NHRA National Records
 

Hello Fellow Racers!

I have a 1974 Chevelle Stock Eliminator here in Finland. It was imported here from Texas in 1989 and now after a couple of years not being raced we rebuilt it and I finished sixth at Finnish Championship Drag Race Series with it.

I know the car is NHRA Record Holder from 1985 and '86 but I don't know what class did it run in. From what I've read, the National Records can be found in National Dragster Magazine. I don't have those issues, so could someone who has them from '85 or '86 check what class this Chevelle has been running in?

I'd like to have NHRA '85 & '86 ?/SA Record Holder texts on the car.

Here it is how it looks now:

http://tapahtumakuvia.kuvat.fi/kuvat...JPG?img=img900

Thanks!

Niko / FHRA Stock Eliminator #570 Driver.

Re: NHRA National Records
 

look at all the people lining the banks watching!

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Must mean Nitro is up next. :rolleyes:

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I believe 350 combo runs in K or L auto. One
like this ran in denver area for a few years.

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Yep, nowadays these cars run in J, K or L/SA. But back in the '80s I believe these cars ran in L or M/SA... At least when this car was imported to Finland, it was driven in M/SA.

But as said earlier, I'd like to know what class Record Holder this car has been.

And actually that picture on the first post, it was shot right after the Top Fuelers had ran and the track crew had prepped the track a little.:D

Re: NHRA National Records
 

great shot for sure. I have droves of old national
dragster issues in storage. If i can get into that 85/86
period will look. I am sure combo took a hit
moving it up a class or 2.

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I just flipped through a handful of National Dragsters from that period and the records for those classes were dominated by Olds, Aspens and Volares. Even checked the 1/8 mile stuff.

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This can be difficult to research because
records can literally be week to week
or moment to moment obviously. esp.
in those days in popular classes.

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I think I might know who built that car .PM me and i'll send you his phone number to check .....

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Jack, did see your name though. 74 Pontiac I think.

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Yeah, we did set a record or two back in the day ...........And I do miss that Pontiac .

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Yep, it's possible that finding those records is not easy. A big thank you for those who have given a look into their archives, though! But I'd really appreciate it if someone found the records...

Jack, you got a PM.:)

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who did you buy it from?

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We had a car just like that here in Div. 1 for quite some time. Bob Silfies built it originally and sold it to Rich Hoerth and was driven by the late Mike Scott. It was powered by a 400 small block and ran M/SA. The car in the picture looks almost identical to it.

Re: NHRA National Records
 

Sorry guys I haven't had time to check in much on the last couple of days.

Jim: I bought it from another Finnish Stock Eliminator racer, but I asked him that question. Unfortunately he could not remember who was it.

Dave: That's interesting information! When this car came in Finland, it had a 350 SBC under the hood. But of course it doesn't mean that this car could have ran with a 400 as well.

Here is a picture of this car when it was imported to Finland. Maybe the Obi Wan paint scheme with Obi Wan's head on the door might bring back memories to someone?

http://images9.fotki.com/v250/photos...SCN0040-vi.jpg

Re: NHRA National Records
 

Hi, Niko. Welcome to Class Racer.

Finished my Super Stock Mustang and broke a $0.33 water pump o ring. I'm done for the season...

Now to finish my Pro Mod '49 Merc.

Dale (ScaleDale) Shearon

Re: NHRA National Records
 

John Lightner from northern Kentucky had a stocker similar to this in the 80s, perhaps it is his former ride.M.J.

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Hi, Dale!

I'm sorry to hear you broke the o-ring on the Mustang. Well, better luck next season ;).

Can't wait to see Merc'!



Thanks for the information, Mr D. C.

The car came to Finland from Texas, so he might not be the guy who sold the car to Finland, but that is a great guess. I'll try to search and I will see what I can come up with. Thanks!

Re: NHRA National Records
 

The chevelle in Div. 1 is owned by Tom Baiori (aka Beef).It has gone pretty quick at times,but at 4000 lbs it's a parts breaker. He's slowly working on some chassis work to
stop a flexing problem with it.

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Sorry for delay post on this car.. it run o/sa and best et was 12.56@105 and then got bumped to m/sa. John.

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Pic's Of car in 1987 & record In Warner Robins, Ga. Car had a 350 cu in. & Hp Rated at 235 & ran O/S A

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Nice detective work

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Thank you so much, Jonesracing! That's just the information I've been looking for. Very cool pictures as well...Thanks!

Now we just have to get the car done for this 2015 Drag Racing season. This time it will be driven in J/SA instead of K/SA where I ran with it last summer.

- Niko / The Driver.

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Your welcome. Good luck with it.

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Hey Big Dan

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I think this might be my dad's old car. He had a blue '74 Chevelle that he raced at Scribner (Nebraska) and Thunder Valley South Dakota in the late 70s and early 80s. He sold it around 1983-1984 to a guy named Jay Roth who was also from Nebraska. He repainted it, raced it for a little while then sold it (not sure of the timeframe). The last my dad heard of it, it was sold to someone who took it across the pond to Europe.

He bought it around 1977 and drove it on the street a little bit then turned it into a racecar. It ran in O- and N/SA, set an AHRA record in 1980 in I think O/SA. My dad likes telling the story of tearing it down at the track (Kansas City) in the middle of a gravel pit and people coming up kicking rocks saying "Whatcha doin'?"

It's also the first car I went down the drag strip in, as a passenger of course because the NHRA wouldn't let 8-year-old kids drive. :)

I probably have some pictures of it ... somewhere. I'll see what I can dig up to compare.

Pat

Re: NHRA National Records
 

Thank You!

Pat - that sounds like interesting information. I hope you can find some pics on it for comparing. You say it was sold to Europe. That is definitely a strong clue, since I know that not many of these were bought here. Especially Drag Cars - I've never seen another one in here actually. Interesting info. If you remember more, please feel free to share that info as well.

Edit: I swapped a couple of E-Mails with your dad. Looks like you were correct, this is the same car!

-Niko

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Cool! Good to see it's still racing! He can see this thread but for some reason hasn't been able to register. He e-mailed me today saying that Jay (the guy he sold the car to) painted it that tan/brown livery.

Pat

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We bought it from Jay and that's the color it was when we pick it from Jay.

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2 girls bought it from is and they lived in finland.

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https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7687/...4694c728ed.jpg

This is the only picture I can find, taken at Thunder Valley Dragway in South Dakota.

Pat

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https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8767/...27ba9592ff.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8799/...7dab2cda8e.jpg

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Yep, its great to see that this car has a long racing history! Before this I knew pretty much of the Finnish history of this thing but very little history from the U.S. years.

Very good pics as well, a big thank you! It looks like that shade of blue is quite close to the color it's painted nowadays. It definitely was a good looking car back then, too.:)

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Alright, that's cool! I guess that means that there are all of the fellows who have owned this car when it was being raced in the States. (Jonh & Pat, Jay and John).

Another one of those girls indeed was driving the car back then. We bought it from her and her husband a few years ago and they have helped us a lot while rebuilding and racing the car, so thanks to them as well if you happen to read this.;)