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

Looks like Ted Cyr's Chevy sidewinder.

 

It is...Scotty Fenn built it for Ted, I saw it run at Bakersfield, around '62, fortunately Ted was a good driver because this car had no inclination to go straight, it was on again-off again until Ted finally gave it up....got to hand it to Scotty, though, he was an innovator...

 

We had a racer named Jack Frost, up here in the Northwest, that used a similar formula running his Willys. He was a "Wild Man", he ran injected small and big block Chevys, on gas and fuel. In 1960-61 he ran a "blown" early Corvette, that he brought up from L.A. Always the "SHOWMAN" and a fun guy to be around !

 

Dean, I'm working on it!
And your approval means a lot to me.
(But I was thinking 1968ish because of the BBC and the CRAGAR S/S mags)
When I had the truck down at LARS this year, I was humbled by the kudos I got from Pete Eastwood and Derek Bower... Pete walks up and says "Irwindale 1967!!" among other nice words.
About the cage... it was a necessity... because I actually race this mo-fo!
And I am serious about getting a class together again... I could run the rules by you if you are interested.
BTW, if you are ever up north here in Livermore, come by... I'll take you for a spin!

 

I saw Ted's sidewinder run one night at Fontana. Yes, Ted had his hands full!

 

Yes, Sam, the big block puts it about a year after we parked my RPU in '67. NHRA dropped the min weight to 7lbs. per cu in. so all of a sudden big blocks worked with the average weight B/SR. Your BBC reminds me of when Ed Grier and***** Barber switched to a big block in their C&W Motorparts white '29. Low 11's became low 10's over night. Then it was tube frames, and the class was about over.

 

Tube frames and plastic bodies ruined a lot of classes in my opinion.

 

Yep George it did not do the gassers any good either, they looked like a AFX car running in a gas class

 

I had a steel Bantam on a frame made of Ford parts. I agree completely. And running roadsters in Altered. But it was inevitable. So many people working on so many cars was bound to find the best way to go fast and quick. And then came Brackets. The first time I heard "The winner is the loser" I knew I was done.

 

NHRA has a chance to right the wrong they did allowing the rules to go so far off track. There is a ton of support for vintage drag racing. An NHRA vintage****ociation could work, but they won't listen. Guys would build cars like Sam's roadster, if they had more opportunities to race them in a structured environment.

 

You are quite right. I could accept plastic hoods but they should never have permitted plastic to replace OEM steel bodies, fenders and doors. There was just no LOGICAL reason for it. It did NOTHING to improve the class or even make it safer.

 

I believe that Butch at ANRA is pretty much open to setting up new classes like this. I know that doesn't help potential participants in other areas. We all know the problems with that.

 

Gabby Bleeker, from Illinois...started with unchopped Bantam with a carbureted Olds, gradually evolved through blown Olds to blown Chrysler....I doubt that Gabby knew the meaning of the word "lift"


Jack Williams gets a little close to the eyes at Riverside in the Williams, Crossley, and Swan fueler. Rick Stewart later drove this car, which had a few miles on it, when the back half separated from the rest of the car when the chute came out at Bakersfield...fortunately Rick was not really hurt and went on to the NHRA starter's job...


Safeway Sandblasting Ardun-powered Fiat bodied C/C. This engine came out of their record setting C/GS Willys and into this coupe...Norm Wilcox was one of the drivers...car painted red, really well built.


Even Big John flat-towed to the races, here swapping out the street tires for the slicks, Rich Soroonian at right, this is Riverside (note the 4 behind, the pits were close to the road course, this was the 4th turn).

I think that this is Leland Kolb's 426 in the former Beebe and Mulligan car...at Lions


It was dark at Lions but not this dark...too dark for ID's, though


Artsy shot, almost too blurry to tell much... Fontana, as Mazooma noted below...and with the'55 Chev pushcar in the background, I though it might be the Surfers, maybe far side??? (Gabe Fernando suggested Garren and Madden in the far lane, and though it is almost too blurry to tell, the far lane car seems to have a Scott injector, which G&M once ran...and they also had a 4-door 55 Chevy push car...so I think that Gabe is correct, Garren & Madden)


Blown Olds at Lions, pre-65, maybe Standoff & Brown? Really not sure on this one, though there were not a lot of blown Olds running fuel


Chicago's Palmer Lazarus, from Chicago, paying a visit to Texas...later ran a Willys gasser

 

is Fontana...3 10K lights on the pole powered by a generator

 

I would like to see more 'return to future' type racing. There seem to be attempts in finding the right formular and I think the guys in the mid-continent and east coast are getting close. Think of racing with no electronics, no breakouts, no xmas tree, no brackets, no shutting off before the lights, and no winners except for the spectators. Racing just for the fun of it. Just my opinion.***** M

 

Although they still used the "tree" the Meltdown Drags at Byron is close to that scenario*****. No qualifying or eliminations (except for Quain Stott's Southern Gassers) and no prizemoney or trophies. Just 500 or so cars making runs for three days. Line up with your buddy if you want to race him, take Isky for a trip down the strip (happened Sunday afternoon), or just hang out and watch a couple of mid 60's match race stockers running on fuel under lights on Saturday night. The Southern Gassers run heads up and can't have anything (visually) later than 1965. They turn the read out boards off so nobody can dis them with "My buddy's street Camaro is quicker than that" type comments. And the majority of them are high winding stick shift cars that wheelie at each shift.
I go to Famoso for the March Meet and the CHRR every year and have been to every NHRR at Bowling Green and love those events but in a lot of ways Byron was better.

Roo

 

Mazooma1... professional photographer that you are, I'm curious as to the mechanics of that Fontana night shot. Its it panned, then stroke lite, then ? Or are shots like this just lucky creative errors. Below is one of my favorite's from Lions.***** M

 

From the Meltdown

 

'Artsy' shot: Looks like Fontana and (maybe) looks like Garrin & Madden in the far lane. They had a 4-door '55 like the Surfers too.

 

The blown Olds could be Steve Porter after he split with Herb Reis. The motor looks a little too far ahead though.

 

Garren and Madden also ran a Scott injector at one point, and the car in the far lane looks like it is running a Scott...I completely forgot that Garren and Madden had a 55 more-door, (John Garren used to get his nitro at Blair's so I knew him, forgot the Chev)...so I think you are right...

 

As far as I remember, Porter and Reis ran an Ederle injector, which I think that Steve kept after he went solo...but then again...anyone else?

 

Peter Zorio's 33 Willys on it's debut at Englishtown in August of 1967. Small block Chevy with a 4 speed. Sold in 1968 to Carl Hegge and ran as a BB/GS. Beautiful, well built car.

 

View attachment 3022068