Features Corvette hot rods - picture thread

Doug I have wondered about those wheels for years. Imagine I will wonder a few more.

 

Hey I'm no history expert by any means the vast majority of captions I post with the photos are from the source of the photos. In this case it is NHRA archives that is where that info is from LOL. I just find them and post them you real experts can fix any mistakes as I was just a teenager when they were happening and living on the wrong coast to boot.

 

Loudbang as I said I certainly appreciate all of the work you go through with posting. I can only guess that whomever re-wrote the late 67 NHRA results, may have made an honest mistake or wrote so it was not so clear. The Tulsa race followed the Nationals and was also a big race. I have spoken to the owner of Midwest on the Indy results and that is when he told me that it was the engine out of the 57 Vette that they put in the AM/SP entry. After that he sold the Vette and then in 68 under new ownership it was transformed into Prontito.

You are doing a great job and I am sure we all appreciate your efforts.

 

You guys wait I'm gathering info for the Earl Wade history article and what a guy he was a magic mechanic and worked on a bunch of different brands and teams over the years. If you do a search for earl wade + drag racing you get HUNDREDS of replies LOL

 

Loudbang really looking forward to that. I feel it is good thing if we can give credit to some of the guys who were really at the top of their game and added to the glory days of drag racing but now are for the most part forgotten.

 

here is my 63 i purchased a few months ago-would love to find some history on it



May have said Berta,Barta Racing on rear fenders...
Looks like it may have been from Ohio

Thanks Dom

 

Honestly don't know what happened to the Corvette stuff but the tri five stuff pretty much ended up with one guy. There's another photo of that holding yard floating around with some of the 53 to 55 Vette body style cars stacked on top of one another, me no can find that pic. Not that big of a deal back then. Jim aren't you the fella with that crazy ass chopped 61/62 Vette gasser? Would love to see that thing up and running.

John

 

John yea I own the Teter built chopped top 61. It is pretty rough when you look at it up close and I too would love to see it up and running but I have got some other projects in front of it. I would like to do it period correct which would mean it would never pass tech. Plus when I sit in the car you have to sit in a rockered position and it is really hard to see with the smaller windshield and the big scoop. Nothing that you would want to drive on the street (at least I wouldn't). Will build it into a period piece eventually. Keep saying I need projects for when I retire (which I hope is soon).

My wife is into horses and work around this place is enough to tire a guy out. With work and then work around here, the work on cars is not something I can do 24/7 but I plan on working as much as I can. Right now I am redoing an absolute nightmare 61 that I can use for the Meltdown and other nostalgia/vintage stuff and still run the streets on occasion (small block with four speed and Pontiac rear). I redid the frame already (which was pretty sad when it came back from the dipper) and am working on building a body from parts that look like they were retrieved from junkyards. The rear clip I got out of Cleveland, the door jambs out of Arkansas, trunk lid from Maryland I believe, the doors from a white car locally, a front clip from a black car, hood from an orange car locally etc. Part of the floor and right footwell was missing so I made that and couldn't find a cowl so I am making one now (mold came out nice) so it should be OK. Plus I am pulling out an old 1903 Cadillac that I want to restore so I have my hands full. I had done some work on this old Cadillac some years ago and may as well restore it and hopefully use the money for other projects. I keep looking at the chopped top car though and it is tempting. I will get to it. It will probably be the next Vette to be done. I have officially told myself I am buying no more cars or projects (my wife does not believe me). I hope to stick to it so I can get my projects done.

 

Dom your car looks great. Hopefully you can get some history but I have found that to be easier said then done. I will keep any eye out for any pictures etc that may help you. Good to see another that will not be within the realm of the stock nazis.

 

Thanks Jim! 14x32's small block with a Doug Nash crash box for the street

 

Yep this dope has to many projects also. Got a 39 Willys sedan that's getting close, next year for sure. Won't be much of a street car, local, real local cruise nights will be about it. Going to be fun beating the snot out of it at the track though. Traded a way rough 40 Willys P.U. cab and some $$ for the sedan after realizing it would damb near take the jaws of life for me to get into that truck! The Corvettes on this thread remind me of the cars I saw in my younger days, Cragars, Americans, slots, jacked up a bit, dumped in the front, and sometimes a little rough.

John

 

When I had 4 or 5 early Corvettes (around 1972) the place I dealt with was a guy out of his garage in someplace in SE Michigan, either Warren or Roseville. I lived in Lake Orion. Sold a number of parts to him since car guy's in the Pontiac area were not into Vette's but wanted 55-57 Chevy and early Nova parts. Good trading material for me. Once I traded a crappy 62 or 63 Nova for a 57 Vette Gasser body with no front suspension. Traded that to and some cash in my pocket, yes to Tracey (sp) later Tracey Enterprises for a very nice 66 Vette HT . Late night transaction in his driveway.
Those are the days to remember.
Now I'm down to only one 60 Vette basket case I've owned since 1977. Next year is it's build. Engine is going together now..
Movin/on

 

John, I was always a fan of Willys but have never owned one. Ran into a guy at the Dreamcruise one year who claimed he owned several Willys and said he loved early Vettes and we should do a trade. Really would be easy to do for the right car for either of us I guess. I told the story before I believe but when I was at a car show with my black 62 this guy kept walking up to the car and walking around it. He asked me if it was my car and he told me as a kid he kept building 62 Vettes over and over. Then he says like "what am I saying you probably did yourself" and I thought a minute and said no not at all. The car I kept building over and over again was the 40 and 41 Willys. It is really hard to beat a Willys for a great look.

Movin on great 60. Sometimes the time is just right for you to get going on a car ( I should live by this phrase more often). With my avatar car, it was sitting in epoxy primer for years (like 20 years) and my wife one time about ten years ago says "how long would it take you to get that car done?" I told her the bodywork was all done but it needs a lot (no engine or trans in it and wanted a stronger differential-no interior-was an old race car out of New Mexico). I pulled it out and started working on it in earnest and eventually set a goal to enter it in Autorama which I did in 2013 (took third behind a 58 Vette done by Troy Trepanier and another high dollar restomod 57). Had to really thrash to get it done in time. Now I am glad I did as I am having a great deal of fun with the car. Good luck with your project there. Dennis Tracy is a real character for sure. I have bought some stuff from him although he can be really proud of his stuff when it comes to putting a price on it. Kudos to him though for saving all of that stuff he has. I was looking for a rear body section and he had one. I asked him for a price and he told me $10,000. I found one a short time later in Cleveland (Craigslist) for $750- a little rougher but not all bad-especially for the price. Unless he starts moving his stuff with wild abandon the executor of his estate when the time comes is going to have a real task on hand.

 

I believe you like you some Scotty B's

 

getting somewhere....


closer...


that and a little 'mishap' got 9 stiches in my finger so progress will be slow for awhile

 

Hmm, mishap sounds kinda familiar. Just got my 10 stitches out this week!

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OK it's been a long time coming with all my being lured away by other history stories I found looking up Earl but here it is finally.

The EARL WADE story.

Earl was a master mechanic before that term became popular in this era. It was a hard job figuring out where his story was best placed in a thread he worked on so many different cars and teams and engines over the years but since it was you guys in this vette thread that got me started on posting photos and things grew from there I think this is the most appropriate spot to put it.

While best known for his work on vettes and Dyno Dons early chevy days he also worked on FOMOCO products and AMERICAN MOTORS CORP cars you know the little guys AMC LOL.

So we will start off with the off brands and get to the vette later.

Earl starts out working as a mechanic with Dnyo Don at the Chevy dealership where Don convinced the owners to install the surplus dyno he had bought on his own hence the name "Dyno Don"

So sit back get a cold one or two because this is a long one. I had a hard time picking and choosing just what to include he was so good he had a great career and believe it or not chevy lovers he became one of the "Go to guys" for Ford SOHC cammer engines. Many many people had comments that I had to select the best ones for this he must have been a nice guy too he still keeps getting invited to "Car Shows" and reunions.

A couple of Ford and AMC stories to get them out of the way then later the vette.


The AMCs


Dick Bourgeois and Earl Wade were originally part of the Doug Thorley AMC effort with a tricolor Javelin (see below) in 1969 but went out on their own in 1970 with this all-red edition.



In addition to the Javelin I, Thorley in 1969 had a second team car built, aptly named “Javelin 2.” It was a conventional Funny Car, campaigned by Dick Bourgeois and Earl Wade. The second car also ran the AMC red, white and blue corporate colors and was used for match races and ran the Coca-Cola Cavalcade of Stars circuit.
Power came from a tried-and-true Chevrolet rat motor and the car won a special American Motors-sponsored race at Irwindale. Later Bourgeois and Earl split from Thorley and built a new Javelin for 1970, all-red in color, and shared the same bowtie power.




Ford stories

ED Terry and Earl FORD

Terry’s drag racing career was distinguished by the fact that he was one of the elite handpicked drivers for the Ford Drag Team that represented the Blue Oval factory efforts during the Total Performance decade of 1960 to 1970. Terry was joined by the likes of Drag Racing Coordinator and Drag Council captain Dick Brannan, Gas Ronda, Les Ritchey, Bill Lawton, Hubert Platt, Phil Bonner, Tommy Grove, and others who battled head to head with the top entries from Chevrolet, Pontiac, Dodge, and Plymouth for bragging rights.

The heads-up racing proved to be so popular that NHRA introduced the Pro Stock category in 1970, and Terry attended the Winternationals with his SOHC 427-cid-powered Maverick. For the 1971 season, Terry switched to a Boss 351-cid engine. After working with Don Nicholson’s crew chief, Earl Wade, Terry’s Maverick was becoming one of the quickest cars in Pro Stock, but it was sidelined when Ford decided to end all of its motorsports racing programs in April 1971.

The Mercury Cougar story it's a long one.

Representing the pinnacle of Ford’s high-performance street engine development in the late 1960s, the Boss 429 was the car maker’s response to Chrysler’s 426 Hemi in their ongoing arms race. And in what many enthusiasts view as the pinnacle of rarity for the Cougar, Lincoln-Mercury in 1969 placed two of these stout motors in its pony cars: 9F91R567772 and 9F91R567773.

It’s still not exactly clear why only two Cougars received the Boss 429. An interoffice Ford memo dated March 14, 1969, indicates that a program had been approved to build 50 Cougars with the 429 NASCAR engine (as the Boss 429 was called early on). All were to be dedicated race cars. But it would appear that, at some point, that program was canceled as only these two factory Boss 429 Cougars were built.

What is clear is that the two B9 Cougars were intended for drag racing and that they went to contract Mercury drivers “Fast” Eddie Schartman and “Dyno” Don Nicholson.

Like virtually every Ford automobile purpose-built for racing, 9F91R567773 (the Nicholson Cougar) was white. According to the original invoice, 567773 was built in Dearborn, where it was issued a brass tag with the number 178-D-469. Also called out on the invoice is the “Cougar NASCAR Package,” with a District Special Order number of 84 8018. And like Mustangs designated at the time for Boss 429 conversion, this special Cougar had the “R” (428 Cobra Jet) engine code, but arrived at Ford racing subcontractors Kar Kraf (KK) Engineering without an engine. Te invoice goes on to reveal that it was ordered with hood pins, ram air, competition handling package, 4-speed manual transmission, manual drum brakes, manual steering, no radio, no heater and no rear sway bar. At Kar Kraf, 567773 received its Boss 429 modifications and was assigned the KK number 1684.

All of the modifications from the front seats forward were shared with the Boss 429 Mustangs. Unique to the Cougar and due to its longer wheelbase (as compared with the Mustang), were a longer drive shaft and a longer positive battery cable (Boss 429s had the batteries mounted in the trunk). Te battery tray and reinforcement plate also were unique, as Cougars have a different trunk floor stamping.

Unlike the Boss 429 Mustangs destined for sale to the public, the engine codes on the Boss 429 Cougars were not changed from “R” (428 CJ) to “Z” (Boss 429) because they were never to be titled for the street so there was no need. In years to come, this fact would confuse car collectors trying to track down the B9 Cougars.

It is important to note that what follows contains some speculation based on the research and many conversations and interviews conducted with Kar Kraf, Lincoln- Mercury, Holman Moody Stroppe (HMS) employees, Dyno Don himself and his engine builder, Earl Wade. Not only is the restoration of this very unique Cougar ongoing, but so is its story, with new information coming to light daily.

Lincoln-Mercury then shipped KK1684 (still white) to HMS, where the Cougar purportedly arrived sans engine and transmission to be further modified for drag racing duty with, among other things, Contemporary Fiber glass made doors, fenders, dash and hood, Lexan glass, and a Holman & Moody NASCAR-spec Boss 429 engine.

At about this time, at either HMS or Nicholson’s shop, the Cougar was painted candy red with orange stripes and “ELIMINATOR” call-outs on the sides and spoiler. Beginning in 1966, Dyno Don had been campaigning a series of “Eliminator” designated Comet and Cougar funny cars, resulting in the Cougar Eliminator package that Mercury made available on the 1969 and 1970 street cars. In fact, the stripe design and billboards used on Dyno’s 1969 B9 Cougar were very similar to what would appear on the sides of the ’70 Cougar Eliminators.

Soon after the Cougar was delivered to Don Nicholson’s shop, it was discovered that the HMS-built Boss engine made about 50 horsepower less than the well-sorted, single overhead cam (SOHC) 427 that Don was currently campaigning with much success. According to an article in the October 1969 issue of Car Craff magazine (from which the photos accompanying this article are borrowed), Nicholson’s engine builder, Earl Wade, pulled the B9 and replaced it with the 427 Cammer. Mercury had contracted with Don to run the Boss 429 so they were not pleased. Nicholson was a busy and much-in-demand drag racer who needed to compete and win immediately. So, after some arguing with L-M, Don was allowed to run the 427. In the meantime, Wade would work on squeezing more power out of the brand new Boss 429 by, among other things, developing a solid lifer cam with Crane and a tunnel ram-style intake with Offenhauser, so that it could be eventually placed back into the Cougar.

From this point on, the Cougar’s history gets even sketchier. Currently, it’s not clear if the HMS/Earl Wade-built Boss 429 ever was reinstalled.



After campaigning the car briefly, Nicholson switched to a much lighter Maverick in fall 1969 and handed the keys to the Cougar over to his close friend and Ford East Coast Drag Team driver, Randy Payne. After racing the Cougar (successfully, according to Payne) well into the 1970 season, Randy returned the car to Nicholson, where it sat behind his race shop until it was eventually sold, condemning the incredibly rare Cougar to the fate shared by many an old race car. Raced hard, handed down to successive owners, each one continuing to modify and cut and chop, the Don Nicholson Boss 429 Cougar was eventually strewn across three states and four diferent race shops. The most unkind cut of all came in 1973, when the body was separated from the chassis with a torch and bolted onto a tube frame.




Pete Gates Comet funny car


Pete Gates’ Comet may not have been the first flip-top Funny Car built but it is the last survivor of the original batch. All of the other cars were destroyed in track-related incidents. Pete’s car was a leftover 1966 body that he was able to secure late in the year from Mercury with the help of fellow racer Don Nicholson. Pete had previously purchased Don’s old A/FX Comet and, with the help of Earl Wade, went about putting his name on the map by using the car to win the Super Stock Nationals in 1966. Remarkably, this win was Pete’s first race in Don’s old Comet.

This is the freshly lettered Comet, ready for action. The Earl Wade–built 427 produced in the neighborhood of 1,000 hp and propelled the Comet to mid-8-second times.




Earl continued to play crew chief for Pete through 1966 and helped build and tune the 427 for his new “flop-per.” The race-bred engine featured Crane Camshaft’s pistons, rods, and injector by Mickey Thompson; Jardine headers; and a Mallory magneto to light the 80-percent load of nitro.


It seems our Earl enjoyed some fun and a couple "cold ones"too.





A story by "Jim Clark" and his Dodge 'Hemi Express" super stock


I took the Animal Tamer to the Winter Nationals as a participant in 1966 the same year that I moved into the new shop now fully named Jim Clark’s Engine Dynamics. My first entry into the Winternationals ever at Pomona proved to be a success in at least the fact that I qualified for the new Super Stock eliminator. Eventually getting beat early on by one of the new Street Hemi race cars. I was also introduced into the awareness of factory presence in the Super Stock and A/FX classes. Fortunately the factory team made notice that I was a local Mopar drag racer with a shop nearby to Pomona. A fact that later paid off well in my future.

I sold the 63 car because it continually had mysterious fuel supply problems. I even took it to another shop called Bourgeois and Wade in Irwindale Ca. to have it dynoed and they gave up on it too finding out they owned the car at one time too. Earl Wade one of the owners later became another good friend at the track whose company I always enjoyed as I did the late Les Ritchey. I believe he later wound up working for A/FX and Pro/Stock racer Don Nicholson. Earl was a good wrench.





A few random comments that I had a job figuring where to put them but they are interesting.

Nicholson's right hand man was Earl Wade and like Nicholson he was quite the driver as well as great mechanic.
Both prepped the cars and worked with the chassis dyno. Right after the 62 Winternats Nicholson packed his bags and moved to Atlanta to take advantage of the match race circuit that paid better in that part of the country. At Indy in 62 Nicholson was sponsored by Nalley Chevrolet out of Atlanta (as was Hubert Platt with his 409 and probably 427 Z11). Nicholson had some allegiance to Chevrolet but when they instituted the 63 racing ban he went with Ford Mercury and ran the Comets very successfully. I believe Earl Wade stayed in the LA area and opened a shop with Dick Bougeois but when Nicholson started campaigning his flip top funny car in 66 Wade acted as his crew chief. In the meantime Earl Wade drove a number of cars including Corvettes and moved on too others such as a Z11. (I couldn't find anything in any other place indicating that Earl drove a Z11)

In the 62 Winternationals there were a number of strong running Corvettes. You will notice the Grassman B/SP and Earl Wade in the A/SP. The Grassman Osterman Nicholson Wade 61 Vette is owned by forum member Bert Brown and I am sure he could add some great information to this thread. This fuel injected 61 was tuned by Nicholson and Wade and not only won class at the 62 Winternationals but also beat Hayden Proffitt 421 AFX Tempest in street eliminator.

Earl Wade (fuel injected -of course Nicholson Wade prepped Corvette) ended up winning his class A/SP but also went on to win street eliminator beating a C/G 58 Chev.



The "Big John" Story (no photos everybody should know this car already)


1961 Vette Big john

316 cu. in. supercharged Chevrolet V8 engine, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with unequal-length A-arms, coil springs and anti-roll bar, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, with a supplemental braking parachute. Wheelbase: 102"

While drag racing gained popularity nationwide through the 1950s, the epicenter of its popularity was southern California. This was the land where speed and engineering prowess often went hand in hand with beauty and mechanical excellence. Spurred on by fellow car club members, parts availability, and a growing performance-oriented group of periodicals, racers began to gravitate toward a more serious trend in modifications. This was the case of John Mazmanian of Whittier.

Mazmanian was typical of the sort of guy who made up the serious base of Golden State performance enthusiasts in the pre-muscle car era. He had bought and rebuilt his first car, a Model A Ford, while still in grade school (so he knew it inside and out before he could ever legally drive it). He was a member of the Gophers Car Club, which had been a crucial part of the Southern California Timing Association since prior to the Second World War, but like many had left the salt behind to try his hand at drag racing.

By 1960, the 31-year old Mazmanian was operating a successful waste management and removal business. He decided to go all out and buy a new 1961 Corvette in late 1960; VIN 108675100093 documents that this was the 93rd Corvette to come down the assembly line that year. One of 10,939 produced that year, with the base price of $3,934. It was equipped with RPO 419, the 237.75 optional removable hardtop. The very first ‘Big Go West,’ NHRA’s just-named Winternationals to be held on the Pomona Fairgrounds in January 1961, would give John and his nephew and driver Rich Siroonian a chance to try something new. The duo had already been competing with Stock and Gas class cars (some which had been tuned by Don Nicholson and Earl Wade); the Corvette would fit into NHRA’s hot Sports Production classes.

Established for 1960, the SP divisions were created to give racers in both imported and domestic vehicles a chance to race; Sports Car – Domestic featured Corvettes and early Thunderbirds, while Sports Car – Imported would be Porsches, Volkswagens, and their ilk. These were combined into a single group of five Sports Production classes rated on shipping weight to advertised horsepower, and ran in what was then known as the Street Eliminator division. Changing the car (such as swapping in a more reliable American engine, a commonplace occurrence among the hot-rod set of the era) moved it up into the Modified Sport Production classes, of which there were four classes. Before he was done, Mazmanian’s Corvette would be winning in both configurations.

For 1961, after reportedly using the car to clean some clocks on the streets of Southern California, Siroonian had the Mazmanian & Earl Wade ‘Vette running in the high 12-second range to take home Winternationals class honors in the hastily-established AA/SP class (apparently thanks to the Corvette’s new 315-horsepower 283 cu. in. engine) with a 12.94 at 109.96 mph; according to Mazmanian at the time, the speed was record-setting. The 19-year-old driver then went on to run through the Street Eliminator division field on Sunday afternoon, going all the way to the final against Johnny Loper’s Willys for runner-up honors.

By the time the event happened again in 1962, changes had been made to the car that were radical enough to move it over into the CM/SP division. Pictures from the 1962 Winternationals show it was still not the beast it would become – it had the stock grille in place, and the wheelwells had not been opened up yet, but it did have a American Torque-Thrust wheels and a low-profile scoop on the hood. Regardless, the look was all business, and proved it indeed was when it won the CM/SP class title and another speed record at 113.84. He then downed Loper’s Willys during the Street Eliminator runoffs on Sunday (though he did not go to the final round that year; former partner Earl Wade won that title in another Corvette in A/SP trim). The entire car had been repainted in 24 coats of Candy Persimmon by Junior Conway, Eddie Martinez had done a roll-and-tuck interior including the trunk, and almost everything that could be bolted on was chromed or polished. As a result, Big John’s fast Corvette had also taken third place honors at the big Winternationals Car Show that NHRA held just before the competition event.

The car was soon in the shop for some serious upgrades. The engine received a Crank Shaft Company ½-inch stroker that pushed the displacement to 316 cu. in. Atop this went a 4-71 GMC supercharger and a Hilborn injector. Hot parts from Iskendarian and Edelbrock further reworked the engine’s internals. The factory four-speed was removed and replaced with a B&M two-speed Hydromatic. The grille was removed and a polished Moon gas tank was added front and center in its place, and now the chromed externals jutted through the hood and off the wheel hubs. After stiffening the suspension, the rear wheel wells were opened up one afternoon at San Gabriel Raceway to fit a bigger rear tire. According to then crew chief Dick Bourgeois, Mazmanian had about $10,000 tied up in the car (Big John admitted the modifications had cost more than the car itself had).

It was in this condition that it drew the attention of track-goers with an 11.11 at 129 mph at the original Fontana Dragway during an AHRA championship race that summer, as well as the cameras of Petersen Publishing. It was featured in this format in the October 1962 issue of Rod & Custom. This was followed up with a cover inset and feature in the March 1963 issue of Hot Rod magazine itself. By the time the 1963 Winternationals had rolled around, the car had been modified again. The engine now displaced 327 cu. in. thanks to a fresh 3/8-inch stroker crank, and the blower was now a fat 6-71 GMC; co-driver Bones Balough and the guys at Bill’s Garage had put that one together, and the car was now moved up into the BM/SP ranks.

But things were changing; Siroonian had ended up in the Army in 1963 (Balough was driving), and Mazmanian, who had initially stated he would build a new Sting Ray for the sport divisions, instead decided that George Montgomery, Fred Stone, and the guys in the Gassers classes needed some company. He turned his attention to building the first supercharged Hemi-Willys for 1964, and the rest was now drag racing history.

And now the silver Vette you all have been waiting patiently for

Generation: C1
Year: 1961
VIN: 10867S100095
Race Numbers: 655
Ownership: Bert Brown
Sponsors: self
Drivers: Don Nicholson, Earl Wade, Hugh Osterman

Original Color: Sateen Silver
Tires/Wheels: American Racing Wheels, magnesium, LeMans in front, Torque Thrust in rear. M&H slicks, 7.10 x 15
Engine: 315 hp, 283 cu in, Horsepower Engineering Headers, ran w/o air cleaner
Driveline: 4 speed, 4:56 positraction
Interior: Black
Unique Characteristics:
Modifications: Traction Masters
Notes/Race History: Car extensively drag raced in Southern Calif in 1960 - 1962. 1962 NHRA Winternationals class winner, B/SP (B Sports) in Pomona California in February 1962. Car was owned by Brendan Grassman. It was tuned by "Dyno" Don Nicholson and Earl Wade. Driven by Hugh Osterman. This car turned 12.7 seconds at 108 mph in the quarter mile during the Winternationals weekend. With additional tuning it has gone as fast as 110 mph.

Winner Earl and giant trophy




I'm pretty sure these four are photos after it was found and restored?


















So there it is SOME of the Earl Wade history there is so much to Earl's story it would take a book to cover him as he should be. Earl did so much with so many cars and engines I could be here for months trying to get it all straight.

Anybody with anything to add or correct feel free to post them up.

 

Good stuff Loudbang. Will have to read it again when I have a little more time to enjoy it. We appreciate the work you go through though. Earl Wade is one of those guys that has slipped under the radar a bit so it good that you post this not only for us but for his memory as well.

 

Another shot of Earl with a giant trophy. With the other vette

 

Larry Lombardo’s national event career began at the age of 19, when he took F/Stock class and then Stock Eliminator at the 1968 NHRA Nationals. The Corvette was built by Larry and his dad, Joe, and powered by a 283/270 hp small-block Chevy built by Roger Sinistri.

 

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A few from GG Bowling Green this past weekend

 

That silver '61? is not one bit HAMB friendly, but I LOVE it!!!!!!!

 

L like it to but if it offends you guys let me know and I will delete it no problem

 

I'm not offended enloe. Sometimes when you are taking pictures somethings just jump in front of the lens.

Pat

 

I'm sure that it's a photo bomb of a HAMB car.

 

Not a vette but a great shot of Earl Wade. Looks like the EDIT: COMET A/FX not "T Bolt"

“Two of Nicholson’s best friends during his career were longtime crew chief Earl Wade, left, and header manufacturer Jerry Jardine, right.”