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

Dig the air tank.....and well.....the famous guys too.

 

Here's a couple from the Arlington WA. Drag Strip. I was lucky enough to meet the gentleman with the two sweeties and the trophy last weekend, 80 years old now and retiring from his automotive repair business. The Chevy coupe had a Jimmy 6, Hilborn injection, aftermarket head, [he told me what brand of head but I sometimes suffer from the CRS], and an Olds rear. Really like the pick up in the background of the second photo. Thanks to all who contribute too this great thread.

John

 

The Gene Cooper 36 Chevy car was from Baltimore. Gene had a speed shop in South Baltimore. Dave Cook drove the car and still lives close by.

 

The 2 pics are of the same car and , yes, it is Eddie Hill. Dave Dangerfield was killed at Beeline and not related to the pics. Bill Cox of the Turk/Cox/Braswell AA/FD, who ran at the time here in Phx, confirmed this.

 

Ardun writes in post 43766-
"Ernie's Camera Shop car from Glendale, CA, at the nationals...we remember it mostly painted red, but it was also black...usually ran gas but when Ivo had a chance to drive it (after his studio banned him from driving his 4-Buick car), he tried a low nitro dose...when Ernie Alvarado found out, he fired Ivo as driver."

This may be true but, at least not entirely. The Pontiac of Ernie's Camera ran heavy loads of nitro often as told to me personally by Bill Alexander when I interviewed him in Tucson around 1999. And he did well with it to. He told me the Poncho ran great and showed me this picture of him strapping it to the Chrysler GBP in late 1962 at Long Beach! Bill said further the best they ever ran was 8.02, never into the 7s. Those are not gasoline ETs for 1962-3. pontiacheaven.org

 

MELROSE MISSILE III. MAY 26, 1963. HALF MOON BAY....................................TOM


HAYDEN PROFFITT vs. MELROSE MISSILE IV. MAY 26, 1963. HALF MOON BAY...................TOM. MELROSE MISSILE IV. DEC. 8, 1963. HALF MOON BAY.....................................TOM.

MELROSE MISSILE V. MAR. 15, 1964. KINGDON...................................................TOM.

MELROSE MISSILE V vs HAYDEN PROFFITT. MAR. 15,1964. KINGDON............................TOM.

MELROSE MISSILE V vs. GAS RONDA. MAR. 14, 1964. KINGDON....................................TOM.

 

The reason I posted the info on Dave Dangerfield is that the side-by-side Pontiac dragster was his, not Eddie Hill's...that was what I was relating to.

 

Ernie's car ran gas until Ivo drove it...after Bill returned to the seat, they did run nitro, and did well with it, as you note....what Ernie was pissed about was that Ivo didn't tell him that they had switched to nitro...I was at San Gabriel the day Ivo did it, Ernie wasn't, so Ivo tried to sneak in a low dose.....

 

Here is the original picture from 43775, you have to follow the sequence to understand the caption

 

This is a cool shot
I had a 70 split bumper and a 67 cuda which I think the one in this picture is a 69 hard to tell
But neither one was as cool as these.

 

Note the Brasher & Cummins picture posted by Tommy above...I think that this is the same car before the chop, and a later crash...(at Fremont)



Don Jensen, Hayward Head Hunters, pretty early twin, two Cadillacs, fed into one center section


You guys with better memories might want to fill in...I think that this is Bobby Vodnik near lane, racing the "Brief Encounter" car of Cassidy and Winward...but I'm pulling that from 50 years ago, or so...anyone else??


Ono, Lew, & Gonzales modified roadster, near lane, blown Olds, not sure whose yellow dragster that is...Inyokern


Pretty good for recap tires and a gas Buick


Ivo versus the Greek, San Gabriel, maybe '62? This is early Ivo before paint or nose


I think this might be the late Porky Zartman, with paint instead of primer.


Montana, not sure of car...Montana had a short drag racing season, but the racers there raced just as hard as did the rest of us...but never got much ink.


Was this an early Ron Colson car??

 

The drag strip at Aquasco, MD has been closed for many years, unfortunately.

 

Bowtie, was Aquasco beside a major hiway, ran parrelel? I went to a track in about'68 close to my sister's house. I don't remember the name, but I can picture it. Only car I remember was a six cylinder Chevy powered dragster.

 

Yes, early Ron Colson. More here: http://illegends.homestead.com/ILLegendsRColson.html

 

I don't have enough data to know which car was built first ????

 

nobodD, the Aquasco drag strip was out in the sticks about 15 miles or so from town, so I don't think that's the track you're remembering. Where did your sister live? Crofton, perhaps? What you're describing sounds like Capital Raceway. Their entrance road is off of MD Rt3/US Rt301 - definitely a major highway - and I believe the track runs parallel to the road. Although I don't believe you can see it from the road, you can hear it.

 

296Ardun, yes, that is Pork Zartman at the 1963 NHRA NATIONALS where he became C/Gas National Champion in Charlie Hill's Filthy Forty.
It is primer...never had paint. For that matter, it very seldom ever got washed!!

Thanks for all the great photos!!

 

The smaller photo fooled me, there was a slight shine -- I thought it might have gotten some paint, relieved to know I was mistaken...would have taken all the mystique out of the car and Porky.

 

That sounds like it, I think the road was four lane. She lived near Silver Springs. I used to have to visit with my parents, then I'd split with the car. I was about 16 or 17.