Vintage shots from days gone by!

I think this thing has been lowered. Marty Strode stole the hubcaps off it!

 

Dave Hayward is working on his 1928 Ford 'A' roadster which appeared in Hot Rod magazine in April 1962.
More San Diego Prowlers

 

The Jack Webb Blogathon: Dragnet, “The Big Rod.”

 

San Diego Prowler Phil Gerhart's coupe.

 

Liked all the ads, but especially the 75-80 ad. 75-80 is about 15 mins from my house. Drove in my first sanctioned drag race there as a snotty nose 16 year old. Sadly, it closed for the second and probably last time about two years ago.

 

More than likely an airstrip before it was a dragstrip.

 

This is really going back. Dr. Nathan Ostich and his "Flying Caduceus", powered by a J-47 (same as Breedlove's 3-wheel car).

When this car first showed up at the flats, it did not have the rear fin. Handling was an issue.


If I recall, they didn't run in 1961, but in '62, they had this problem. The wheel either broke off or something gave up on the suspension, which I think was off of a OEM Chevy truck.


It was definitely a beautiful car and very neatly built. The power was there but it just had too many bugs to overcome, and the top speed was only 360 mph. The guy on the left in this photo is Ray Brock, the editor of Hot Rod Magazine, and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.


I believe this car was the first jet car to take a stab at the LSR. The open wheels did cause plenty of drag but at the same time, not having fender panels attached to the central body and covering the wheels eliminated the areo lift that we had with Breedlove's Sonic 1 car that eventually went 600 mph.

 

Falfa's 55