History Bonneville Record Car / NEED HELP!

Wow! Another amazing photo! Thanks for the info.

While that '57 Coronet isn't a Lancer hardtop, but just a plain jane two-door sedan, that hood scoop isn't a production item! What's Norm got in there? D-501 with more than a couple carbs perhaps? And what's that little thing between the hood ornament and the "D" in "Dodge"?

 

super freaking cool... love the car and the history behind it...

 

Hope it's not going too far OT for the thread, Josh, but below is a link to Flickr album with photos of a '57 Coronet 2dr sdn similar to Norm's with a D-501 Dodge hemi and stick shift. Like your 300D, it's a mostly original survivor with a significant racing history, having been bought and raced by Arnie Beswick...

Here's a link to "Atomic Blonde's" Flickr site with all the photos and info... http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomic_blondes/sets/72157621284804548/

 

I think its time you began to embark on your new part time career, because you need to write a book on Norm!

 

I'll try to shed a little more light on the Dodge that Norm is driving. It definitely appears to be a D 501 model. All the photos I've seen of the D 501's are 2 door sedan Coronets. I'm attaching an article that I scanned out of a 1958 Rod & Custom magazine. If you look closely at the front end you can see the hood scoop. I haven't found anything in writing that Norm actually drove a D 501 at Bonneville or El Mirage however these photos indicate he was in one.

 

This is great stuff. The discarded photo collection may be a huge stash of other important cars your going to be like a kid in a candy store.
Ron

 

Here is another D 501 that went through a restoration, this one however does not have the hood scoop but is badged which may indicate a later build or special order.

 

There's some controversy about this particular car being a well-executed clone which uses an original D-501 engine along with many other authentic D-501 features in a car that was not originally a D-501. It also has an automatic trans which D-501s supposedly did not have.

The car in that amazing R&C feature (thanks for posting!) is significantly modified from its original D-501 state. It appears (to my eye anyway) that the hood "scoop" is really a bulge without an inlet added by the owner to provide clearance for the carbs.

 

Good eye John, I believe you are correct. The scoop does look like it is open at the cowl and closed off on the front however, enlarging the pic just kinda blurs it out, definitely not the same scoop as is on the Thatcher car. Maybe this will bring out the D 501 experts with some documentation which may shed more light than mere speculation on these factory hot rods.

 

Can't wait to hear this car fire up again

 

Josh (@Hyfire) -

Wow, that is pretty interesting ...

Though Norm did attain a top speed of 205.55 mph in his super-charged stock-bodied '64 Plymouth Sport Fury, his 2-way average of 199.48 mph was what went into the USAC / FIA record books.

Considering Norm's competitive nature, I find it a bit surprising that he didn't return to an SCTA-sanctioned event at Bonneville to try to bump his record by at least 0.52 mph ... and gain entry into the prestigious Bonneville "200 MPH Club" ... Perhaps this is an insight into the type of gentleman he really was ... i.e., reaching a personal goal was more important to him than membership in a exclusive group?

 

hyfire, dodge did indeed build some hardtop 501's. i was able to buy the engine and trans.out of a black hdtp. that caught fire. put it in my 56 plymouth savoy and although as i am sure everyone who had 1 of these found out, could not keep low gear in the trans,the torque was just too much , so, drove and street raced it with 2nd and high gear only. loved to run 50 on for a mile,20 on for a quarter, or half mile, or mile. never was beaten. man , what an engine. didnt know what i had then....

 

Thank you for the insight on these old beast.

 

Numbers are issued by the SCTA in numerical order UNLESS a particular number or numbers that have been retired due to non participation ( I believe three years) and not renewed becomes available, which than can be reassigned. Numbers are assigned to the team and not the car so if a team builds another car they can put that number on it.

 

That shouldn't be to hard, Jim is a good guy! I'll bill you later Jim!!

 

Information about the '57 Dodge D501s (not to be confused with the '56 D500-1) is very elusive. Anything that people have accepted as 'fact' about these cars has come into question throughout the years. They just were not well documented. I don't want to come across as any kind of expert, because all I've learned is conjecture from people that have argued about these cars for decades.

But, they should all have 354 Chrysler engines that are stamped D501-XXXX and they should all have three-speed manual transmissions. It would not surprise me to learn that a few of them were built with automatics, especially considering the TF was used in the '55-57 Chrysler 300s.

From a D501 owner on forwardlook.net comes this quote back in 2008: "The 57 D-501 was based on the Chrysler Hemi and although many sources indicate that it used a 1956 300-B engine this is not so. It was a 354 but (from what I have gathered) used the 4-bolt 354 truck exhaust manifolds and the 1957 300-C intake manifold and carbs. It also was supposed to have a chrome plated crank. It was stamped D501-xxxx on the block, not KD501 as some believe.... The best estimate of D-501's produced is 102. Today about a half dozen are accounted for and only 5-6 are intact. Most were 2-door sedans with all deletes but a number of convertibles were made. Two are known to exist. One is very original and the other is currently being restored in CA."

Here is an example of a D501 badge, and an example of a '57 D500 showing where the badge would have been affixed to the trunk.

 

In the interest of making this at least slightly Norm-centric, here is a tantalizing dialogue from another thread on forwardlook.net:

MemberX: "Following present practice, the longest lever possible was used.

I'll say. It looks like a beer tap shift handle. And look where the shifter pokes through the tunnel. Why there? The stock transmission was replaced with a 1937 La Salle box!....... Apparently that was the thinking back in 1958 which was the year of the magazine that I scanned (this) photo from. The car was raced in the Portland, Oregon area. I wonder what became of it?"



MemberY: "My D501 had a LaSalle trans installed after the original stick trans was destroyed several times. It then had a B&M Hydramatic. When I bought the car 25+ years ago it did not have a trans at all. It did have a nice large hole in the floor. The LaSalle could not take the 354's torque."

MemberX: "Y, Given that the LaSalle swap was not an easy job and I doubt many attempted it, is it possible that the car in this article is yours? The car had a sort of cowl induction hood scoop and all chrome was removed from the hood. It looks to be painted all black or a dark color anyways. It also had homemade traction bars and one of those Weiand six Stromberg 97 intakes."

You might want to look through some 1958 magazines to see if this featured D501 can be located for possible identification. Those modifications do sound like something Norm would do, as does the tachometer in the picture. According to one of your press releases, Norm was a 'tach driver'.

 

Was there a Plymouth version about the same time? I came across a Plymouth in a self service wrecking yard in the early 80's that had some racing or road rally history. There were papers and articles strewn all over the front seat area about the previous owner and some of the races or rallies the car was in. I didn't think about grabbing any of that but I did get the owners manual from it which I still have.
The car was still in great shape and it troubled me to see why someone decided to scrap the car.

 

I've always liked the 57-58 forward look Mopars ( even if i am a GM guy ), and i just scrolled through this whole thread.....
Absolutely unreal!
One of the coolest threads i've read since i joined.
What a piece of history!
Thanks for sharing, and KILLER car!

Tony

 

Found this nice shot of Norm in his 63 Plymouth at Bonneville.

 

That engine is clean inside. One old hemi I took apart was so sludged up you could hardly see the exhaust valve springs. Take your time, do it right. I'm with a lot of others here, waiting for the start-up video.

I'm really enjoying these history lessons, kinda wish I'd been around back when all this was happening on the salt.

 

Have you tried turning the engine over by hand? If it spins, great. Can the oil pump be turned with the distributor out? I would spin the pump and make sure I've got oil throughout before starting.

I think the early hemi get it's oil up through the rocker tubes. You should get oil in the valve cover with a prime. With an oil prime and some fuel in the bowls, I would give it a try and see if it would come to life.

 

You're doing exactly the right thing. Slow and steady wins this race.

 

Your friend is right! Photograph and document everything you possibly can. I'm with Ebbsspeed, can't wait to see the video.

 

I agree with taking lots of pictures, it always helps when you have two loose wires and are questioning which one goes where, or how the throttle and kickdown linkage hooks up, where the return springs are hooked, etc.

One thing to remember: After you drop the trans pan to clean it, make sure you put some fluid back in before the initial fire-up. Make a list and check things off as you complete them.

The early hemi's oil "intermittently" through the 2nd and 4th cam bearing journals, up to the 2nd rocker stand on the drivers side, and 4th rocker stand on the passenger side. The cam has to be in the correct position for the oil passages to line up, so you can't just spin the oil pump and expect to see oil in the rocker shafts. Plus the driver and passenger cylinder banks don't oil at the same time. Drivers side oils through cam journal #2, then one crankshaft rotation later the passenger side gets a squirt through journal #4. If you have someone slowly turn the engine over while you're spinning the oil pump with a drill, you'll hear the drill motor speed up slightly when the journal lines up. Stop turning the engine at that point, and continue the prime until you see oil coming out of the rocker shafts at the rocker arms on one of the cylinder banks. Then turn the crank 360 degrees and you should see oil come to the opposite cylinder bank valvetrain.

Now, after all that typing, because of this car's pedigree this motor may well have some kind of modified oiling system that will provide a constant supply of oil to the rocker shafts. A modification as simple as grooved bearings in cam journals 2 and 4 will provide an uninterrupted flow of oil to the top end, so don't be surprised if it does oil the rocker shafts no matter the position of the crank. It will make your pre-oiling task a heck of a lot simpler.

If you're ever feeling like Santa Claus, I'd love to get this car for Christmas.....

 

This is very exciting stuff!

I think I said it before but I love your curatorial approach to your ownership of this car, its history, and your commitment to preserving its originality while realizing how important it is to honor Norm and his achievements that it once again be a running vehicle rather than a historical artifact.

Keep up the great work!

 

stumbled across this thread today. Amazing find and car. Can't believe it survived for so long in such good condition. I can not wait to hear it fire up!

 

Josh (@Hyfire) - Cool interview with Frank ... as far-fetched as his "130mph with 8 people in the car" story may sound, I actually believed ALL of it! ... Thanks for sharing!

 

Its been a few years ago (1979) but my fuel guage sending unit went out in my 59 Chrysler 300 E and found the replacement for it was out of a 1977 Ford pick up! Go figure. On more than one occasion especially in convertibles late ( 1970's)Ford parts would replace earlier Chrysler parts.

 

What a neat story and what an unusual (cool) car!