Av8, I reckon that machine could be run at the Antique Nationals in Palmdale. Any chance of that happening?
The pic of the car on the trailer sure brings back some memories. The back in the day trailer is cool as well. Probably weighs 1/3 as much as some of the commonly available open trailers we see nowadays. Thanks for posting. Anxious to see it with the nose on as well.
Mike, thanks for posting the before pics. They give me a better insight on all the work done. For the rest of you the now pics are great but seeing it in person was even better. Vern and crew are doing a great job on this car.
WOW!!! damn i love this old stuff. the history of it too. man if that car could talk. thanks for sharing...
no secret I am big into the old race cars, anybody got a pic of this in the old days? I for one vote for a return to those rules (with a very limited saftey updates to NOT include a full cage + DO include fire and belt updates. nevr happen ,but still...) I hate what a full cage does to an old race car, might as well update it all the way to pro/mod or pro/gas,JMO
I don't see any reason why it couldn't run at Palmdale. Just as long as it has a floor and a firewall, which I'm sure it will have... the only update needed would be some current seat belts (if the originals are aftermarket race units) Sam.
Great car, glad to see it come back. Always wondered about those inside moons too. [ QUOTE ] Where did we go wrong, and when did this all get away from us?! [/ QUOTE ] In 52 we paid an average of 2% federal income tax and built the interstate freeway system. Today the highway crossovers are crumbling, the freeways have potholes we can't afford to fix, and your tax dollars are paving the entryways to casino parking lots and providing welfare for the highschool dropouts who don't see any point in working. It's also going towards paying companies to crush old cars instead of cleaning up their act. And you know what you're paying in taxes. The days of honest value for honest money are long gone... Do you remember the Del Rio Bros. altered roadster? It was yellow, and had a horn that played a mexican song when it went down the track. Early 70's Fremont and Sears Point regular. I've been trying to find pics of it for quite a while.
The Delrio Brother's roadster was restored a few years back... I saw it at a local downtown show... Those boys were into some bad shit... and the one brother died... A friend of mine was telling me all the tales about 'em... he used to polish all their magnesium... I'll look for a pic. Sam.
Thanks Sam, I don't have most of the pics I took back in those days. Just a couple fuzzy ones from Sears Point.
Just noticed the coupe in the background in the first shot. Were the Pacers into dirt track too. Is Vallejo Speedway still there?
Mike, I also enjoyed the photos and story that goes along with the little roadster but I have a question for you. How does a cool hot rod that was a "major player in the NorCal drag-racing scene of the late '50s, early '60s", go from notoriety like that to pieces on a trailer and in the back of a pickup. How come the "keepers" of this piece of hot rod history allowed this to happen?
Denise, back in the 60's and 70's there wasn't a nostalgia movement like there is today. As soon as a new car was built the old stuff got traded or parked in the back 40 after whatever was still good was stripped from it. Old stuff didn't win new races and got sold cheap to weekend warriors with no money. I hate to think of how many top fuel cars got turned into cheap bracket racers or scavenged for parts then thrown away. AA funnycars got turned into alcohol funnies and finally got junked when the body got smashed or burned or the chassis broke. Most of the cars that were saved were owned by guys who just gave up racing, but still had room in the back shed or barn for the old car and kept it rather than selling it for next to nothing. The nostalga movement brought the old cars and the old racers back to life. The condition of that car is actually pretty typical. Most of the time, the famous car got sold to a weekend warrior minus the good parts and served on in a lower, cheaper class till it was wrecked, worn out, or the new owner just quit racing to raise a family or outgrew his interest. At that point, no one wanted these relics so they got trashed. We all got pissed when Jessie made a hotdog cart out of the FED but 20 years ago, no one would have cared.
AV8-Thanks for the look at an old racer like this one! love it being rebuilt as it was....Denise- thats the reason the old survivor hot rods are so valuable....because they are few and far between!
I had to share with the HAMB how excited these guys are about this project. My father-in-law told me about this car about a year ago and said they were going to go get. He told me stories about the history and how the Pacers got it and then passed it on. And how the car was scavenged. I was in Rosa woking on my car recently and needed some parts that my father-in-law said we could get at Vern's. While this was my first trip to Vern's place, I was amazed just being there. I'm still picking the scabs off my chin from my jaw dragging on the ground the entire time I was there. About that time the trailer pulled up with the car coming back from the paint shop. We off-loaded it and these guys were as getty as school girls. I understood just what a cool project this was to these guys and it is great to see it being shared here. Thanks AV8. I know some of the people posting to this topic are way more connected to it than I, but I had to share the outsiders view. Now this is "Traditional" to me.
[ QUOTE ] I don't see any reason why it couldn't run at Palmdale. Just as long as it has a floor and a firewall, which I'm sure it will have... the only update needed would be some current seat belts (if the originals are aftermarket race units) Sam. [/ QUOTE ] im not sure the tech guys would see the threads at the ends of the roll bar all that humorus?
Thirty-two, tech at Palmdale for the Antique Nats is pretty relaxed. It kinda has to be that way, with a field ranging from stock Model Ts pulling 21 second ETs to mid fifties heaps with modern drivetrains turning 10 or 11 second ETs and everything imaginable in between. Usually just a puke tank, seat belts and a helmet are required.
Mike, Great post, better story that the piece is getting a resurrection. Question...obvious as it is that Vern and the boyz stay true to the originality, where is the line drawn? I appreciate that passing tech is less important than remaining true, as examples go, I'm putting together a 32 roadster that was rodded in 47', lack of a X member where the Z in the frame is makes it weak. The original owner's recollection is that "at speed" the thing is flexin pretty good. In view of that, do you strengthen this, or leave it alone? Appreciate you opinion. Bob
Denise -- Smokin Joe is right on target. Many old race cars were donors of parts and pieces, often cannibalized until there was nothing of value left. The Pacers roadster is an exception to the rule and was surprisingly close to its original form when restoration began. thirtytwo, who has been a key player in ressurecting the old roadster, makes a cogent comment with regard to the car's safety. raven61 -- You're right, they are creating a museum piece, nothing less. I don't find it sad that it will never be raced again. I do find it very positive in that it is a real example of how drag cars were put together in its day.
Cool update on the car Mike. I remember when you posted when they found the car a couple of years back. For those that are not following the thread on the Bonneville car here is the links to the other board..... The other board..... Wow, that crank looks like art.... #2
I've been to Palmdale... and I know the NHRA rulebook... and I know the difference between the two... the threads on the bottom of the roll bar would be fine as long as the welds are decent. Sam!
I also think he would be more than welcome to tow it out to the HAMB Drags and run it there... The MoKan tech department was... well, how do you say... lax... Sam
SmokenJoe, AV8, thanks for the explanation. That certainly makes sense. What a treat it would be for everyone to see it go down the track at MoKan Maybe we could take up a fuel fund to pay for the gas to get it from Vern's place to the Drags and back.
If the HAMB drags are the weekend after Speed Week it's entirely possible that the Pacers roadster could be there. Gene Gilmore, who has ramrodded the restoration and has stewardship of the car will be at Bonneville with the Tardel-McKenzie crew, as will several others who are old Pacers. BTW, the roadster is not likely to equal its early performance. The new motor isn't nearly as crafty as the old one. In fact it's very close to being a stone-stock 327. It will be run on alcohol, however. Still, the BFD will probably kick its ass. FWIW, I plan on attending the HAMB drags if they are the weekend at the end of Speed Week. I'll have my own transportation this year and can hang out whenever, wherever. and with whomever I want!
Going by thirtytwo's post, the car will not be raced because it would not pass tech? That is a real shame. A proud old warhorse like that has earned the right to strut its stuff, no matter how santised the world around has gotten. The only thing worse than having a car like that rejected would be for it to get basardised to conform. I'm not trying to start shit, or set anybody off on a rant, but this is just the way I feel. And it is something I feel very strongly about... AV8 I just saw your post. great... there is hope yet...
Metalshapes -- It really goes beyond the rules of then and now. It gets into the relative technology of then and now. Consider one of the most influential developments of drag-racing performance -- slicks. Drag tire technology of the late '50s, early '60s was such that "flexible" cars like the Pacers roadster didn't seem to handle all that bad. Today, shod with those new vintage-style slicks -- today's technology -- and an attention-getting 327 alky motor, I'd guess that the roadster would be far more exciting than it was in the past -- as in curb to curb -- and certainly a much scarier seat for the jockey. I think it's perfectly fine to restore the old warrior cars just as they were and let them rest on their laurels. They've certainly earned retirement, and now it's time to enjoy them for what they can tell us about that point in our hot-rodding history where they were kick-ass racecars.
I think SamIyam and crew proved.....You can have the look, and still keep in tune with relative technology..... [ QUOTE ] and let them rest on their laurels [/ QUOTE ] That's certainly not what that car was built for...... But....... better to be eye candy then to be recycled as a Chevy Avalanche....I suppose
AV8, this must be where my inexperience with Drag Racing shows... I did not know a car like that would be a scaryer ride with less horsepower, more grip and ( probably ) a smoother track...( you did say it would be slower, right? ) I just love to see old race cars in action, and there should be a way to run them the way they truly were. If the owner chooses to jeopardize his car and his health... If not, who can blame him?
[ QUOTE ] FWIW, I plan on attending the HAMB drags if they are the weekend at the end of Speed Week. I'll have my own transportation this year and can hang out whenever, wherever. and with whomever I want! [/ QUOTE ] This makes me VERY happy. It sure would give alot of midwest folks an opportunity to meet you. I sure hope Ryan is reading this.
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