The Factory Wars
 

Back in the 60's & 70's the factory was at war with each other...I would like to here about any personal stories & races from back then from guys that drove some of these products from Ford GM & Chrysler...

The big three auto makers from back in the day when it was "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday"

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...ionals1964.jpg

Re: The Factory Wars
 

The NewBreed Drag Team ran a 68 Hemi Barracuda that was sponsored by Harris Auto Sales in Providence RI. Check out thier Facebook page "The New Breed Drag Team"

BO29 M88390663 ..............

Ken Adams

Re: The Factory Wars
 

the cuda was called "the highlander" if memory serves me correctly.

Re: The Factory Wars
 

Also do any of you remember some of the colorful ads printed in the magazines back then like the Cobra Jet, Dr. Olds, Scat Pack, & Rapid Transit System ads, did any of those ads influence you...

Or did you happen to take any new cars out for a test drive and maybe ended up buying one from a dealership that you visited back then...lets here some of those old stories or flashbacks that you might have about them! :)

.

Re: The Factory Wars
 

Looks like 1963 to me.
Danny Durham

Re: The Factory Wars
 

During the seminar at the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame, Mr. Tom Hoover of Chrysler was one of the key speakers. I can not quote this exactly but here goes. Chrysler had several "Factory Teams" back then. The people in the upper offices only asked one thing that on Sunday they wanted a Chrysler car in the winner's circle. The racers, Sox & Martin, Landy etc. were instructed that they had a quota of doing at least two of the Super Car shows at Chrysler dealerships every week. If you are not old enough to remember these shows, the racers came to a Chrysler Dealership, transporter, cars, handouts the whole bit. Mr. Hoover noted that since the other Chrysler "Factory Teams" could not do these seminars all over the country, test and race, Chrysler did the testing for them and the Motown Missle program was this test.

Joe Pappas told a story about a test in which he had an old 8 mil video camera and was "tied into the back of the Motown Missle" remember no seat belts back there. He was to video from the inside of the car. A Chrysler 300, I think he said, was in the other lane with a guy hanging out the window video taping the Missle as it went down the track with little pieces of paper taped to it. Pappas commented that after he was tied in the back of the car Mr. Hoover asked "don't you think you might need to wear a helmet?"

Back in those days, a day at even the local tracks here in North Carolina, you could see the "Factory Wars". Car Dealerships were sponsors on local cars. Hendrick Chevrolet, Royal Dodge, old age just set in and I can't remember others.

These "Factory Wars" were what drew hundreds of drag race fans to little small town and big drag strips almost every night back in the "Match Race" days. Local racers would be added into a show with big name racers. The track operator advertised 8 car match race featuring Sox & Martin, Grumpy Jenkins, Don Nicolson, Don Carlton, etc., the other four racers were racers willing to get paid to travel to a track and be the first round loser. If one of them slipped a little bit maybe you could be in the final four. Next round Sox vs Jenkins and Nicolson vs Carlton and the final was what they came to see. Hundreds of spectators would be at the track on a Wednesday or Thursday night to see these races.
One night in Henderson, NC, myself, Ronnie Sox, Hubert Platt and Roy Hill were talking an it was a mutual agreement that it was a tough road but "no current "pro racer" has the fun we had back then. The stories from those days could fill volumns

Re: The Factory Wars
 

Aero testing of the Missile. Somewhere I have the inside shot that I got from Stewart via Oldfield/Pappas. I had the pleasure of spending Wednesday with Stewart and Joe Pappas and his wife. Joe gave me the story of the post Missile era with the D5 Colt, the wire car and then the two stretched Colts (I always thought the gold Colt was the white one with a repaint, but Joe said they were two different cars).

Re: The Factory Wars
 

I have an autoplaying CD of photos from Stewart. I need to break that back out, it's been a while since I looked at it.

Re: The Factory Wars
 

Those are some good stories guys...anyone ever buy a car from Baldwin Motion, Grand Spaulding Dodge or some other high performance dealership...how about some before & after shots of Mr. Norm's old dealership.

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/im...9034/79034.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/8...82f7e49f_c.jpg

Re: The Factory Wars
 

Dose anyone know what happened to Sox&Martin 66 altered wheel base Baracuda.
They sold to Buckeye in Baltimoer,around late 66 or 67. He and Vernon Rowley raced it,,then he sold to someone and car was lost
as to ownership from that point on.
Would love to find and restore it.