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Hi, race fans! It's that time again. I posted last years show/race/museum induction in the race gallery. I Took lots of pics this year, so I'll edit and post a few at a time.
First, they had a good turnout for the show. I even met our member "Mike P" and his Hemi powered '57 Plymouth. The car is every bit as nice in person, as in the photos, and so was Mike. :-)
There was a nice selection of post war street machines, muscle cars, street rods, and rat rods. Even a couple old race cars.
Here are a couple more show and street cars. As you can see the weather was great!
I'll get to the race cars later.
Don't believe I've ever seen a pic of Mikey hisself up before. Wonder if that hemi powered pickemup gives him any ideas? Mopars at the strip next weekend guys.:D
Mike said he has avoided having his picture on the net.
He'll thank me when all of those "lonely" e-girls contact him! :-) LOL!
There is always a nice display of historic cars at this event, arranged as part of the Arizona Drag Racing Hall Of Fame Inductions.
I saw a few new ones this year, including the famous '55 Chevy of Gene Moody, which I used to watch at Indy.......and of course, we had another appearance of Tucson's own "world-famous" Speed Sport cars.
Here are some from the Sportsman Pits.
...and more.
...and these.
...and, finally, the Pro Pits! Some famous, and not so famous, cars.
I obviously did not shoot all of the many cars that were here. Just tried to show some new or interesting stuff.
I'll open with the "new" Speed Sport F/C, and the "old" BubbleUp Firebird.
...and end with a few more cars.....some famous!
Thanks for the pics, especially the Speed Sport cars!!!!! Got anymore to the two of them? Great cars, man!!!!
Sorry Dave. I get to see them pretty often, so I don't get as excited as others might. My best memory is sitting in the Phoenix grandstands with Lyle Fisher, about 20 years ago.
I had the original body off of one for a few years. I paid $25 for it! I tried to give it to Garlits who didn't want it, since he had already built a replica. It eventually found it's way home to Red Greth.
The blown car in the picture is not the original. Red built that one about 10 years ago.
I had a great time and want to thank HRP for mentioning the show last week.
" ....Wonder if that hemi powered pickemup gives him any ideas,......" As a matter of fact yes it does Bob, that little pickup was just plain wicked sounding. I was talking to the owners of it (really nice folks) and mentioned I always enjoyed exercises in excess . (As opposed to excess exercise as my picture demonstrates).
The Pro Charger folks (the picture of the blue/orange plymouth) are just a couple of miles up the road from me. They have been doing some interesting stuff up there in their shop.
I met some great people and got a chance to see some really nice cars. Watching the nostalgia funny cars was great and the return road went right past the place where I was parked. All in all it was a good day.
For those who may notice the lack of rain, tornados, snow and ice, not to mention jackets, emergency vehicles and tire chains, in these pictures....
....the traffic here is starting to get congested, and Tucson will hit 1 million in population soon, so when you retire.......stay home! LOL! :-)~
They might not go as quick and fast as today's cars, but they sure are a lot of fun to watch. :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
BTW, A friend from Canada asked me to visit the restored BubbleUp Firebird crew, and I'm pretty sure I saw Roland Leong working on the car!
I'd vote for more Speed Sport roadster pix too............always loved those cars.
Here is a picture I took in 1960. (Just kidding)
If my history is right, this car set a record on the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, here in Tucson.....about 20-25 miles from today's track. They used to race there.
A little more history:
I don't have this sign any more, but Lyle Fisher was a pioneer in the use of motorcycle wheels for drag cars.
When I told Red I had this sign, he told me that the front engined roadster on the sign is a relatively unknown car that Fisher & Greth built, and immediately wrecked in Missouri.
BTW, that little injector scoop was another product they sold. You may recognize it as the scoop used by Chris Karamasines on the Chizler, and on the Bones-Dubach-Pisano 33 Willys AA/Gasser!
When I got the sign, which had hung in Lyle's shop, I could see it was painted on top of another sign, which announced the Air Force Base races, which had been run by the Tucson Timing Association (TTA). A friend of mine duplicated it on sign board.
HEY! I HIJACKED MY OWN THREAD!!!
Here is an article by the NHRA Museum.
The Speed Sport roadster campaigned by Lyle Fisher, "Red" Greth, and Don Maynard, one of the more popular cars of its era, produced record-setting performances from 1956 through the early 1960s. Powered by a 354-cid rear-mounted Chrysler Hemi, the 1,500-pound roadster stunned observers with a speed record of 160.14 mph at the 1957 ATAA World Series and finished the year with a clocking of 169.11 in Tucson, Ariz. Other records include an 8.03, 175.78 in March 1960; a 180.72 backed up by a 179.28 on Oct. 2, 1960; and the Drag News 1320 Standard Modified Fuel Roadster speed mark of 183.67 eight days later in Alton, Ill. The Speed Sport roadster remained competitive well into the mid-1960s, qualifying for Top Fuel at the 1963 AHRA Winternationals and making its final appearance at the 1964 Bakersfield March Meet.
BTW, this car ran nitro through modified Stromberg carbs.
Did anyone else in the group attend?