Hot Rods Just how fast were they, back in the day?

In the mid to late sixties the funny car / AFX cars that ran at Laplace
Dragway near New Orleans ran Mid 10s at 130 or so. Seemed fast and
was a really fun show. I remember Candies And Hughes crowding the
9 second threshold in the Moonshot Plymouth! In 1964 I saw a top fuel car
dip into the 7 second range at Fremont in California. Wow!

 

In 1955 Calvin Rice won the first NHRA US Nationals running a 10.30 at 141.95 in a dragster. That was fast in 55.

The Gasser Wars that followed saw times drop and mph run up.

11 years later, the Gas Class was running in 9.50s and nearly 20mph faster.

 

1958 Mercury Marauder. The first factory rated 400 hp motor. 3 spd, column shift with what looks to be bias plys, on a modern track, probably with a traction compound added. Mid 14's at 99+ mph. This would be the pinnacle of 50's automotive performance.

Here is a nice article about the car.

https://www.throttlextreme.com/bigg...nterey-super-marauder-muscle-car-muscle-cars/

The car and motor was restored as closely to stock specs as possible, but I am sure there are some internal machining tolerances, clearances, and bearing and ring material choices utilizing modern materials that reduce internal friction and provide a few more ponies to the rear tires.

 

@jnaki could also give some real world numbers of the late 50/early 60’s times.

 

I don't know why, but is kinda satisfying seeing that old Merc beating a Chevelle.

 

I ran our 55 Ford in 1957. It went in the 18sec range and 80 mph. In 57 a school mate got a 57 Fuelie Vette. He ran 103. My best friend had a supercharged 57 Chevy. It also ran 103 and was the fastest street car around. In 57 I went to the drag strip in Miami. A guy had a Lincoln powered dragster called the Miami Elevator Special. I was amazed when it went around 11.1 and 131mph! I thought nothing could ever be faster than that!
I 65 I ran a 64 Fuelie Vette at 12.5 and 115. I have a 2003 Z06 that is no faster than that.
A really well prepared 67BBC Vette could run in the mid 10s and about 127 Mph. That still pretty respectable for a normally asperated car today.

 

A few racing results, from 1955....

Portland:


Denver:


Idaho:

 

My grandpa told me one time (born in 1927) that when he was young and they saw a car driving really fast they would say "MAN! That guy must have been doing at least 60!" haha...

 

tubman I think it was a NHRA Track.! but its a long Time ago!
I know that the Track in Centeridge's ( east ) was AHRA
thats were I was Racing my Chevelle & English town in Jersey NHRA
If Memory server me right, & I ran Dover No Times this was Money Run's

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

To add a little flavor to this conversation, the Flathead v8 was STILL competitive in various forms of competition up until maybe 1960 ish. What a long sweet ride!

 

Just had another fatality in one here this week

 

If you want to know this should answer questions https://wediditforlove.com/store-dragnews.html

 

My '31 coupe on slicks and the wife's 2019 Mustang GT (on street tires and traction control) both run high 12's/low 13's at around 110.

It's an easy drive in the Mustang and a near-death experience in the hot rod.

 

Hello,

Yes, Howard Johansen did have a fast 1955 Chevy during those early race days. The competition was not slow or lacking knowledge. With the likes of Gene Adams and his fast Oldsmobiles, nothing was guaranteed. The speeds were recorded and they were above average and hard to break.

We have these listed and saved as my brother became a Howard Cam fanatic. In 1960, our Willys coupe had a lot of Howard Cam Company cams, parts and adapters.

So, So Cal history goes back in the Gas Coupe and Sedan Classes throughout during this early time starting in 1955 until closing. When the dragstrips started popping up all over, it was a field day as to which one recorded the fastest speed and wins in those street classes. The flatheads were in a different class, whereas the modified OHV motors ruled the top three levels, A/B/C classes.

Jnaki

We did not see these events as we did not start going to Lion’s Dragstrip until 1956 when my brother went with his friends. My recollection started in 1957 and went on from that point. But the Long Beach Bixby Knolls contingent started with the opening day of Lion’s Dragstrip and did quite well throughout its history, even with Tom McEwen and his 55 Chevy that was “stock” as much as we could chuckle.

 

To go back a little farther, in 1950 Tom McCahill took a new Ford sedan to the Granatelli brothers in Chicago (Grancor) and had them hop it up, and wrote up the whole experiment in Mechanix Illustrated.

When he started his Ford was a little on the slow side, 0 - 60 in 15 to 16 seconds. When they were through he had a car that did 0 - 60 in ten seconds flat with a top speed of 112 MPH. He remarked, the fastest stock cars in America are the new OHV V8 Cadillac and Oldsmobile 88. I can make a bum out of either of them in my lowly Ford.

This was a mild hop up that idled and ran as smooth as a stock engine and did not burn oil.

 

My coupe has a 59 Caddy 390 in it, 750s in the back. So no traction and no weight. It scares the shit out of me if I bury the shit out of it trying to chase someone on the highway. When you get to 90 or 100 or so I'm almost done, too scary.

 

Yeah but that's really living when it might be your last few moments! I do love to bang the gears and glance over at my terrified passenger, though

 

My last trip to Lions drag strip was in 1959. At that time there weren't all that many hot shots strutting around with the red jackets with the lettering on the back "under 10 sec over 150 mph club".

 

I did a little research, and I don't believe that that track was NHRA sanctioned. The reason I ask this is that, quite frankly, a certified 16 second quarter in a stock '50 (or similar year) Merc is almost certainly beyond the realm of possibility.

Let me tell you a little story. In the 1960's, we had two drag strips in the twin cities area. One, Twin City Speedway (later North Star Speedway) was not NHRA sanctioned, while Minnesota Dragways in Coon Rapids was a fully certified NHRA strip. Every year, Minnesota Dragways had several official NHRA meets; if you broke a national record and backed it up, you went into the record books, as simple as that. Back in those days, a lot of local guys, bolstered by their time slips from North Star, would make the trek to Minnesota Dragways, with the certainty that they would return with a new national record. From what I know, every one of them left extremely disappointed.

They shut down North Star in the seventies, so no one was able to check the "accuracy" of the timing system they used. The story I heard was that when someone measured the track in the later years, it was a couple of hundred feet short of a true quarter mile.

Sometimes 16 seconds isn't 16 seconds.

 

In about 1989 wife ran my 57 Fuely at Fremont-real deal-FI 3 spd close ratio 4:11 posi-sticky tires-high 14's and mid 90's Her 55 with a glide and snotty 327 would put about 1 1/2 cars on it at the lights. We also built two cars to run 12.50 class at sears point. One a 55 150 snotty 327, 4:11 posi and turbo 350 with 3000 stall.-easily ran 12.50 best was 12.17 The other car was a 56 2dr very similar but with a 406--would run near 12 flat--we dialed back and ran 12:50 have pics somewhere.

 

I posed the question as all too often you read "it would run 11's all day" for a flathead powered shoebox that in the pix had a single barrel carb!

I drive some very powerful modern cars (650+ Horsepower)and they struggle to get into the 11's.

Either I'm doing something very wrong or those old flatheads were remarkable engines teamed up with with truly remarkable drivers and their imaginations.

I always thought anything that ran 18's in the mid50's would have been considered fast and to be avoided at the traffic lights.

 

I believe you and Tman are closer to the truth than many wish to admit.I love Dreddybears story..Realtime..

 

My 354 hemi, T5, 4.11 geared Model A has run a best of 14.08 at 97 mph with 700-16 Firestones on the back. The car is set up essentially like a late 50s/early 60s hot rod drive-train-wise, so I think mid 14s is pretty accurate for that time period. I think with a little tuning and the cheaters on it now, I could break into the 13s and 100+ mph.

 

Of the three racing results from 1955 that I posted, only one car is faster (mph) than my street driven Chevy II, which is built on mid 1960s technology. Things sure changed a lot from 1955 to 1965. And of course things have changed a lot more in the following 56 years.

If you spend some time driving original stock cars from the 20s-early 50s, you'll be reminded of just how slow they really were. Hopping them up a little bit was fun, but was just a glimmer of what was to come in the next few decades.

 

Took a ride in my Mom's boyfriend's new '50 Olds. He punched it to give me the thrill of my life. Might have done 17 seconds in the 1/4.

 

Back in 1955 the tracks weren't prepped like they are today. Lucky if they got a clean sweep prior to races even. And of course tires were pitiful. And speed equipment was not as advanced as today's aftermarket is. It was a whole different world of drag racing, and a lot simpler too.
Might not compare to anything run down the drag strip a decade later, but it sure was fun as a young guy to see that old school racing, and see the faster cars laying down rubber and smoke the length of the drag strip!

 

If you're going by the numbers published in magazine road tests, remember that most of them back then were timed with handheld stop watches.

 

Tubman.. I am the Type of Person that tell's the Truth & when I said
that I did the 16 second in my 50 merc It because I did it,!
and it was a NHRA drag Stripe & I wish i had the Letter that was sent
to me, but I was racing my 64 Chevelle trying to get my Times down.!
I told the Track that if it took that long to break my Time, he coulf have it

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

Haha, I can say the same thing. My '12 Mustang GT runs 7.92 @90, which is identical to the timeslips the previous owner showed me for my '30 A sedan. There's quite a bit of difference in "road feel", though.

How fast something is, is relative. As you can see by the event results, a car that traps 120 in the quarter was national caliber in the '50s, local hero in the '60s, a pretty fast daily driver in the '90s, and getting outrun by completely stock cars today.

 

In 1954 at Akron the fastest dragster, FH fueler ran 12.20 around 120 MPH. Arfons got a 140 but lousy ET. He was afraid to hook up off the line. He did that 140 in a little over 1/2 the track. Things changed dramatically in 1955