Old School Jr Fuelers

Here in So-Cal, the "rules" for a jr fueler was maximum engine size of 310" and minimum weight that was forever changing, usually increasing as the original 800 pounders were found to be a bit delicate. That said, I was wondering if some of those involved with the cl*** from back in the sixties comment as to what was the best approach, de-stroked 327 or punched out 283? My neighbor ran a 305" Desoto

 

I want to keep this thread going - I loved the Jr Fuel cars too!
Don't want to hi-jack, but post anything about the cl*** and photos too.

 

Those were NEAT race cars.

 

Dont worry, anything that incites others to post is more then welcome

 

here's a cool discussion on the subject...
http://hre.com/discus/messages/13314/13539.html?1198036996

 

Here is a photo of my dad's @ Fresno. He was very involved in the cl***, I'll post up some more pic's, and give him a call to post up info on the cl***.

This car was originally "The Hand Cart", which was used to tune "The Freight Train's" individual motors before being installed together, before my dad purchased it.

This thing weighed nothing, ran on 100%, and went 200 all the time.



Getting ready to push down:



Trailered in the semi's by Rance McDaniel, loaning him the tires for the final though. I'm the short one, the "big" one is Larry Hoge's (of Willie and The Poor Boys, Pioneer Chicken, etc. fame) son.



Dave

 

thats friggin kool!

 

Here are a couple Pics of my Dads car ,it ran a "301" Chevy and a shot of the entire cl***

 

bad *** stuff and great pics!

 

Viva La 100%.

 

mike!!!please tell me thats comin to the RUST REVIVAL......PLEASE~!

 

He dont have that car anymore he does have one with one of those ARDUN things, But I aint planning on bringing it too uch of a pain haulin it and everything. Besides the telephone pole would probably damage the front axle

 

I love those old JR Fuel cars!

 

thanks great pix o.m.71

 

It seemed like most every part of the country had a****st their ranks a group of racers who liked these cars, and in turn formed a heads up circuit to promote them. Lions promoter CJ Hart was instrumental in promoting these types of cars as early as 1963. By 1969, there were perhaps 30 or more in So-California alone

 

CJ had a handle on things . A couple guys with little income could run a jr. fuel car and have a great time . Are you sure only 30 or so ? Seems to me they came out of the cracks at Lions .Memory, could be like my hearing ---selective.

 

There's a local (kinda) nostalgia Jr. Fuel circuit that just started their racing season. Some of the cars are a little too modernized, but there are a handful that really look the part. The rules are the same or similar to the original rules (save some safety issues) and they run heads up only. Here's the website...some cool stuff in the event photos section.

http://www.southwestjrfuelers.com/

 

Russco who's ch***is was your dads car it looks like the car I drove short radius rods parallelogram front end.

 

It was built by Jerry Dawson from St. Louis

 

Are you sure only 30 or so ? Seems to me they came out of the cracks at Lions .

Well it was a sea of rails to be sure. Dozens upon dozens being hered down the track like clock work. Fire up on the rollers, check the heads for warmth ***uring that the engine is ready. Whack it once or twice, stage, and go baby baby go. It wasnt uncommon to see a bump spot and no 1 alternate being seperated by less then a 1/10th. Just to qualify was an a ccomplishment

 

Does anyone recall Hot Rod magazine year book wherein there was large, well detailed article promoting the jr fuel cl***. The article was geared more towards the prospective racer citing cost of construction and maintenance. There was commentary offered about what was the basic do's and dont's for set up. All and all, a great piece detaling what were dollar per mile an hour, one of the best values in drag racing

 

I don't recall it, but I would love to see it myself.

 

Here's a picture of our first Jr Fuel 800 lbs. low sevens 190+ ran max nitro but no matter how quick we ran Adams & Enriquez were always quicker. Ran a two disk clutch and a over drive Lenco two speed.

 

Do you recall anything about the tune up?
Pump size,nozzle size,jet size,Advance,rear gear,Etc.?

 

I have it....but where exactly is another issue. I'll look.

 

2 7/16 Hilborn, 150 Hilborn or 80a Enderle pump, Hunt mag, Crane heads and cam, think 18a nozzles, 6.13 Zoom gear

 

Here's one of the best ever - Allison & Crow. This car was the first with an aluminum block (one of Mickey Thompson's Indy blocks, whom Fred Crow worked for). It was VERY light.

Unfortunately (and on the very run when this photo was taken), the car crashed and Ed Allison was put in a coma from which he never recovered.

Fred Crow was inducted into the CHHR hall of fame, and now owns Crow Enterprizes (safety equipment).

 

The jr fuel cl*** ceased at the end of 1970, no? I seem to recall that by 1971, the only time you saw an injected fuel car was during a combo-eliminator event