Started as a modified sports in 62 and restored to 1964 standards in 1999 ran at Nostalgia drags until 2022 now at museum in Louden NH Pat
I saw the MG run years ago. Merkel worked on a lot of cool cars. He did some work on one of my motors in 1968. My cousin ran in MSP with his TR-3 back in 1965. I always liked that cl*** of cars. I liked the look and how they ran.
I always enjoy seeing the TD Pat. That must've been an absolute blast to run. We had an MGTF in the local area here in Oregon in the early 60s running an injected Studebaker. I don't recall the E.T.s he ran but the 1/4 mile trap speed was 130-135. I often wonder what the same car with today's tire technology would do.
A post on Modified Sports Car at the Fontana Dragstrip vs my old 1960 film of the original modified sports car running at Lion’s Dragstrip. Hello, I could not help but feel I saw this Modified Sports Car somewhere back in time. So, in my search, I found this film I took in 1960 of a Modified Sports Car at Lion’s Dragstrip. It was one of the only Modified Sports Cars with a 671 supercharged motor at the time. At first, back in the VHS tape days, I thought it was my friends who built the Modified Sports Car. I had not seen them since 1960. So, comparing it to many photos, I found out it was not the same Modified Sports Car as the one I saw being built in the Westside of Long Beach. (frame and complete ch***is/motor only) When they finally put the body on the finished ch***is, it took on a whole new look. I never saw the body when I visited their garage workspace. So, it was not the same Modified Sports Car from the film that I took. YRMV Jnaki But going over the sports car photo racing the rear engine roadster, that looks to be the same modified sports car from back in 1960, with a new paint job. It seems that everything else looks to be the same. Any idea who owned the sports car or information about the motor or driver?
Great video. Wish I could have seen them run. So any of them ever show up at any of the nostalgia drag events?
Glad to see some of you guys like the sports car dragsters. I think they're pretty cool. Talk about small car / big engine! LOL A lot of 'em look great too.
I can't believe the number of people who don't know about the Modified Sports cl*** and call then G***ers! I think there was some overlap.
Hey brother @jnaki ... I gotta say somethin'. I've been hangin' around the HAMB with you for quite a while now. Reading your often lengthy posts. In fact, I'll tell you a secret... they're so often so lengthy that I quite often don't read them! LOL. Oh... I at least give them a quick look to get the gist of it. But actually reading your posts is sometimes a commitment LOL. BUT! ... I also have to say... Anyone who does take the time to read your posts can't help but see that you've had some great experiences. You've been around. You and your brother and your early life escapades LOL. It's stuff that a lot of us wish we had lived. And you present it well, to boot. So thanks.
I'd like to see some run too. But there's almost nothing out there. I searched and didn't find much. Robert said it, seems not many people are hip to 'em. If anybody has videos...
I think they were a minority partly because you had to be a real maverick or outlier to build one. Most drag racers in the old days HATED little British sports cars, mostly from unfamiliarity, and partly because they were generally underpowered by American standards. Many guys wouldn't give them a second thought, because they were not cool in the eyes of middle American hot rodders, the exception being the Cali and New England areas. And, if you were into little British sports cars back then, a**** the guys who actually liked the little MG's and Austin Healys and what not, it would be sacrilegious to defile them with an American engine. But I sure like them, because I've always been about power to weight, and they were all super light compared to any musclecars.
The Jalopy Journal
