Way to go!  Shake 'em up a bit.  I can't understand how they ruled the camaro the winner, you should have both been disqualified for running too fast.  Or, as you said, you should have won by breaking out less.

John

Are you busy making some "geez those look perfect" deep groove pulleys for the sedan yet?

    In most cases they're "optimized". Some of the rules are enforced and some aren't. Stanton is more strict than Martin. Check out the rules section at Pure stock muscle car drag races.com. The Red Ford would easily pass an NHRA stock class tech. You're allowed to run up to an F-70 tire, (I don't, they're 205/ 75's). You can run a locker in the stock rear end (I do) you are supposed to run the original transmission, (I don't, it's a Mustang toploader). All castings are supposed to be as original to the vehicle, no replacements ala Chevies so called replacement castings.

      The Camaro's a real 375/396 Yenko, the tires were 4 or 5 years old, and the guy driving's a buddy, we like to bash each other's brains in, but I doubt if he'd cheat just to win. His son runs the program, so they play by the rules. Right to the edge, but we all are.

     The whole point was to get them to take a new look at Y Blocks, and seeing a 50 year old Ford run him down got his attention, let me tell you!  

     You live in Illinois don't you? come and see it at Stanton in September. Really a good time.

Rules seem pretty stiff, but looks like fun - my car is definately not allowed (of course it's also pretty slow  )

Do you just race one car, best out 2 out of 3 races?  What kind of awards do they offer to the winners?  I have been looking at their web site and it looked like you just race one car.  Are the races heads up or bracket/ET adjusted?

       You qualify on Friday, with a series of timed runs. Gives you a chance to experiment with tire pressures, shift points, etc. They take your best time (ET) and pair you with the car that has the closest time to yours. Sat you race that car in a best of three runs. 2 of 3 wins,will win the match. Same format is used at Stanton, Michigan, Muncie, Indiana and a new race at Kansas City, KS. Also some East Coast races are being run, some for Pure Stockers, but most for the FAST class cars ( Factory Appearing Stock Tire) cars. They also do not allow cars built prior to 1960 or 1964 at some of the East Coast events, Effectively eliminating my car. According to the sponsors "Real muscle cars started with the GTO!!"  That statement makes it important to me that when I get a chance to blow off a GTO or scrub I'll do it. At Stanton two weeks ago, we were matched with a '68 GTO, 400 HO. Beat him in two races. He did have transmission problems, or it would have been a very close race. The cars were evenly matched. I went a 13.70 @ 105 in the second round, best ever. The car gets a lot of attention and questions in the pits, And that's half the reason I do it.

Your ET's are great, especially considering that your running street tires. I guess the idea is to make it sort of like it used to be in the era.  Do the winners get a trophy or anything?  I think the muscle car/high performance cars first appeared in 1955 with the "Power Packs" and in 1956 Dodge had the D-500, Chrysler the 300, the 56 Chevy had the dual quad Corvette engine and Ford had the dual quad dealer option.  Pontiac also had a dual quad option in 1956 and then went to Tri Power.  One could argue that the Hudson Hornets with the Twin H option were pretty strong and Oldsmobile was pretty much at the head of the pack when they added the 4 barrell carbs to their cars in 1952.  I guess the manufacturers got serious in 1957 with the F Code Fords and FI Chevy's and Plymouth Fury with dual quads, Buick Century's, Old's J2 and the Studebaker R series cars.  If any of you get close to Ocala, Florida, be sure to visit Don Garlits museums.  One is for drag racing and the other for other antique cars, etc., both are great.

            I have been to Garlits, great museum, He was there working on a rail with TC Lemmons!! He was 69 or 70 the year I was there (2003) still racing. His mother (!) took the tickets and showed me around, how cool was that?        

      The pure stock rules are designed to keep the speeds in check, and part breakage to a minimum. Drivelines hold up better on slippery street tires than they do with Slicks or drag radials. Doesn't work, we have a Corvette (L-88) going 11.50's, couple of Hemis in the same neighborhood. All are at or above 120mph.

     You can go back pretty far on the "Muscle Car" subject. My Dad had a T with a Frontenac head in the late 20's,early 30's. Duesenburg made some (expensive) rocket ships in the 30's. Buick named the Super, with a Roadmaster straight Eight, the Century. It was supposed to run 100 mph. I had a buddy with a 40 Century, who restored it in high school in the 50's. That thing would give a 265 Chevy or a '55 272 all they wanted! Must have been something in the 40's, when you could get gas for it !!

      56 Cadillacs  were available with a dual quad (WCFB's) Eldorado motor. 365 inches I believe. I rode with my Grandfather in a black four door sedan  DeVille with one of those and watched him positively decimate a couple of '56 Chevies on Woodward Ave one afternoon in 1956. That was fun for a fourteen year old!!  

John

     You're supposed to be retired!    

         I had heard that Jack Clifford had passed away, don't remember where I heard that, hope it's incorrect.

      Ted Harbit, re: John's post is a class act, nice people. He was inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame at the H R Reunion held at National Trails earlier this Summer. I have posted some photos of those two cars in one or two of the articles I wrote for YBM. I am amazed at how little I knew about those cars and that company (Studebaker) until I moved into the South Bend area twenty odd years ago. Still don't know much. I can tell you this much, I'd like to see the kind of representation from our group at one of these races, that the Studebaker guys have. There were 15 or more 'Bakers at Stanton and one lone Y block. Two if you count Brian Steffina's '58 Merc. Marauder 430, 400 hp.

I remember seeing Ted's old Studebaker run at the Indy Nationals.  I think he got torn down, in fact weren't all National winners torn down in those days?  I read that the blown Larks weren't allowed to run when they were new because Studebaker didn't publish an advertised horsepower for them.  The NHRA couldn't divide the power to weight ratio to classify them.  I really loved that old heads up class racing.  It's good to see a guy in his 70's racing, I hope I have some more years to enjoy this into my 70's, which are fast approaching. 

You know for a couple of "Retired Teenages" you guys aren't half bad!

I will fully admit that a YOUNG wippersnapper like myself can learn a lot from from you guys, so keep it up!

Rob

Yes, the class winners were all torn down.  Ted's problem was that he always had to put it back together so he could DRIVE the car home.  I hadn't heard that about the super Larks, but it could be true.  A few years ago Mike Burns, another friend and once an NHRA tech inspector, tried several times to talk Ted into running a super Lark in Stock Elim just to drive the chevvy guys nuts.  So at least Mike knew about them.  Another story about Mike.  He raced Buicks in stock when I ran the Hurricane in stock.  He was always a tick off the national record, so wasn't very competitive in stock elim.  I could always seem to keep the Hurricane on or under the record.  One weekend someone set my record down a couple tenths, from 13.10 to 12.90, and I showed up the next weekend running on the new record.  Mike walked up, got right in my face, and said, "I'll bet if they set your record in the 11's you'd still run on it".  Strangely enough, the Hurricane has run in the 11s, but it's not legal stock now.

Frank, there's a 2 hour time difference between this site and Hoosierland.  It was 7:02, I usually am up at 6:00 or shortly thereafter.  I have not set an alarm clock in the 3+ years I have been retired.  I just like to get up now that I don't have to clock in anywhere.

Rob, keep your mind, ears, and eyes open, you will learn more.  But you may have to ignore the comments from that guy south of the equator.  He's off the wall sometimes.  He he.

John

         Lon, Thanks for the $50 AU prize money. That's about $50 more than came from Canada!! How's the truck coming?

Oh and Frank, what are you talking about???????

I sent Bob $50.00 U.S. for best international or best finishing 55/56, I hope someone got it?

Rob