According to Don, the car was never "restored", and everything is original other than the paint, and lettering naturally. I'm sure it had been cleaned up well at some point because it is absolutely pristine. I guess it comes down to what the definition of restored is.
Man, I love those early 60s Pontiacs. Back when I was first getting interested in cars and drag racing there weren't any Pontiacs seriously campaigned at the local track. There were a lot of Chevys, some Dodge/Plymouths, and a few Fords but that was pretty much it. These days I'm happy to see any of the old cars still out and about regardless of make.
I grew up with these cars and after the Camaro's, GTO's, Mustang's came out and into the mid 70's you couldn't give these cars away. Now I'd have to mortgage my house to own one. Pat
You and me both. Maybe because I used to get a ride to school in one not a LW but just a plain jane one but the driver was this very good looking older woman that was a neighbor why she must have been all of 17 and I was in love with her and the car
The Old Reliable II Drag Team hooked up with tow bar. This shows in the good old days even famous teams flat towed. The legendary 409 Turbo-Fire engine as installed in Old Reliable II. With two Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetors and the early 1962 solid lifter camshaft, the engine was rated at 409 horsepower. The trophy run for A/Stock class at the ‘63 NHRA Nationals matched Don Gay's ‘62 Pontiac against Northwind, a ‘62 409 Bel Air set up by Bill Jenkins, and driven by other members of the Jenkins Competition team. Gay defeated the Chevy entry with an ET of 12.81 and 111.52 mph. Jack Chlebowski leaves the line at Erie Dragway in his AHRA A/Stock 1962 Chevy record holder in 1963 Top Stock at Erie Dragway in the summer of 1963 usually involved the Dick Glenn Motors ‘63 S/SA Dodge, "Knight Train", which had a 426 Stage II Ramcharger package. Things of note include the home-built tubing headers in the front fenderwell, American Mag wheels (illegal in NHRA S/SA), and white sidewall Casler cheater slicks on Rader Wheels (which were NHRA legal in S/SA) Karnig Karadizian makes a pass at Lions Drag Strip in the summer of 1963 with the Blair’s Speed Shop ‘62 Plymouth. With a pair of blower scoops mounted on the hood over the Carter AFBs, the Plymouth was forced to run in AHRA Super Optional Stock at Lions, an AHRA strip. Karadizian also drove for the Milne Brothers super stock team on occasion. A race at Erie Dragway in 1964 matched the Hine Motors ‘62 413 Dodge against the Hartley Motors ‘64 Dodge Hemi-Charger, without benefit of a handicap start. The ‘64 Dodge was later modified with the 2% wheelbase alteration as well as having a beam axle.
At the beginning of the 1964 season, Mercury released the 427 Comet. Built to compete in A/Factory Experimental class, there were eleven Comets built: ten 2-door coupes and one station wagon. The wagon was campaigned by Don Nicholson, who switched from Chevrolet after the ‘63 season. Seen here at Detroit Dragway in Spring 1964, the wagon had already been handed over to Eddie Schartman when Nicholson’s coupe was finished. Under the hood was the now-standard 427 Ford Hi-Riser Mk.II drag engine, with the new head design and 14:1 compression ratio, except that it said “Mercury Super Marauder” on the valve covers. Although rated at 425 horsepower, the new engine was putting out well over 500 horses on the Ford dyno. Detroit Steel and Tubing shoe-horned the 427 Hi-Riser into the engine compartment of the Comet with minimal changes. One major change was a reduction in the height of the shock towers to clear the heads and exhaust manifolds. The dual Holley four-barrel carburetors drew fresh air through a pair of scoops on the leading edge of the hood, rather than through the flexible hose intakes found on both the lightweight Galaxie and the Thunderbolt Fairlanes. The 426 Plymouth Stage II Super Stock engine as installed in Tommy Grove’s Melrose Missile III. The Stage II engine, which was rated at 425 horsepower, had a 13.5:1 compression ratio, with a pair of 725 cfm Carter AFB four barrels on top of the short ram intake. The Dodge equivalent was called a Ramcharger Stage II Doug Lovegrove’s Mashak Plymouth goes against Tommy Grove and the Melrose Missile V during Top Stock Eliminator runoffs at the ‘64 Winternationals. Grove won the race at the starting line as Lovegrove left before the Green. Grove won with a time of 11.63 and a speed of 124.13 mph. Doug Lovegrove’s Mashak Plymouth puts it to Herman Mozer in the ‘64 Ramchargers car in the semi-final of Top Stock Eliminator at the ‘64 Winternationals, turning an 11.69 ET at 121.78 mph. Mozer lost with a better ET of 11.57, and better speed of 125.52, but was caught napping at the start. Lovegrove would lose Top Stock Eliminator to Tommy Grove’s Melrose Missile on a red light. Shirley Shahan, the “Drag-On-Lady,” comes out of the gate at Carlsbad Raceway in late 1964 with her new ‘65 legal S/SA Plymouth. Her Plymouth, prepared by Butch Leal and her husband H.L. Shahan, was a consistent winner on the West Coast in 1965. It would be 1966 before she won her first major title. AA/SA' in 1966 (1963 Dodge '426 Ramcharger'; Gramatan Dodge,) Mt. Vernon, New York photo from Paul Ceasrine. B/SA 1963 Dodge '426 Ramcharger' (426/415 HP non Ram-Air) photo from Paul Ceasrine. Desert Motors A/SA 1963 ford LW photo from Paul Ceasrine. Hayden Proffitt's 62 Chevy
Hayden Proffitt's 62 Chevy View attachment 3156608 [/QUOTE] I have a clear recollection of this 409 being campaigned in B/S by Tom Strunk during the 1963/64 time frame. It may have once been Profitt's car but the car he took to Indy in 1962 was a Bel Air "bubble top." Because of his driving ability and tuning skills Profitt had access to many cars during this time period.
Chuck Norton your comment about Hayden Proffitt was the following, " Because of his driving ability and tuning skills Profitt had access to many cars during this time period. A while back I recreated some decals for a car collector from Washington State who as a collection of old drag racing cars and one of them was a 1962 Bel Air bubble top that he took to Bakersfield last year and he had Hayden Proffitt drive the car for him at the races. I don't know how old he is now but I guess he still drives the old drag racing cars from time to time. Jimbo
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