Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

When SS classes expanded in 1972, there was a 1960 4 door Chevy Impala that had a 283 2bbl in SS/X. The story went that there were no jets in the carb and it was left loose on the manifold. Wouldn't idle worth a dang, but sure got plenty of gas and air at speed. I remember seeing it go against a SS/AA Hemi. What a spot. The Hemi probably had about 35 or 40 miles an hour on the Chevy in the lights.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I think that was a fellow named Jim Kroenbitter (Spelling?) from Ohio.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I think it was the Ambrose altered way back in the very early 80's when I first saw the cut and brazed Boss302/ 351C head on the six. The giveaway was the cut and welded chrome valve cover that read something like MOROROSO! Today some guy named Alan Johnson will sell you a billet piece that will fit.
http://www.alanjohnson.com/ajpframe.htm

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Bill,
Is this the same car you are thinking about?
Bob Rice
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...1_rydell-1.jpg

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Bob,
No, that is an Altered (25% setback, originally... I think they eventually came off that), and the car I saw was a C Street Roadster (10% setback, with the requisite fenders, headlights, etc.)

The guy from Ohio spelled his name "Reidel"... He ran sixes in Street Roadsters for a lot of years, and they were always fast.

Ralph Hope, a Canadian, also ran sixes (might still be doing it) and at one time, at least, he had a sponsor "Rydell Chevrolet," which might have been in Winnipeg, Manitoba... seems like it was.

That car in the picture you posted might well be one of their cars.

I saw the Reidel car in 1971. The picture you posted looks to have been taken a lot later than that, but don't ask me why I think that; maybe it's the roll bar design... dunno... lol!

Thanks for your interest in this discussion; I'd bet that the car in the picture you posted has some sort of hybrid head on it because it appears to be a crossflow head; I.E., no headers apparent on the driver's side. I saved the picture and ran it through my Picasa edits to apply some fill light and the dark area on the side of the block when brightened with fill light, shows six horizontal velocity stacks, but not a header pipe anywhere that I can see. MUST be on the other side! Hybrid head, for sure, or not an American engine.

Maybe someone else on here will recognize it and fill us in.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

The Tee posted above is indeed Ralph Hope. The attached photos are from 1969. As far as I know, this was the first race team to adapt an eight cylinder head to a six back in 1968. Ralph Hope and Wayne Lang were from London Ontario and Wes Rydell owned a Chevrolet dealership in Grand Forks N.D. This motor went into a Chevy Vega after the Anglia.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I raced a 60 Chevy in SS/X in 1973 and the key was to take the plug out of the
back of the carb.Wouldn't idle at all but sure picked up the car ! The next year
NHRA came out with clarification that all vacuum lines and plugs must be tight.

I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?He was a good guy and used to
live in Zanesville,Ohio. Does anyone know if Pat Kronenbitter of PK Racecars is related?

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

When I raced jr. stock with my 59 Chevy P/S car Bob Dwyer had studs holding the carb down with 1 inch springs and a nut on top of his 54 Studebaker "Crockagator". Told me it kept the fuel from foaming. What it did was bind the linkage and pick up the front of the carb slightly for a huge vacuum leak. Took me a while to figure it out.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Sure do wish someone could dig up some pictures of some of these odd-ball combos. A guy back home used to run a opel cadet stick in stock. Thinking it was R or T ,showroom stock. At least that is what i remember it being called . KDS made a showroom stock class so some of the guys could come off the street with their family cars and compete without getting too embarrassed. My dad ran our family 61 olds 88 convertible . I guss that is were i got this bad sickness.lol

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Kevin Love asked, "I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?"

Kevin, I don't know about Jim, but I seem to remember that he was a member of a group of Chevy Stock Eliminator racers from Ohio called the "Chevairs." I guess there must have been at least one Corvair in the group, with a name like that... lol!

Those guys (at least, the ones I read about in National Dragster back then... this was in the late 1960s) mostly ran 2bbl 283 4-speed cars, and included (I THINK), Kronenbitter, Jon Callender, Phil Chisolm and Dave Boertman. A formidable crew, to say the least!!! I'm sure there were other succesful racers in that group, but those are the ones whose names I remember reading most often in the Class Winners columns. Their 2bbl cars all ran like 4bbls... LOL!

Maybe some old Ohio racers on here might remember Jim Kronenbitter and know if he's still around.

Bill