Hello, My search for mysterious identifications of various drag racing hot rods at Lions continues. I need to get some final clarification of those roadsters and dragsters that are still unnamed. They were part of history and when I am finished reading all of those original Drag News Weekly papers from the filming time periods, I might have some answers. (Where to find the time…) But, for now, hopefully someone can show me documentation of some missing names. Dragsters: silver FED in pits and racing. silver FED Roadsters: white 32 roadster with howard cam sticker Coupes: Doug Cook versus unnamed… :22 red 37 Chevy :43 the white Willys in gas coupe/sedan class But, as I was looking for past roadster references in some threads, this one post caught my eye. An interesting fact is that when the holiday season comes around, the Rose Parade in Pasadena had plenty of bleachers for the million or so people that attended the annual event. We all assumed those bleachers were taken down and stored for next year’s parade. But, come to find out that some of the bleachers were borrowed from the local entities that were not using them during the days leading up to and after the Rose Parade. Lions Dragstrip was one of those businesses that loaned their tower side bleachers to the Tournament of Roses organization, annually. 1958... Where are those Tower side bleachers? We found out many years later that those giant grandstands were borrowed/rented from all over So Cal. One place that mysteriously had them disappear during December, was Lions Dragstrip. Lions Dragstrip bleachers no bleachers I did not know it then during the filming, but it was hard to understand where those bleachers went during December when we were at Lions Dragstrip. From nothing to a single set of small bleachers, to a full set of bleachers back after January 1, the following year, it was a mystery.
Jnaki, thanks for all you have done. I lived in San Francisco, 1956-1958, and I went to Half Moon Bay Drag-strip with members of the San Francisco Ramblers car club as an eager teenager. I have fond memories of those days, but I wish that I had enough sense, or money to get a camera as you did.Thanks again for your time, and effort to bring back those thrilling days of yesteryear.
Hello Nick, Thank you for the nice comments. My brother and I did not actually go out and buy a movie camera. We did not even have a Brownie Camera. My dad was a little cuckoo. His friend told him that family photos will come out really great if he got a big camera. So, he bought a Graflex 4x5 Press Camera with a pop out bulb flash. He lugged that thing in its brown case all over and it took him a few minutes to get it set up for photos. Quality negatives he developed were pretty nice. They should be, as a 4x5 negative is at least 16 times larger and higher quality than anything on the 35mm market. But, it took forever to set up and shoot. So, after a while, he went out and bought a 16mm point and shoot movie camera. It was able to shoot color and black/white. But, the images were quiet small (approx. frame ½ inch to ¼ inch tall). When the images were shown a week later after developing, they looked great on a big roll down screen. But, at the drags, when we borrowed the movie camera, those race cars were quite far away from the bleachers or behind the fence. The closer I got to the action, the more yelling from the security guards was heard. So, my thing was, I became my dad’s editing person. I could borrow his movie camera and take drag racing movies. That way, my brother and I did not have to pay for film or developing. My dad had his "family and friends" movies on a film loop and we just shot the drag racing films with what was in the camera. Then when the film reels were developed, I had to cut and paste the Lions drag racing films and make a nice long movie for his "family/friend’s" portion. He was happy to have me do the editing and we were happy to have access to that movie camera. Over time, it seemed to be “MY” movie camera, but in all reality, it belonged to my dad. I was lucky he let us borrow it anytime we went to the drags. So, since we had limited money as teenagers, the expenses were for my dad. He actually “paid me” to do the editing as a benefit to borrowing the camera. (paid as in borrow the camera, then edit) Jnaki When we started to slow down our drag racing activities after our accident. My dad tried to spur us on by getting a larger 16mm movie camera with all of the bells and whistles. (Beaulieu) It had multiple telephoto lenses, sound sync capabilities and for longer day/shoots, Mickey Mouse ears for a larger film reel. That was a great system, but my brother and I were adjusting to the accident by resuming our surfing activities. One cannot leave such a camera in the car or on the towel at the beach. We were at the beach for surfing only. So, my dad sold the camera to another friend and remained using the point and shoot 16mm movie camera. You are right, those were the days. We did go up the coast with our family in the late 50s(end destination: S.F. bay area), but did not stop in Half Moon Bay. In the late 1966-67 days, just before it closed in 1968, my wife and I were able to drive to the drag strip to see what it looked like, on a coastal, photo, road trip. Then when our son was old enough to go camping many years later, we stayed on the Half Moon Bay, cliff side camp site and tried to find the drag strip that was long gone…to no avail. Thanks for your interest…
MYSTERY SOLVED Drag News January 31, 1960 Hello, In the 1959 year at Lions, there was a big loss for all drag racing fans and racers. A young, Mickey Brown, racing in a different FED was unlucky and lost his life at a very early age. All of the Lions Dragstrip competitors and supporters gathered together to help the family of Mickey Brown. In January of 1960, there was a benefit drag race meet held at Lions Dragstrip and the majority of the top racers in the area were signed up to compete. The list of donations from the So Cal Speed Shops and manufacturers was long and supportive. Our memorial film for all those that remember Mickey Brown from early 1959. Mickey Brown vs the Sidewinder… Match/Rematch For the longest time, this trophy presentation for the Leffler Loukas Competition Coupe was a poof in the wind. I filmed it back then, knew why I filmed it and then over the 55 years since, the information got lost in the cloud. Then after all of these years of research, the proof was right in front of me. On January 31, 1960 the Mickey Brown Benefit Drag Race Meet was put on at Lions Dragstrip. We would not have missed that for anything. So, proof is in the filming. 1960 Leffler Loukas trophy presentation. ($11000 in 1960 equals approximately $96000, today. ) Of all of the racers and days of drag racing, one big surprise showed up to race. It surprised everyone, despite the for sale ad that was in a previous Drag News paper for their “Fastest Single Engined Car In The World”, title. Jnaki Then that race day just got better and better. For a long time, despite the accurate filming, the identification of the purple Dragmaster race car could not be verified from reliable sources and old brain functioning. The main thing being it was 1959, over 60 years ago. Digital copies made it easier to do some research and compare photos/notes. So, now, the purple Dragmaster is just as famous as the original, gold painted Dragmaster from Carlsbad, CA. 1960 Lions Cyr and Hopper Cyr and Hopper versus Adriance Appliance 1960 Isky Cam advertisement
"Tom Sturm uses a bored and stroked 348 c.i. Impala Chevy engine in his stock 3900lb 58 Impala. It has stock carburetion, heads, ports, valves, ignition. And a 280 degree Herbert Roller Cam. This proves that Impala’s do go with few modifications when using a HERBERT CAM. Tom has a fuel injection and a magneto which he plans on installing for the Nationals. This should put him over the 110 mph and under the 13 second E.T. bracket. Watch him at the Nationals ! !" Hello, It does not matter how many times I have been asked to tell the story of that fateful night at Lion’s Dragstrip. it was always in the back of my mind that no one remembers the opponent. I kept telling everyone that it was a 58 Chevy and it was heavily modified. It was not in the stock car class, but was the ruling class champion in the C/Gas class. (Doug Cook set the C/Gas record and then moved on to the extremely competitive B/Gas class) So, this 58 Chevy and the driver’s skills kept him at the top of the class. After all of these years, I finally found a Chet Herbert advertisement in the Drag News paper from 1960 that explains a lot of questions over the years. Our 348 Impala was stock and ran a 14.68 at its best E.T. but, it was stock. The Sturm 348 was a base block that was bored and stroked, which never told how big the motor actually was in its racing form. “History shows us that Chevy stroked its own engine when they turned the 348s into 409s. The 348 came with a standard bore of 4.125˝ and stroke of 3.25˝. Its big brother, the 409, came with the stock bore size of 4.3125˝ and stroke of 3.50˝. That works out to an increased bore of .1875˝ and .250˝ more stroke for the 409 adding those 31 cubic inches.” With that information, the stock 348 was bored almost ¼ over and stroked also ¼ to come up with a 409 motor. That in itself gives a huge amount of power from the 348 that could have been bored and stroked to 409. With our opponent’s connections in the drag racing world back then, it was possible, but sounded better advertising it as a bored and stroked 348. So, as history provided, his modified 58 Chevy Impala was fast, a class champion and had tons of drag racing motor knowledge. But, his times were reachable as we were in the 12.60 times and my brother was two car lengths ahead past the timing tower and traps. Our best time for that day leading up to the final race was close enough to the national record of 12.40, so we were on the right track. Jnaki With the search ending with the advertisement of Tom Sturm and his 58 Impala, it solves a 61 year old mystery of who that opponent was in that last night race against our 1940 Willys 292 ci 671 SBC coupe at Lion’s Dragstrip in 1960. I had always thought it was a 58 Chevy Biscayne in the next lane that late night. But, with all of the staging excitement and prepping my brother for the eliminator race, we sort of overlooked who was there. Our 671 supercharged 292 SBC motor was sounding very healthy. The noise from the other lane was also sounding quite strong. The anticipation was making all of us have chills and it was not the night misty air. The opponent turned out to be a guy who went on to his racing history starting with a highly modified 58 Chevy Impala. So, do the facts show an advantage of lightweight car, smaller motor versus a heavier car with almost twice the size in motor power is a factor? Facts leading up to the August 13 1960 last race at Lion’s Dragstrip: We loaded up the cars and started the short tow to Lions. We were running with the 292 SBC/671 with Strombergs and the car was weighed in to meet the C/Gas class rules. We were an interesting Willys race package as no one else in the pits had a 671 on a SBC, especially with 6 Strombergs on top. We set up all of our stuff, changed the rear tires to the Bruce Slicks, put gas in the small Moon Tank, and fired it up for the first time in the pits. With all of the other top racers in the pits, our little homemade Willys was just another car, but when we opened the hood and fired up the motor, people were interested. My brother was proud that our car drew such a crowd. The first afternoon run with this new motor showed promise as it hit low 13’s. Then next run provided a high 12 sec run. We won several elimination races and were very happy for this first time outing. The times were in the mid 12’s. The excitement on this day was building for us because we were so close to doing something that was one of our original goals in drag racing. (to set a class record in speed and e.t.) At 9 pm, We were finally in the last race for the C/Gas trophy. It is just a trophy, but it meant something to us as it was an accomplishment for our efforts. The guy in the next lane was the perennial class champion and was pretty much unbeatable. There was a little tension in the staging lanes, waiting for our turn. We talked about what it would take to beat this opponent and my brother just said that he would be fast off the line. Fast was an understatement. When it was “go-time,” my brother jumped off the line and was at least a 1.5 car lengths ahead. We (Atts Ono and I) were standing next to the 58 Chevy tow vehicle and was amazed at how fast my brother got off the line. We were starting to yell and congratulate each other. By the time he was past the tower, the lead was over two car lengths. We kept hoping we would see his taillights come on soon. All of a sudden, we saw a flash underneath the car, light up the interior and within seconds, the driver’s door opened with more flames shooting out. Everyone at the starting line was puzzled and worried. The next few seconds was amazing as the car veered right and continued on to the fence, with fire coming out of the cab of the car. We jumped into our 58 Impala and raced down the strip. Little did we know that we passed up my brother lying on the tower side gravel, past the traps, with people attending to him. We raced directly to the burning Willys wedged into the fence. There were a couple of guys spraying extinguishers on the car and we did the same. The multiple extinguishers were useless as the fire was raging. I thought my brother was still in the car and tried to open the door. I was pulled away and told that he had jumped out right after the timing lights and was back on the other side of the dragstrip. Aug. 1960 Drag News That “altered” was our C/Gas 40 Willys Coupe w/671 SBC that had the clutch explode and the metal pieces went flying everywhere on August 13, 1960. The Moon Tank inside of the cab exploded and the whole inside was on a massive, spurting, gasoline fire. My brother tried to put it out with our extinguisher, but it did nothing, so he jumped out going about 60 mph after the traps. (the return road racers told us) So, this part of the information came from the incorrect Drag News story dated August 13, 1960. They shut down the strip because our Willys was on fire, wedged into the spectator’s side fence. So many extinguishers were used, but our friend (Atts Ono) stayed there until the fire was out, said he lost count of how many were used. The eliminations were shut down for the rest of the evening at 10:00 p.m. No more racing in any class and everyone went home early.
Candy Maroon paint Hello, Wow, it has been a long road since getting my drag racing films digitized for easier identification of the racers from the way back time machine. Even though we probably knew every racer on film as teenagers, having gone to almost every weekend event at our close by Lion’s Dragstrip, over time since the original list disappeared years ago when the films were still on the steel reels. This was one of the last few that has gone unnamed until this past week. class lanes We liked the Altered Coupes/Sedan Class and knew several racers in the Competition Coupe Class back then. But when this Maroon colored coupe started in the pits, it always drew a crowd. Jnaki As the search parameters go and by sheer luck, I found an article from a magazine that tells of this Altered Coupe, facts and information. It is considered an Altered, but it depends on whether the tech inspection shows that the driver is behind the axle or not. Behind, then it is classified as a Competition Coupe, not an Altered Coupe. 1959 Ostling, Argento and Hale Purple Altered Coupe at Lion’s Dragstrip from the 1959-60 season at Lion's Dragstrip filmed with a 16mm color point and shoot movie camera. Here is another fuzzy action shot within a film clip from early HAMB. No name, hard to read, and just old. But, now, the Altered Coupe is identified clearly. Harry’s 8mm drag racing videos https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/upload_2018-9-27_8-12-31-png.4045201/ The new listing on You Tube: 1959-60 Lions Ostling, Argento and Hale CANDY MAROON Altered Coupe
Hello, In the photo above, the top right is the Long Beach Drive-in Theater property. It was located on the corner of Wardlow Road and Santa Fe Avenue. Santa Fe Avenue was the main drag of the Westside of Long Beach. We lived about almost 1.5 miles in the lower right corner. But, in the photo, our junior high school was a short walk to the lower right, across the farmers plowed fields and the railroad berm/tracks from the harbor. Those tall electrical grid power lines and structures dotted the whole distance from the L.A. Harbor area into the inland areas. They are in most of the early and late drag racing photos as a backdrop to the action at Lion’s Dragstrip. They dotted the property along the whole ½ mile paved strip and return road. From 2017 on, the Lion’s Dragstrip Museum location is in the far middle top section on Del Amo Blvd. January 1960 I was doing some research to finalize my listings of films I took in the 58-64 time period at Lion’s Dragstrip. I came across this editorial from the local Drag News section that described the So Cal drag racing scene to a “T.” I have films of most of those racers and its rich history is/was ingrained in my collective brain, since then. Across the USA, speed records were falling. The competition between East vs. West was heating up almost every week. Not just in Top Fuel or Top Gas, but in most classes with some sort of sponsorship for their respective race cars versus the challengers. As the popularity of various class competition rose, even down to the Gas Coupes/Sedan Classes, the Westcoast racers issuing challenges to all, especially the Midwest and Eastcoast racers in the same classes. Jnaki It was a great time to be involved in drag racing and building/racing our 58 Impala and 1940 Willys Coupe, 671 SBC motor in the B/Gas and C/Gas Classes. The whole drag racing scene from Top Fuel to Stock Cars was exciting. The only way to read all about the last weeks action was to check out the local Drag News weekly paper that had results from across the USA. Or in our case, our friends liked the weekly drag race movies shown at our house. Comments about who was who and why they ruled, were thrown about like popcorn, along with their favorites shown on the large pull down movie screen, across the room. I had to work late hours editing the newly developed color films, so it looked somewhat professional and not the jitterbug action of most home movies. If I had recorded one or another of the teen’s cars in action, the comments flew at double the normal rate!!! Teenage bantering went up a notch during those fun times. Heckle and Jeckle had nothing on those teens comments, with my mom’s home grown sandwiches and drinks, they were ready for any encounter. The two of the most popular places at Lion’s Dragstrip were the small coca Cola Hot Dog Stand all alone in the huge pits, (lower right) or the later one on the tower side. Less crowded than the large refreshment stand and most of the folks were the racers, not just spectators. Our friends worked in the booths and it was almost a second home for us. It was hard to leave to go home a short distance for lunch or dinner, so the booths became our home away from home. It was a fun and exciting time to be a teenager.
Hello, August always gives me the chills, although it is usually hot and dry or hot and foggy along the coast. It is not the fog that gives me chills, but the memory of a warm 1960 August night at Lion’s Dragstrip, around 9:00 p.m. The memory of what took place all day into the night was for us, “one for the books.” My brother’s driving and me changing plugs like it was raining free spark plugs, along with the normal whole car check over prior to each elimination run was daunting and exciting. After each run, my brother won and it improved his anticipation of always getting a good start in any drags event. Since most cars are of equal build or power as the rules apply, it was a lead at the start, then holding on to the finish line that was the intended purpose. Note: I was told many years later that that day/night of events was the spectator’s favorite event. A new gas coupe was winning races and making some noise in doing those quick starts and powerful runs. That was our 40 Willys 671 powered 292 c.i. SBC blower spec motor pulling all the way. Even during the dinner break, the excitement was for the Albertson Oldsmobile record run of 12 straight top eliminator wins, going for the next win. Jnaki One thing that kept us grounded every time we went to Lion’s Dragstrip was the small snack stand all alone in the huge pits area. Sure there was a much larger refreshment stand that had everything and that included everyone in the two spectator grandstands. But, for us and other racers, the small hot dog stand, as we called it, was our home away from home. Granted, we could have driven home for snacks and lunches/dinners, but it was better to stay around and enjoy what was available to us. Our favorite place besides, racing on the dragstrip was the little Lion’s Pit area snack bar stand. Our friends worked in both places, the large main stand near the sign on the bleachers and the little dinky wooden structure in the lower right of the above photo. That little Pits stand was our second home away from home, discovering Chili Dogs, Cokes, Tamales and all sorts of teenage food, with great conversations with our friends, while they were working. Lunch and dinner was the norm, we could have driven home, (a short distance away) but who wants to leave such a great place to be all day/night long? As far as the hot dog stands? Well, some of the best food and bench racing took place there, between the races and repairs. The conversations ranged from eliminations, record runs and build items necessary for the “big” win. Our friends were working hard, but always had time to rest and talk to us as if we were at the local driven-in restaurant parking lot in Bixby Knolls. I am sure anyone who attended the Lion’s Dragstrip during those months stopped at the refreshment stand in the pits. That was “the” place to go and see our high school friends who worked there every Saturday, all day and into the late night. Then it was smelling like a hot dog, chili dogs or even tamales for the rest of the evening at the local Bixby Knolls drive-in restaurant parking lot(s) gab sessions into the "later" night. As the years rolled on at Lion’s Dragstrip, two other small snack stands popped up nearer to the tower side stands, so those folks did not have to jam up the large main refreshment building on the spectator side. YRMV Talk about Hot Rod Central, this was "Drag Race Central" !!! YRMV
Hello, I was reading some old posts and remembering those past times. In talking to some of our friends, they remember that fateful night and it comes to light that the other competitor in the next lane was the highly modified 58 Impala with a new 409 modified motor that was the class champion. The sedan was run by Tom Sturm and ruled the C/Gas after Doug Cook moved to B/Gas. Sometimes, folks subtracted added weight from their trunks to lighten their overall weight and now, moved into the B/Gas class. But, by the time we were running well and getting close to the national record, we had to weld in the added weight over the rear axle in the trunk. No more loose sheets of 1 inch thick metal for weight or as some folks were doing, placing dumb bell weights from weight lifting around the trunk for weight. It was the same motor, but +++ weight moved the car into a lower class. If we did not have the plates welded into place, then we had to remove the loose weight. Why weight it down in the first place? Our 292 c.i. SBC motor in our 40 willys coupe without the weights was in B/Gas. With the new steel plates welded in place, the overall ratio put us in the C/Gas class. This was the guy who was the C gas champion and moved to B/Gas one week. As noted, sometimes it was reversed: Doug Cook had already moved to B/gas, then A/Gas, so the racers flocked to B/Gas and raced. With a lot of powerful backing, that other 58 Impala was the class champion and was a little intimidating. How apropos, a 58 Impala versus our new build of a 671 292sbc motor in our Willys Coupe. The prior year’s spring-summer, we were still racing our own 58 Impala in the A/Stock class. So, now, across to the other spectator side lane was a highly modified, full sponsored 58 Impala as our last competitor for the night in the C/Gas final eliminations. Atts Ono and I were standing behind our Willys Coupe at the green light and were happy that my brother got off such a hole shot on the “other” 58 Impala. It was at least two car lengths ahead past the orange timing tower and pulling away. Then, the next thing would alter our lives to this day. The clutch blew as we found out later and scattered parts all over the track. The legal scattershield was nowhere to be found the next day. At the time, the flames shot out of all windows and we saw a big ball of flames come shooting out of the driver’s side door. We both took off in our own tow car, the black 58 Impala down the track to the flaming ball of fire stuck in the spectator side chain link fence. As we were spraying the flames and others were doing the same. I was directed to the dragstrip near the finish line. There was the white Pontiac ambulance putting my brother in the back. Jnaki So, the sedan you thought you saw was the other opponent in his 58 Impala modified 409 sedan on the spectator side. YRMV Note: In 1961, in the recovery stage for my brother, we had thought of putting our 292 c.i. SBC 671 motor in our own 58 Impala to run in the C/Gas class as our Impala now had the C&O stick hydro. That would have been something...
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