[bill dedman]

Deuce Coupe;

I applaud your determination to attempt to describe, in detail, the scenario that was Stock Eliminator (and, Super Stock,) for that period. It is fraught with a frustrating array of changes, both logical and illogical, and getting all the many, many, details right, will be a monumental challenge! I can't imagine how many hours of painstaking researech it will take to get, even a "mostly-right" accounting of what went on, for several reasons. Not the least of which will be that the time-frame is thirty-forty years ago...

Good luck with that! It needs to be done, and I'm just glad you seem "up-to-the-task."


Many past and present racers will be in your debt when you finish it, They'll appreciate it, for sure.

There was one phenomenon during that time peiod that was unique to the era that some present-day racers may be unaware of, and that was the advent (in about 1964) and eventual demise, entirely, of a unique style of race car that changed the face of drag racing for a few years: The Hydramatic-equipped, 1955-1960 Chevy sedan delivery.

In about 1970, they were eventually legislated out of existence because the factory never ever offered that transmission in the passenger- car-based "sedan delivery." They had Powerglides and (maybe) Turboglides, but, never a Hydramatic.

There are many stories relative to how they got "legal-status" in the first place, the most believeable being, that since they were licenced (in California) as a TRUCK, they could use a truck transmission.
Chevy pickups sometimes were factory-equipped wih 4-speed Hydramatics.

In late '64 or maybe, early '65, a racing team named "Anglin-Clark-VanDill," running out of Washington state, set a new National Record in H/SA (I THINK) with the first one I was ever aware of. Of course, I had to have one, so I immediately built my own, a 220hp '57. By the time I got mine, "operational," several more had shown up in National Dragster and Drag News... all of a sudden, they were coming out of the woodwork!

What made them so appealing was, they had 4-speeds, not two like a Powerglide and the Powerglides of the day had NO hi-stall converters available.. so, the little 283's loved that Hydro! It had a 3.87 (or later,) a 4.10 first gear. Added to that, was that the liberal rules of the day determined that ANY engine (horsepower) could be run with this drivetrain, so, you could build a 270 (twin 4-bbl) or a 283 horsepower, fuel injected sedan delivery and run the appropriate Stock class. Then, there was the advantage that the sedan deliveries were available (and, "legal") for six years, 1955-through 1960, so the combinations were endless...
I remember that at one point, it seemed that EVERY "automatic" Stock class record that they were legal for (something like E-Stock automatic down through N Stock automatic) was held by some form, or combination, of Hydro/sedan delvery. At least, that's the way I remember it... They were everywhere!

Then, in about 1971, NHRA came out with a proclamation banning the use of that transmission in sedan deliveries, altogether. As quickly as they had appeared, they were gone.

The ironic timing of this announcement is, that the development of high-stall and smaller-diameter torque converters was imminent and may have even been concurrent with the ban on Hydros, so I would imagine, the hurt was short-lived.... a good, high-stall Powerglide might have even been quicker than the Hydro by then.
Maybe someone on here took a Hydro out and replaced it with a properly-equipped Powerglide back then and can fill us in on the comparison.

Anyway, this is a period of time (1965-1970) that needs to be explained... in detail.

Thanks for all you do!