Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

how about a 58 Pontiac Cheifian in D/SA
http://thumb5.webshots.net/t/57/157/...9RrnmHa_th.jpg

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Mike Jeffrey's '80 Diplomat. 225 Slant 6, 2 bbl, went 1.2 under at the Kearney Open last year. I passed on buying the car a year before Mike got it because I thought the combination was a turd.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Ahhh....My kingdom for a second venturi!!

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Or an intake that unbolts from the head?

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

1962 or 1963 pontiac 421 2x4s
that what i want to build

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

OK, I'd settle for that!

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

How about Clem LaChance's SS/CX , 6 cyl. Ford Maverick. Has gone 10.50s with the old man at the wheel. Turns 77 yrs. young this May. He used to give the likes of Bob Newberry and Al Hofmann a run for their money before they went Funny car racing in the 70's while running Modified Elim.

Joe Huestis
Annie's Song L/SA 9724

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

10.50s with an inline 6 Ford? Where can I find pics on LeChance's car? Which engine does he use, the 240/300 big block or the small block 200/250 style?

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

It's based on the 240/300 family; I'll find a link to some pictures.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

This link connects to the Ford Six Forum and pics of Clem's car from last year at Beaver Springs.

http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.p...=clem+lachance

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

If its the same picture I'm thinking of at Beaver Springs Clem is running against a 502 big block '69 Camaro which he dusted in a heads up run. I had the opportunity to drive his first Maverick at the now defunct Dover Drag Strip back in 1975 when it had a Super T-10 4 -speed . I was amazed at the torque that 6 cyl. produced and how hard the car launched. In the late 70's he rolled that car and was a total loss at Lebanon Valley Dragway. His present car he purchased from the Alizer Bros. from NJ, who ran it as a H/MP against folks like Bruce Sizemore who also was a 6cyl. Ford aficanodo with his "Preparation H" Maverick.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Ford sixes....

Back in the '70s, somebody cut up some 351 Cleveland V8 cylinder heads into pieces, and adapted three of those four pieces to a 300 Ford inline six, but I can't remember who it was. Might have been Tiffin, Ohio's Jan Reidell, or maybe Canadian Ralph Hope (Hope, Lang, and Rydell.)

Anybody else remember that? Of course, it couldn't run Modified Production; had to be classsified in as a Gas Coupe.

Ran just like a V8, of course... formidable!!!

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Bill
I think Bruce Sizemore did that on the six cylinder he ran.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Bill,

I am sure Steve Ambrose in Comp could probably give you a lot of history on that also, but I remember a 6 in an altered in Modified called Troublemaker. I believe the name was Williamson, and the car would FLY.

I saw a 1969 list from the entrants at the U.S. Nationals in Stock and I saw......I/SA Ray Brock 1969 Mercedes 6.3 SEL.

That would classify as very different combo.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

This is Jim Wood's '77 olds "98" regency n/sa. Now anyone who can make an Oldsmobile of that size twist like that, is cool in my book. If anyone remembers the movie Sixteen Candles, I believe thats what happened to "Grandpa's" automobile.
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...lasswinner.jpg

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

That must be why Jim walks sideways and has a slight limp! lol

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Can't remember who it was either but I remember he ran in a pinto. I thought it was a MP car

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Thisis a picture of Pat Heneberry's 68 Camaro which he still races today on the NETO circuit. He bought it new in 68 with the intent of running SS/C (like Bill Jenkins had ) but only ordered the car with a 3 SPEED stick, but also with the 375 horse 396 They were hoping for a midyear automatic option so they could run SS/CA , since that didn't happen, he put in a 292 SIX CYLINDER and ran H/MP , the old Modified Production 6 cylinder class and raced against guys like Clem LaChance, Glen Self and others - The car was called the "Six Fiend" then!

He switched over to Super Modified (C/SM) which he ran for a few years into the eighties, then retired the car. Twent plus years later, with the original racing paint scheme as seen in this photo, with a mocked up "318 " (which he use to run 10.60's with, but now is a basically stock 327 shortblock and stock heads with a cam) Instead of the super T10 of old it has a Jerico though -car goes 11's anyway!

Just a cool car-

Will Lamprecht

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

CYCLONE FE said, "......I/SA Ray Brock 1969 Mercedes 6.3 SEL".

Yes, that is VERY strange. I wonder if it was the "Ray Brock" who was editor of Hot Rod Magazine back in the '60s and '70s? I'd bet it was... He was always "cutting edge" involved with drag cars, and was the guy responsible for those GREAT tech articles they had in Hot Rod back then that would examine the new engines every year, by disassembling them and photographing all the pieces, and then explain in painstaking detail what made them fast. This was the era of the 409's, 426 Wedge and Hemi cars and the 427 Fords, not to forget the S/S AMC cars with ported heads from the factory!!!

R.I.P., Ray Brock; there hasn't been anyone like him since...

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

David Lee said, "Can't remember who it was either but I remember he ran in a Pinto. I thought it was a MP car."

I think Mr. Chapman nailed it; it was Bruce Sizemore's Pinto, running in what I seem to remember was "I/Gas Coupe."

Modified Production had strict rules about cylinder heads at that time, and hacking one up from a different engine and using it wasn't in the low-budget spirit of the rules (for M/P.)

At least, that's the way I remember it.... which proves nothing.... :(

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

This thread started out being about Stock and Super Stock cars, and so I am slightly off-topic (what else is new?), but, I wonder of anyone else here remembers Darrell Vittone's Fiat Abarth coupe that he shoe-horned the engine out of his VW Beetle Gasser (the original EMPI "Inch Pincher") into, and ran as a Gasser until (I think) NHRA make him quit???

It ws TINY!!!! Had to be the smallest drag car I ever saw...
He didn't have to worry about aerodynamics because it didn't have any frontal area....

I think he ran in sometime around 1968 or '69.

Weird, for sure...





Bill

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I built a 1969 brookwood chevy wagon with a 265 hp 396 2bbl rochester in the late seventies it had alot of potential ,I just ran it a few races it had to weigh 4705 lbs and ran Q/SA best run was 14.04 on a 14.17 index and I didnt have enough gear in it to help it run in high gear but it was a terror 1st and 2nd it would put 4 cars out on Jerry McClanahans Q car but he would reel me back in his car was running 13,80's very cool car it got alot of looks it would wheelstand 3ft on the launch , remember seventies rules legal cams lift duration ,and overlap, no low gear trans, factory pistons etc I had about $2000. dollars in it total it needed a 6.14 gear i started with a 5.57 gear. those were the days $2000 dollar Stockers.Painted it in my driveway Grumpy Jenkins refrigerator white.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I'll bet I still have heads, intake and carb off a 396-265 hp. Sure not many of those in these parts.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Wasn't that motor 1969 only?

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I watched them change the engine in the Inch Pincher at Indy. From the minute they pulled it into the pits until the new engine was running was 20 minutes. The new motor was completely plumbed and wired and everything was a plug in. I watched them say on the BJ auction that GM never put a 2 barrel on a big block and I can name several of them including the 396 which a friends mom had

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

My Dad ran Comp. Eliminator in the early 60's, and told me once of a guy who did that in a Comp car back then. He said it absolutly killed the record at the time. Used to race in C/SR.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

I attended the 1971 U.S. Nationals and was walking through the pits and spied a beautiful, red, 6-cylinder-powered C/Street Roadster. Went over to take a closer look and was blown away by the home-brewed, aluminum billet hemi (yes, I asked) cylinder head. It was a work of art. I think the block was a 300 Ford... or, maybe a 240. I think the deck height dimension is the only external difference, so I couldn't tell.

If I remember correctly, it was Jan Reidel's car, and I kick myself for not taking a picture of it. It was beautiful! And, unique.

I think Jan was from Tiffin, Ohio. Has anybody else here ever seen that car?

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Thanks Dave for the info on LeChances Maverick. That's something else seeing that triple Weber carb'd 300ci inliner. I know that there are some Chevy 6's that are doing the deed also; by the way, how fast did the Grey Ghost Corvair run? I used to own a '65 140hp/4 carb/Powerglide.

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Big Blue, The best times for the Gray Ghost are:

As a 95HP - Darlington, 2003, 14.99/88.09. NHRA V/S record

As a 110 HP - Rockingham, 2005, 14.81/88.47 IHRA V/S record

Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo.....
 

Just 1969 for the two barrel 396 and only in the big cars impala and so on.
I still have intake,carb and air cleaner.

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