One of my cars we ran at Central Park and Thunder raceways in southern Ky.Steve packer way my engine man and drove some of my cars. Between me, my wife and Steve some times we had five cars at Thunder raceway on any given night. Steve and I ran two classes on a lot of nights. This one is running a Chevy motor.
I built this car because of a quirk in the rules. The rule was 112" wheelbase not the factory wheelbase of the car used. I slid the front clip foward four inches and the motor back eight by hammering the firewall. It has an offset cage that put the driver in the back seat. I put paul blevins in the car and swept the first four weeks. He took it to Bardstown Speedway started last in the consi's because he couldn't get there to qualify won all three. Transfered and Had to start at the back of the feature. Ran second all three weeks and they car was outlawed. Put the motor in my 70 chevelle with a 20" engine setback. He won the feature and they outlawed it , then changed the rules so you had to have factory wheelbase and spark plug on upper balljoint. Sold the car to some guy in Tenn.
TheTransformer Car had five different bodies. A fiberglass Cadillac, 80 Monte Carlo, 84 Monte Carlo and two camaros. As an 80 Monte Carlo I turned it over leading the heat at Central Park, Took the roof and fenders off and ran the feature.
One of my latemodels at the sportsdrome. Larry phillips chassis. Nobody was making anything but Camaros in fiberglass so I made this Monte Carlo out of aluminum just to be different.
Before and after new nose and front wide fives. Top picture is Charlestown Speedway the lower is Sporsdrome.
Tony Anderson at the Fairgrounds. Won the first race in this new car. Went on to be a very good figure eight driver.
I built this car for Pat Smith. Lead guitar for the somewhat notorius Fire Department rock band. Its got a 57 Chevy frame. "Wild Bill McNaulty" drove it regulary. This is at the Sportsdrome.
the first race after I finished the Chevelle I raced it. It was fast, finished second in the heat and feature. Then Bill McNaulty took over.
Billy Bieckert and I built this car in 6 days after he totaled his other one. This included converting to rear discs and going 150 miles to get a chevelle convertable frame. I ended up with the car and it became he Transformer. This is at the sportsdrome where it won several races.
Billy Bieckert won the Sportsdrome streetstock champioship with this car. won 16 out of 20 features. Swept 8 nights.
This is my vintage stockcar. It is a replica of my first car. 54 Ford with a 59 292 truck motor. It has Atlas Bucron tires. These were the hot tires of the day. Has a lot of my original race parts including an original set of Navy F4U WW II seat belts and shoulder harness. It won the 2002 Carl Casper car show in the vintage racecar class. It is period perfect down to the sparkplugs, oil filter, and sparkplug wires. My original guages, switches and Foxcraft shifter.
WOW ! that is a great photo. thanks for finding that, the only problem is that this car has whitewalls ???? I think you have found his nickname "Klapak". Is that pronounced Klapick or Klapack ??
The transformer with the Cadillac body at the Drome with Steve Packer at the wheel. We swapped off driving as I had back trouble.
Built this Pontiac Ventura out of cast off parts I had laying around. Won a ton of races at the Drome and Charlestown.
Steve Packer driving the Venture had just passed the leader the turn before. The sreering shaft broke.
Broke the block, crank, cam, transmission,seat, and ring and pinion. Bent the pressure plate, driveshaft, rearend housing, steering wheel, rollcage, two wheels and busted the battery.
Some early stockers wore whitewalls...IIRC, there was not a bonafide stock car racing tire until 1958-ish, so standard passenger car tires or truck tires had to suffice. Smokey Yunick tells a wonderful story about the first Southern 500 (1950) at Darlington...they 'borrowed' tires & wheels from spectator vehicles when they ran out. And boy did they run out...one fella (Red Byron?) blew out 24 tires that afternoon! Somwhere, I have a photo of Buck Baker's '56 Chrysler running whitewalls at Orange Speedway, so they were around.
The Jalopy Journal
