Joel

 

Aha. Ok, I get it now.

Thanks for the info, and keep it coming!

Jay

 

Benny Cardillo's Special Formula AWB car was a Dodge? You guys are about to make me go digging through all my old Eastern Drag News'.

Side note: My Mom, a school librarian, made her first pass down the 1/4 mile in '64 at Dover behind the wheel of my brother's '64 Max Wedge. Benny was in the lane next to her with his '63 Max Wedge lightweight.

He didn't cut her any slack!

 

Thanks for the link Joel! Had to join in on the fun.

As for the discussion on the Northwind '62, it was owned by Joe Gardner, a good friend of Ronnie Evans. I believe Joe is living in Arizona now. Ronnie owned a '62 Belair Sport coupe that he planned to use to recreate the Northwind. The original car was made into a roundy-round car and destroyed.

As for the Buzzard-II, I may have a pic of it floating around here somewhere, given to me by it's current owner.

Keep this thread going........it's great!

Verne

 

Joel, you are correct about Strickler's 2% car being sold to Whalen before Beeline. It was sold soon after they returned from the Europe tour. But, look closely at the SS car in photos from Beeline. It had the 2% car's doors. No vent windows is the clue. They were aluminum doors!! AHRA didn't catch it at Beeline and it ran SS. NHRA did the next week though at Pomona. They were were forced to run M/P!! I heard Mr. Whalen wasn't happy when his new purchase had steel doors!!!

 

Texas Thunderbolt - Can anyone identify this T-Bolt, read the name on the door, or have additional info on? Photo taken at Green Valley Dragway, TX - 1966.

Thanks.

Regards,
Dennis

 

There you go! Although I'd have to say that's a pretty nasty looking car for Benny, but I never saw that one in person. That's proof enough!

 

Too bad Plymouth division dropped the wedge campaign in 65. Here's my version of what would have been.

 

What I wanna know is, where in MI do you live? That's a BEAUTIFUL neighborhood!

Nice car too.

edit- In between making dinner, finishing up the oldest's first Pinewood Derby car ("I want it to look like a front engine dragster Dad"- his words ) and getting the kids ready for bed, I managed to find the box with the article on the CMG. It's Mopar Action, Dec. 1991.

It says that the "Suspect" was an original '64 Max Wedge Lightweight, and when it was turned into the CMG clone, the odo read 900 miles! Theres also a pic of it, but I have no way to upload it right now.

Cool stuff, for sure.

Jay

 

Thanks! I live in Clarkston.

 

210ken, that was a radical paint job in '64! That was always one of my favorite cars. Yours is beautiful, thanks for sharing the pics!

 

210KEN, beautiful car!!

 

This could easily turn into a 210ken Tribute thread...I'm in!

 

12 anything is haulin' @$$

 

Wow, the knowledge you guys have about these cars is amazing. Those old pictures are cool but I think I like the pictures of the "new" cars just as much. Currently collecting parts to put a narrowed '63 Econo axle in a '63 Comet. I know nobody paid any attention to the pre-'64 Comets but that's why I could afford it. I'm not old enough to remember the 80's and I'm baffling the guys at the parts store by trying to build stuff like they did in the 60's!

 

I suppose someone here knows Mike Guffey. He had Flynn's car for a time. He'd know if the whole thing was dipped or not. All of the '65 Hemi cars had dipped, or a lighter gauge metal on parts of them, besides just the removable body panels. I shouldn't say all maybe...but the 'Arrow did. If you grabbed the radiator support, you could just wrinkle it up and crush it like a modern Coke can. I don't recall if the entire inner fenderwell area was like that or not; my brother might remember.
Yah, I like the 210ken tribute thread idea!

 

beautiful 210ken. this thread sure brings back memories especially Island which hasn't changed much. any pics of some of the s/s-f/x cars you guys have today?

 

had a 64 Cyclone too! Gotta love those damn Fords too!!!

 

Had a straight axle 64 Dodge too but had to let er go :-( Sweet old racecar.

 

I've been to Mike Guffey's twice. He has the knowledge and the cars for sure!! He found the Peddler in Las Vegas!! It's in Florida now.

 

Terrific picture ... amazing to see that car in Branster's shop! Thanks for posting it. I wonder what's up with the other stuff that can be seen peeking out of the corners of this shot? Garlits' Dart maybe to the left ... didn't Branster build that car? Garlits' shop was in Detroit then. Maybe if Flynn's Peddler wasn't completely dipped before being altered that might help explain a little bit about why that car was never as strong as the others. Hard to compare them all though as each kind of went in different directions as far as modifications soon after the Spring of '65.

As to the A990 dipping discussion ... I don't know if the A990 cars were dipped completely ... I'm no authority but I never heard a difinitive answer on that. love the discussion about it though.

Joel

 

Nice cars ... they have the look.

Joel

 

I went back to Island in '93 after about a twenty year absence and couldn't believe that the entry road was the same old rough thing, there was a red '62 409 Biscayne (Carl Bucks' Wully Bully) waiting in line in the morning mist, and it looked like the same guys were still standing in the bleachers once we got in! That'd be a great track for an old-fashioned, night time, open competition, heads-up S/S-F/X meet like it was at York in '65.

Joel

 

From Valkaryia, FL in late '64 or early '65 from my pal Marty Little. The ex-Harold Ramsey Swiss Cheese car (before they radically altered the wheelbase) and it looks like maybe Arnie Beswick behind the wheel. behind the Pontiac you can see Benny Cardillo's Special Formula (ex-Ecstrand '64 S/SA car). This meet was featured in an early issue of SS&DI. Cardillo's car is pictured in that race report and I think racing Bob Fulp in a Plymouth too if I'm not mistaken.

Joel