http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z115/gthang_08/?action=view¤t=Picture071.flv http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z115/gthang_08/?action=view¤t=Picture071.flv a few links cant get pics to work........1980 challenger 454 american turbine jet.....90mph boat
I have a lot of photos of dragboats, mostly from the sixties, which was the greatest era of boat dragging. I can only post six at a time, so bare with me , I don't mean to hog the entries. Lots of good people and their machines here.
I believe those jumpers were marketed by the sports department at Sears, Roebuck & Co. Not Sears. With the square tail and if the skegs are low wood about ½" wide... I'd have to say, jumpers.
Spike, You stated you had a lot of 60s pics. Do you have any, that you know of, with Pontiac engines. Of course, they would be more common in the early 60s. Also, over the years, I have heard of more than one story of drag boats in the 60s fitted with the M/T HEMI Pontic top ends, or complete engiones, like I have. Do you have any Pontiac boat pics? or know of who may? I am trying to study and learn of everyone who ran a Pontiac, esp a HEMI Pontiac. thanks in advance. Steve Hosting- Pontiac/Buick/Olds FALL FEST Sat Nov 28, 2009 Phoenix www.pbofallfest.org 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! April 11, 2010 Phoenix www.nostalgicshowandgo.org
Applekrate, There were a handfull of Pontiacs being run in the sixties. I know of a boat owned by Roberta Nichols called "The Witch", driven by Jack Siebuhr, that had an M/T Hemi Pontiac. There is a picture of the boat on a site called "The Vintage Hydroplanes", posted by a gentleman named Bob Foley, I believe in viewers albums. Check that photo out. I think Fred Iaia, (Blown Gas Hydro "Sicillian Bandit") ran a Pontiac as well back then. I see him now and again at events. I'll call him and ask if he has any photos he can send, or, post here. There has to be more out there....anyone got any pics??
Applekrate, I had this photo in my files. The picture was taken from the Miller Boats website. Miller makes beautiful boats, and this is but one example of that fact. I thought you might revel in the fact that it's Pontiac powered. The engine is stunning. It wears Edelbrock timing cover/mount, probably same on flywheel end, and a very hot Pontiac six-two barell Ram-Log intake. The trailer is custom painted to match the boat too. The picture was shot in the sixties in front of Miller's shop, in Calabasas, California. That building is now the Calabasas Cantina...I was just there last night for dinner.
Here's a few pictures of a class of racing that is, sadly, no more. These aren't drag racers, they're SK circle racers. The first photo is the famous Stevens SK-45, a record holder driven by Don Towle. This is around '62-'63. The young man leaning on the nose of the boat is Vic Edelbrock ( Edelbrock built the engine for SK-45). Second photo is from 1958, a hard to beat Patterson hulled SK-247 just a movin' and grovin' at the head of the pack. Third photo is another Stevens called "Crazy Thing". Most SK's ran multiple carbs, this owner decided to do it "Italian style", and go with Webers. In the early to mid-sixties, a set of Bill Morse built long "stacks" (zoomies), were the way to go for either dragging or circle racing.
thank you for the info and any help. I have a few sets of M/T HEMI Pontiac heads, some are NOS new and I also have a set that is used. Last owner told me they were on a boat. There could have only been a very few boats that ran a Pontiac M/T HEMI. I am curious if that particular set of used heads I have were on a certain boat? Maybe the one you mentioned? It would be hard to know for sure but, again, there were only a very few that ran this engine. That leads to other questions like- where did the intake, valve train and related parts end up??? The Pontiac M/T HEMI in my Hondo is the only one known to exist as a complete engine. Even the block is unique. Cast by Pontiac but says "M/T" in the casting. It is a factory Pontiac HEMI block with M/T top end. Pontiac & M/T were building some very wild stuff in '61-early '63 before the racing ban. Steve
O/T Applekrate: In the early 60's we ran a little dragster for John Moore,(MorDrop Axles) it was powered by a 4 cyl Pontiac. They called it a "Daytona" and I know it had a forged crank and Forged-True pistons. after running it for several years, the crank was messed up, and John called Pontiac and complained that it only had 200 miles on it, and they sent him a new crank. That engine ran Algon injectors and I always ran 98% except warmup.
Applekrate, Because of your interest in Pontiacs, and Mickey Thompson related speed parts, there's no doubt in my mind that you're a gear head in the truest sense. And why not? Today, it's just too easy, (and a lot cheaper I might add), to go the Chevy route,there's nothing wrong with them, but there's no challenge, and you end up parked next to 100 other guys with the same thing. Early and late Hemis, Nailhead Buicks, big Pontiacs, W-block Chevys(348/409), Oldses, Caddies, big FE Fords, Studes, AMC 390/401 engines.......how cool are these engines! If you're racing your boat, to be competitive in your class you need to run whatever engine, and level of "build" that competition demands. If you are restoring something that has history, you have to use the engine and components that are correct for your restoration. However..................if you're going to build a boat for yourself why not build something so cool, so different, unique, that it captures everyone's attention? There are no rules, (except for don't "screw it up"). I used to work for a man who had an amazing private car collection, I was hired as his personal mechanic to maintain the collection. I asked him once,how come he didn't have a Corvette, a Cobra, a Ferrari... His reply was: Ferrari ? What model? I said 250 Great, what color? I said it's got to be red O.K., fine, he told me that after you take a second out on your house, practically ruin your marriage with all the time you put into the project, and you take your pride and joy to your first car show, and now you park your "special to you" red Ferrari next to 50 other "special" red Ferraris, you realize that after all that, your project doesn't stand out, and there's always someone else who can "out money" you. That's why my former boss had a '53 Buick Skylark convert, a Kaiser Darrin, a Bizzarini 5300 Strada, a Lamboghini Espada, a '49 Triumph 2000 roadster, etc. He has bitchin cars that are different from everyone elses, but cooler 'cause you don't see lots of them. I'm sure that you may never park next to another blown, injected M/T aluminum Hemi Pontiac, and to me, that's in a league of it's own. "The only difference between mediocre and exceptional,..is effort" And you can quote me.
V-Drives are bad ass...30 years ago a buddy had a 19footer with a 454 in it. we used to show up all the old hairy backed bald fat guys in their "squirt" boats. They made lots of noise but we made lots of speed!
we literally dug this out of the river bottom this summer with the help of my brother. it was in the water for several years. great story. the p o clipped a rock with it several years ago. it knocked a small hole in the bottom. He jumps out grabs his hi-po outboard off the boat and down it goes. fast foward 4 years. Im out buzzing around on my old stand up jet ski (if ya have an old one I would like to buy it) and I see the boats nav light. thats all that was sticking outta the river bottom. so we return with shovels. the boat was under 3 feet of water. we dug out the stones and muck for an about an hour. I noticed that the boat was riseing. No shit. so as we dug the higer it went. before you know it we were floating. not well mind you but it was floating. I hooked it to the ski and towed it near shore. we finished digging it out and flipped it on its side to wash it out. Its now at my dads waiting. I gota do some paperwork so I can leagally claim it as an abandoned boat. I would love to put the old tube style drive in it.. anyone got one?
I know hot rodders and hot boaters are basically cut from the same cloth, so, come on you guys out there, I know there are more photos and stories out there. You'd be suprised how many garages have a hot flatbottom or hydro collecting dust, or rotting away outside(shame on you). Let's see 'em.
That is one airborn shovelnose.I think hydros look cool, but will stick to flats. We used to race a hydro, I never drove it, the 3 hop rule wasent for me.
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