1960 and newer in stock?
 

My father ran a 1956 in Stock Elim back in the early seventies until the rule change that went into effect in 1973 making the car illegal in stock. At the time NHRA stated that every few years they would keep moving the year rule up to keep the body styles newer which obviously never happened.
What I am wondering is why did the rules change in 1973?
Was it a political move by one of the big 3 lobbying NHRA or was it just a foolish rule that was really not needed.
And what do you folks think about opening the stock rules back up to allow the older than 1960 crowd that were forced into Super Stock back into Stock?
Thanks
Chad

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

Chad I will attempt to answer you question in a short story. Maybe some of the older guys could help in case I get some of this wrong. Putting all of the current stockers at that time into S/S also affected my '69 Corvette H/S (todays F/S) stick combo (a real parts breaker with 10 inch tires and OEM rear parts) even thouigh the year was newer than 1960. It started with NHRA coming out with a 15 year (or newer) rule as the replacement parts situation was getting out of hand for the older cars and as you said they wanted newer cars in the eliminator. A year or 2 earlier they took the 4-speeds away from the 57 chevys and before that the old hydros were outlawed for P/Glides.The out cry was heavy and that 15 year rule was dropped. They were also having a hard time finding tech people who knew how to check a cam overlap and duration plus checking the valve springs so all of us were thrown into S/S. WALA.....any cam was allowed and any tire that would fit the STOCK fenderwells that made a car with a weak rear a parts breaker). They also were tired of trimming the slicks down to 7 inches due to tire growth as the 9 inch tire was not allowed back in those days. At the same time they brought out a "PURE" stock catagory that had to run OEM exhaust manifolds OEM cams (not rate of lift or blueprinted) and DOT tires (not the dot slicks of today). These PURE stockers became stock as we have it today. Along came 1985 and the cam and valve spring rule was changed again to what is is today for the stockers.If that 15 year rule had stayed then the oldest car in stock today would be a 1994 version. Im sure I missed a lot of what went on in this response but some other people on here can tell thier stories. By the way....IHRA STILL allows the older cars in stock and pure stock. If its in thier class guide and they have engine specs you can run it.

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

The year was 1972.

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

>>>>>"before that the old hydros were outlawed for P/Glides."

Just a note of clarification for anyone who was not around NHRA drag racing back then, and might not know:
Chevrolets were and always have been VERY popular in NHRA drag racing for a variety of reasons, but the early Powerglide cars struggled, The had a very tight torque converter (1,400 rpm stall?) and there were virtually NO hi-stall converters on the scene, yet. Marv Ripes at A-1 was about to change that, but it hadn't happened yet, in the middle '60s.

As I remember it, (maybe Tony Janes knows this story better than I do, since he was there), some guy who was a buddy of one of the higher-ups at NHRA tech, had a 1959 Chevy El Camino that he ran in "Stock" and, since it was licensed as a truck, this tech guy let him use a truck transmission (Chevy trucks had Olds/Pontiac-style 4-speed Hydra-Matics, back in the fifties, not Powerglides.)

Because of the torque converter stall speed "problem," the hydro was somewhat faster than the Powerglide of the day. Having seen this El Camino perform, somebody built a hydro-equipped Chevy sedan delivery (also licensed as a truck in CA at the time), and the race was on... People started to build these things with every conceivable engine combination from 1955 four barrel 265's to Fuel injected 283's. Undoubtedly, there were also some tri-carbed 348's running, as Chevy was still building sedan deliveries in 1960, I believe.

By 1970 or '71, every stock class record from E/SA down as low as they went at that time (N/SA?) was held by SOME permutation of a Chevy sedan delivery with a hydro.

Be that as it may, the emperor was naked as a jaybird; the open secret was, the Chevy factory never EVER put that transmission in a sedan delivery. I built one of the first wave of them in 1965, and when it came time for rear motor mounts, I had to fabricate them myself. The Powerglide mounts wouldn't fit the truck (hydro) bell housing, and the truck mounts wouldn't fit the automobile frame. No go!!!

By about 1972, however, the party was over, and NHRA decreed that the 4- speed Hydra-Matic was personna non grata in ANY Chevy "passenger car body" (which a sedan delivery was) in Stock Eliminator.

However, by that time, Marvin Ripes ( and some others, Paul Rossi, among them) had learned how to make a Chevy Powerglide fly, and in short order, those 2-speeds were faster than the Olds/Pontiac Hydros, anyway.

This was not one of NHRA's shining moments in history...

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

Bill,

For the record, "Rossi Transmissions" was owned by Tony Rossi, not Paul Rossi. I can hardly imagine any more dissimilar personalities than Tony Rossi and Paul Rossi. Tony's business was an adjunct to a regular transmission shop located on Holt Boulevard in Pomona. A regular contributor to this forum "Da Kahuna" was a skinny high high school kid doing R&R work there in the early 70's when I first went there with Val Hedworth.

The Hydramatic sedan deliveries were long gone before 1970. I was out of touch for about a year and a half in 1968 and 1969 due to being up to my neck in graduate school and I don't have all the timeline at my fingertips but I recall John Barkley winning the Winternationals in his PG equipped "A-1 Transmissions" '57 Chevy in 1968. I think the Hydros were gone before 1968. If I've missed that date, I'm sure that Tony Janes will recall specifically.

Highest regards,

c

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

1969 was the last year for Hydro's in sedan deliveries.

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

Same for the 4-speeds in '57 passenger cars. I was racing a '57 at the time and had to change to a 3-speed. I could buy a 2.47 gear set at Western Auto for $68! I believe Perfection American was the manufacturer. Add a Lenco slider and grind on the engagement dogs so you could power shift it, then I might get 20 runs out of it before something broke.

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

Marv Ripes and Tony Rossi were making superb Powerglide convertors in 1970 .

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

also wasn't the first 2 years for the new Pure Stock's not allowed to trailer there cars thru the gate ?

Re: 1960 and newer in stock?
 

Only the first year Bud. We flat towed from Virginia to Amarillo for the 72 World Finals. We were expecting to have to unhook at the gate. But, they waved us on thru. The requirement was deleted in 73. BTW, I seem to recall I got $300 tow money (Div 2 Champ). I wonder what that would be in todays dollars.