1965 US Nationals Stock Winner

[John W. 1711]

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Bud Shellenberger. He won Stock at Indy, back in 65. He drove a 64 Galaxie in B/S. In 65 he ran out of King Ford, then Norris Ford, in Baltimore. His 70 Torino, and 71 Mustang have been restored. Bud is 87. I took a couple of photos with Bud. I hope to go back and photograph some of his memorabilia. He signed a photo, I have, of tech at the 65 US Nationals. It is also signed by Ken Montgomery, and Tom Sneden. Great guys.

[Jerry Terry]

John can you post your pictures ?




Retired 3490 3492 STK SS SST

[John W. 1711]

I'm trying, but, not having any success. I'll keep trying.

[AndyL]

If you talk with Bud again, ask about his 66 Ranchero match racer, maybe he has pics of that as well.

[John W. 1711]

If you google Bud Shellenberger, some photos of his cars come up. I saw a few of the Ranchero. His wife remembered them building that car.

[troublemaker427]

Bud's Indy winning 1964 Galaxie was sponsored by Marshall Ford City in 1965. It was located on Reisterstown Rd. in Baltimore.

[DeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by John W. 1711

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Bud Shellenberger. He won Stock at Indy, back in 65. He drove a 64 Galaxie in B/S. In 65 he ran out of King Ford, then Norris Ford, in Baltimore. His 70 Torino, and 71 Mustang have been restored. Bud is 87. I took a couple of photos with Bud. I hope to go back and photograph some of his memorabilia. He signed a photo, I have, of tech at the 65 US Nationals. It is also signed by Ken Montgomery, and Tom Sneden. Great guys.

I’ve been searching long and hard for any history of the 429SCJ in the original NHRA era, ie 1970-71.
Going through Petersen, I think I found something.
There’s a picture here:
https://archive.petersen.org/pages/p...php?ref=417808

Of what is dressed as a Norris Ford 1970 Cobra, running in F/S=9.50 class at the 1971 NHRA SuperStock Nationals.
I was excited enough to have even found one of these cars RUNNING at an NHRA National.
I quickly did the math, and given the car’s NHRA weight of 3834 lb, well, 3834/375hp=10.22.
So why does the car have F/S (=9.50 class) on the windshield? Seems by 1971 that NHRA had already factored the 429SCJ to 400hp, so 3834/400=9.59 which now fits the class?

More searching:
The text of this ebay ad says Shellenberger won “his class” at the 1970 NHRA Indy Nationals.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-NHR...-/203006827609

The picture looks like the same car. So did Shellenberger and that 1970 Cobra 429SCJ win F/S=9.50 at the 1970 Indy Nationals? Well no, Ogles in a 68 Camaro won F/S. (Tom Kaasch posted the results I forgot just where). Nobody is listed as the winner for G/S=10.00 class, which is where the car fits without factoring, ie 3834/375=10.22.
Was the 429SCJ factored at 375hp in 1970, which would explain why it won, and then jacked up a class to 400hp in 1971? And, if Shellenberger won class (G/S I assume) in 1970, why doesn’t the win sheet list it?

The 429SCJ was in fact underrated at 375hp, not as badly underrated as the 428CJ at “335hp” LOL, but still underrated. So it seems this engine should have won more, but on searching the 1970-71 era as I’ve been doing for a couple years now, these are the first examples I’ve found.

Anybody know what class Shellenberger won at the 1970 Indy Nationals in the Norris 70 Cobra?

[John W. 1711]

I stood next to the ramp truck, and the trailer, hauling the 70 Torino, and the 71 Mustang, in 1971. The Mustang was in SS/E, and the Torino was in SS/F, at least that was on the windows. Not sure what Bud was in at the 1970 race. The 429's were few, and far between. Great stuff for sure.

[DeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by John W. 1711

I stood next to the ramp truck, and the trailer, hauling the 70 Torino, and the 71 Mustang, in 1971. The Mustang was in SS/E, and the Torino was in SS/F, at least that was on the windows. Not sure what Bud was in at the 1970 race. The 429's were few, and far between. Great stuff for sure.

John,
Thanks, glad you were there. I wasnt sure why the car would have F/S written on the windshield at a SuperStock meet, I didnt know they ran stock class at those.

This raises another question though:
SS/E=8.00-8.49 lb/hp
SS/F=8.50-8.99 lb/hp

So the 429SCJ had to be seriously factored to make it up into these classes. For the 71 Mustang:
3485/435=8.01
3485/411=8.48
So to run in SS/E=8.00. the factored HP had to be between 411-435.

For the 70 Cobra:
3834/450=8.52
3834/427=8.98
So to run in SS/F=8.50, the factored HP had to be between 427-450.

To fit both cars, NHRA must have factored the 429SCJ/375 HP to 427-435, or probably 430 HP. If true, it's no wonder nobody ran these engines much, that is some pretty unfair factoring.

Are you SURE about the SS/E and SS/F markings?

I thought maybe you had the wrong year, but the SS/E and SS/F class breaks didnt change from 1970-1973 or later so that couldnt be it. Maybe they really did factor these things to 430hp. Dont know why.

Thanks again for helping solve this mystery.

[John W. 1711]

Yep, absolutely sure. I just looked at a photo of the Mustang. Car #1567, SS/E. I see the guy that owns both cars now and then. They have been restored to exact race condition.