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

i'll backup, getting too 'new' for this thread with the '69 cars...
another '66...

 

What you've been posting has been great and there really are no rules, and no one "owns" the thread. I'd like to see this thread remain as close to the original title as possible, with some leeway of course. I've been involved with a number of email groups that just went all over the place and off topic. They became a full time job to wade through.

My interests lie with the era and type of cars originally stated. To me those years and type of cars were very special and unique ... something that was only really happening in drag racing at that time and will not come again. The era is also one that has been talked and written about but really just glossed over in much of the recorded and popular history of the sport. This thread has been bringing that great period out like gangbusters. There are plenty of threads and other forums for everything else. For myself, I'd hate to see the thread turn into a Camaro/flip top F/C/altereds/catch all thread. In my eyes by 1968 everything had changed in Stock/S/S racing. F/X was gone, exotic and overdone paintjobs were in, sandbagging and tailights on was what was going on ... Pro Stock was on the horizon but soon to be turned into a VERY tech oriented and dominated division that strayed from it's origins. The only thing left close to like it was was the NASCAR and AHRA(briefly) Ultra Stocks that had predominatly real cars like the F/X cars of a few years before. Hot classes and dragsters were and are a whole different genre. Maybe my view is narrow minded but I think the response and participation here shows that there are many kindred spirits out there.
Ok, off my soapbox ...
Joel

 

Here's a magazine shot ... I believe this may be Dave Lyall but that's only an educated guess. I've seen a couple of pictures of this car but have no information on it other than Jack Gray was a salesman and Dave Lyall said somewhere that he drove for them. In '61 the rules were a bit open about "mild customizing" and alot of cars ran with small bumpers up front and at some local tracks they ran without them. One that comes to mind is the Potter Bros. out in the northwest ran a Falcon bumper on their ex-Les Richey '61 401. I have a scan of a '62 Ford from Canada with a narrow strip of a bumper up front. That all was soon changed by the NHRA police.
Anyway ... I think this photo was by a guy named Lucky Chandler(?!) who shot alot of early S/S cars in the Detroit area. I think he was maybe connected with Roger Huntington.
Joel

 

Dover Dragway in 1962. Billy Lagana in his Oak Hill Chevrolet Impala (one of two 409 cars he ran that year) vs The Buzzard 2 409 from Bergenfield, NJ. In '62 the Buzzard was the 409 top dog at Island Dragway in NJ and Lagana was the top dog 409 at Dover. Lagana beat the Buzzard and he's "got a hat" on him here.
Joel

 

The first of two from Nancy Wilson who hosts the East Coast Drag Times event in Henderson, NC each year.
http://www.eastcoastdragtimeshalloffame.com/
Kenny Warren's VA Twister T-Bolt at Aquaso, MD.

Photographer unknown.

Joel

 

Another from Nancy Wilson who hosts the East Coast Drag Times event in Henderson, NC each year.
http://www.eastcoastdragtimeshalloffame.com/

Jake King before his days as Sox & Martin's head wrench. The Atwater Ford T-Bolt. Looks like Suffolk, VA airport strip.

Photographer unknown.

Joel

 

Nancy Wilson's East Coast Drag Times event in Henderson, NC is a great weekend of gearhead fun. Lots of drag racing heroes from the past, restored drag cars and a cruise/car show to boot. The whole town gets involved ... organized burn outs by hot cars and all.
Nancy used to be a drag racer running some hot Mopars. I'll post some pictures of her cars soon.

Take a look at her site ...
http://www.eastcoastdragtimeshalloffame.com/

Joel

 

Anyone know anything about this car? Photographer unknown.
There was a '61 Chevy called the Kentucky Colonel, David Heath out of Owensboro, KY that may or may not have been the ex-Dyno Don '61 car and later a 65 A990-AWB Dodge by the same name.
Joel

 

hi Joel;
Long time ,no see..you mean you don't want any "Silver Bullets" on this thread?
Take Care;
Rick

 

This from a Nat. Dragster ... the Underdog '64 Dodge. May be the ex-Color Me Gone? The car was running still as the CMG car in early '65 in the AL-GA-FL panhandle-LA area. Anyone ... ?

Joel

 

Hi Rick ... Hoping to keep it focused ... ;-) It'd be nice to see the S/S-F/X pics that you have up here. You do have some good ones.

Joel

 

Joel;
I have some old pics of the Bob Ford cars when they used to come over to our local track.
Guess the deal was, they like to get away from "home" to test..Used to do a lot of match race stuff.
I think you may have pics already from years ago..
Rick

 

I do have the pics but I'd rather the owners post them and give us some info about where, when etc. You also had some Al Eckstrand '62 Mopar and other stock-S/S-F/X pics as I recall. Hope you post your pictures.

Joel

 

Joel;
Yes, I have the Eckstrand pics from around 62...haven't looked at that stuff in YEARS !!!
I'll post some one day. Don't think I have them saved on this 'puter.
where ya been hiding?..LOL

Rick

 

Here's some more from my ebay purchase

 

another one

 

One more

 

Really good shots Dean, thanks for posting them.

Joel

 

Thanks Joel,I got these next ones in the mail today.

 

Never saw that Comet in the Owensboro area.

According to Charlie Evans, "Well I first road my bicycle out there (Owensboro Dragway) in 1962 to watch the races. I had been caddying golf at the Owensboro Country Club and while on the back nine I heard a race car over on Veach Road. The car that caught my attention was David Heath's 1961 bubble-top 409. It was the former Dyno Don Nicholson (Nalley Chevrolet out of Atlanta, GA) car. David had worked for Don during the 61 season and bought the car from him at the end of 1961. That particular car was later listed by Super/Stock and Drag Racing Illustrated magazine as one of the Top 10 Most Famous Super Stockers of all time.

I later worked out at Owensboro Dragway in the mid and late 60's and the crew that worked at Owensboro Dragway, was also the same group of guys who worked/ran U.S. 60 Dragway and Beech Bend. Those guys were headed up by Mike Libs and John Wilson. Also in that group were Phil Libs, Francis Libs, Army Armstrong, Harold "Zero" Bailey, Micky Brown, Allen Melhauser and myself. I did tech with John Wilson and then after tech was over and the races started I'd work in the staging lanes. "The Crew" worked at Hardinsburg on Friday night, then Owensboro on Saturday night and then Beech Bend on Sunday.

Mike Libs did a fanstatic job of booking in the match race superstars during that era. We had the likes of Arnie Beswick, Mr. Norm, Harold Dutton, Herb McCandless, Phil Bonner, Hubert Platt and the list goes on and on. The match racers would hit all three tracks in that same weekend. I remember working at Hardinsburg on a Friday night in 1969, and Herb McCandless and Vaughn Currie were there. Vaughn was driving the Chuck Hutton Dodge Charger out of Memphis, (Herb was Memphis based then also) and the racing was over for the night at U.S. 60. Mike Libs told me to ride back to O'boro with Vaughn, because he didn't know the way to O'boro, and of course they were going to race at the Owensboro Dragway on Saturday night. I made sure that Vaughn had enough gasoline in his tow vehicle, because back then, at night time, there wasn't a gas station open anywhere between Hardinsburg and Owensboro.

There you have it. Oral history is now written history! Hope you enjoyed. Charlie Evans" http://www.evansracingengines.com/

As for the the Kentucky Colonels AWB '65 Dodge that David Heath drove, here are some pics from US 60 Drag Strip, Hardinsburg, KY, from www.olddrags.com




And for good measure,a pic from Owensboro Dragway (whose sign brand was Coke, not Pepsi, as was US 60's)

 

1 more

 

photo #3

 

photo #4

 

photo#5

 

photo#6

 

photo#7

 

and the last one

 

Good stuff Dean as always. There's a car I've been loking to find pictures of for a long, long time. It's the Nova that Tommy Mcneely had before he had Hubert Platt build him a Falcon. It was a silver car that Dick Harrell ran at the end of '65 at Beeline for an F/X meet. I've only seen maybe two magazine shots of that meet and a few after Jim Kirby bought the car. It was named Sad Sack as most of Tommy's race cars were. I'm wondering if anyone has some other shots of that car?
Joel

 

Another one is The Orange Blossom Special AWB '65 Dodge from the Southwest, texas I think. It had the body sectioned.
Joel

 

They are not the best photos Joel,but here is a couple.