I just have to add to this thread. It has been a life long bucket list item to go 100 mph in a drag boat. A couple years ago a buddy made my dream come true. Vintage Hondo, V-drive, nasty 454, tunnel ram, roller cam as so on. He called me at work and said to meet him at the lake after work. We unload the boat, and leisurely cruise around the lake for 15 minutes or so. Then he says are you ready? Time to get it on. He set his phone with a GPS app. in a special holder on the dash. After quickly hitting 105 mph he reaches for the nitrous button and I had to tap him on the shoulder....no thanks, 105 is fast enough.....but looking back on it, I wish I had let him do it. Still get goose bumps. State of Nebraska Game officers were waiting at the ramp. They never said a word. Gary
Here's the "Vintage Drag Boat" photos from my Fremont Drag Strip / Boat Drags: Circa 1961 PICS!!! thread: Fremont Dragstrip mastermind, Ron Lawrence pumped in San Francisco Bay water to create a four foot deep lake located on the east side of the strip along side the return road ... and called it "Fremont Marine Stadium."
Did Dick Williams own that Pony Tail ".......I know he had a couple or 3 of them, as I recall they were Rayson craft's ,.........I raced with the Williams family from 1961 to 1967.
Does anyone have memories, recollections, accounts or photo images of a late 60's through 70's fuel drag boat racer from California named 'Purple Jack' A.K.A. 'Purple'. He was the California Rep. for 'Purolator Filters'. He had Purple everything, i.e. Drag boat, Cadillac Eldorado, Glasses, Leisure Suit, shoes, and his wife even wore all purple clothes. It would be great see someone share about him.
In the early years, classes were determined by cost of engine and Cubic inches. "E" rules stated not more that $1250 and 246ci. Good information here: https://www.philkunzphotography.com/class_vintage/vintage_flatbottom_1.html
Can anyone help with the purchase of a wood deck flatbottom, I would like a completed boat (I've had to many birthdays for a project)? I'm also looking for 348 - 409 boat parts to repower a flatbottom. If you have any pictures please post or send along...."Kungaloosh"
Not a drag boat unless you consider dragging in front of a bar decades ago "drag". Bought it to preserve the neighborhood history but am trying to determine the builder. Guessing '60's from the deep entry bow, back to back seating and the way the gunnels round off at the rear. Bonus points for anyone knowing the history of how and why it wound up in front of Harry's! Hopefully Spike or Rich know.
I'm guessing that's an aero engine in the Purple People Eater - any idea what it is? The gentleman who did the bodywork on my avatar rebuilt the Agressor hydroplane. It runs a Merlin engine... headers are big enough to run Campbell soup cans as covers. Video below shows some footage before the restoration, and some after. The little boy in me wants a Merlin, but has no idea what I'd run it in. Cheers, Harv
Ahh.. the good old days of the Merlins and Allisons! That's why they are called "Thunder Boats". The turbine powered boats of today just aren't the same. There's a heck of an Unlimited Hydro museum in the Seattle area.
Hello, My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were sitting around deciding what to do on a bright, sunny day in the summer of 1967. We had just visited her mom and dad and so we wanted to do something completely different. So, how about a visit to the nearby Long Beach Marine Stadium for some drag boat racing? We grew up in the area and then, it was about a mile away from our college campus. That whole marina area played a big part of our being together. Whenever we could between classes, we would take a short drive to the sandwich shop, get some fabulous sandwiches/drinks, have lunch near these big sailboats and humongous power boats, then think of something we could be doing if we had a boat. Who would have thought that together, we would have a hot rod project 327 powered sedan delivery in a couple of years. And, later on in our lives, we would have a series of sailboats going on 20 years of being together, sailing all over the So Cal coastline and harbors? Just around the corner, the Marine Stadium and the drag boats were also a draw for us, too. Jnaki It just happened to be the big summer drag boat championships so, luckily, I had my 16mm color movie camera with me.
Hello, This film was taken at the Long Beach Marine Stadium in the Eastside of Long Beach. It is a fresh water outlet joining the salt water ocean at the bay/stadium entrances. The salt water infusion usually wins. But the nearness of Belmont Shore gives the whole area a connection to Long Beach and its water sport oriented city. It is a historic landmark and it was one of our inland beach/water sport places that drew people from all over the southland. “It was built for the 1932 Olympic Rowing events of the 10th Olympics. It was the first man made rowing course in the United States. Its width allowed four teams to race abreast, eliminating additional heats and allowing oarsman to enter the finals at the peak of their form.” The location of the water oriented stadium was close enough for our dad to attend the Olympic events, go to school a few blocks away at a college campus (LBCC at the Wilson H.S. campus, since 1927) and get hit by the big Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. Jnaki For years, we had been attending the Marine Stadium for various events as kids. Finally, in 1967, my wife and I attended a Summer Drag Boat Championship event. Of all of the boats in attendance, this one stood out among the race boats. There were a lot of cool boats. It was a dual 671 hemi motor powered hydro hull in it shakedown runs. Twin Hemi Hydro Hull
The Jalopy Journal
