I was fortunate to have been here, along with 3 members of the Draggin' Derby Hot Rod Club ( Chenango Valley NYS ... 2 are no longer... May they R.I.P.
My Mom & Dad honeymooned there & then continued up into Canada camping for a while after! Thanks for the video, I will send it to them God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
What a terrific film! That was grassroots racing. Homemade dragsters, safari helmets. Guys standing in the dirt tearing engines down, not an enclosed trailer in sight. Dudes in Indian garb at the starting line, and the Golden Sahara to boot! Thanks for posting!
Hello, Our goal from the fall of 1959 was to build a fast gas coupe to run in the B/gas and C/gas class at the drag strip. Once that was on its way, we made specific plans to go to the Detroit Nationals in September of 1960. The 1940 Willys Coupe build was up and running in January of 1960. It ran in B/Gas at first and throughout the next several months, we tore it down. The 6 Strombergs on top of a modified 283 SBC motor ran fine and gave us the right step for having a fast drag racing car and a possible street cruiser when we got finished with it. A 13 second time in the quarter mile was not bad. Not as fast as the top racers, but this was our first foray into competition in the gas coupe classes. We went up in SBC motor size 292 c.i and add the latest 671 supercharger Isky-Gilmer Belt Drive Kits that were just being introduced to the drag racing community. We happen to be able to get kit #2 from our friend in Los Angeles with ties to the Edlebrock family. (the kit came with the latest SBC Edlebrock 671 blower manifold) Now, once that motor was assembled and the times started dropping fast, down to the 12 second range. The national record was 12:40 e.t we were at 12:60 e.t. We were now planning on getting ready to finish the Willys Coupe with paint and upholstery to make the trek to Detroit. By the end of July, this was our plan: The plan was to have the 56 Chevy station wagon tow the 40 Willys Coupe back to Detroit. So, by the end of July, we had larger M&H slicks ordered, Halibrand mags and a new two port Hilborn Injector System ordered. They were in a warehouse in Los Angeles ready for pick up in the first week of August. Jnaki As our earlier posts indicated, our 1940 Willys Coupe history came to an abrupt halt in the first week of August and the best laid plans took a nose dive… We never made it to Detroit towing our fast 671 supercharged 40 Willys Coupe. YRMV
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