Art & Inspiration Traditional images that need no explanation.

Gotta be from a movie?

 

Wife’s Grandfather in this group.

 

Tommy Ivo's 4 engine show / drag car was awful tough on Tommy's back, especially in his later years. I saw Tommy run the car at Good Guys at Indianapolis many years ago. He made 1 pass, and after that pass he said that his back was hurting so he didn't make another pass.

 

The things that pop up here never fail to surprise me, my sister was a secretary at Estee Sleep Shops 65 years ago. Looks like they sponsored a very nice car.

 

A tough way to wash your car, but you have a lot of help.

 

@clem knows the story of that photo.

 

Truth is stranger than fiction!
Hot Rods - ‘57 in the river | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)

 

A Ford engine in a Chevrolet. Now that is uncommon.

 

Nice.

 

Hello,

Wow, a rare photo of Mickey Brown and the Quincy Automotive crew doing some repairs, but, not at Lion’s Dragstrip. Every time we saw the Quincy Automotive FED at Lion’s Dragstrip, it was the number 1 contender for Top Eliminator and we never saw it being worked on to this extent.
At the drags: Mickey Brown, Quincy Automotive FED 1958
My brother and I were in the throes of racing his 58 Impala in the competitive A/Stock class. But, while we shared the pit space with tons of other racers, the Quincy Automotive Oldsmobile powered dragster with a young kid driving was amazing. How could a kid so young be so fast and in that particular team. The Oldsmobile FED was well made and the results of races during that time period was amazing. All driven by a young kid named Mickey Brown.

Jnaki

We had seen the two different versions of the same FED race car. One with a front mounted supercharger Potvin style. The other was a year later with a top mounted supercharger on the same motor. Now, the elimination races were top notch. The competition was not an easy pushover every weekend. With Tommy Ivo, Joe Mailliard +the Sidewinder, Kenny Lindley/Don Hampton, Jack Ewell, Cyr & Hopper, the Dragmaster Group, and Ed Losinski among other racers every weekend trying for the class win and Top Eliminator designation.

Early Mickey Brown Quincy Automotive Oldsmobile powered FED Lion’s Dragstrip


This is a photo of the late Mickey Brown driving the Quincy Automotive Oldsmobile powered FED in the early era of 1959. This was the beginning of the Oldsmobile powered FED. The next level was in this later photo.

The group decided that the top mounted 671 gave them a better all around power for winning.

This was the version that my brother and I saw weekly in 1959.

Note:

1959 Lion’s Dragstrip The Sidewinder VS Mickey Brown in a match race of the year…




"DOUBLE TROUBLE"

Note 2:

Sometimes, tragedy strikes unexpectedly. Whether it was in the “big plan from above,” or a pure accident in the time period. We were all envious that the success of the Quincy Automotive sponsored FED blown Olds powered race car was driven by such a young kid…(actually 21-22).

In the pits, Mickey Brown seemed like a high school kid that was asked to drive this fast FED. But, like most of those early drag racers of the time, Ivo, Prudhomme, McEwen, etc. youth and skill played a big part in racing victories. In physical sports tests, the mean age for peak performance is 26 with some swimmers hitting their peak at 21. We have all seen a decline in our own abilities as we got older, despite the bravado that we could still do anything…

Thanks, Mickey, for the fast action and great driving… We were impressed in 1959. Those were great memories of the racing at Lions.

For us, going back to the time when we were teens to early 20s? Wowee…what a time for reflection and life…

Mickey Brown at Lions Dragstrip 1959

Drag News December 1959

 

I know what you mean. One pic I saw showed a Willys gasser at the Oakland Roadster Show that had my uncle's auto supply logo on it. In a pic at another show, there was a roadster giving credit to Joe's Auto Tops in Napa where I grew up.