Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first trip down the track at the then "new" New York National Speedway was my Regal Red SS396 (360HP/M21 bench seat with the "radio-delete") that I bought in April of 1966, my Senior Year in High School.Your typical "Day 2" vehicle - Hurst Super-shifter, Sun tach and gauges, Grant steering wheel and "baby-moon" hub caps. I worked on it constantly for weeks and then made the trip to Exit 60 on Sunrise Highway to one of the first SS&DI "Super Stock Nationals". Have absolutely no recollection of how quick it was - I only knew I wanted to go "Faster"! Lot of interesting stories with "The Bomb" through 1966-67. Came back from Boot Camp in September '67 to find my parents had forged my signature on the registration and traded it in for a second car for them! Took me a while to get over that! Memories!

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

It's stories like this that influenced the purchase of my new Pontiac Formula in 1995 as a zero option AC-delete car!

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Cornhusker Raceway, Millard, NE, 1969 Nova Cortez Silver, 396/375, headers, slapper bars, 7" Firestones, 5:13, Hurst shifter, otherwise just as GM built it

4 lbs air in slicks (!), 5 yellows on tree, B/S for trophy, 5 wins in 6 tries

12.76 best (1969)

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

1966. I just turned 16 and took my parents' 1961 Chevy Impala, 4--door, 235 6 cylinder. to Great Lakes Dragaway. Went a blistering 24.2 seconds at 62 mph. When i picked up my time slip, the attendant said "what you got there, a bicycle?"

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first pass was during a $2 per run session during a jet car event in the mid 80's. Had my parent's '80 Olds Omega fwd 4 cyl turd. Ran a 21.96@62. Not much different from future projects I raced et wise! Planted the seed for my near future for sure!

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

First strip run was at Onondaga 1965 Sunday afternoon. Drove my first car - 1957 BelAir 2dr HT. which was getting me back and forth to Michigan State. The "new" wrecking yard 327 w/cam, headers, 4-spd, etc. dumped me in C/MP against real MP cars, with predictable results.

Losing didn't lessen the joy of later cruising downtown Lansing with the class shoe polish still on the windows and, if lucky, a class trophy displayed in back window tray. Less enjoyable was taking the girlfriend back to her dorm in a wrecker when I just had to show her how to hammer it off the stoplight (broke a lot of parts back then).

Dorm mate was Jon Callendar (Chevairs Racing Team) who won Stock at Indy with his twin to Dave Boertman's K/S. He got me interested in Stock Eliminator and the challenge of making a low HP combo work. (RIP Jon)

Ah, The GOOD OL' DAYS!!!

The '57 is in the shop slowly becoming a FI combo for Stock/SuperStockAssn. racing.

Re: First Visit to the Strip .....with The CAPTAIN ....
 

Yes, you read it correctly .....my first time EVER at the track was riding along with good ole Captain Jack. I remember it like yesterday. The Captain asked me if I wanted to go to the track with him on Sunday, the Harrison County Dragway located just outside of Elizabeth, Indiana. We were flat towing and I remember the ride vividly as we were traveling right next to the Ohio River. And then, a hill, a big fricken hill .... what a relief to get to the top .....About thirty minutes later we arrived at the track. Even though I grew up in Kentucky, I had never seen an outhouse before , or the optional rain gutters lining the wall. Fortunately, Jacks older brother recommended that I hold my breath upon entering. Jacks race car was a 66 Chevelle, 283 4 bbl with a stick. Walking through the pits I noticed a yellow 66 nova in line to make a run. It’s hard to believe but after 44 years that same nova is still being campaigned by my good friend Buddy Hughes .....I don’t remember how many rounds the Captain won that day but I do remember a few things. It was a whole lot easier coming down that hill on the way home, UNLESS you were the brake pads on the tow vehicle. The ham sandwich that I purchased at the concession stand was delicious. Styrofoam coolers don’t have a long lifespan at the drag strip .....

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first pass... Oh my not sure remembering this won't haunt me tonight!

A 51 Henry J, 3spd on the column, 300ci Ford straight six, J/Gas 1968 E-Town...LMAO!

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first race car to the strip was a 66 SS Chevelle I had bought which had been acid dipped to lighten in California in 1969.
I purchased it in Mclean TX from the Chevy dealer who had bought it off of route 66 from a racer who needed money to get back home.
Not sure what he gave for it but I remember paying $600 for it with supposed to be a running 327 with double hump heads and that is all I know about it. No bell housing, trans shifter or drive train in the rear end. It did have a nice full interior including bucket seats and console and a fairly nice paint job. First thing I did was pull the 327 and sold it to take the car back to a true SS 396.
The body was really light as you could push on the sheet metal about anywhere and it would flex with using a finger or two.
Over the next few months I, with the help of several friends put a 396/375 hp engine with a saginaw 4speed and a 4.56 rear 12 bolt posi unit in the rear end. I used the saginaw due to it having a 2.56 first gear ratio vs the muncie at 2.20
I built a tow bar and free wheeling hubs to tow it flat.
Put some M&H slicks on some steel wheels and kept them in the trunk and towed it to the strip at Amarillo Dragway. With the help of some of the friends we set it up and it was classed to run B/S.
We were weighed at the tech area as entering and it was light even with the two tow tires in the trunk so we used the tool box for a weight box to make weight with tools in it. Could not get away with that today.
If I remember correctly the car ran 12 second quarter miles at about 120 at Amarillo TX 3400 ft altitudes. I have the et cards which were like business cards with only one cars et and ads and the race schedule on them. I searched for them and could not find them. I put them up for safe keeping and now can not find them. It happens when you get old.
We won class that day and again later in the year and that was well before they were Wally's.
To be clear we had street raced it a number of times prior to taking it to the drag strip to work out the bugs and be ready to really race it.
In the late 60's in a small town in TX you could get away with driving it with open headers and doing a little racing as long as the traffic out on the highway was not bothered and it was not late at night.
If fact one evening we even had a TX Highway Patrol car stop to watch one of the races.
Those were the days.
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Car: 1972 SS Camaro 4spd with a transplanted 427
Year: 1980
Track: Orange County International Raceway.

Experience: The car ran 12.90's. When they called for eliminations most of the lanes were full but one was almost empty so I pulled into that one. I felt lucky to be racing a "slow" car for my first race. I was a first round gift to Jerry McClanahan.

Went back the next weekend and when they called for eliminations I pulled into the short lane again. There was that slow car, and this time I was going to teach him a lesson. You guessed it, I was a gift to Mr. McClanahan again.

I continued going to Orange County, but learned to stay away the short lanes.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Like a number of you I made my first pass down a drag strip with a 390 Ford. I purchased a 1967 390 GT Mustang fastback on graduation day in 1974 and took it to Irwindale raceway on Wednesday grudge night. It was a little tired 70k mile 390 C6 with 3.00 gears. Ran 15.30 on first pass with some tire spin. Freshened motor and added headers and it went 14.70 still spinning. Pulled the 3.00 gears and installed 4.11 and it went 13.90 with lots of spinning. Didn’t know enough to switch to a locker or spool back then but as a 18yr old it was more fun driving around town and being able to smoke a tire most of the way down the block.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first pass at Black Hills Dragway, in Belle Fourche,SD was in 1975 with my 71 Mach 1, 351 cleveland 4speed, 3.25 open rear. Went mid 15's at low 90s mph. Had to drive it out and then get on it, to keep it from spinning. It was all stock then. Second time I raced it I won $100 for winning slow et. That $100 has cost me many thousands since with this drag race addiction but wouldn't change a thing.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Well my69 chevelle sml blk first trip was expensive ,borrowed trailer,borrowed truck from work,was restoring a 80 GMC 2500 p/u not done yet no time for trailer lights ,on our way 3cars of us i was in middle cause of no lights,almost their DragwayPark Cayuga Ont.i was exposed in rear ,cop pulled me over,,Fine was over a $100 and had to hook up trailer lights on side of road,,at track went 12.20 down to 11.70s,,.i was so hyped up i broke a bolt holding shifter to floor,,had a Hurst 1/4 stick a2spd. glide tranny,tapping bolt that came with it,,Garage queen now, i bought car for $125. in 1979 300 deluxe 250 3speed standard shift on column,3rd peddle still in it ,had 4spd in it when it was on street,i broke 3 muncie,s,i wanted to run a stick but a nice T-10was big bucks

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

In 1976: a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu coupe 307/200hp automatic. I remember that Englishtown classified it in P/SA to run in the Cups eliminator. Surprisingly, it is still classified by NHRA as an O,P,Q/SA car.

I had no idea what I was doing. The best it ran was 18.23; by the time I moved on to something else it it wouldn't get out of the 20's.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

1968 Chevell Malibu 250 straight 6. 18.55 at 85 mph at englishtown in 1971.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

First post here in many, many years. In July, 1976, I took my Citron Gold Metallic 1966 Plymouth Barracuda "UnCommando", (using the 180 hp 2bbl 273 and TorqueFlite), to the original St. Louis International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, to race in K/SA and won class but got my head caved in in the first round of the eliminator. That car kept Badger Pistons Company in business for a while while I got it down to the point at which, on one wonderful, cool evening, it ran within a solitary hundredth of the class record...and then the AHRA hung ten horsepower on the combination. I then starting throwing my money into a 4,000-pound, 120-inch wheelbase bonfire resembling a refrigerator-white '70 Plymouth Fury II, (with the 290 hp 2bbl 383 "Commando" engine and TorqueFlite), running in O/SA "because nobody had ever done it". I soon discovered why.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Long time no post Bret, nice to have you back.

BTW My 1st pass also at St. Louis International in my '73 Gran Torino Sport fastback w/a 429 with a 2.73 rear gear 15.80 86 mph.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

1960 or 61. 1954 Ford, 312 .30 over, Speedpro pistons, tri power with 97's, Harman Collins cam, Ducoil ignition, 3 speed with floor shift. Ran Pomona in C/G. Broke the low/reverse slider almost every time I speed shifted. We still had the flag man back then.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

First and last...55 Chevy of course!

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

Back in 1998 snuck off to Englishtown with my mom's 1987 Chevy Corsica after borrowing it to "go to the movies" with some friends.

She knowingly lent it to me to go racing with it a year later because I was in 1st place in points for High School Eliminator and she didn't want to see me fall behind when my Toyota broke an axle.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My first was a 1965 Pontiac Catalina 4 door in 1977. It had been the chief of Police's car in Ann Arbor. Michigan. I would have to dig out the calendar they used to time it with to be sure if it was 77 or 78 mph........lol

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

My 1995 Cobra R in the late 90's

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

First trip to Interstate Dragway in Sabin MN. Sep 1991 With my 1970 Nova 355 small block Turbo 400 and N50 Micky Thompson tires. Ran I think mid 13’s Had big block coil springs up front air shocks in the back about looked like a 4x4. Bought it that way. Sparky let me race it that day but had a list of 10-12 things that had to be fixed before it came back to the track. But it was enough to make me want more. Still have the car nothing but the color of the paint is the same. Car is in the trailer fresh motor trans and converter in the shop. Hopefully we will put it back together one of these years. And go play with the Midwest bunch down at Thunder Valley or Brainard.
I always raced something Snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATV’s and Mud trucks. March 13th 1991 I had a bad day at work and spent the next 2 ½ months in the hospital. Now paralyzed from the mid chest down. I told them I would get back to racing something, Sep of 1991 I stopped at the hospital with the race car.

Re: First Car to the Strip
 

1968 Chevelle SS 396 the weekend before Riverside International Raceway in Pearl, MS. opened. The owner was my aunt's next door neighbor and James invited me the weekend before opening along with a few more to test the timing equipment and track. Very fun weekend for a 15 year old.