Old time racing

The southern slingshots and I just returned from a back to back race in virgina. First was a nostalgia event at elk creek va. This is a really awesome track. we were treated really well, and had lots of fun. IHRA. After spending a week at a friends farm, we went to piedmont n.c. ran a test and tune there with a members altered, and saw my first 4 sec pass by a door car. wow. then on fri we went to virigina motor sports park, IHRA now. there were tons of nostalgia carts. we had 14 fed and 1 altered. ran my best time there ,5.91 not bad for a old fart, and hi:D:D:3dSMILE:s 302 chevy powered fed. Had a awesome time.

SWEET!!!:toocool:

5.91 with a 302, would love to see it. And a car with doors running in the 4's?

DOUBLE SWEET!!:3dSMILE:

Thanks for sharing!

Pictures! ....we need pictures! :-)~

there are a lots of pics on draglist.com. I have some but not of the cars running as we run as a group and I am driving.:(:(just come out to some events. we will run with 6 feds on the25/26 of june at reynolds ga, silverdollar raceway.

Thanks 48fordnut! Here ya go:

thanks:):):)

Not a problem. I always loved Junior Fuel!

Wasn't there an injected small block Chevy that won top fuel at Pomona a couple decades ago???

you may be thinking of rick santos, TAD

also 302 FED thats bitchin! ive got a 302 chevy in my nova:eek:

I'd like nothing better than for it to be 1955 again. I don't much like being here in 2010.

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Originally Posted by techinspector1

I'd like nothing better than for it to be 1955 again. I don't much like being here in 2010.

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that`d be ok with me too as long as it`s late december 1955 >> i was`nt born earlier .:)

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Originally Posted by techinspector1

I'd like nothing better than for it to be 1955 again. I don't much like being here in 2010.

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I'm with you Richard, what we need is one those "Back To The Future" cars.:3dSMILE:

Good going, Jim! You've blown away every top time and speed old "Mouse I" ever accomplished! She would be proud of you.

You are the type of hotrodder everybody who is now entering the sport should try to emulate. Both the car and the performance you are getting from it are products of your own ingenuity, sweat, love of the sport, and of course, your money.

You deserve all the pleasure and satisfaction you are getting.

Let me know if you ever come through this area again. I'm buying the adult beverage.


Jim

Thanks for all the Promps:):), you make me feel big. The little girl in the car is what I enjoy. In Va, There was a 80 yr old lady that wanted in the car, pics all around.thanks for the kind words Jim S. OHM/Jim.

id like to go back to 67

The sixties were interesting! I can remember when you might see racers running a blown Olds, Buick, Big Ford wedge, MoPar B-block or Caddy, and they might win! The baddest door cars were AA/GS! ...and they were a real car that a family used, but now had a blown dragster engine! Wheelstands were very tall... gear changes were violent... and your best view of a Top Eliminator race was down track, where you could still see the cars despite the roostertails of smoke!

As the sixties progressed, we saw the evolution of Pro stock from Super Stocks with a tunnel rams and giant cams and tires, and the funny cars, which evolved out of the matchracing Super Stocks and FX'ers! I loved it when flip top funnies had to run the body style's corporate engine, so if an AMC, or Ford won...that is what powered it. Brand identity meant alot more then, and the track announcers would have people standing and cheering for their "brand" to win!

Tires, automatic transmissions, and Fuel Engines went through a major development evolution....metalflake, candy, chrome & polish made the cars bigger than life ....and I should add that the most beautiful race cars in the world were, (and still are) full bodied slingshots!

Then there was the birth of jet dragsters, wheelstanders, Fuel Altereds, twin engined Top Gas cars, specialized events.....and...and... :-)

I should add that the arrival of Junior Fuel was very popular, since the lighter weight, and tires that could not hook up a blown car, worked very well on a lighter lesser powered car. They were very often giant killers! ...and as I said earlier, there was the Junior Fuel car that won a major California event over a stellar field in the injected/FD heyday. Great times.

Very cool! Great time! And with a small block chevy!:cool:

In the '60s the smallblock, and later the bigblock Chevy was the standard installation for the majority of hot rods, and the reasons were many. Cost, reliability, power, and parts availability, drove this. That transfered to the drag strip. Unless you had the money, sponsorship, or ability to develop the engine yourself, then you could opt for more exotic or unusual parts.

Today being brand loyal to the body is becoming more popular, and the Chevy is frowned on by many, due to it's long term use. Maybe it has become to generic for some... but if you were building in those days, most would choose the engine that everyone else was going fast with, and doing it reliably.

cupit,and cunningham were the first to go 200 with a blown sbc in 1965. the car is restored now.

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Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

In the '60s the smallblock, and later the bigblock Chevy was the standard installation for the majority of hot rods, and the reasons were many. Cost, reliability, power, and parts availability, drove this. That transfered to the drag strip. Unless you had the money, sponsorship, or ability to develop the engine yourself, then you could opt for more exotic or unusual parts.

Today being brand loyal to the body is becoming more popular, and the Chevy is frowned on by many, due to it's long term use. Maybe it has become to generic for some... but if you were building in those days, most would choose the engine that everyone else was going fast with, and doing it reliably.

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I remember hearing about those 302 Chevy setups. Seemed to be a real hot engine. Not sure why it didn't take off more. Was it a stroked down 350? I guess between the 327 configuration and the 350 Chevy really didn't need much more in the small block size range. Not to mention the 283!

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Originally Posted by stovens

I remember hearing about those 302 Chevy setups. Seemed to be a real hot engine. Not sure why it didn't take off more. Was it a stroked down 350? I guess between the 327 configuration and the 350 Chevy really didn't need much more in the small block size range. Not to mention the 283!

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327/350 block with a 283 crank.

Right! The chat was that Chevrolet was impressed with the hot rodder's performance version of the 283, which was punched .125 to the bore of a 327, and resulted in 301 inches.

They needed about a 300 inch motor for trans Am racing, but didn't want to copy the rodders, so for the 302 they fudged a couple thousandths on the bore and the stroke to make it a different number.

The 307 was the opposite...a 327 stroke and a 283 bore.

Last weekend, an informal old time drag race was held at Eagle Field in the Central CA Valley, west of Fresno. Pics: http://www.hotrodrevue.co.nz/forum/v....php?f=6&t=215

We had a flagman start on a 1/8 mile track. No elimination, race as often and against whoever you want. It was down and dirty, literally, considering all the blowing dust.

The first event was held last October, and this latest one had many more cars as the word got out. There will be another this coming October, and I predict this thing will get very big. Yes, you can go back. Go Black Betty!

Now THAT is fun! :D:D

Don

Great photo! I could even race there!:LOL:

Here's a "Heart in Throat" moment from last weekend. The track was not very good, so when guy's hit a shift, if one rear tire grabbed first, well, watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AR8GnUbCWI

Showoff!! Those of us with spools ran straight.

That was a good save.

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Originally Posted by drofdar

Last weekend, an informal old time drag race was held at Eagle Field in the Central CA Valley, west of Fresno. Pics: http://www.hotrodrevue.co.nz/forum/v....php?f=6&t=215

We had a flagman start on a 1/8 mile track. No elimination, race as often and against whoever you want. It was down and dirty, literally, considering all the blowing dust.

The first event was held last October, and this latest one had many more cars as the word got out. There will be another this coming October, and I predict this thing will get very big. Yes, you can go back. Go Black Betty!

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Gotta laugh,,I see the pix are on a site that I am a member of,and yet,I see them on this forum first..Ironic,isnt it..:D

Well, whatever it takes to spread the good word around!!

Good save for both drivers, the other car did a nice job of backing off and slowing down too. A real pants changer moment.:eek:

While we do romance the "back in the day" racing,we shouldn't forget all the things we have learned for those days that where not the best ever.Big Daddy having his car cut in two and losing most of his foot due to a clutch explosion.The blow overs with massive wheel stands.The blower explosions that had fans ducking from the pcs flying towards them.The biggest buck winning it all because of run what you brought.The more often fire crashes that had drivers driving blind and some burned for the rest of their lives.All those things we learned how to make better for todays racing.Those are some of the things I remember how we got to where we are today from the "good old days".

I was wondering how drag racing are organized during those years,1955? Hmm, is there anyone here can share a video clip of the race? please share want to see it, thanks.

It was very organized, for the time. Drag racing has been a learning curve.......as cars blew up and wrecked they learned what rules needed to be put in place to make them safer and safer. But it will never be totally safe because of the nature of the beast.

Here are a few videos for you of what it was like.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuHxs6uG6iY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTc64HWQswk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwtdBmzj3kA

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Originally Posted by kazmee

I was wondering how drag racing are organized during those years,1955? Hmm, is there anyone here can share a video clip of the race? please share want to see it, thanks.

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Spammers are getting crafty, beware of any links in sig lines from newbies. Click on them and they win, ignore them and they lose by wasting their time here.

Well Bill, I sure hope he likes the videos! :o:eek::D:D

Don

This is my neighbor two doors down Roy Cortipassi, he and his brother Ed built the Glass Slipper in 1956

He's your neighbor?? Very cool. I bet you have had some very interesting conversations with him...........the stories he must be able to tell. :) I was just reading about the glass slipper the other night and the fact they ran it at Bonneville as well as the drags, and that it also went to the Oakland Roadster Show. Quite a history to that one.

Don

We had lived here 6 years before he ever said anything about the car, he`s a very quiet person, runs his own tile business, still drives a `63 chevy stepside pickup that he bought new to tow the Glass slipper with...

Get him to tell you as many stories as you can cram in. Our hobby is rapidly losing so many of the great guys who started this whole thing that we need to try to preserve as much of it's history as we can. If you look at how many of these people we have lost in just the past couple of years, it is saddening. I would also see if he has pictures from back in the day and maybe he will let you have some duplicated for posterity.

Don

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Originally Posted by kazmee

I was wondering how drag racing are organized during those years,1955? Hmm, is there anyone here can share a video clip of the race? please share want to see it, thanks.

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Probably not too many videos of that era, kazmee.

Here's a thread on the subject started by Canadianal a few years back that may interest you:

http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23497

In our area (North Central Texas) several local clubs got together and formed what we called "The North Texas Timing Association". Meets were organized by the association and races were held at Caddo Mills,Texas, at an abandoned WW2 military training facility. Miles of excellent concrete!.

In other areas organizations may have operated differently, but it worked for us.


Jim