Deb's Speed Shop in Mass was the sponsor of Ralph Ridgeway's sizzling C/MP 55 chevy that terrorized and practically owned the class for years! Beautiful 55 with very large 'DEB'S" lettered on the side. Sorry i dont have a pic or i would post. It was a Modified Elimenator car though and maybe not for the Jr Stock thread, but it certainly was a sharp, clean 55!!
Affectionately known around here as "West Virginia" Chrome -- aka silver paint!! LOL. Also know in those days as "poor man's" chrome. (No offense intended to our good West Virginia racing friends!!) LOL. I moved up to chrome-reverse rims later that year.
Hey Joe - thanks for including a Pic of my car in your posting!! We ran the Keystone Kustom Mag Classsics on our Olds then. you will find many pics of Olds with these wheels as Keystone was a partner/sponsor in conjuction with Oldsmobile back then. Most of the "Olds Team" cars received them free. The rest of us were offered them to us for "cost" - about $15 apiece we paid, if i recall correctly! I think retail was around 49.95 then. 15x4's for front and 15x6 for rear. In this pic of my car you see the painted steel wheels on the rear instead of the Keystones. Truth is that we couldnt afford to buy 2 sets of wheels for each set of slicks we had. Had Firestones mounted on one set of wheels and M&H's on the other. Anyway thanks again for pic of my car at 69 U.S. Nationals in Indy!! i always dreamed of having a set of Motor Wheel Fly's but the price was WAY beyond my means!!!
I see the Ford's are making a comeback on this thread. Always thought a (red) 69' Fairlane 428 Cobra-Jet (Fairlane w/coupe style) was one of the sharpest looking cars. The sleeper version, without the 'ram-air scoop'.
No problem... It's a real great shot of your car. Hmmm, I wonder who was a major sponsor of the 1969 U.S. Indy Nationals? -Joe
In looking through old pictures of drag cars and hot rods from the early 1960s, it seems that a LOT of people used the "West Virginia" chrome in those days. One of those "traditional" things you just don't see anymore... I was just looking at the new book I got about crusing Woodward in the 1960s, and there are quite a few pictures of cars from back-in-the-day wearing the silver wheels. The author even commented on this trend. http://www.amazon.com/Woodward-Aven...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290625109&sr=8-1
Wasn't this address the same (or next door) to Hooker Headers?? I remember Jack Davis of Hooker swapping out a defective set of headers for me there in mid 1969...Great Guy!
I held off from answering you until now. No "FUCK'N" tone or attitude here as you put it. Why use that kind of language on this forum? It reflects you age or IQ most likely. I was just giving out some info from the era and its not directed at you or for you. Just facts. You can build whatever you want anyway you want and no one gives a rats a$$. Jr. stock is a dead issue in todays racing anyway. Use hub caps for all I care. If you dont like it tough S$$T. No I wasn't the only one around back then but I was around and racing in Jr. stock beginning in 1962. Where were you? Sorry Colesy.....Im out of here. Great forum but some just dont get it and I apoligise for the foul language.
John, I remember Norm from those days for sure......He came up to the gas station I worked at with Ralph Truppi the night we first started the engine in our H/S Chevy II. I also recall the wagon you guys raced..... I think we spent somewhere around $3500 to build our Chevy II and it was only 2 years old and had 200 or 300 miles on the oddometer..... We had Crager SS's on it. How about "clown wheels" as we called them....Stock rims painted in two colors so they looked funny going down the track.... We had stock rims on our sedan delivery a few years earlier.....no money for trick rims
Those wheels really "pop" on that car since there's nothing else really flashy on that Olds. It's not a 442, it's not even a Cutlass. It's just a plain old nothing-burger F85. Bet there weren't many of 'em equipped that way!
Those 69' Ford Fairlanes (hardtop coupe's) They were available with what; 428/335 HP 390/320 HP 351W/290 HP Were all engine combinations available with the $133 Ram-Air option? pc
View attachment 1158849 Paul. No, all engines could not be ordered from the factory with the Ram Air option. In 1969, the Ram-Air option was only available on the 428 Cobra Jets or opted 428 Super Cobra Jet Fairlanes. The major difference between the CJ's and SCJ's were the SCJ's could be ordered with the optional 3.91:1 or 4.30:1 rear cogs and came with an external oil cooler. This option is known as the "Drag Pack" option. Fords rationale behind the engine oil coolers was; with the increased RPM from the SCJ rear gear option, the engines would need extra oil cooling to try to keep warranty engine claims to a minimum. Horse Power for the 1969 428 FE was 335 for both CJ's or SCJ's. -Joe
The previous post had in my memory bank. This one I had to dig in the garage... Sorry about the pic, I'm too lazy to use my scanner. -Joe
Joe, Thanks, you've got the 'goods'. Was trying to figure out something from back in 1970/1971 The 69' Fairlane (coupe) 351W/250 HP ran in M/Stock The 69' Fairlane (coupe) 351W/290 HP ran in I/Stock The 69' Fairlane (coupe) 390/320 HP ran in H/Stock or SS/J. Does that sound about right?
Paul, Both 1969 Ford Fairlane and Fairlane 500's 2 hdtp. Slightly different shipping weight/HP factors but same classes. This is from a NHRA 1969 Classification Guide. The 69' Fairlane (2dr ht sedan) 351W/250 HP ran in L/Stock (13.20) The 69' Fairlane (2dr ht sedan) 351W/290 HP ran in H/Stock (11.37) The 69' Fairlane (2dr ht sedan) 390/320 HP ran in G/Stock (10.90) The 69' Fairlane 500(2dr ht sedan) 351W/250 HP ran in L/Stock (13.24) The 69' Fairlane 500(2dr ht sedan) 351W/290 HP ran in H/Stock (11.41) The 69' Fairlane 500(2dr ht sedan) 390/320 HP ran in G/Stock (10.93) I don't have a 1970 OR '71 NHRA rule book or classification guide handy. Maybe someone can post that for us. -Joe
Thank You Again, My classifications for the 69' Fairlane were correct for 1970/1971. Just had to figure out a class for my friend. He ran his 1970 AMC Rebel 'Machine 390/340 HP in H/Stock in 70' and 71' versus a (H/S) 69' Fairlane 'coupe' 390/320 HP. Thanks again pc HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Just wanted to drop a line and wish everyone here a Happy Thanksgiving. Its been a pleasure reading the stories from those who lived and enjoyed the golden age of stock. Sadly their seems to be fewer and fewer of them contributing. Doug
alrighty then, here's my contribution, took these many moons ago with my instamatic camera! (wow, page 409!)
[ It's not a 442, it's not even a Cutlass. It's just a plain old nothing-burger F85. Bet there weren't many of 'em equipped that way! [/QUOTE] SEE POST # 8162 ABOVE FOR PIC LOL ---that "plain old nothing burger" 69 F-eighty-five with the infamous W-31 package was one of only a little over 500 W-31s produced in 69 and probably less than 100 of them were built on the el-cheapo F- 85 platform. This car would be a highly sought-after car in todays collector car reatoration market and would really bring some BIG $$$$ if it were done right. Even today, there is one of these 69 W-31s on ebay that is a "dressed-up" hardtop/bucket seater that is reported to have sold a few years ago for over $30K!! and today i would suspect the dealer that is trying to sell it is expecting to get $60K or more for it!! The car in this pic was campaigned by a couple of guys that worked in OLDS Engineering and it got equipped with all the "goodies" that OLDS racing could provide!! Happy thanksgiving!!
Sorry, I thought I left a few things out... Thanks for the assist. -Joe (Nice Cobra by the way, I always like the formal roof cars in black! And judging by all the class win decals in the rear window, I bet it kicked butt!)
Wait,,,,,,, Can or better yet 'could' a 1969 Ford Fairlane with a 390/320 HP be order with an optional 'Ram-Air' package or hood scoop?
GT hood scoop yes, but I'm pretty positive the Ram Air option (air cleaner) was reserved only for 'R" code 428 engines in 1969. -Joe
Joe. Found the information. The $133 Ram-Air option was for the 428 CJ or SCJ only. The hood scoop option $84.25 was available on any engine package, just non-functional. SCJ engines externally balanced, to due to the heftier connecting rods?? I'm guessing in 1969, a good running G/S car (10.50-10.99 wt/hp) would have to be running low 13.00's @ 107 mph.
Paul, Yes. This info is from the 428 Cobra Jet registry: (None of the parts of the 428 SCJ reciprocating assembly interchange with their 428 CJ counterparts. Mixing SCJ and CJ parts can cause severe balance problems. It may be possible to mix components if every component of the reciprocating assembly is dynamically balanced.) -Joe
Joe, Not alot of machinists knew that. If you went to a 'Crankshaft Grinding Co" and went for an exchange instead of getting the crank you dropped off back,,,,,,,,,, there could be big trouble. Always get the same crankshaft back I say.. I wonder how many guys swapped in 428 Cobra-Jets and claimed 390's, at the non-tech drag strips.
Paul, I bet a few. And I'm sure the complete opposite is true for many non race cars. How many guys out there are claiming they have a "428", when there's really only a 390 under the hood? I know Ford's not alone on that one. Anyway, back to the stockers! -Joe.
I believe the John Frith car in post #398 was a former Parham and Payne car. John passed away in 1972 but his wife is still alive and I'm trying to find out what happened to the car.
The Jalopy Journal
