History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Hello George, Mike Runyan here, back in 1969 you came to my high school to show off your dragster. Thanks for being such a trooper. It helped my stud standing.

 

Rick, the '37 tube axle and the shock mounts sure look like Romeo's car. The car, fully restored, is over in the Justice Brothers museum.

 

These were the glory day's for drag racing.

The people and the cars were just so colorful and everyone of them seemed to be a real character in their own right.

Pure Hell for me was just over the top with every fantastic run they made.

I miss these day's very much because some how today's drag racing cars just don't seem the same anymore.

Thanks for posting the great pictures.

Jimbo

 

"Man, you should have seen me yesterday - the blower missed my head by this much"

 

One of the few errors by Gordon Collect.

 

Post #32090. Bobby Langley's Scorpion. Saw him run the 1/4 on back wheels and smokin the tires the entire length at Beeline Dragway. Man, those days were great.

 

Found a few more shots of Bobby Langleys Scorpion I
here: http://wediditforlove.com/Schrank-1.html


and a couple from flickr, looks like a different setup,
caption says: Bobby Langley's "Scorpion" at Willow Run Raceway, Oklahoma City, OK, late 60's.

caption says: Bobby Langley's "Scorpion" at Wichita Falls Dragway, c1966.

And it has been mentioned on this thread before:

 

This is o/t for this thread. My friend, Loren Puryear passed away this week. By most sources, he was given credit for the first 2 speed planetary trans in a dragster. He was partners with Ray Jones in a blown gas dragster. Some of the pics have been shown from Pete G's. site in Colorado. It was that trans that took Garlits foot apart at Lions.

 

Don't think it is Palamides, most of his cars were white, or pearl white, and no "shelves" next to the parachute (don't know what else to call them?)...(so ok, smart guy, whose car is is?? Duh, I dunno...)

 

Bobby Langley what a guy and what a beautiful dragster/s. To many dragsters/tracks from Texas get over looked now a days but in the day Green Valley and Bobby Langley and many others where in the top of there class.

 

I am a little homesick, that's why its all OC

Pappy taking 5 in the middle of the track at Santa Ana












my apologies if any are duplicates already posted
credit for pics found here: http://www.wediditforlove.com/cj-history.html

 

Great pics! ^^^^^^^

 

Fabulous photos.

 

Racing in years past was a lot bigger than everyone thought. A lot even overseas. But the magazine spreads is what is recorded and recognized as history.
It's obvious, camera technology was far out weighed by love of automobiles.
I wonder how many old home photo's have been lost and thrown away by people who do not understand racing or what the picture was about?
Tom S. in Tn.

 

Way to many are gone forever. I for one have had some that got away!

 

Local northern ky car....running, a new for 65....396. Want to say it crashed at bluegrass and going out on a limb, want to say it was hondarus maroon....grizzell,hunt and simpson

 

Brandon, I have a photo of that car taken at Bluegrass.

 

Pm me or email if possible.....thanks brandon

How about a truck cab'd dragster from a few years earlier....same guys,truck might have been green

 

Earl Beard in 1958 Gas dragster. AHRA Nationals at Great Bend Kansas. Ran Garlits for overall top eliminator. Garlits won.

 

no shit

 

Nice ones.

 

The ex Ron Matthews rail from Whyalla built 1975 @ early A.I.R

and now it's mine , @ Whyalla 31-3-12

 

Indeed. I really like the rainbow hued dragster. The Bantam altered is Lee Lebaron's Between Heaven and Hell; A take off of Pure Hell and Pure Heaven obviously.

 

new to the site! this is great

 

That rail Cobra 1 was John O'Reilly's ( WHYALLA )who sold it to Whyalla's Ron Matthews

who built a new chassis up his driveway and fitted some of the components from Cobra1 , which are in my Slightly Dangerous Slingshot

but on new info the pic is of Mark Chapman

 

Nice avatar Tio Geo...Bad News coupe.

 

I would have said early Pro Stock until you brought out the straight axle. May be some kind of NASCAR or IHRA or AHRA class. Every photo that I have of that car has the "X" on the window and no class designation.

Here is the same car running against Dave Lyle in a similar car and another view of the car. My apolozies to the photographer as I do not have their name to give credit.[/QUOTE]


The NASCAR Drag Race Division was the originator of a class of 'Stock Appearing" Super-Stock type cars with far more liberal rules than NHRA. These type of cars were classified "Ultra-Stocks" by NASCAR, and there were six different classes, US/1 through US/6. The US/1 cars were gas-burning funny cars, which allowed altered wheelbases, and fuel injection, but were limited to 430 CID and 2400 LBS. US/2 through US/6 were essentially NHRA S/S A through D with more liberal rules on body, interior, window and frame modifications, but restricted to stock outward appearance, gasoline, 2% wheelbase, carburetors, and 430 CID. Engines, transmissions and bodies had to be the same manufacturer. US/2 & US/3 were primarily MoPar Hemi’s, such as a Hemi Cuda & Darts. My '65 AFX Falcon, converted to a straight axle and lightened to 2800 LBS ran US/4 with the SHOC 427 and US/5 with the 427 Hi-Riser (in 1966 I held the record in both classes) there were several ex-AFX Mustangs in those classes too. US/6 were 3400 LBS, and the most successful was Paul Moody with the Ex-Bob Ford - Len Richter Thunderbolt weighted to 3400 lbs. AHRA took over the operation of the NASCAR Drag Race Division around 1968, and US/2 and US/3 cars became "Heads-Up" Super-stock, and I ran that class with my 427 Tunnel Port and later the Boss 429 Mustangs. In 1970, NHRA copied the AHRA "Heads-up" super stock concept, naming the class "Pro Stock". The NHRA Pro Stock Body and chassis rules were not as liberal as the AHRA, and I eventually had to build two separate "Going Thing" mustangs to compete successfully in both NHRA and AHRA. My US/4 Tunnel Port Fairlane was ballasted to make the 2800 class weight, and when there were not enough gas funny cars to make an 8-car field, I would remove the ballast (to 2600 LB) and qualify for the class with 10 flat runs at almost 140 MPH, with 427 CID, Carburetors, Gasoline, and 2% wheelbase, and with 1967 tire sizing and technology, overspeeding my Tunnel Port to 8,000 RPM in the process. Here is a picture taken at the 1969 AHRA Spring Nationals at Bristol, Tenn on my 1<SUP>st</SUP> Going Thing '69 Mustand w/ 427 Tunnel Port Power. I set the Heads-Up S/S record at that meet turning the first 9 second door-slammer ET.

 

thanks for the breakdown and great explanation of ultra stock.i owned a cougar that was run in ultra stock at aquasco and around the dc area by Kurtiss Knot had straight axle tilt front end was called Top Cat .was 427 powered sold car in the 80s was scrapped by the next owner several years later!

 

Thank you very kindly Mr. Lyall.
I've seen some of the cars that ran AHRA and the earlier Nascar classes, but never was at one of their tracks or saw them race.
The renegade tracks found around Div II went by NHRA guidelines, if a rulebook were even to be found, and cross interpretation between the sanctioning organizations led to colorful and sometimes tense moments in tech and eliminations.
Seeing this explained today, I can begin to understand some of the wild stuff we saw show up at the track gates back in the day.
I've seen plenty IHRA races which were similar to NHRA, but according to the photos and commentary I've seen posted here, this AHRA and Nascar stuff appears to have been way out there on the edge.
Thanks again; Tom S. in Tn.

 

Bring back the AHRA and NASCAR into drag racing fold. Hell, bring back Ultra Stock.