Thanks Tweed. And "dig" that Jenkins Competition decal on the rear quarter panel. It's the very first time I've seen it on an Oldsmobile! Pete P.S. Hmmm...maybe there's some connection with Doc Burgess' "Black Arrow" 442 and the Jenkins Competition decal on this car?
That is one cool-looking 442! Ditto for Sox & Martin's rig in the background. Thanks for posting it, Tweed. Here are a couple more shots of "Doctor Oldsmobile" a year later at the same race, however, this time as an SS car thanks to NHRA's ridiculous restructuring of Stock Eliminator for 1972. (both photos courtesy of Ralley Bob) Pete
Welcome Tim! I know you from Yahoo!'s StockSSDragRacing group.* I hope you don't mind but I'm posting pix of your 55 Chevy from your album from that group's photo albums section for members here to see. Regards, Pete * http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/StockSSDragRacing/ And finally, Tim's new toy...
Yes, the sound is BAD-ASS! However, having a lifelong preference for Mopar Hemi's, that engine has its unique sound too, one that a discerning ear can distinguish between it and a wedge. Pete
Here are some more for ya, Dave. (Remember those days when a gas station--more times than not--had a race and/or high performance street car parked somewhere on its premises? Sure you do!) Pete
Tim - Great pix -- got any more of Tom's cars. You west cost tri-five guys wer sumptin!! BTW - would you (OR ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE FOR THAT MATTERhave or happen to know anyone that might have an old 60's vintage set of 7" cheater slicks laying around?? Need a set for my "re-incarnation" car! LMK Tweed Keep those pix comin -- heck - we will even take more of the "valley boys" -Glover, Norris, Hedworth, Williard Wright --- Would like to see some of Hedworths little Novas too!!
Pete- Note the Window Sticker still in the window of the white car! Guess I wasnt the only 442 guy that the sticker in his window!! -eh? Heck - his is even 2 years older!! LOL Keep them Pic come -- who knows? This thread might turn into a BOP show yet!! LOL Tweed
Nah, we can't have that! 1956 Chevrolet 210 Two-Door H/Stock Drag Racing Car Chassis No. AZ37848 AUCTION DATE: To be auctioned on Saturday, September 26, 2009 OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE 225 hp, 265 cu. in. Power Pack V8 engine with dual four-barrel carburetors, three-speed manual overdrive transmission, 4.57 Posi-Traction rear end. For vintage drag racing enthusiasts, provenance can often be a frustrating chase; many important cars were sold once the original racer finished competing with it, and subsequent owners would often modify those cars to suit their specific needs, erasing their heritage and making a return to the past a daunting task. This particular car represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a fully documented, record-setting vehicle from drag racings classic age. This is because a man named Jim Lamatrice purchased this 1956 Chevrolet 210 sedan brand new and would own it for the next 45 years. The best option that year was the mid-year release of the Corvette-derived 265 cubic inch, 225 horsepower Pack engine (dual-WCFB Carter four barrels on an inline intake, Duntov-type 30/30 mechanic camshaft), while the identical displacement 210 horsepower Rochester single-four-barrel package also offered the higher 9.25:1 compression that year and was more often selected since it was available throughout the 1956 model run. Both of these Super Turbo-Fire engines came with factory dual exhaust. Jims classic shoebox Chevy also ended up with the three-speed overdrive manual transmission and steep 4.57:1 PosiTraction rear gearing; the overdrive kept the car streetable with a final gear ratio of about 3.70:1. By this time, Chevrolet had begun creating very competitive performance packages around the small-block engine, and all 1955-57 models have a strong following because of their timeless styling cues and this performance heritage a heritage that basically ended the dominance of the flathead Ford V8 in street performance applications. Unfortunately, many of these original Power Pack race cars were radically changed over the years, normally for Modified Production as the need for speed increased, but sometimes even yielding to Gas-class modifications that permanently rearranged the driveline and suspension components. So it is rare indeed to find an example whose competition heritage ended in Stock Eliminator as this 210 post sedan did, and whose equipment as such has remained in place. Because the rules NHRA enforced to keep a car legal in Junior Stock (the division this car would run in for most of its career), all of the correct parts castings are on this period-correct engine heads, carbs, etc. and the block is the same example which was in the car during its racing career. Junior Stock was a true sportsmans racing division, requiring very few actual performance modifications but very careful attention to detail, and these cars competed nationally at all of the larger NHRA events during the era. Living in Sacramento, California, Jim Lamatrice used the new car for street duty during its first years of ownership, but once he caught the bug to actually compete in sanctioned drag racing, he was a serious competitor. Now towed behind Jims 60 Impala to get to the track, the 210 Chevy could be converted with minimal changes (basically intake and carburetor swaps) to various classes of Junior Stock racing between 1957 and 1970, it ran in H,I, N and O/Stock, setting records and winning events, the most important being an O/Stock title at the 1970 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, and a similar crown at the fabled Fuel Gas Championships at Bakersfield later that same season. While Jim conducted almost every change to the car himself, during this time legendary fuel dragster racer and upholsterer Tony Nancy redid the cars interior. After his season of glory in 1970 and faced with rules changes NHRA was making, Jim decided he wanted to enjoy the car in a more relaxed fashion and mildly detuned it for street use; it was repainted metallic brown and driven on occasion until 1978. Living in Arizona by now, Jim parked the car at that point and didnt drive it again until he finally decided to sell it in 2002. It was then that a local restorer, hoping to simply purchase a nice 1956 210, got more than he expected as Jim recounted the cars race history and dug up all of his original documentation at the time of the cars sale. Its third owner, Joe Petralia, decided the car should be as close to competition-ready as it had been in 1970, and did a full restoration to that end, using all the original speed parts that Jim had included and rebuilding the engine to its NHRA-legal 225-hp configuration. Receipts for that extensive work are included with the car. During his period of active competition, Lamatrice built up a substantial collection of documentation on his winning efforts while traveling extensively throughout California to race it. These included newspaper clippings, photographs, pit passes, a record run certificate from 1965 signed by Doris Herbert, publisher of Drag News, and 1320 representative Dave Kempton (this record was set in H/Stock at Vaca-Valley), a very rare 1963-64 Standard 1320 rulebook (also by Drag News), copies of Drag News and National Dragster associated with the cars history, and solid original factory literature from 1956 (for warranty and servicing); this material will be included with the car. An original dealer license plate frame from dealer Frank Hurling Chevrolet in Sacramento (where the car was purchased) is included as well. As mentioned, Lamatrice won his class at the 1970 Winternationals in Pomona; the trophy for that win and associated photographic documentation is also included. There were advertising mentions in periodicals of the era of the cars victory as a result; it was even depicted in one of Petersens annual all-color Hot Rod Pictorials. A racecar that is also completely streetable, this may be one of the finest authentic Junior Stockers of the 1955-57 Chevrolet breed to be offered for sale. And as for its provenance, there is absolutely no question about its legendary past http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars-RW.cfm?SaleCode=RW09&CarID=r187&fc=0 Interesting history. Any of you Left Coast guys know this guy or ever seen this car? Pete
p-426, thanx for the fantastic pictures of Tim Nejas 55 and the Jim Lamatrice 56 Ive been waiting for clear and detailed photos such as these to help with my build of my 56 sedan delivery JR_STOCK recreation, now I feel Im on the right track! again thanx!
It's really fun seeing the launches of the cars of yester year. Those small slicks make them launch with just a hint of daylight under the left front tire of some of them. Back in the day if anyone left with both front wheels off the ground he was the latest god of the track. Flash forward to today and the MAJORITY of cars running even in the lower stock classes are yanking both front wheels every time they leave. So is it only the better tires or what????????
The tires are only a small part of the equation although, obviously, they are an important element. Over the years there have been very significant modifications of the rules that permitted greater sophistication in other aspects of car preparation. I can give you a few and you can connect the dots to see how it all has played out. A little over 20 years ago, NHRA wiped the rule on camshaft duration and overlap off the books and, at the same time, eliminated the requirement to maintain stock valve spring pressures. Instantly, combinations that had been relatively impotent became major players. As cam shaft restrictions were lifted, cylinder head/manifold flow became more critical. A period of "experimentation" ensued. Great gains were realized by "optimizing" OEM parts even further. Radial drag slicks made a about a tenth of a second improvement for automatic-transmission cars. More and more options were developed in terms of transmission gear ratios to get the new horsepower to the ground. Connected with that, torque converter development further enhanced the launch capabilities. NHRA changed the rule allowing "any" OEM transmission with the same number of forward gears to be used. Overnight, 727 Mopar transmissions, stock C6 Ford transmissions, and T400 GM transmissions were put out to pasture. Entire industries were built up around developing transmission gear ratios and coordinating them with converter improvements. Along the way, some combinations flourished while others have been obsoleted or hamstrung by the same rules that created newly dominant combinations. These developments are only a part of the picture but I'm sure that you can see the direction this is headed. Feel free to ask questions if this brief and hardly adequate explanation prompts you to see clarification. Through it all, there has never been a time when the following statement was not applicable: "There's no such thing in Stock or Super Stock racing as a 'killer combination.' It's merely a car that's in the wrong class." That truism is imprinted on my shop wall. c
Hey Bob Rice, how about posting some more of those color shots you recently purchased? I like 66-71 Oldsmobiles as much as the next guy, but we seem to be getting a little bombarded here. IMO the beauty of the Junior Stock class back then was that you had 10 to 15 year old multi-branded vehicles winning National Championships and setting records with no corporate involvement. These cars were built and run by some pretty innovative thinkers with loads of mechanical know-how. It must have drove NHRA and the big three crazy to see an old beater like Tokyo Rose clean-up at the Tulsa World Finals in 1967, especially when selling new cars was the main reason the manufactures were involved in the sport. All that started to change by the late 60's and late models seemed to dominate. The rules were changed for the older models. Coincodence? I kinda doubt it.
RE: 67 W-30's photo post of Ray Allen's super stock Chevelle at the '71 Nationals: This car sold at the Spring 2006 Barrett-Jackson auction for $1.2 million as reported on the B-J website. I believe I saw a photo of it again in an ad for one of the Fall 2009 auctions. Back in the day, who would have guessed?.....
been reading all of these,and it bring's back a lot of the old time,s.i was the teck director at Milan Dragway for 20 years. we ran a stock,super stock eliminator every sunday, i was hurt in a accident in the fall of 84 so after that i'dont no what went on.chrysler stared sending there AMA spec,s therew showing 360 for duration,at that point i think NHRA did away with that part.i think that was early 80,s.every car manufactured has what are called AMA spec,s they not only cover the engine but the body mesurment,s , and weight of every major componet.i think the cheater cam,s came some time in the eary 60,s.jerry stahl would no this i think when he had his gas station in romulus michigan he teamed up with jennkin,s joe lunati, vance brady who was the the teck director at Detroit Dragway and Sam Stockwell who ran the early olds cars.i also worked for IHRA for about 8 years.
freind of mine has some heads ported by Vance Brady on his 69 442. runs 11.50's consistently and drives it home
Thanks for dropping in Jack Braun. Good to have you here. Wasn't Sam Stockwell also a tech director at Milan in the 60's?
4278095] Here's the third pic that goes with the TimTam car that was just reported to be found and going to be restored. I shared these photos with someone else that musta have posted them on ROP.com. The TimTam car has been "rescued" by my friend Steve Hunkins of Columbus Oh and will be restoring it . Steve is the one who also found the Ron Garey/Ben Price 68 Hurst Olds and is in process of restoring it to racecar trim too. This pic of the car is the way Steve found it several days ago and its on his truck heading for its new home!! Steve operates a restoration shop in Columbus. He also owns a fully restored 69 Hurst Olds and also a beautifully restored 70 Skylark GS455 Stage 1. Hes got some nice cars!! Tweed[/QUOTE]
Refresh my memory Pulleeeeze ??? How much did Claude Urevig pay for the Btiggs car when he got it from Ray?? UGH!!!
A Huge Thank You to Ed Parenti for hooking me up w/ the first actual photo of Zorro 409 ive had !!!! thanks !!!!
Hey Folks... just a quick heads up on this.... if you search ebay sellers under entertainment/memorabilia check "crfrompa" thats his seller id. His name is carl and he has literally thousands and thousands of pics from the junior stocker era mostly maple grove,cecil county,numedia. he told me he is printing almost every day...doing b&w stuff first and will be doing color stuff this winter...I have nothing to do w/ him but he was really great to deal with...if you like check him out.
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