I competed against the Hernandez kids (current crop) in Stock Eliminator for several years. They are wonderful people and tough racers.
Is this Mike,or his brother Dennis.That is back when the whole family could have fun at the races.Today it would cost $600. to get that group in the door.
Great picture! Nice family outing. Just goes to show how (back then) you could achieve success and national recognition without having to take out a 'second mortgage.' By the way, that 170 HP 283 fit the class perfectly.
Great shot (below) of 'Big John' from one of Bill Cole's (Colesy) earlier posts. John (with more than a 'little' help) from Marv Ripes took the stigma of '--glide' out of Powerglide and dared to reject the 'delivery craze.' If you are fairly new to this thread, use the H.A.M.B.'s 'Search Feature' to learn the whole story about the Barkley/Ripes collaboration ... as Arte Johnson used to say on (70s) SNL -- it's Verrrrry interesting.! As to 'Colesy' ... we miss you Bill. It was pure genius to start this thread, but even with you 'gone' on to Facebook or 'some' other web-based forum, your H.A.M.B. creation lives on still. Too bad your own site effort was aborted -- REAMS of stories, data, and images lost forever.
Luved the story 'header' CC Mag gave to their piece on Larry (Walker's) ride --- "Walk On By." By the way, anyone notice that Larry's '57 was fitted with a '58 hood? Complete with Ford's very-own faux 'hood scoop,' it was (probably) OK with 'The Farmer,' as it fit the definition of "mild customizing." Wonder if he 'opened it up'?
Pretty sure that was (DIV. 7's) Jay Hamilton @ Bristol in '66. No wonder they called it "Thunder Valley," even the Junior Stockers 'sounded like' B Gassers!
Lyn, you may have a clearer recollection than I but I thought that the Z16 1965 Chevelle was a 2-door hardtop only combination. I checked this website <http://www.z16chevelle.com/Z16 Facts.htm> and the GM spec sheet reproduced there indicates that those cars were all 2-door Sport Coupe - 4 passenger. Am I correct in remembering that as the designation of a hardtop with bucket seats? I checked Dwight Southerland's handy-dandy classification site <http://www.classracerinfo.com> and it appears that a series 300 2-door with the 350 horsepower, 327 would have broken in the same Stock class as the SS396 hardtop. If my calculations are correct, an SS396 Malibu had a shipping weight of 3349 pounds with a classification factor of 8.93 pounds per horsepower while a series 300 sedan weighed only 3056 that produced a factor of 8.73. I don't remember exactly what the class breaks were in 1965 and there were some funky class breaks back then but those two cars should have been in the same class. Both were originally, and still are, "stick only" combinations. Over the years both cars have been the recipient of numerous horsepower adjustments and, at this point they are several classes apart. I don't remember too many 350 horse '65 Chevelles on the track. In fact, I don't remember seeing an A/S small block car such as the one pictured on this page back in the day. They, too, must have been somewhat rare. What do you think? Highest regards, c
In '65, there were a little more than 6000 Chevelles built with the L-79 (350hp, hyd lifter) engine. They were available in all models of the Malibu, including the SS and El Camino. (even wagons). Verne
Here's the weight breaks for 1965. Also I've added a link to a thread for copy's of several years of NHRA rule books. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nhra-rule-books-1958-present.870742/
So, it appears that either combination would have fit nicely into A/S and that the small block would have been closer to the actual break?
I don't remember too many 350 horse '65 Chevelles on the track I owned a 65 with the L-79 350 and wish I had never sold it back to the guy I purchased it from but he really wanted the car back. Jimbo
1965 NHRA Junior Stock World Champion was Doug Kahl from Lansing , MI, who drove a 1962 361 CID Plymouth wagon.
The 65 Chevelle L-79 350 I had ran in B/S or a least that's where they put me. Mine looked just like the white one in the photo except the exterior was gold and interior was black. The late Dick Moroso set up the engine and tuned the car. Had a Sig Erson cam, 4.56 gears and Hooker headers and a few other neat tricks done to it. Jimbo
Sure is a FINE looking all-white 65! After selling my 56 Pontiac to a bracket (ugg!) "racer" in '70 (lots of Jr. Stockers were sold and simply disappeared that year), in '75 some friends (Lee Sherman [R.I.P] in particular) made me an offer that was tough to refuse. They knew I had recently discovered a newly-arrived front-end 'crunched' '65 Malibu 4-Door at a local junk yard and was interested in putting together a 220/283 glide car for M/SA. The 4-Door Malibu fit the class PERFECTLY @ (exactly) 14:00 lbs per HP. (3,080 LBS). Well -- Lee and some other great guys lent me most of the driveline, I obtained and prepped the body and the project 'came together' very quickly. I made just ONE outing to a local track and was happy to turn in a few mid-high 13s. Sounds good -- right? Well, (now the sad part) I few days later I received latest 'National Dragster' in the mail and was rudely informed that my 220HP 283 had been "refactored" to 225 HP. A 5 HP increase might not sound like a 'big deal,' but the net result was that my (previously 'perfect for the M/SA class) Malibu was now a poorly-positioned L/SA @ 13.68 (on a 13:00 break). The car was simply no good for the class it was built for. Gave it one shot (@ Cecil) as an L/SA car-- see pic above), but running 13.30s, it could not come near the 13.12 index. Dejected, I gave the (borrowed) pieces back and sold the car. Alas, that was my final foray into Drag Racing. By the way (I think) Chuck Norton had a very-similar experience with a (64?) 4-door Malibu.
Steve, I always remember seeing "Watergate Exxon" affiliated cars at the Maple Grove WCS meets back in the Seventies Of course the name Watergate was quite famous back then for reasons unrelated to racing. Nice Chevelle you had there.
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