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

Johnnie Hart, Portland, Oregon @ McMinnville Dragstrip 1962. Crankshaft Co. 1" stroker crank, 354 inches, set NHRA Record, and full article in Hot Rod, I watched in run many times, here is a color shot of mine, notice the V/W Bus in the background, that was the sound system for the track.

 

Nice shot of unlettered Ward & Wayre 296Ardun, some cool stuff there! Nice unknown Thames too, PRETTY car.

 

So let's pay tribute to those all wheel drive efforts from the 60's
The Ivo 4 wheel drive 4 engine Buick powered Showboat and later the Wagon Master have been in these pages a lot so please excuse the re-posting... fits the theme

So ;let's kick this off with the most famous All Wheel Drive machine of them all. Ivo's 4 engine Showboat...
Ivo built the 4 engine beast as a serious effort but it proved to be too heavy. Don Prudhomme even drove it (very few times...maybe as few as - once)

Ivo sold it in 1963 to Tom McCourry

 

Tom McCourry had Tom Hanna build a wgbon body for the car and re-named it the Wagonmaster





In 1982 Tommy Ivo was back in the driver seat and touring the country when he ran over a bump at Saskatoon International Raceway - crushing 3 vertebrae

It is amazing how well this machine has up after thousands of passes...

 

Let's not forget the twin engine all wheel drive Oldsmobile efforts... The Hurst hairy Olds and the Terrifying Toronado - Neither were very successful but they were entertaining for the short while they were around...

 

Even Mickey Thompson got into the act
In fairness this was more a test for his land speed effort than a serious drag car

 

This one might be too new so delete it if it is but again - it fits the theme

Gary Gabelich of land speed fame drove this rear engine all wheel drive Vega wagon for a very brief time... I believe it crashed on the first shakedown run... You must appreciate the technology that went into this effort.

Of course I think it would have been a LOT cooler if it had been a side winder configuration... If you're going to push the edge of the envelope ...

 

Mike Willis - our first known twin.

 

Ken Newsdreck

 

Manuel Cohelo

 

Unidentified - we were told for years this was Jim Brissette's Twin, brother Bob says no.

 

Post #50499 .two posts back, How many old guys here notice the Light Gas OVH class above? shows
Richard(Poncho)Gonzales driving a Cad...Back in those days PONCHO GONZALES was a huge tennis star..He was another sports figure into racing.like Roy Rogers was

 

Good call, Bobby, and Ralph Gonzales, in the "Californian" in my above post, was Poncho's brother. Poncho also ran a Cad-powered dragster that set the track record at Santa Ana with Don Rowe driving, summer of '57...first dragster I ever saw:

 

Thanks Mr Sorensen..(296Ardun)
Old geezer Bobby

 

That car damn near killed him...

 

Early ford swing axle conversion in back?

 

Halibrand made independent rears I believe, just not sure when they started building them.

 

Maybe, but the picture looks distorted, the wheels and tires on the panel look "laid over". It could be a picture of a picture.

 

BBC, no ID


No ID on this either...TTwomotor? (Joe Amman, thanks!)


Not sure where this is..maybe Irwindale....looks like Dale Emery on the left....after Chrysler replaced the small block.


OCIR pits...count the number of top fuel dragsters just in this picture...probably not this many in the entire US now.


Trotters Car Club from Ohio...these guys won best-appearing car and crew on a number of occasions...one of the few Black car clubs.


Looks like a Pontiac power plant...no ID...that Bantam altered in the background has been on this thread before


This might be Des Moines or Ames, IA...maybe Ames given the source of the photo...ok, the guys who ran cars like these two "58 Chevies did not get the headlines but for them they lived for Sunday to go racing, and they were just as dedicated as the guys who did get the headlines...


Lions...this was a really clean Willys


Pretty sure that is Tom McEwen, maybe Richard Rea's car? Not sure, as Richard drove...at Lions


Lefty Little in the Arizona-based "Big Red" at Lions

Before aluminized fire suits, Willie wears a Tony Nancy "Race-Mask." I don't think leather would have provided much protection if things had gone bad...


Happy 80th birthday!...Ivo always drew a crowd...at Lions

 

296..I also think that's Dale in the photo of Pure Hell above...Did I send you a current photo of Dale as he looks today? Its Hell to be old and a bad memory,LOL
Bobby

 

296ardun - that twin is Joe Amman.