Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Hey guys, I thought this might make a cool thread. Show us what your current race car looks like and what it looked like when you first raced it. I know many of you have been racing the same car for decades, let see how it has changed over the years.

For the racers that have changed there cars over the years, lets see them too. If you have a story behind them lets here it.

I will start it off....The first photo is my first race car, a 1968 Mustang running C/SA that I bought in 1987, that started my racing career. The second photo is from the mid 90's with a new look. The third photo is what is looked like as a 1967 Shelby before I sold it 2 years ago. I owned it for 24 years. Sold it in 2000, but bought it back in 2006. Many of you know I now drive a 2008 Cobra Jet. To new for me to post about it, so I just posted what I had the longest and the most memories. One interesting fact about the car. I won 3 national events with this car at the same race at Englishtown, NJ. Something tells me I should have kept it.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Here’s my car back in 1993 when it was owned it by Royce Virgin from Salt Lake City.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...psc7hthjdh.jpg

Here’s a photo from the Dutch last year - 26 years later. From the outside not much has changed. But inside there’s been plenty of change.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ps4lq1m6rm.jpg

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...9e&oe=5A7C57A0
Went through a lot of changes over the years. I bought it from the Ross family in 2005 as an I/CM car.

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I had Tim Sloan of Sloan Racing Engines do the engine and set the I/CM and J/CM Records a few times, then ran it in H/CM for many years. (Juuuuust missed the H/CM record one year, but got my first #1 Qualifier with that run at Skyview)

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...74&oe=5A75B609
In the middle of 2011, Sloan completed the 5.9L DragPak combo for me to run GT/HA. Gibbs Race Cars completed the backhalf and 4-link with a Moser 60 rear in April of 2012.

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Last year, I went back to a 'small' tire with the 29.5x10.5 M/T Pro Bracket Radials, and the car is even BETTER. I broke the crank in July 2016, which is when it ceased to be a Super Stocker. Top end is still all the legal 5.9 DragPak stuff, but made it a 408 stroker shortblock.

To my knowledge, this is the only car on the planet that has won a Stock World Championship, a Super Stock World Championship, and a Bracket Finals.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

My brother Joe and me bought our Nova in 1999 as a Roller from Chet Fincke jr. the original owner/builder was famed Div.2 racer Richard James.

We converted the Nova to a stickshift.

We first raced it in K stick.

We have worked on the car from end to end over the years. The biggest change was to have Dave Cech strip the car to bare metal and repainted it. He saved a lot of weight for us.

Since we bought it, we have always had V8 stick combos in it. The classes we have been in are: K, J, I, H, F,E,D and C stick. Richard did race this with a straight six auto and a 327 auto.

This has been and is a very fun car to race!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Very neat topic Ken. Here are some shots of my "second lady love" over the years.
Joe Scott built this car as the somewhat infamous "Nickelodeon neon green slimer", well known in div 1 in the early 90's. He sold it to another gent who then painted it silver, then only after a year or two of dabbling in racing he traded it to the Matukas family as partial payment for a new SS s-10 truck they built for him. I then purchased her from the Matukas's as a roller in 1999 . Its so hard to explain to folks who just don't understand the connection you can have with an inanimate object.....there are times where you just make a connection to a car/machine that goes beyond what would otherwise seem logical... I will never, ever sell or otherwise get rid of this car, so long as I am alive.

I bought this car just past the apex of my battle with cancer when I was finally confident I would actually live past the next year or two. This "car" (yes that term seems so insignificant to those who don't get it) is a part of my life that just cannot be explained in any practical or logical fashion to those outside the "racing" circle....

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Started racing the car in Stock in 1973, bought it late 1970. In 1982 after Indy I took the car home and restored it back to street again. Then I brought the car down to Florida in 1992 and starting racing it again in Stock and now to present time. Set the NHRA record in F/S in 1974, 78 and 79 I think. Too old to really remember the exact years. I still keep the completely street legal with full exhaust and even the radio and wipers work.

Casey Miles
248H Stock

BTW, Jim Schaechter gave me the opportunity to race his car, it's all THAT!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Kevin, neat story! I didn't know that was Joe Scott's old car! I heard the story was that he gave the car to the paint shop and said, "Do whatever you want", and that's how it came back... probably wasn't the "whatever" he had in mind! LOL

I was walking to the concession stand at Beaver Springs one day and Joe was sitting at the end of his trailer and called out, "Hey kid! You wanna drive a Super Stocker?" Never did know if he was being serious. I probably missed a lot of opportunities from being shy back in the day. :o Doh!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

As bought in Dec. 2012 --P/SA : Up to the point when I purchased the car, it had set 9 records (combined ) in NHRA and IHRA classes. In the next 34 months it would set 8 more NHRA records

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...49&oe=5AA3A325


August 2017 @ Indy entered in SS/PA in Stocker legal trim : Same powertrain as bought in 2012

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...2f&oe=5AA3B75A

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a9&oe=5AA4E2F3

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

1939 Chevy Coupe "THEN H/G" 1927 Ford Roadster "Later SST" Dakota (ME) & Nova (SON) "now"

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Funny how a car sitting neglected in the tall grass in my neighbor's yard could wind up parked in a warm garage---- famous and highly prized by someone else. :-)

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Dan, thanks for the info!!! I could tell the car had sat for quite a while outside and in the sun. There was hot pink (yes, no joke) trim on the edges of the wheelwell carpet inside that was faded bad, as was the hot pink chevy emblem on the weight box lid.
Who was your neighbor?? Where was it? This is a whole other interesting twist to the history of it for me! You have any pictures of it in the grass? That would be very cool!
PS:I tried to PM you this message so as to not hog up the thread, but your inbox is full.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Many of you know my Willys Coupe I used to race and have owned for 35 years.
The car evolved from a barn find in the mid'70's turned into a traditional Gasser style rod by a former racer. after a few owners and a botched attempt at chopping the top by the previous owner to me ,I bought the shell , and correctly did the top chop and completed the car as it is today.
It will soon see both the track and the street as soon as I have time to complete its latest incarnation.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Guess I better clean out that inbox some ----- Actually that goes back to when Joe came down and picked it up when it was just dead yard art. My race car partner Bob Dodson ( junk car dealer ) hooked him up with our neighbor who had it sitting in his weeds. Shortly after that I introduced Joe to Bob Cupp and they started banging on the 327 / 4GC thing. See Bob all the time haven't seen Joe in years.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Hubert Platt told me he had a 1969 Mustang body he wanted to sell in 1970 so we bought it to race in SS/GA. I found out it was a Q code 428CJ Mach 1 that had been one of the test cars for the Boss 302 and according to Ford it was crushed. It was built in October 1968. The front fenders were rolled, it had no quarter scoops, paint was blacked out like a Boss 302 but no stripe on the side and it had the Mach 1 scoop. In June 1971 I removed the drive train from the 1968 SS/FA Mustang that I bought from Hubert in 1969. This was the first time I ran it before it was painted and the only photo I have thanks to Terry Earwood.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ps6udapf5v.jpg

This was my first NHRA points race in Miami in 1971 after paint were I received the best appearing award.

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1971 Turkey Trot in Gainesville with no quarter scoops.

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I raced at Indy, the Grand Nationals in Canada and was going through tech inspection at the World Finals in Amarillo and they weren't going to let me race because the quarter scoops were missing. After a lot of of discussion and with the help of the Division II tech director they said I could race but don't come to Pomona without the scoops. My painter at the time had to carefully install the scoops and I went to Miami and won the Miami National Open with a winning time of 11.24 on a 11.45 record.

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I went to Pomona and won class beating Lonnie Garner racing Bob Gliddens old SS/GA 1969 Mustang short shifting and shutting off early.

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I stayed in California for 5 weeks and went to Orange County during a Funny Car race and made one time run 11.18. I also race a Las Vegas and Bakersfield.

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I set the SS/GA record in 1971 and 1974 but quit racing it in 1974 and never modified the the rear suspension. I decided to race in C/SA and started to restore it in 1992. My first race was a points race in West Palm Beach but it was too light so I had to run B/SA but I did go a couple of rounds. I raced it on and off at a few points meets without very much success and was racing at Orlando and the first round I had a heads up C/SA race against our very own Ken Miele. Ken beat me bad by about .3 and 3 mph and I decided since I wasn't competitive I parked it.

It sat for a few years and I decided to race it in brackets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...psmh9ddhkq.jpg

I don't like bracket racing so I parked it until I opened my restoration shop with my son Brian. I started out as Classic Mustangs and painted it close to the way it was raced in the 70's and took it to car shows to promote my shop.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...pstcw0m30b.jpg

I heard Ford was going after shops using the name Mustang so I changed the name to Gillis Performance Restorations.

I decided to race in the Southern Stock Super Stock Association so I added a solid lifter cam and aluminum heads and ran SS/GA. I did get it to run the index and went to the semi finals at my first race.

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The engine was worn out and had water in the oil so I took it to Competition Motors for a rebuild to race in Stock. He has a 1969 CJ Mach 1 that needs paint and we are swapping labor and working in our spare time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...psnc21h7ci.jpg

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

http://www.staginglight.com/stocker/stkatbsd2.jpg
The Turismo ran a best of a 20.45 it's first night on the track, and I won the Street class. LOL The next week Billy Nees picked it up 2 seconds and 7 mph in about 20 minutes, without exaggeration. A fresh engine and some 6x20 M/T's got it into the 15's.

http://www.staginglight.com/stocker/dutchlanes.jpg
John DiBartolomeo stood by, asking the same question 20+ years ago as he does now, "What is wrong with you?" ;-) In the first two NHRA races, I went a total of 9 rounds and only ran under the index 3 times... but it'd run right on the index! Made it to the semis at the Dutch Classic our second race out.

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This was at Atco for our first NHRA Divisional race with the fresh, clean, and straight look from Bob Barber at Paintworks. I had a TON of help getting the car together, and I remember and appreciate every one of them, even the ones that wanted to maintain a low profile.

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Keystone Nationals... back when there were contingency postings. Got the Wally for EF/SA Class Eliminations on a single, the year Hurricane Floyd blew through.

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This thing is actually a bad little ride, for what it is. Won several races with it and a few R/U's when I was racing it full time while in the process of building the DragPak motor for the Volare.