Many of you reading this have been to Woodburn Dragstrip. The owner Jim Livingston has a racing background most no little about. In the mid 60's, we used to go up to Madras and race in March, because the season didn't start here in the valley until May. Up there I used to watch a 'T' Roadster pickup in A/SR with a 426 Wedge Mopar. They called him "Indian Jim", that was him! In around 1970 ,Jim bought Ernie Hall's 2nd FED, Jim teamed up with another Central Oregon racer Dan Amundson, who pulled the injected Ford Cammer out of his 39 Willys sedan. The combination, with Jim driving and I think a Clutchflite trans, was potent. Jim told me they ran an 8.16, pretty quick for the early 70's.
My dad (Mel Depuy)was on the Joint Venture team !! I used to wear the white team jacket to high school...
My earliest memorie is sitting in Dad's "57 at Woodburn in '83 right before he sold the car. We usde to go to the points races every year and hang out with Warter and his blue camero. GOOD STUFF HERE !!!!Thanks guys.
Hmm...don't remember a Scotty's in NW. Tik Tok got the overflow from Scotty's. Speck on 52nd and Sandy got a lot of cruisers, as did Yaw's and of course Broadway St. downtown, although there weren't many racers on Broadway. All the racers liked to support Scotty's because they were so great about supporting drag racing. Saw ome pretty fast (barely street legal) cars hanging out there in the 60's.
Don;t forget the weekend spectacle at Vans Drive In on Sandy and about 179th, the midnight drags on Marine Drive, Firestone races on Saturdays, a lot of the local racers would do the pre drag race tuneup in these places. Scottys and Tic Toc was the places to gather for all the after hours crowd's. Columbia built several stock car engines for us at the portland speedway, But Vicks Motors in Gresham did our Flatheads if I remember right.
That was us too! Jim Warter used to kick our ass like a red headed step child (along with a lot of other people). I drove for Ron Allen & Ted Vlahos out of Roseville, California in '75, my motor their chassis....here are some pics. (bottom pic @ P.I.R.) Now....back to Oregon racers.
How about the outlaw drags at Terminal 4 on sundays in the early 60's. They moved to the west end of Delta Park later on, with Dale "tiger" Whitney running the show, before becoming legal where PIR is now.Wild times!
It was summer '66 @ PIR, 1/8 mile grudge, flagman, guy on left side of track @finishline with a big flag, point to side of track that won. My first pass drag strip environment, 57 Chev 4dr 283 powerpack 3sp OD 4.11 nipped a Red 65 Falcon Sprint 4sp by a bumper, set the hook.
Cool stuff! That was before my time as I was born in 53! There was no legal strip anywhere close to Portland for a long time. I do remember Oatfield Road though, but that didn't last long.
Jack Schafer, now out of Walnut Creek CA. Has a website, believed to be a one time owner of my 5W. I bought it in Eugene Oregon in Mar 69.
Stan Wilson from Eugene and his "Altered Swinger"....R.I.P. Stanley Died May '77 @ Mission B.C. I was just entering the water box after him, when his run went terribly wrong....sad, sad day and a long tow home afterwards.
It was summer '66 @ PIR, 1/8 mile grudge, flagman, guy on left side of track @finishline with a big flag, point to side of track that won. My first pass drag strip environment, 57 Chev 4dr 283 powerpack 3sp OD 4.11 nipped a Red 65 Falcon Sprint 4sp by a bumper, set the hook. anybody else remember them early 1/8 miles deals @ PIR??
Does anyone remeber a guy know as "Otto" ( I think) that lived somewhere in NE? He painted my brothers Model A and had a cool 50's style track nose T in his basement, I have often wondered what happened to that T.
Jim Plummer....no I'm not the grim reaper, just at the wrong place twice. We were in the shut down area at Orange County when Jim made his last run. He went into severe tire shake and his head rattled inside the roll cage turned his brain to mush....bad deal. R.I.P. Jim
I remember Stan was close to Steve Woods, Didn't Steve drive Stan's roadster, with his own blown Hemi in it for a while? They were the two of the tallest guys racing back then. On that tragic day at Mission, I was told that Steve was #1 Qualifier in his Cricket SW. He loaded up and went home after the accident. Sad event for sure.
Jim was from Gold Hill, Or. He had a great future ahead, he had just completed a new house, with a great shop space, he had the floor all marked for the location of all his tools and equipment. I think he was driving Ed Wilson's "Battleborn" T/F car out of Reno at the time of the accident,Another sad tale.
That is true Marty....We used to caravan with Stan & Steve to the races, those were some good times. Steve's daughter lives a couple of blocks from me here in Rocklin. ....and yes Jim was driving the "Battleborn" car that day.
Not sure if this is stricktly drag racers but the were several stock car racers from the area that made great showings in oval racing , such as Hershal McGriff Sr. , Greg Biffle, Derric Cope, Mike Bliss, and others.
In my grandfather's stash of early Oregon Drag racing photos, I have photos of the "Orange Crate" in the early 1950's racing at Scappoose ...back before it was the "Orange Crate" as we know it.....when it was just a old white 'deuce tudor Will have to dig them out and post them.
Please do! Albert Drake has a shot of it at Scapoose in it's pre Orange Crate state in one of his books.
Mine are from the same period....but mine have something that Albert Drake was quite interested in that he had never seen before... ...they are in color I have approx. 35 color photos of the early Oregon drags in color. Mr. Drake told me he only knows of two (previously) that exist. I know I have at least one or two of the "Orange Crate" in that period in color.
The Jalopy Journal
