What you gather is correct! Probably the main reason we chose to build a '57 was the duarability of the 4 speed and the hydraulic lifter motor. Most small block Chevys at that time were high reving solid lifter motors. The fact is that Jere Stahl never made a set of headers for a 245hp motor until ours. Our home made Green Giant Headers ran better than the first set of Stahls until we got the primary tube diameter correct. Jere was very helpful till we got it right. We had fun till the NHRA put the screws to us.
Just received my July issue of hot Rod magazine. There's a 10 page article "When Stock was Hot " and one on painting candy stripes on your 65 Coronet.
Hot Rod article pictures Monster Mash, Mr. Clean, Wheatley Bros., George Cureton, Larry Lombardo, Gunning Bros., Yoo Hoo Too and more from the Petersen archives plus a good write up on those days .
Methinks some of the folks @ HRM are reading this thread! After all, it was our 'creator' COLESY (Bill Cole) who coined the term "When Stock Rocked" a few months ago. Alas, the July HRM is not on the stands yet, but the June issue does do a very-nice piece on the resurrection of the Cobra Jet, as well as a page on Bristol '66.
Thanks Mr. G .I remember going to buy a set of WCFB's on a corvette intake off some Stocker guys one night with my dad for my 57 business coupe street car. It was a 4 speed 57 210 called "White Lightning" . It was about 8:00 one night and they lit the car off in the garage for us. Scared my dad half to death but that sound has never left me. I paid $25.00 for the carbs and intake and they wanted to give us their backup Forgetrues pistons for $50.00 but we had a set of 12.5's already in the motor.....
Just read the "When Stock was Hot" in the July HRM. Kudos to HRM it is a great article and spot on. A couple of my favorite quotes from the article well written by Bill McGuire: the first one is on page 78 "Long ago, one oberver described Stock class racers as "the guys who were actually paying attention in high school physics class" and that's a pretty fair description." Well my racing buddy Mike Mazepa and I went to HS together and I recall that physics was one of his best classes! Also on page 82 "From the front bumper to the rear, Junior Stockers were some of the most devious race cars ever constructed, putting the old NASCAR stories to shame." That's what was so cool about stockers cuz what you didn't have in expensive brute horsepower one had to create and perform a collection of mysterious tricks to get that little edge. This can never be replaced by 2000 HP rocket ships.
I can't believe I just now found this thread! Guys if it isn't too much trouble do you have any 1964 Oldsmobile photos?
Not too many 1964 Olds photos on this thread, but here's an (earlier) Oldsmobile photo (from post #1182) you just might enjoy ...
Hi Bill, The other quote on page 82 was what Tony always said, Its only cheating when you get caught! He also was very smart in High School too! I kinda liked the other saying he had, Speed costs money, How fast do you want to go!
How true Bill, The young kids today don't know the rush you get when you come out of the hole at about 6000 grand! Its much better that the rush they get from drugs!!!!!!
They were well-made, attractive, affordable automobiles. And a lot of the car's appeal was the introduction of the *'Rocket' (OHV) V8 in 1949. And of course, another appealing feature was the sturdy and brisk-shifting 4-Sp Hydro ... which almost two decades later was to see service in countless '55-'57 Chevrolet sedan delivery Junior Stockers! *below from ... http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofhst.htm "The Rocket engine debuted in 1949. It was termed the Rocket 88 engine. This engine was big in NASCAR, in fact with the automatic (no manual trans available early on), the Rocket won 8 out of 10 races in 1950. This engine had a number of (at the time) interesting features: overhead valvetrain, hydraulic lifters, oversquare bore-stroke ratio, forged crank with counterweights, aluminum pistons, full-floating wrist-pins, and a dual plane intake manifold. In 1957 Olds released the J-2 Golden Rocket. This was a 371 inch engine with a six-pack (it only came with a six-pack) that put out 312 horses. Once Olds hooked onto the Rocket name in '49 and people associated it with Oldsmobile, they continued to use it for many years because of that association. You could say that any Olds built V-8 from 1949 up is a Rocket engine. All Olds V-8 pushrod engines produced between 1949 and 1990 are considered "Rocket" engines. The "Rocket" designation comes from the general design of these engines, not the HP rating. Super 88's with Rocket V-8s won many races in 1949 and through the 1950's. The Rocket V-8 has been credited with starting the quest for more power and hot rodding."
Anybody have pics or info on a 1969 SS/AMX raced by Brian Cox from Cox AMC dealership??? Car was raced local in Mass and won quite a few events. The AMC guys are going crazy on another forum trying to determine this car's authenticity. It was just on EBAY and there is a huge debate over if it was raced or not??? With so much info and being an East coast car someone has to have seen or heard of it? Supposedly the Dealers son was killed in a crash but not in that car. Thanks
I just found this thread via Google and could not wait to join the HAMB to tell the following: In 1964 at age 14 I went to work part-time for Weir-Jordan Chevrolet in Great Falls, SC. The shop manager was James "Jimmy" Thompson, originally from Ohio who married a local girl a number of years prior. When he started there, he had a '50 Ford with a J-2 Olds engine, a beast for the day. When I started, he was campaigning a 1956 Two-Ten 2-door, yellow with black top, called "The Tiger", had a great big Tiger decal on the doors (Weir owned the local Esso Oil company). Engine was a 265, 225 with two WCFB 4-bbls, close ratio 3-speed. On the side he was building a 1957 Two-Ten 2-door, 283 245 HP 4-spd car which at the time was the tow car (swear to God) for the '56. His wife drove a 56 Bel-Air 2-door Sport Coupe with a 327-365 4-speed! Jimmy went out on his own and campaigned the '57 with the stock light blue paint for quite awhile then painted it dark blue and lettered it as "James' Auto Service". Depending on the class he wanted in, he would change things around and either run it as a hydraulic cam 2-four car (245 hp) or a solid cam 270 horse car. For quite awhile he continued to drive it on the street with, I believe, either 4.88's or 5.13's in the rear end - needless to say it was one heck of a car in that set-up. I remember many a night, outside, under the car and inside the doors and quarters, scraping off the undercoating. We removed the rear seats and cut out every other spring, removed the insulation from under the carpets, dissected the wiring harness to remove unnecessary wires, whatever we could to remove weight invisibly. We even added 1/2 of the rubber body mounts to each mount on the frame to slightly raise the body off the frame - quite a task. Jimmy had a good friend, Stover Mackey, who found a 283 built by some Chevy guru in Baltimore where the guy who left it could not pay the bill. Jimmy bought it, installed it and boy, did we go to town then!! We ran each and every weekend at Concord Dragstrip near Concord, NC on Saturday nights and on Sundays at Shuffletown near Charlotte, NC. Jimmy was the consistent winner, his main competition was Don Couch in a 1965 Mustang, claiming either 225 hp or 271 hp. (Don still has the Mustang I am told). Jimmy later bought a '68 Z-28 to run in Jr. Stock but before he could make any headway Tony PIzzi had shredded the records and the car was factored out to such an extent that he gave up and converted the car to Modified Production. Interestingly all three cars I mentioned were sold to the same guy from Bristol, Tennessee. His first name was Eddie and he ran a flower shop. I later heard the '56 was converted to a circle track car (and we all know the end to that car!), but I do not know what happened to the '57 or the Z-28. The '57 was a Record Holder for a short time in the 1/8th mile, can't remember which class. I have no photos, but if someone does, I would love to see them. I went into the service in '69 and got out in '73, things had changed so much I just did not get back into the NHRA racing and went to the street instead. Jimmy got out of racing in 1972 I believe and is now dead. I'll add more on another reply - don't want to blow this one out. Lonnie C. from S.C.
Another car out of Great Falls, SC was a 1955 one-fifty 2-door with a 265-180hp, originally built and campaigned by Stover Mackey around 1964 or so. He sold it to a local guy, Bud Jacobs who never drove or campaigned the car. Danny Bell ended up with the car in about 1966 and campaigned it for several years before selling it to some racers in Lancaster, SC (names will come to me later). It was an extremely well-detailed car, Cadillac Firemist Green bottom with a Cadillac Firemist Gold top. It was named "Tension" in big gold letters on the door. Also, there was a '57 Chevy Bel-Air 4-door wagon, a former NHRA record holder, out of Maryland, I think, that was raced out of Great Falls also. It was black with a silver top, campaigned locally by E.B. Hinson. I ended up with the car in the late 70's and ran the drive train, a 283-270 hp motor on the street for awhile in a Bel-Air coupe. I later sold the engine to a guy (?Larry Anderson?) who had a quarry in Decatur, Alabama. A friend still has the hull, with the floorboard completely rusted out due to the rubber floor mats. It is unrepairable. Another dragstrip we raced at was Blaney Dragstrip at Elgin, SC, just outside Columbia, SC. We also raced at Pelion, also near Columbia. For those of us who were around in the day, there has been no other experience like it. Racing heads-up in your class, no breakout rules, true racing. These cars got me hooked on cars, to the extent that over time I owned 39 '55's and 14 '57's. Shamefully, I do not own one now, just a '66 Corvair Crown conversion with a 400 small block where the back seat was. So, to the list add: Jimmy Thompson - 1957 Chevrolet Danny Bell - 1955 Chevrolet] E.B. Hinson - 1957 Chevrolet Stover Mackey - 1955 Chevrolet Thanks, Lonnie Campbell from S.C.
Hey Lonnie! Welcome!! Better late than never, I say! Thanks much for sharing the history! "ll add more on another reply - don't want to blow this one out." Don't worry about that! Just keep it coming! I love it! Regards, Pete
Can't remember if I posted these or not so please don't shoot me. Bob Burkitt and Warren & Register. Bob Rice
The Jalopy Journal
