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

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Atts's Willys hooked me from a very young age.

 

That is reminescent of this pass I was making at The Dirty D, Detroit Dragway, when my old Bell Star (nose breaker) was getting jerked rearwards on this launch. All part of the thrill experienced on a hi-G launch.

 

@DDDenny


Hello,

There is always someone sitting around thinking of ways to go fast and faster. Paul Nicolini, Harry Duncan, then Chuck Jones, Wayne Reed and finally adding Joe Mailliard to the team got the results everyone was waiting to see happen at Lion’s Dragstrip. All designers, artists, tech writers and builders were Long Beach, CA locals with good drag racing backgrounds. The topper to the success was Jack Chrisman at the wheel… yes! The design just needed some expert tweaking and modifications to make it the record setter it became.

The body tweaks, the motor modifications and design change for more consistent power were the main thing. Then handling and body shaping to keep it straight in those fast times, then faster times at Lion’s Dragstrip starting in 1957-58. The 1959 version set all kinds of speed and E.T. times all over So Cal drag race scene and local dragstrips.

Jnaki

The best of times just happened to be when we were in our drag racing era. (58 Impala racing and the 671 SBC motor in our 40 Willys Coupe in C/Gas) Weekly sightings and being in the pits during all of that activity times paid off in some historic photos and films that we took of the Sidewinder in its best stage of drag racing, with the only current color films showing what it was like between 1967 and 1964 in So Cal. No magazine photos, just real live action, the way it was...
The real Sidewinder sound 1959...

Note:

We saw it in the pits, the dragstrip and in the local Drag News paper. For most people that followed the drag racing scene in So Cal, it was a new and exciting race car.

Within the year, Joe Mailliard was asked to help out in fine tuning the design and add/subtract things to make it faster and handle better. So, by the time the photos of the newly formed old Sidewinder was shown at Lion’s Dragstrip, records began to fall and the resurrected Sidewinder started to win a lot of Top Eliminator trophies, with Jack Chrisman driving.


My brother and I filmed a lot of Sidewinder action as it was one of the most iconic race cars in this whole time period. Watching them a week later in our living room projected on a wall size movie screen was almost as good as being there. Our teenage friends all had a “doubly good time” being at Lion’s Dragstrip and then being able to see the 16MM color action again, sitting in comfortable sofas and chairs.

(At first, making their own version of the "staging sounds... " Then later, we tried to use our taped LP album of historic 1959 actual drag racing sounds to coordinate with the films shown on the wall.)

 

Ohh, no! They say he’s got to go, go go Godzilla.

 

Dunn and Reath ?

 

November 30, 1958 as posted in the December 13 issue.



1958-59 Lion's Dragstrip action + original sound... for some “Drag Cars In Motion” from the historic film files of early So Cal drag racing.


Hello,

I was doing some research on early drag racing elsewhere, other than at our local Westside of Long Beach Lion’s Dragstrip. (actually in Wilmington, which is one step on the other side of the city limits.)

While looking through the story and results, several of the local hot rod/drag racer from Long Beach had made the road trip to Chandler, Arizona for the Western States Championships. Glenn Ward/Howard Johansen were one of the teams, Leland Kolb A/MR and the Rakers Car Club also raced there.

Glen Ward was a busy driver…


Here are some results from the championship event of the success of the So Cal racers from Long Beach.

Jnaki

Previously, I had drawn my version Leland Kolb’s Modified Roadster.

Leland Kolb’s Modified Roadster including Fritz Voight participation…



Success comes in all shapes, designs, builds and sizes... YRMV

 

Notes say Bob Maravez (aka Floyd Lippencott Jr.) behind the butterflies...

 

Ahh yes, the Nanook altered. A version of which is currently residing in Bucky Austin’s private collection.