Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179596)

If I recall correctly, his Vega was called: Swampy's Toy.

M68 :)

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179596)

If I recall correctly, his Vega was called: Swampy's Toy.

M68 :)

Originally Posted by X-TECH MAN (Post 179618)

"SWAMPYS TOY" (a play on the guys name...Marsh) was owned by a Phil Marsh and it was a 2 door hatchback painted like Grumpys Pro Stocker. Talked to him at Engishtown many years (sometime in the early 70's) ago after Grumpy posed for a photo with him in the pits. If I recall Georges Vega was a panel truck (a wagon without the side windows).

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179622)

Terry is was 30 years ago , so I could be wrong. But I remember Georges car as Swampy's Toy. We ran him in 1980 in the final of the Gators. It was a panel wagon.

Originally Posted by thomas sheehan (Post 179632)

Here is a picture that I believe Tom Kasch has posted before.....
(of George Williams at Bowling Green)

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...s_Milan_7-.jpg

and here is one that Bill Truby took of the Meek Bros pinto

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...ROSPINTOBG.jpg

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil (Post 179802)

I seem to remember at the Seattle National event, maybe around 1979 or so, George Williams Z/Stock Vega panel/ wagon was there, as was the Cook & Leong Hemi convertible. I THINK that was the year that Calvin Queapama won Stock in a V/SA 61 Impala 4 dr hardtop, over a fast A or B/SA car (Cook maybe?) At that time, Williams Vega was black, and if my memory is correct, I thought that it was called "Rampage" at that time.

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil (Post 179802)

I seem to remember at the Seattle National event, maybe around 1979 or so, George Williams Z/Stock Vega panel/ wagon was there, as was the Cook & Leong Hemi convertible. I THINK that was the year that Calvin Queapama won Stock in a V/SA 61 Impala 4 dr hardtop, over a fast A or B/SA car (Cook maybe?) At that time, Williams Vega was black, and if my memory is correct, I thought that it was called "Rampage" at that time.

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179831)

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen (Volare?) Comp car.

M68

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179831)

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen (Volare?) Comp car.

I remember seeing the B/SA Cook & Leong Dodge Challenger ragtop at Englishtown many times. Just curious, Artie, why did you guys end up selling all the Stock Eliminator Challengers you had (Hemi-powered ragtop, 440 Six Pack-powered ragtop & Hemi-powered hardtop). Were any of them numbers matching Hemi cars?

I remember one racer from Staten Island (Dom Burris) had one of your Challenger ragtops for sale at one of the swap meets at Englishtown in the mid-late 1980s. From what Dom told me, it was it was an original 440 Six Pack convertible and he (by 1980s resto standards) restored it as such but kept original C & L race car paint and lettering intact. I don't remember if it was ragtop number one or two.

M68

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179831)

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen C/EA (?) Comp car. The few times I briefly chatted with him in the pits I found him to be a personable fellow. He always had time to answer a few questions this Hemi "head" asked. And to a racing fan that means a lot.

I remember seeing the B/SA Cook & Leong Dodge Challenger ragtop at Englishtown many times. Just curious, Artie, why did you guys end up selling all the Stock Eliminator Challengers you had (Hemi-powered ragtop, 440 Six Pack-powered ragtop & Hemi-powered hardtop). Did NHRA make them uncompetitive? Were any of them numbers matching Hemi cars?

I remember one racer from Staten Island (Dom Burris) had one of your Challenger ragtops for sale at one of the swap meets at Englishtown in the mid-late 1980s. From what Dom told me, it was it was an original 440 Six Pack convertible and he (by 1980s resto standards) restored it as such but decided to keep original C & L race car paint and lettering. I don't remember if he told me it was ragtop number one or two.

M68

P.S. How long did you guys run the S & W Dodge-sponsored 1971 Charger R/T (Superbee?). Was that an original Hemi car?

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179838)

We only had 3 cars total. One convertible (first car) started life as a 318. That car had weight problems due to a fire. We sold the body to Scott Dalhberg from Minnesota.
The second convertible was originally a 383 That was the car we won so much with.
We sold it to someone in Staten Island in 1982 He put a 440 6 pack in the car later.
The hardtop car was a partnership effort With Fred (Dick) Smith It ran A/SA most of the time. We did try a 383 but were unhappy with the results. It wound up with a 440 6 pack in it and is still being raced in Division 1.
We did the motors for a couple of other hemi stockers Mike Masgistro, and Mark Wollf.
Everyone of our cars has won at least one NHRA National event.

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179840)

The 71 Charger was an original Hemi car And had quite a past. We could never get a straight answer about that car from the Chrysler guys. But it was less than 3000 pounds with a steel headed hemi. And no baggage.
That car grossed over $100,000 street racing.

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179834)

Ray was killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida a few years ago.

Originally Posted by John DiBartolomeo (Post 179843)

This might be long and I apologize for it, but below is the story referenced on George Williams and written by Richard Brady in the May '10 edition (debuted in February) of Drag Racing Action.

As I’m sure you’ll all aware of, we’re coming up on the 50th edition of the NHRA Winternationals held at Pomona. And I’m quite sure some of you reading this have some sort of memory about this event. As a photographer let’s just say I have more than a few.
Going to Pomona each year was the start of my season as a traveling drag racing photographer. When I say travel, I mean it quite literally because until recently I drove to every event I attended each year. Going to Pomona was no exception, though I do recall flying there maybe twice.

For years I had read about the race, but I was serving in the Navy so it wasn’t until 1973 when I was finally able to get to the event. Lucky for me, I was friends with the eventual runner-up in Stock Eliminator that year, losing to Les Young. You might be thinking gee, “that’s neat,” but you need to know just how special this was.

George Williams, was running a Z/S Vega panel wagon then, complete with a four cylinder engine. I don’t recall the actual numbers but I know he didn’t miss the win by much. Being there to see it made the trip much more special. That was also the year of the Dons, as Don Garlits won Top Fuel, Don Schumacher in Funny Car and Don Nicholson beat Don Carlton in Pro Stock. This is just one of many memories from this track.

There also were years that I jumped in with George on one of his trips to Pomona, sharing the ride and costs. One trip he and I both recall with fondness (?) is 1978 when a blizzard hit the state of Indiana where he and I lived. Indiana can be a real mess during the winter if a good storm sets in. I shoveled snow for three days (sometimes three and four times a day) just to be sure my car could get over to his place. He was over there doing the same thing. Not only did he have to be sure his truck could get out, but he had to shovel out the trailer to be able to load up the race car also. I’ve never been one to just call the police for advice, but this was one time I asked the highway patrol if the interstate we were going to use could get us south so we could eventually link up with any interstate heading west. Obviously they couldn’t guarantee our success, but we made it and it was certainly an experience!

I had lived in the Midwest states which always have winter snow. When there is a real blizzard it’s truly unbelievable what you see when you’re the first out and trying to travel somewhere. I’ve seen cars buried in snow banks and 18 wheelers either abandoned or just left sitting any which way. The interstate truly looked weird. We were able to keep moving (not at full speed), but eventually we got out of the snow and slush and were on our way, arriving several days later in Pomona!

Once there our choice of motels placed us just off Holt Avenue in some dive that seemed to reflect being built in the 30’s or 40’s! Of course we were trying to save money so no matter how uncomfortable we might be - it was cheap. I seem to recall an army of ants crawling from the closet up a wall next to the television and disappearing in a crack in the ceiling. Then there was this tom cat that showed up at our doorstep every single night when we got back from the track. I fed him some scraps, but I got the bright idea that we had to stop and get some cat food (this, at a time in my life when I could hardly afford to feed myself). Due to the unusual weather that year, I think we were out there for three weeks trying to get the race done and in the books.

As photographer, the part which always strikes me is what you see when you first got to the track that made the place memorable: the big banner hanging right over the start line, Mt. Baldy and other mountains shining in the background with sometimes snow at the tops (if you were lucky and the sky wasn’t cloudy), plus the three story tower sitting to your right. These things were as important as the cars and stars of the event, making it a must race to attend each year.

What happened to the racer friend I went to Pomona with? He was again runner up in Stock Eliminator in 1978, beaten in the final by Jeff Powers. Other winners that year were Kelly Brown in Top Fuel, Don Prudhomme in Funny Car, and Bob Glidden in P/S.
Today, George continues to work at a Chevrolet dealership and amazingly still has the same Vega under covers in his garage. He didn’t get his first major event win until the next year when we both attended the 1979 Seattle race, but that’s another story I’ll have to… Remember When. -Richard Brady

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179840)

The 71 Charger was an original Hemi car And had quite a past. We could never get a straight answer about that car from the Chrysler guys. But it was less than 3000 pounds with a steel headed hemi. And no baggage.
That car grossed over $100,000 street racing.

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179868)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1290/nycweb3.jpg

Looks to me like that is Ray behind the wheel. :)

More here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/g...cussionid=1202

M68

Originally Posted by John DiBartolomeo (Post 179843)

This might be long and I apologize for it, but below is the story referenced on George Williams and written by Richard Brady in the May '10 edition (debuted in February) of Drag Racing Action.

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 179849)

Whoa! That is light and that is heavy $! Those 1971 B-bodies w/HEMI hovered around the 3900 lbs. mark in stock form. Remove the street stuff, etc. and I can see maybe 3400-3500 lbs. but 3000 lbs. is a freak! :)



I don't blame you; I'd do the same. I didn't know acid porting went that far back.

M68

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179918)

That was Ray and I'm holding the car You can tell it's winter by the coat I'm wearing.
That article originally printed in 1979, prompted Wally Parks to have a talk with us. It was probably the last time Tex (Ray) drove a street race.

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone (Post 179987)

Don't kid yourself.
A prominent Div 3 engine builder from back in the day, relayed the story to me, a few years ago, about how the cylinder heads were done on a late 60's World Champion Mopar.

Originally Posted by art leong (Post 179840)

The 71 Charger was an original Hemi car And had quite a past. We could never get a straight answer about that car from the Chrysler guys. But it was less than 3000 pounds with a steel headed hemi. And no baggage.
That car grossed over $100,000 street racing.

NHRA never factored our combo It was always 440 hp. We quit because of the acid ported heads. It was use them or get outrun, or quit We chose to quit.

Originally Posted by mopar68 (Post 185654)

Here ya go, Artie. I'm pretty sure this photo is from a 1974 issue of Raceway News...

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/136...emicharger.jpg

M68

P.S. That's a pretty damn wide rear tire. What's it, like a N50 x 15?