60'-70's Vintage Oval Track Modifieds

Reggie Ruggerio at Plainville

Richardson

Rod Seller

Ron Bouchard

Ron Narducci

 

....here's a coupe I'm building to vintage race. The (2X4) chassis builder is unknown but it has a Troyer front clip on it.

 

Nice ! Its got a great stance!

 

I Like it! I Like it a lot!

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Gary Iulg in the Gil Bruss coupe at Weedsport, NY, 1973. This was the ex-Merv Treichler No. 58 from '71-'72. Gary also won on pavement with this car at Lancaster in '73 (RoC Qualifier). Photog unknown.

 

Bud Barone at Ransomville (NY) Speedway, 1975. Jeff Scott photo.

 

Dave Schupp on his way to Lancaster (NY) Speedway in 1976. This is the ex-Jim Rudolph Gremlin from '74. Dave Schupp photo.

 

Moon just turned 80, last week, he was signing autographs with about 30 other guys from Riverside at Racearama in Mass. Had the # 1 Jimmy 302 with him too.

 

Fred White at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1971. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Dick Emerson at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1970. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Ken Meahl at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1971. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

some sweet photos there Dr. John, like the fred white coupe, Dick Emerson and Ken Meahl photos today.

Chris Skais

Pat Sweeney

Ronnie Wycoff

Sand safety trap at Waterford

Seekonk Speedbowl Bunnell

 

Seekonk Speedbowl photos

Cambino

Leo Cleary

Germano

Jerry Dostie

Summers

 

Yerrington and Bouchard also Evans

Bill Slater

Stan Disbrow

Stan Ploski

 

Stan Wildermuth

Stubby Stevens

Leo Cleary

Bob Tausher

Charlie J in The Bug

 

Pete, another great group of photos, loved the last one of the Bug. Perfect example of a photo being better then a thousand words.

Is that Ted Wesnowski?

 

Sweet looking #13 Falcon Dr John.

 

Gary Reichert in the Turner Bros. Corvair at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1972. John Grady photo.

 

Bryan Osgood at Oswego (NY) Speedway, 1972. William Dudley photo. (Yes, I HATE that old textured photo paper!)

 

Maynard Troyer, 1972. Photog unknown, William Dudley collection.

 

Richie Evans at Lancaster (NY) Speedway. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

Dan Bess at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1967. Gordon Reinig photo.

 

You know, when you look at some of these transition cars it makes you think, what? were these guys nuts? OK, so driving a BB in a light weight car is always pushing the envelope anyway but, some of the short cuts taken on some of these modifieds are a bit much.

The old coupes and coaches had some meats around them and some space to get jostled around. The newer Troyer cars and such, when built properly had clips that would give and cages that protected the drivers.

But we all know the bigger the engines got in the old iron the lighter the cars got, then came the Camaros and Mustangs and Falcons, etc. Shutter. Think got a bit better with the Pinto revolution when the drivers realized just how badly they could get hurt. But there was that period there between the couples and the Pintos that I thing they were really pushing the envelope.

Does anyone have any sort of statics that can either back up my claim or debunk it?
Other then the wild and woolly days of unsantioned racing, I don't thing there was a more unsafe period of time for the modified then that 2-3 year period of time.

I'm not saying, death wise, more like dependability and survivability of the mods.
Then again, it is 6:20 in the AM and have to crash oops, bad choice of words.

 

Interesting point, always thought the most dangerous time was later, when the cars had no "crush", i.e., built so strong that guys were hurt and killed because the cars were not absorbing any of the punishment due to the sudden stops. Don't know...

 

yep it is amazing what these guys drove,i used to have a close friend who had a few old modifieds.one day i was at his place he said go over there and pic up that old cage i just got. went over to pic it up and almost flipped it over, the whole thing was aluminum,the whole thing! prolly did weigh 25 pounds.AMAZING

 

We bought an old Danbury car once, for the wheels, cut the cage bars where they went across the car, and when I yanked on the cage the whole side of the car fell right off. And this was after they mandated all the cross hatch bars next to the driver's compartment... it was "welded" to the frame at seven points per side, wonder how there are so many old guys at these reunions....

 

Dutch Hoag in the Turner Bros. No. 18 at Lancaster (NY) Speedway, 1967. Gordon Reinig photo from "Lancaster Heroes" book. www.lancasterheroes.com

 

Mike Burley's beautiful model of Dutch Hoag's Turner Bros. coupe. Mike lives in the Rochester, NY, area.

 

Charlie Webster at Waterford

Jerry Cook at Islip

Jerry Cook and Tom Baldwin Islip

Joe McNulty

Ray Delisle at Waterford

 

Bill Slater and Bolduc at Norwood

Joe Tiezzi

Joe Tiezzi

Tom McCann and Sam McCurdy

Tony Mordino