this one was labeled Fuel and Gas Championship 1961 and the car looks the same as in the other picture including the dent in the rear fender.
@elgringo71 I went back and checked the Facebook page this one was on and the caption said Dover Dragstrip '61.
QUOTE="1934coupe, post: 14761683, member: 29084"]Lou DiDonato has owned the car since Vinnie sold it in the late 60's. Last I saw it was in black primer. I'm glad to see he did it up the way it was. Pat[/QUOTE
He was much older when I met him but I believe that is Reg Beezly in that picture. Beezley Balancing Service was in Memphis Tn and was operated by Reg Beezly. He mainly did balancing of agricultural parts, combine rotors, etc. He also did racing engines. My father used to send him engines throughout the 1970's. I had an engine balanced by him in 1984. I have one of the shirts and a sticker or two as well. I think his family still operates the balancing service for combine rotors in Crawfordsville AR.
Hello, A long time ago, I had a discussion with Ted Radounis and talked about his Willys pickup truck. Then, a year or so later he was gone. The photos stopped showing up everywhere and the HAMB did not show much of the highly modified Willys truck. It may not have been as old as some copied internet photos, but it was a part of the early HAMB Willys days. So, inquiring minds would like to know what happened to the orange Willys truck that had a lot of people in awe, every time it was around. I know it would have been a difficult truck to drive around, but it was done. Jnaki Lion's Dragstrip Any other feature photos? Thanks...
Thanks for the additional details. It’s interesting to hear that you knew him and that he rebuilt motors for your family and great to hear that the shop is still in business and owned by the same family. Some of these cars were pretty obscure because they may have only raced at their local tracks or area and the earlier the less information is out there to document their history.
@jnaki, the last I saw the Energizer Pickup was for sale and I haven’t seen any pictures or coverage on it since. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s in a collection somewhere in California. I will ask a friend that could know something.
Most of them had the original Willys axle and the same factory setup. It’s possible that some might have drilled holes in the factory axle to save weight. The early cars didn’t have the nose up stance yet. @jnaki What do you remember seeing done at that time?
Hello, We used the stock axle and just cleaned up every part on the front suspension. The old shocks replaced with newer, better ones. New brakes, cleaned up the crud and replaced all old parts with necessary replacement items. Our Willys Coupe was going to be a street driven hot rod during and between the forays in the Gas Coupe/Sedan class at Lion's Dragstrip. So, nothing out of the ordinary set up. At the time 1958-61, not one Gas Coupe/Sedan was in the 5 years later, wild idea that raised up front ends. The thought was that raised up front ends were good for handling and acceleration power shift. It was a theory that was not proven to many and for a lot of racers, just a fad. With the stock suspension, the front end usually rose up upon full power to the throttle. It was hard to argue with the record setting Willys Coupes stance of K.S. Pittman and Grist Brothers. Jnaki One other theory that came and went were modified shock absorbers that were labeled 80-20 and 90-10 that showed up later in the Gas Coupe history. Those weaker shocks allowed the front end to raise up faster, sending the power back to the rear in the numbered proportions. But, as that era was getting away from normal street legal Gas Coupes /Sedans, it was just for drag racing and not for daily driver hot rod coupes/sedans. A better, comfortable ride, like we all want and have in our own daily drivers, proves the shock absorber, raised front end theory of handling and safety. YRMV
@jnaki and @elgringo71 thanks for that, much appreciated. Am I correct in thinking after looking through this thread it was about 61 that the fronts started to get higher? If so was that done using stock suspension components or was that the start of the straight axle use?
Hello P, As far as I can see in my research and remembering our time in the drag racing world, the Gas Coupes and Sedans still were normal in 1964. I went back to Lion's Dragstrip to film our close friend and confidence builder, Atts Ono, making his final build debut of that immaculate Willys Coupe he had been building for several years. He was our close friend, but also our pit boss and guide. 1964 Almost every coupe/sedan/truck was level with relatively stock front suspension, axle, new shocks and build. The only exception was the early version of Mike Bamber's Silver Willys truck. Any photos from that event showed how those top teams, SWC, Big John Mazmanian, and others with their coupes were all set at level. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-picture-thread.550556/page-260#post-14613456 When the full power was given at the start, the front ends rose. That is not the "high in the air" era that started later. Even the new Willys coupe of K.S. Pittman was lighter, but still level. Jnaki In looking at all of my films at this meet, it was the next level as far as technology was concerned, but still normal "street legal coupes/sedans" in play. The Willys truck of C&O Hydro was a good example of a new build at the normal level stance. But, when they raced, the front end raised up in the air. One could just see the power being applied during the runs. They won the B/Gas category. If any item was the start of the race car look, it was after August 1960, when the 1320 rules committee made the ruling that all aluminum Moon Gas tanks had to be removed from the cab and placed in the trunk or away from the motor. The options were trunk or behind the grille. Some went a little overboard and put it in front of the grille, sticking out like a prod. Obviously, it was no longer "street legal" to run around with a gas tank sticking out in front for any accident protection. Note: It would be safe to say that when the national association got rid of the individual classes like from the old days and the new thing was hot factory stock cars, top fuel racers and modified bodied funny cars, then that is when the "up in the air" street folks copied the race car look but not necessarily the performance. The time period would be in the very late 67-70 era. It was a fad and did not last very long. If it was a true performance product design, then John Force's stable of cars would not be inches off of the ground for the best aspect of streamlining and speed. YRMV Check out the drag racing history of the Gas Coupes on the early HAMB and on J NAKI channel on You Tube.
Saw this very Willys((Flintstones) on a trailer in poor condition in Sandy Utah in the late 90's. Wondered what it looked like in race form. Thanks for the pic.
September of 61, JR. Garrison from Kentucky In the description in the link below there is some information about him and his Willys. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140358217/james-henry-garrison
1961 Mike Marinoff /Bill Reeves Hello, In 1959-60, Mike Marinoff was running a very fast 1955 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop in the Gas Coupe and Sedan classes. The number was 21. Records were being set weekly in the classes. his reputation was becoming well known as he ventured out West in 1960. (My brother and I saw the 55 Bel-Air sedan at the 2nd bakersfield march meet.) The battles against the best in the West were well documented. Then in 1961, the team showed up with a new Willys Coupe with the latest powerful set up and continued the winning ways. By the time September rolled around, #21 had won the U.S. Nationals with a provided class number, 552. Jnaki As in the early years of 1959-60 with the Bakersfield Smokers March Meet, the new/old Willys Coupe came out West again, to do battle. The #21 being prominent. 1963 Mike Marinoff /Bill Reeves B/G Willys Coupe "In early 1963, Mike and Bill were chosen to represent the Midwest as members of the elite "Top 20" group at Bakersfield, where they won B/Gas Supercharged in 11.10 seconds at 128.57 mph. But what started out as a good year took a turn for the worse two months later. On May 5th at the Don Maynard Memorial race in Oswego, Illinois, the Willys was totaled in a crash that injured Reeves to such an extent that he spent that he spent the much of the summer recuperating." Drag News May 13 1963
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