History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Wow that is amazing! I knew weight was a focus back then but didnt know it was such a large factor in the building process. Was there a benefit with the shorter bodies over the longer ones other then weight? Seems like the smaller body and less weight would create a large problem with traction and handling ability. You guys where and are amazing sources of information and you guys really need to put all this stuff down that you can so that us younger generation who wish to follow in your foot steps are able to without sponsors/big money. I appreciate all your info!

 

this is the car we rain in calgary alberta canada and in spokan washington
back in the 70's

 

We also ran a 2 in Gilmer belt rather than the 3 inch as the pulleys were lighter. Along with this we did not run an idler for weight reasons and used magnesium shim plates under the blower to adjust belt tension. The single engine cars were really not competitive with the twins. The only time we ever won was when they blew a motor or had to run on only one due to breakage.

It was pretty apparent at the time that the twins were the real show cars as far as gas powered. They would have needed some very quick regulation as they were already at the limit of technology and breakage was going to be a big problem. I don't know what would have really worked. limit blower OD, weight, cu in, probably eliminate the new 2 spd trans (Lenco and B&J) limit gear ratio. More or less spec cars. 2 5/8 or 3/4 strokers were simply going to be too much. The Donovan block was just starting to appear in the TF cars so it would be a very short time before the Twins would have had them too. Too bad, they would have been real spectator draws.

Here is the twin restoration site.
http://twotogo.homestead.com/

The GSTA twin is here in town and I know the guy who did the restoration. He comes to streetrod breakfast get togethers often. He is a real master craftsman as well as nice guy. We often talk of the tech that is in the GSTA. It was built by George Weplo another master craftsman here in the twin cities. I was fortunate to able to see it created and have George help me with our car .

I used to have pictures of the era but thanks to Hurricane Hugo I lost almost every picture and memory item from the time.

 

It was a mix, some of the earliest dragsters had full bodies, like Ed Losinski's early '50s dragster, or the Yeakel Bros-sponsored mid-50s car...others had barely any body at all, it really depended on what you could afford...

Suggestion: go to Don Ewalds dragster site, search throught the "from the beginning" pages from the birth of drag racing to '59, lots of shots of early dragsters there.

 

I toured all over the country driving this for 2 years, what a blast.

 

^^^all time badass coupe,must have been a real rush.......

 

Then, you sir, were a privledged man! What years? Where was that picture taken?

 

That was 1989 and 1990, I have no idea where that photo was taken at. Here is a pretty cool video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz8MhmS8A20<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

Thanks for the great info. I am hoping to run 392 Hemi on nitro. Not sure how aggressive, I want it to be as close to a real "original" FED I can get so pretty aggressive Im thinking. But thats way in the future. Gotta get the rest of the stuff together first. As far as camshafts Ive always wonder what size most 392 nitro engines were running back then. Most camshafts I see for sale for the 331-392 on other sites seem pretty small compared to today's. Dont think Ive seen one over .550 or .580 lift, then again not sure if those are for nitro engines.

 

Isky, Engle Howard's a,nd Crower were the big names. You are right the gas and fuel guys ran the Isky 505 5 cycle and the others were in the .500 to .550 lift range. I think the lifter OD was the limiting factor. I did run a roller cam in the blown gas motor. I think it was around .600 lift. Pretty radical for the day. I lost 2 blocks due to roller breakage before that cam finally broke. Valve springs were very touchy too. You have to remember we went 190 and the twins were right at 200 with 4.10 gears and 11 in wide tires. 29-30 in or so dia Even. the fuel guys were only a little larger.

I'd be real careful running a 392 on nitro today. They are pretty hard to find and expensive to build. .030 overbore is about all we ever ran. Even then it wasn't hard to split a wall. We often had 8 sleeves before we junked a block. The blocks were filled with Roc-Bloc and we only ran water in the heads. I seriously look for a Donovan block and alum heads....paint it black for looks.

To give you an idea how many cars there were just in our area. There was almost always 30-35 TF cars and at least that many Top gas cars at our local track nearly every weekend. The number of 392's that became "boat" anchors is astounding. We used to buy a whole car for $25-50 pull the motor and save only the block, heads and crank. The rest went back in the car and we got $25 for it at the junk yard.

It was like this throughout the country so you can see why there are not many old hemi's around any more. Also just look at how many twins there were in just a few years.

 

Very true, its been very hard to find a 331-392 Hemi around here in Texas ( I live right next to what was Green Valley Drag Way). Ive been thinking a lot about Donovan engines, kinda curious when it came to the mid to late 60's how did the 426 Hemi hold up compared to the 392 when running in TF/TG? Did anyone run 413-426 Plymouth/Dodge Wedge blocks in TF or TG? Any competitive?

 

When the 426 came out it was a game changer. At least after they figured out how to run it. It took a lot more lead than the 392. Tony Nancy was a wedge guy I know he liked running them. I remember reading somewhere that he believed the wedge was a better gas engine and the hemi was for nitro.

 

Brainerd International Raceway 1971

 

Heres a few more older Bristol pit shots.

 

I always liked the full view trailer beside this car. Too bad I didnt get a better picture of it.

 

What's the scoop on the a/g Vega flopper..?

 

Gotta love the jr fuelers. They were fun. The TF motor shot shows how spindley the frames were even on the TF cars.

The 426 took a while to really lay waste to the 392. It was quite expensive to build as blocks, heads and cranks had to come from the dealer unless you could score on a wreck. It didn't take K Black and E Pink long to figure them out however. Then you simply purchase HP.

The 426 was a lot more durable regardless what is said. I did work in a hotrod shop at the time so I got to build both. After TG died I went to FC for a few years. IT was a 426 game then no doubt. There were others but the 426 ruled. I got to Alcohol FC for a while and the 392/Donovan hung on by finger nails but a 480 in 426 with 60 over on the good 8-71 was really too much for the aging 392. The coming 10 and 12-71 blowers simply wasted the 392.

 

Realkustum;
Your shots from Thunder are priceless............. so realistic I can't stop looking at them.
These shots taken from a real individual participants perspective say volumes more than all the glossy magazine cover shots.
So memory provoking!
Tom S. in Tn.

 

I remember when Hank The Crank formerly C-T Cranks I think, was producing the Whale; a 392 that was bored/stroked to huge proportions. That motor rendered a few local wins at Lions and OCIR, et al. However, once all its nuances were deciphered, the 426 became the motor to run. Its hard to appreicate how racers, especially fuel guys, were able to machine an OEM motor to sustian the wear and tear that comes with runing a blower and fuel.