I did a search here and many other places to find out what cl*** a coupe like mine would be running in during the early '60's. I've got a '34 Ford 5W, chopped, open headers w/o exhaust under it, no fenders or hood, SBC, manual ****** and weighing in at 2106lbs. fully fueled. All I can find is the cl*** designation for a fendered coupe; A/Gas. Any help? Thanks, Vance
buffaloracer: No fenders makes it an altered. What he said. Not to mention the absence of the hood. 2100 lb with a small block might be C/A, but of course the NHRA adjusted the pounds per cubic inch cl*** breaks from time to time, so I would depend on what year you were really trying to replicate.
There was a thread here last year on the same subject. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177486 Looks like 2100lbs and a 283 would of put you in B/A. In 1958 Craig
Now I'm really confused. According to the link that squirrel posted in the about thread, my coupe doesn't fit into each of the cl***es for the given reason; Hot Rod - Rules mandate engine and body make must match, I'm running a Chevy mill in a Ford car. Modified Production - Rule mandate that original firewall, floorboards and fenderwells must be retained. G***er! Street Division - Must have fenders Modified Production (Altereds!) - The altered cl*** as it calls for roadster bodies. I know this may seem like I'm knit-picking, but I'm really just trying to figure out where I would fit in. Thanks, Vance
yep, a LOT of altereds weren't roadster, take the front clip off your 55 chevy ,or your 33 willys and bingo, instant "altered".. Back when there was cl*** racing ,it was easier to choose a weaker cl***, based on car counts..saw it done all the time..............
It'd be an altered, like buffaloracer said, and since it's a coupe, more than likely it'd be around a "C" altered due to its weight.
roadsters and coupes without fenders where cl***ed as altereds and allowed 25% engine set back look up lil screamer,g***ers full fendered and allowed 10% modified production where not allowed any set back
I figured there might be some kind of cl*** 'manipulation' that wouls make things work, whether it be at a local level or higher. I think they'd rathe put a car in a cl*** than tell them no and not take their money. So for all intensive purposes, I can call it either a B or C Altered, depending on the weight vs. cubes. Thanks guys! Vance
I took a second look at one of those pages that squirrel posted on an older thread and my coupe actaully fits into the Comp Coupe cl***. http://www.selectric.org/ahra/1966rules/40.jpg Problem solved. Vance
Compe***ion coupe (NHRA stuff here) would have been distinguished from altered primarily by engine location...more than 10 % setback. A cc could vave been either based on car frame (think Pierson brothers) or just a dragster with a coupe body thrown on at this period. With engine in stockish location and no fenders, yours must run as altered even if streetable...in other words, in 1960 you would have had to run your streeter against full boogy race cars. Gas cl*** was sort of schizoid all through its history...it contained cars that were full on racers, though meeting the rules with lights and fenders and such, as well as normal driven cars such as mildly hopped early Fords and '55 cChevies. Modified production was an attempt (Maybe about 1963??) to separate streetable cars from the likes of Stone-Woods-Cook. About 1963, the pro-level g***ers started ignoring minor rules and abandoned stuff like the token single muffler dangling under the car. A minor local meet would have seen gas cl***es filled with daily driver '55 Chevies. I can't recall an exact year, but until early 1960's roadsters and coupe/sedans were separated at each level into roughly equivalent cl***es: Street roadster/gas coupe/modified sports (roadsters were a bit looser than coupes and could be fenderless) altered coupe/modified roadster compe***ion coupe/comp roadster a fenderless street coupe was in a bad position; you would have been running against tube framed Fiats and such! A slight mistake in building could even have dumped you into compe***ion coupe...you would have had the same chance as a traffic cone. Pick a year and get specific rules...I have books from some years in this period.
In the mid 50's my fenderless 34 5 window with a big flattie with everything in the stock position was put into A/altered and like Bruce said, had to run against some really hot dogs!!!! Bruce
When Mid America Raceway in Wentzville, MO was open, they ran the cl***es at their nostalgia races using on old rule book (late 60s maybe). Based on lb per cu in, I ran A/A. That was a with a 406 and the car weighed 1975 lbs. I think anything 5 lb per cu in and under was A/A. 6lbs was B/A, 7 lbs was C/A, etc. E/A was traditionally a 6 cyl cl***.
A couple of points here. Number 1, NHRA and IHRA sorta had similar names for their cl***es. AHRA cl***es don't really fit with the others. A NHRA altered might be a AHRA Hot Rod. Since NHRA has always been the most popular sanctioning body, people kinda relate to their cl***ification. Number 2, Since these are Drag RACING ***ociations, a street car had a snowballs chance in hell of winning. Several of the cl***es were started as street/strip cl***es, but after the first week of racing the street part took a back seat. I think altereds, g***ers, and modified production all started as cl***es for dual purpose cars, but quickly became race car only deals. Larry T
No one has ever come up with a formula to keep a slot safe for streetable cars... MY formula would be to limit gear ratio to anything in the 3's and...require the cars in that cl*** to be left idling in impound for 1/2 hour before their call...heheheheh... A specific year is always important in cl***ing, as rules kept evolving AND letter designations changed as bigger engines became available and different ways were tried for cl***ing supercharged vehicles. Decide what year you're living in...then you can be fully cl***ified. Probably as stark mad...ain't nobody here living in 1990, or whatever the hell year they claim it is.
The altered cl***es were cobined with the roadster cl***es in 1963 or 1964, cant remember which. The same is true with the Compe***ion Coupes and the Modified Roadsters. This was one of the first NHRA "enhancements".
Most likely it would have been an altered. Comp Coupes were usually a dragster, with the driver behind the rear axle, and the motor about in the middle of the car. An altered usually had no fenders, and the engine was pushed back no farther than 25%. That means 1/4th of the wheelbase, from the center of the front axle, to the first spark plug. It could never have been a g***er, since they absolutely always had fenders and a hood.
Streetable cars will never have a "safe" place to race, as somebody will always be willing to go the extra distance to disguise their race-only car as a streetable car. Case in point: Me A few years ago I built a steel bodied roadster pickup truck to run in the local drag strip's STREET division. I made darn sure this car had headlights, horn, tail lights, brake lights (thumb switch activated), turn signals, charging system, cooling system, and mufflers. In short, if it had had a windshield I could have driven it to the track. It had 2.47:1 rear gears - the tallest gears I could find - it would hook in a mudslide, and a 300 Ford inline six with a stock short block that could sit and idle all afternoon on a 90 degree day. BUT... It also has a narrowed 9" four-link rear with spool and 12" wide wheels, Powerglide race trans w/ 4000 stall converter, torsion bar front end w/ spindle mounts, tube ch***is, battery in the rear, two trans coolers, yada,yada. (all within the allowable rules). It made the most trap speed in the cl*** and ran right on the 12-second flat minimum imposed e.t., going through the lights at 4600 RPM. My efforts were rewarded with numerous wins, a track championship, and enough race winnings in two years of racing to pay for the entire car, after which I retired the car in race ready condition. Sooner or later somebody is going to build a Hambster drag car along similar lines of thought. They will probably get criticized for "taking the fun out of it" and "buying a championship". The truth is that the more restrictions that are imposed on any cl***, the more ways ingenious racers will find to gain an advantage.
WOW! What a wealth of info. I spoke to a friend who has a '64 NHRA rule book, so I'm gonna go by that and call it done. When I get it and figure it out, I'll post what I find. Thanks for all the help. It's interesting to see what people still remember from that far back. Vance
Here's the one that I'm buildin'...I have more old 5 window pics from early 60's magazines. I don't have time right now but,I'll try to post them over the weekend. Smokey
I don't know how the pic size will be but, here's a couple more. The car that has B/A on the door has a 399 cubic inch engine. That is what it says in the article.(March '61 Hot Rod Mag.) the A/A car with the rear moved front is in the same mag issue.
opps, I forgot. The blue A/A cover car pic is from the '61 Winternationals. It ain't a '34 but,I thought you would like it. It is a way neat piece... Smokey
I checked, I have 1959, 1964, rule books And the cl***ic work from AMT..."A Day at the Drags", circa 1960...anybody else have that??
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