60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

The ones that didn't have them, didn't bear a name in the photo id. Though we knew a lot of them, some we didn't know who, but that was for the older crowd to id them and have some fun!

 

Bouchard

Bouley and Seymour

Bowman Gray Stadium

 

Bob Wolf

Bones Stevens

Borderson

 

Bodine

Geoff Bodine

Bowen

 

Clutch linkage just broke, mind was racing and the brakes couldn't hold it.

Are there any yahoo groups or websites where there is a registry of surviving cars, or recreations that are being shown or raced? A place where there is technical information?

I was told last year that NEAR does not allow cars to run if the driver associated with it was still an active driver. Is this still true? The guy who told me has a Billy Clarke Pinto. Unfortunately for this guy Billy is still racing after 60 years. Does anyone else have a career that has been as long? Should rule be changed, and based on when the car ran?

I've asked before, no luck so far, can anybody provide some information on Jack Lecuyer, past or present?

I think it would be cool if there could be an East Coast Modified Reunion, similar to the California Hot Rod Reunion. Hundreds of old school Modifieds in one place. And a special race for new ones, provided they are rebodied with a pre-WWII coupe or coach body (whether metal or fiberglass), maybe a second for pre-Cavalier bodied new cars.

There's a small writeup on page 41 of the January edition of Vintage Oval Magazine of my 92 car (I guess it helps when your driver works with the magazine). Maybe some other folks can contibute stories/pic to the magazine?

Phew, finally ran out of gas, shutting off now, back to lurking...

Barry

PS I really appreciate all the pics and history on this forum.

 

I've belonged to NEAR for like 20 years, while that may be a rule, I can't imagine you couldn't run an authentic old modified, if you showed up with it. Plenty of the cars are clones...mine was. (All you would have to do is tape over the name...) Of course alot of the old timers are gone, maybe the new officials have gotten more strict? Hope not. I know some of the new safety rules are keeping out some of the old cars, which is dumb. Some cars had square or conduit cages now they can't run..it's like the bureaucrats won, just to be the boss, I guess. An upgraded antique is not really an antique anymore. Oh well.

 

No offense to NEAR or STAR ( Senior Tour Auto Racers) but I know of a guy that got kicked out of one of those groups for actually racing. He had a newer chassis with a pinto body and a couple other guys had older cars like built in the 80's and they put on a good show. Apparently the officials didn't think so.

 

Well I will add two active drivers. The first is Charles Red Farmer{hueytown alabama} car F-97 born in 1932 still running hard on dirt.. The other does not run as hard lives in Geergia but close to 80 years old is Charley Bagwell Car U2.. and quite a few still active that draw social security..

 

FWIW Here's a link to past converstaions regarding aircraft engines in racecars:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221543

and here's a link to 6 pages of Hisso (Hispano Suisa aircraft engined) racecars
http://winfield.50megs.com/Hisso.htm
an example:


Johnny Joy – #O-X J & J Special a.k.a. the "Hiss-O" – Early 1950s

Johnny Joy is shown here in the J & J Special a.k.a. the "Hiss-O" which was a 1932 Ford five-window coupe jalopy built by Johnny Joy and Raymond Jett at Jett's service station in Jacksonville , IL. Bud Kientzle and Herb Shannon are also known to have driven this car with Shannon setting a 75-lap track record at Peoria Speedway, Peoria, IL in 1955 that was never broken. The 719 cu. in. V-8 Hispano-Suiza engine used 16 sparkplugs and is reported to have required more than 50 feet of sparkplug wire – Weldon C. Lewis collection

 

Here's some of my fathers shots from middletown....Rich

 

Just Ask Tech Question Some of us Young "Oldtimers " might know the answers.ANYBODY that has a Question PM me an I'll do my Best . to answer, LI stuff I'll ask Ricky J . So ppl that live there will get a quicker answer.

Vintage clubs Should SHOW /Exibit the cars , my 39 Ford clone has original parts,an I'll tell you 1 1/2 Drum brakes DONOT stop as well as Disc brakes an my flathead is Not as Fast as a Bigblock chevy . So I donot want to RACE it. Now Run with a Club that Races an watch someone get Hurt. But I do enjoy the Vintage bodies on Newer frames that Run down in NC.

Jack Lecuyer WAS working driving a tractor trailer in 2009 down the street from me But have Not seen him in a while , But will ask around an get back to you.


Love the shots from Middletown is an All Star race Drivers I seen in pics are Will Cagle(24)Buzzie (00),Charlie J (large 1),Danny Mitchell (1),Pee Wee Griffin (72),Joe Kelly (13)Jackie Evans (77),Bob Malzan (99), Whip Mulligan (73)Richie Evans (61)Al "Taz") (44)Unknown in the T1

Great Job on the pics my youth in filling my head Ah the Memories.

 

Found a few more from Reading....Rich

 

Back when actual antique race cars were allowed, it would have been imprudent to allow guys with cars that are still almost competetive now to "really race". Let them run with the real modern race cars if they are so fast. Now that the new safety rules have effectively legislated the older "unsafe" cars fron the tracks it really dosen't make any difference. Plus, now the promoters get to have a free new racing division. Just not antiques. Too bad the oldtimers are mostly gone.

 

Here's a couple more....

 

I hope this thread is a good place to ask this question. Maybe what I mean is to ask for possible solutions to a dilema.
#1. I like modifieds a lot.
#2 I build models.
#3 There are many good photos here of modifieds "dressed".
#4 I like to build sort of from the ground up, chassis, suspension roll cage etc.
#5 The question/dilema...is any one aware of sources for photos of "naked" modifieds? I usually end up guessing and more or less just making stuff up. I'm not really trying to model any specific car but as they say the devil is in in the details.

 

Hey RABs32

I'm REALLY ENJOYING the pictres you've been posting here and on the sprint car thread & midget thread too.

I'm curious, Who is/was your Dad??

THANKS MUCH !!!!

 

Thanks Ken, My fathers name is Hank Bunning, mines Rich

 

I don't know this for fact .. just a guess on my part .. BUT I would think in states like Connecticut & New Jersey where the state has involvement in safety rules that they might well dictate what can & can not be run at any speed &/or actual competition involving "vintage" race cars?????

Again, just a guess on my part.

 

The late Len Duncan , who was one of the GRRRREAT east coast midget chauffers (he drove stock cars, sprint cars & Indy cars too) once said about vintage auto racing (I'll loosely quote) .... 'This competitive racing the old cars is REALLY SCAREY!!! Nice guys, yes ... but these would be/wanna race drivers that have bought & drive these old cars can go fast ... anyone can .. BUT when they get into trouble (on the track) they haven't got a clue what to do and put everyone around them in REAL DANGER when they do !!!'

That was just his opinion .. but with someone with his decades of experience .. I'd say a good one.

 

I spoke to Ray Liss on the phone last night. In his "retirement years" he's been building hot rods, restoring some old stock cars, building new old type stock cars on newer chassis, doing some metal fab. work doing some body work and more. Again, in his retirement years.

He's also very active with the Garden State (NJ) Vintage Stock Car Club (GSVSCC) and a North Carolina club that utilizes and old military air field to make HIGH SPEED timed runs (similar to dry &/or salt lake runs out west).

I also spoke to Ray Shea last night, he's the President of the GSVSCC.

For any Ray Liss / Flemington (NJ) Fairgrounds Speedway fans .. both Ray's advised me that Ray Liss is going to be inducted into the GSVSCC Hall of Fame at an induction banquet on March 20th.

I for one hope to attend. But I don't know the when & where's yet .. but Ray Shea would be happy to get anyone interested in attending up to speed. His contact info is on the GSVSCC club's Web Site ..... http://www.gsvscc.org/

BTW .. Ray Liss is now a young 67 .. still younger than me. (DAMN!!!)

 

1.Doubt that, they still run cars with no bars at all. Think it's people who want to be important at work. 2. Len was, of course, right 100% .

 

There was an article in an '09 issue of Hot Rod magazine about the airstrip, IIRC called the "Magic Mile".

 

brett bodine

bewerton speedway

bruce doestal

 

bruce willey

brain ross

brett bodine

 

evans

bill brown

 

Found some more shots....Rich

 

And some more....

 

Regarding the question yesterday about rules for vintage race cars New Jersey sets the standard and the cars need to comply with current racing rules. New Jersey posts the rules on line.