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I helped build a gasser in the late '60s, but never got a picture of it. It was an Austin 4-door that ran out of central Illinois and raced by Wayne Danner and Arlyn Fulk.
For a while it was dark blue with a max wedge motor.....then white pearl with an injected Hemi clutchflite, and called "Mother's Pearl".
Anyone got a picture? My scrapbook will never be complete without it!
Get ahold of Bob Plummer at Drag racing memories he might have a pic of it or he will know who does.Quote:
Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT
Thanks for the tip.
Hotrod,
I think I remember you saying that you spent some time at Indy Raceway Park back in the '60's...:rolleyes: I am from Indiana (Greenwood) and spent many a Sunday afternoon at IRP watching the drags. Do you remember the Moody's from Bloomfield, IN? Gene had a '55 Chevy gasser that won the U.S. Nationals 3 or 4 times (He kept down-sizing the engine and running lower classes each year). I think that car still exists; I believe I have seen pics of it at a show on Hotrod Hotline. His brother (Ralph?) had a '37 Chevy coupe running a blown big-block Chevy. Both cars were painted gold.
Do you remember the Ulrey Brothers Fords? They ran out of southern Indiana somewhere and were always tough... How about a Modified Production gold '63 Fairlane, later painted red & white, called "Stronger Than Dirt"? That was one of Bob Glidden's first rides...:cool:
I came for the Nationals '62-'74, and sometimes the divisional event.
I remember the Gene Moody Gassers! ...and I want to say that at some point I think it was Moody-Jones on the '37. Those cars were already nationally known back then!
I'm sure I probably saw the others, but when I first strated going there was no qualification necessary to enter, and there were about 2,000 cars there. Too long ago to remember them all. :-( Great times though!
I do remember when the early rear engined "ReEntry" fueler rolled in the lights, and just missed my 409 '62 Biscayne parked against the fence!
We also included the car show every year at the Murat Shrine Temple downtown. We got to see cars like the Monkeemobile, The Undertaker, and all of the famous dream rods!
Here is my old one-
John Deere Green over a taxicab yellow. God knows what was under that.
Just like that!
A friend in Canada just picked one up. It will become a nostalgia racer, after his Fuel Altered is finished! :-)
Too small for my large ,Unh Humm:rolleyes:,frame and could not bring myself to destroy the history ,so sold it.
I was at IRP for the first U.S. Nationals there in 1961. Somewhere I have some black & white pics from then. I was 13 years old and I was really impressed by the modified roadster class. Also, Eddie Hill had a twin Pontiac engined rail with dual slicks... If I can dig up the pics, I'll post them.
I wasn't there in '61, but wasn't that the year they had to repair the starting line after Eddie ran? :-)
Yep. If memory serves, the place had only been open a couple of weeks before the Nationals. The blacktop was brand new and probably not "aged" enough to stabilize it completely. Those dual slicks left divits in the blacktop...:eek: That car was amazing; twin blown Pontiac engines sitting side by side in a "V" configuration in a rail with about a 98 inch wheelbase. He must have had cast iron balls to drive that thing.:HMMM:
1964 is the year that stands out in my memory. The SS Dodges & Plymouths with the new 426 Hemis were just awesome to watch. They would stage and power-brake those things so that the slicks were chirping on the asphault. When they launched, they would roll out easy for a few feet and then rise up about 3 inches and take off like they were shot out of a gun. Meanwhile, the Ford Thunderbolts would send their tires up in smoke trying to get going. Roger Lindamood in the Color Me Gone Dodge won the SS class.
Top Fuel went to a group known as "Frantic Four". After they blew an engine earlier and there was some dispute over whether they got it repaired in time, they finally made it to the final round and set the fast time of the day; something like 204 mph... Interestingly, they were running a 354 Hemi instead of the 392 or 426!:3dSMILE:
The Sachs & Son's Super Cyclone was there, too. For thos who aren't familiar with it, the Super Cyclone was a full-bodied '64 Mercury Comet with a Ford 427 "cammer" on alcohol and an in/out box instead of a transmission. Since it didn't fit any other class, NHRA officials put it in B Fuel Dragster! I don't know if it won the class, but I remember it put several rails dragsters "on the trailer".:cool:
Those were the days...:D
I don't have a favorite year....but the '60s was the best decade!!! Back then it was like a car show with chrome, & polish, metalflake, candy, leafing, and real pride put into the cars appearance! They did not look like a box of somebody's product.....laxitives, botox or whatever. :-(
I liked the gassers, as I saw them as a real car with a dragster engine!
I like the Funnies until the late sixties, since there was a lot of variety in the chassis, engines and bodies....and I still saw many of them as real detroit tin, and the engine had to be the same brand as the body!
Top Gas Eliminator was a great show, with all of the twins running then. Gopher State Timing Assn. was a "fave".
I especially liked the fuel dragsters of the late sixties. Nothing quite as beautiful as a full bodied slingshot, with a tailpiece! Pure drag race! They also had lots of variety with early & late Hemis, cammers, and an occasional Chevy bigblock or 429 "shotgun". It was the best time!
Yes, those were the days and much simplier times. Speaking of Comets with the 427 'Cammer' under the hood, here is a couple of pics of another one.Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Robinson
Mike
Ooh! Altered wheelbase cars; the original funny cars. Those made their debut in 1965 and they were too cool. I have toyed for years with the idea of building one for the street... I remember the car above and there was a Falcon similar to it; they both had those doofy looking rear wheelwells:rolleyes:. Cool cars otherwise. I wonder what one of those SOHC Ford engines is worth nowdays?:confused:
When the modified roadster class went away, I became a real fan of the old gas-class coupes and sedans. They probably put on the best show back then.:D Unfortunately, there was no restriction on what type of bodies could be utilized; when Ohio George and others showed up with Mustang bodies, the class was ruined forever. Didn't take long for it to die out then...:CRY: