Hot Rods history/traditional 6-71 blower setup

I am a 90 year old relic from the early racing days. I built and ran a record holding dragster at the first official timed drag strip outside of Cal. in 1952. It was powerd by a 377 cu. in flat head Caddy engine with a chain driven surplus 671 GMC blower mounted on top and ran on straight methanol through a pair of Stromberg Caddy carbs that I had converted. It produced about 20 lbs. boost right out of the shute and set the all time season record on the first run. This was at Andy Granatelli's Half Day Speedway in N.W. Illinois. I am relative new on computers and presently don't know how to send pictures, but many of them can be found @ dragstriplist.com If you are interested Mel can put you in touch with me. I was born and raised in the Chicago area, moved to Co. 5 years ago, and am presently in the process of moving to Missouri. I also built and ran a low budget, but top notch sprint car in the 57'-58' era. Got married again and went cold turkey autos for almost 50 years. A disappearing breed.

 

Love that 70 in the back ground....(I didn't say-the-word!)
6sally6

 

Hello,

The early days of drag racing the belts were not in use as the chain gave direct results from top to bottom. Some tried car belts in single and multiple versions, but saw so much slippage that it was for looks and not performance. Some did well with the multiple belt drives, but that was few and far between..

The chain drives were the popular versions. Chains on sprockets like bicycle gears and resulting dangers involved. Flying chains, broken sprocket teeth, etc. were all early problems, as well as spectator safety. So, some drag racers started enclosing the whole chain with a case and removable face plate. Howard Cam Company developed the most used, copied and nicest set up for just about any motor combination.


Jnaki

As far as a chain drive is concerned, if you have ever heard one idling, or powering up in the pits, you might want to step back. The chain is deadly, but the casing helps. The Sidewinder was notorious for its sound as it came up to the staging area or tuning in the pits. Standing near the race car while hitting the throttle was impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vevILoR2rRs SIDEWINDER SOUND

In late 59-early 1960, the Gilmer Belt Drives came out with the latest technology at the time. It took over the scene from Gas Coupes to FED race cars. The speeds and records fell by the wayside with the instant, non-slippage Gilmer Belt System.
B.Balogh Gas Coupe and Sedan Cl*** 1960

Even the Sidewinder Version 2 went to the Gilmer Belt Drive.


By the way, we all know about Tommy Ivo and his Buick adventures. In 1958 he ran the famous single injected Buick Motor to all kinds of records. In late 59, he experimented with a 671 supercharger. But, by then his twin injected Buick FED came on the scene and won nearly every thing. He sold the 671 Buick motor as it was impressive, but not to his liking. It was a Gilmer Belt system.
Tommy Ivo progression