60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

I got 1 sitting in my back lotThe nice thing about Pintos and Vega bodies was you could buy a body "skin" for 250$ new from the dealer and Pinto and Vega bodies fit on the old coupe chassis so you could have a late model bodied car without building everything new.New Pinto rear quarters were 60$ each if ya bent one up

 

I have seen some of those rebodies... a 70's pinto or vega, and then it's running a 37 chev frame!

 

HAHAHAH I have two sitting in my backyard....well two halves anyway....two back halves welded together....ok...ok.. yes two back ends welded together for a trailer someone made. Pops bought it for the magazine he used to publish. That trailer made a lot of rounds!!! Big problem with pintos and vegas, they rust real bad!

 

friday, better late then never!

Ray Miller

Rick Gombos

Rick Hussex

Rit Patchen

Roger Treichler...he always seemed to have sharp look cars, from the photos I've seen of his cars.

 

Ron Bouchard

Tom Baldwin, I know it's later style modified, but couldn't pass up posting a photo of the tiger himself! I remember sitting in this car at Islip Speedway, brings back memories as a kid!

Tim Mrowka

Stan Gregor

SJ Evonsion

 

Mike Weeden

Mosse Hewitt

Nils Linsted

Len Boehler's ol Blue

Ol Blue again!

 

ol blue once again!



Earl Pelletier

Ray Evernham, yes he raced modifieds before taking Jeff Gordon to the fame he came to be in Nascar as the crew chief

Randy LaJoie

 

Hey guys, I just spent 2 hours pouring thru this posting, thanks to all of you for sharing a little bit of history with everyone.I didn't think time had gone by so fast. I grew up with the alcohol emitting from cars being tuned on the dyno at Don Smiths shop in my town. His 99 cars from Lebanon Valley, Riskis X and other assorted speed demons. Fonda was closer to home so it was easier to go there and as a kid you could ride your bike to Victoria Speedway so you didnt need to catch a ride. Spent a lot of time busting tires and changing gears as a teenager and summer during college days on Wright/Zaugtner 24 with Shoe, Richie and MacTavish at the wheel. Even did a couple months with Modified Driver and the Barracuda. With the beginning of the tire wars in the early 70's, the increasing cost of running pavement and the pressure to get a real job, just got burnt out. Some time life plans don't alway go as you would like so it was another 25 years before I got to go race again, once you experience racing your hooked, almost worse than drugs. Since then I've raced at a lot of tracks including Eldora, Knoxville and East Bay but If i could turn back time I think I'd like to try Stafford when it was dirt and you pitted off the back straight. Fonda has the hardest turn 3 even over Williams Grove and Middletown is still rock hard. Martinsville has that lure because it was the Big event and you could run against them Rebels. One of the exciting parts of the time was waiting to see what Geoff Bodine cooked up next for his car. Anyway keep adding to the post. I still remember the good old days, I have a 36 Chevy coupe that sat unfinished in the back of the Smith garage since 1963 with the Truck front axle , Buick brakes, center chain drive steering, mag wheels and a revolutionary Independent rear end from a Corvette so that it would handle better, its my retirement project begging for a 301, sort of a new old stock car waiting to hit the track. What do you think Fuel injection or Carburetor? Dick

 

Hi Dick, I recall running into you many times at events in the late 80s/mid when I had my mag. I think injection would be a bit more old school in retrospect. Thinking back on the development of modifieds prior to too many mandates. Those were the days.

 

Have you read the Kenny Shoemaker book? Great book, also Richie Evans was a good book too. Did you work on the 24 when Richie wheeled it?
http://www.coastal181.com/nlm-working-April-2005/shorttrack-1.htm

 

That's so cool; I had no idea Dick had a racing background.

 

peter schwarz

punky caron

bouchard 3 and taylor

Cultera

 

dave germano

smokey boutwell



sonny hutchens

 

sonny o sullivan

sonny rostein up in the fence

soupy schwandenmann

soupy schwenmann

 

stan greger

stan hauser

stafford

stafford

 

\

Dick,

Yep, I remember ya' coming over to wrench with me and Bob Ristau. But as you remember, my program was under $financed$ and you could see that I wasn't going anyplace but broke when I ran local. When I made the move to run Canada, that's when things clicked and the $money$ came in to support my limited operation .

Here's a picture of the Barracuda . I made a bunch of $dough$ with that car. The good old days . I threw in a construction shot of the car. That's when I was fresh outa' the Army and was lean and mean .

The pic of the completed car was taken at Lebanon Valley. The guy in the background with his arms crossed is Kenny Tremont Sr., one of my longtime mentors. The other pic was at Fonda. See the "Track of Champions" sign in the background?

AND, in your '36 Chevy coupe, the only engine I'd even consider is a Hilborn injected 327 with stamped steel 327 valve covers with 375hp decals.

 

Frank - Bloody 'ell! Nice RAF 'stache in that 3rd pic! vic

 

Um Dick... INJECTORS!!!

 

Skip Ziegler

Skip Zeigler

Skip Zeigler

Bill Slater and Bugs Stevens

Bill Slater

Bill Slater's horrible fire at trenton I believe

 

Slater #8 and Johnny Thompson

Slim Jim Baker

Slone #36, sorry for the three figure 8 pictures, they were in round of photos

Slone #45 and Coller #1

Smokey Boutwell

Smokey Boutwell

Smokey again

And again...

of course yet again!

Sonny McCurdy

 

I have really enjoyed the photos on this thread. I was told that Green Valey Raceway in Gadsden Alabama is having a big vintage race on nov 21 and 22 one thousand to win and will also run the flathead and six cyl cars. I was told that a lot of the Ga and KY cars will be their. I any hamb member comes let me know. I will be in attendance with my flathead no 5. One last question for bullfather what was the name of the Mag that you had? Thank You Bobby..

 

Bobby, that was my Mag, Golden Chariots Magazine and the East Coast Cruise News.

This is Peter's on line site about oval track racing here on the Island. It is onlt about 6 months ould but has quite a bit there. With lot's more in store.

http://www.pitstoppitbull.com/

 

Ronnie Rocco

Wally Dallenbach for you Rich! lol

riverside park

Chuck Montville

Two of the best Richie and Charlie J

Jack Arute

Dick Clark

Beat up old tow truck at Riverside hauled off lots of modifieds back in the day!

Richie and Charlie Jarzombek again at Martinsville, sad fact is that the track cost both men their lives. But both occassions could have started with health issues. But the accidents in both cases didn't help the matter.

Again the other driver is Brett Bodine. I show theses photos because they were both rounding out their careers at this point in time and the two following years we lost both drivers.

 

Mike Ewanitsko, would have loved to see what Mike E would have done with some the old drivers like Cook,Evans and Bugs in their prime.

Charlie Jones

Jim Ritchie

Al Tasnady

Alabama hauler, with a super modified I believe. I know pops is probably saving this photo along with the tow truck posted today!

Archiere at Danbury

Axel Anderson

Axel again

Art Walden

Skop Ziegler

 

You've got that right kid. I also posted the tow truck at the Old Gas Station and wrecker thread.

Kid knows his old man pretty good huh.

 

the dallenbach arrow was spose to go to the schafer crew,that built alot of the bomber cars at freeport..they were partners wt lou timalott,,hey wanted flemke to buid them a new mod, so they send the old bbc and a truck load of new parts to him....he got the idea in his head that they were going to copy his car so he kept putting them off with stories as to why its not done...then when wally showed up at wall with that car it had gauges shifter wheels steering wheel and a pile of parts from there car on it

 

Bill Slater's fire was in 1964 at the Trenton 200. Joe Kelly won the race in the XL 1.

Looking at the first picture of the fire, there is a #83 dirt modified on the trailer behind the pit wall. Sadly, Jackie Mc Laughlin died in that car at the Nazareth Speedway that night.

 

Wow, ironic, thanks for the info on Jackie McLaughin. You see the fire that Bill Slater had, he was lucky to crawl away from the car before it went up in flames. You can see him crawling out the passenger side window. Weathrmn, how did Jackie die at Nazereth?

 

Nazareth was one heck of a track. We went to Fleminton and it rained out so we shot over to the small narrow but, fast Nazareth track. Saw some radical racing there and some really die-hard fans!