Coolest or Oddest Combo.....

bill dedman · 01-28-2009, 03:22 PM

I attended the 1971 U.S. Nationals and was walking through the pits and spied a beautiful, red, 6-cylinder-powered C/Street Roadster. Went over to take a closer look and was blown away by the home-brewed, aluminum billet hemi (yes, I asked) cylinder head. It was a work of art. I think the block was a 300 Ford... or, maybe a 240. I think the deck height dimension is the only external difference, so I couldn't tell.

If I remember correctly, it was Jan Reidel's car, and I kick myself for not taking a picture of it. It was beautiful! And, unique.

I think Jan was from Tiffin, Ohio. Has anybody else here ever seen that car?

Bob Rice · 01-29-2009, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill dedman

I attended the 1971 U.S. Nationals and was walking through the pits and spied a beautiful, red, 6-cylinder-powered C/Street Roadster. Went over to take a closer look and was blown away by the home-brewed, aluminum billet hemi (yes, I asked) cylinder head. It was a work of art. I think the block was a 300 Ford... or, maybe a 240. I think the deck height dimension is the only external difference, so I couldn't tell.

If I remember correctly, it was Jan Reidel's car, and I kick myself for not taking a picture of it. It was beautiful! And, unique.

I think Jan was from Tiffin, Ohio. Has anybody else here ever seen that car?

Bill,
Is this the same car you are thinking about?
Bob Rice

bill dedman · 01-29-2009, 08:53 AM

Bob,
No, that is an Altered (25% setback, originally... I think they eventually came off that), and the car I saw was a C Street Roadster (10% setback, with the requisite fenders, headlights, etc.)

The guy from Ohio spelled his name "Reidel"... He ran sixes in Street Roadsters for a lot of years, and they were always fast.

Ralph Hope, a Canadian, also ran sixes (might still be doing it) and at one time, at least, he had a sponsor "Rydell Chevrolet," which might have been in Winnipeg, Manitoba... seems like it was.

That car in the picture you posted might well be one of their cars.

I saw the Reidel car in 1971. The picture you posted looks to have been taken a lot later than that, but don't ask me why I think that; maybe it's the roll bar design... dunno... lol!

Thanks for your interest in this discussion; I'd bet that the car in the picture you posted has some sort of hybrid head on it because it appears to be a crossflow head; I.E., no headers apparent on the driver's side. I saved the picture and ran it through my Picasa edits to apply some fill light and the dark area on the side of the block when brightened with fill light, shows six horizontal velocity stacks, but not a header pipe anywhere that I can see. MUST be on the other side! Hybrid head, for sure, or not an American engine.

Maybe someone else on here will recognize it and fill us in.

Colesy · 01-29-2009, 12:13 PM

The Tee posted above is indeed Ralph Hope. The attached photos are from 1969. As far as I know, this was the first race team to adapt an eight cylinder head to a six back in 1968. Ralph Hope and Wayne Lang were from London Ontario and Wes Rydell owned a Chevrolet dealership in Grand Forks N.D. This motor went into a Chevy Vega after the Anglia.

Kevin Love · 01-29-2009, 12:34 PM

I raced a 60 Chevy in SS/X in 1973 and the key was to take the plug out of the
back of the carb.Wouldn't idle at all but sure picked up the car ! The next year
NHRA came out with clarification that all vacuum lines and plugs must be tight.

I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?He was a good guy and used to
live in Zanesville,Ohio. Does anyone know if Pat Kronenbitter of PK Racecars is related?

mtkawboy · 01-29-2009, 02:12 PM

When I raced jr. stock with my 59 Chevy P/S car Bob Dwyer had studs holding the carb down with 1 inch springs and a nut on top of his 54 Studebaker "Crockagator". Told me it kept the fuel from foaming. What it did was bind the linkage and pick up the front of the carb slightly for a huge vacuum leak. Took me a while to figure it out.

danny waters sr · 01-29-2009, 02:24 PM

Sure do wish someone could dig up some pictures of some of these odd-ball combos. A guy back home used to run a opel cadet stick in stock. Thinking it was R or T ,showroom stock. At least that is what i remember it being called . KDS made a showroom stock class so some of the guys could come off the street with their family cars and compete without getting too embarrassed. My dad ran our family 61 olds 88 convertible . I guss that is were i got this bad sickness.lol

bill dedman · 01-29-2009, 02:39 PM

Kevin Love asked, "I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?"

Kevin, I don't know about Jim, but I seem to remember that he was a member of a group of Chevy Stock Eliminator racers from Ohio called the "Chevairs." I guess there must have been at least one Corvair in the group, with a name like that... lol!

Those guys (at least, the ones I read about in National Dragster back then... this was in the late 1960s) mostly ran 2bbl 283 4-speed cars, and included (I THINK), Kronenbitter, Jon Callender, Phil Chisolm and Dave Boertman. A formidable crew, to say the least!!! I'm sure there were other succesful racers in that group, but those are the ones whose names I remember reading most often in the Class Winners columns. Their 2bbl cars all ran like 4bbls... LOL!

Maybe some old Ohio racers on here might remember Jim Kronenbitter and know if he's still around.

Bill

doug schriener · 01-30-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Love

I raced a 60 Chevy in SS/X in 1973 and the key was to take the plug out of the
back of the carb.Wouldn't idle at all but sure picked up the car ! The next year
NHRA came out with clarification that all vacuum lines and plugs must be tight.

I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?He was a good guy and used to
live in Zanesville,Ohio. Does anyone know if Pat Kronenbitter of PK Racecars is related?

Kevin- I think Jim moved on to a S/S small block Camaro- It was mentioned in passing by a guy on here quite a while back.Seems to me it ran real good too.

Mark Yacavone · 01-30-2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doug schriener

Kevin- I think Jim moved on to a S/S small block Camaro- It was mentioned in passing by a guy on here quite a while back.Seems to me it ran real good too.

I believe Jim moved on to a 283 Chevy II .

01-28-2009, 03:22 PM	#1
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... I attended the 1971 U.S. Nationals and was walking through the pits and spied a beautiful, red, 6-cylinder-powered C/Street Roadster. Went over to take a closer look and was blown away by the home-brewed, aluminum billet hemi (yes, I asked) cylinder head. It was a work of art. I think the block was a 300 Ford... or, maybe a 240. I think the deck height dimension is the only external difference, so I couldn't tell. If I remember correctly, it was Jan Reidel's car, and I kick myself for not taking a picture of it. It was beautiful! And, unique. I think Jan was from Tiffin, Ohio. Has anybody else here ever seen that car? __________________ Bill

01-29-2009, 08:53 AM	#3
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... Bob, No, that is an Altered (25% setback, originally... I think they eventually came off that), and the car I saw was a C Street Roadster (10% setback, with the requisite fenders, headlights, etc.) The guy from Ohio spelled his name "Reidel"... He ran sixes in Street Roadsters for a lot of years, and they were always fast. Ralph Hope, a Canadian, also ran sixes (might still be doing it) and at one time, at least, he had a sponsor "Rydell Chevrolet," which might have been in Winnipeg, Manitoba... seems like it was. That car in the picture you posted might well be one of their cars. I saw the Reidel car in 1971. The picture you posted looks to have been taken a lot later than that, but don't ask me why I think that; maybe it's the roll bar design... dunno... lol! Thanks for your interest in this discussion; I'd bet that the car in the picture you posted has some sort of hybrid head on it because it appears to be a crossflow head; I.E., no headers apparent on the driver's side. I saved the picture and ran it through my Picasa edits to apply some fill light and the dark area on the side of the block when brightened with fill light, shows six horizontal velocity stacks, but not a header pipe anywhere that I can see. MUST be on the other side! Hybrid head, for sure, or not an American engine. Maybe someone else on here will recognize it and fill us in. __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 01-29-2009 at 09:06 AM.

01-29-2009, 12:13 PM	#4
Colesy Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 224 Likes: 94 Liked 437 Times in 169 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... The Tee posted above is indeed Ralph Hope. The attached photos are from 1969. As far as I know, this was the first race team to adapt an eight cylinder head to a six back in 1968. Ralph Hope and Wayne Lang were from London Ontario and Wes Rydell owned a Chevrolet dealership in Grand Forks N.D. This motor went into a Chevy Vega after the Anglia. Attached Thumbnails

01-29-2009, 12:34 PM	#5
Kevin Love Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: canada Posts: 113 Likes: 5 Liked 19 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... I raced a 60 Chevy in SS/X in 1973 and the key was to take the plug out of the back of the carb.Wouldn't idle at all but sure picked up the car ! The next year NHRA came out with clarification that all vacuum lines and plugs must be tight. I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?He was a good guy and used to live in Zanesville,Ohio. Does anyone know if Pat Kronenbitter of PK Racecars is related? __________________ Kevin Love 5666 STK/SS

01-29-2009, 02:12 PM	#6
mtkawboy Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Billings Mt Posts: 281 Likes: 183 Liked 54 Times in 18 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... When I raced jr. stock with my 59 Chevy P/S car Bob Dwyer had studs holding the carb down with 1 inch springs and a nut on top of his 54 Studebaker "Crockagator". Told me it kept the fuel from foaming. What it did was bind the linkage and pick up the front of the carb slightly for a huge vacuum leak. Took me a while to figure it out.

01-29-2009, 02:24 PM	#7
danny waters sr VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: lagrange,nc Posts: 2,224 Likes: 1 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... Sure do wish someone could dig up some pictures of some of these odd-ball combos. A guy back home used to run a opel cadet stick in stock. Thinking it was R or T ,showroom stock. At least that is what i remember it being called . KDS made a showroom stock class so some of the guys could come off the street with their family cars and compete without getting too embarrassed. My dad ran our family 61 olds 88 convertible . I guss that is were i got this bad sickness.lol __________________ Danny Waters, Sr / 73 Duster "340"

01-29-2009, 02:39 PM	#8
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Coolest or Oddest Combo..... Kevin Love asked, "I was wondering if Jim Kronenbitter is still around?" Kevin, I don't know about Jim, but I seem to remember that he was a member of a group of Chevy Stock Eliminator racers from Ohio called the "Chevairs." I guess there must have been at least one Corvair in the group, with a name like that... lol! Those guys (at least, the ones I read about in National Dragster back then... this was in the late 1960s) mostly ran 2bbl 283 4-speed cars, and included (I THINK), Kronenbitter, Jon Callender, Phil Chisolm and Dave Boertman. A formidable crew, to say the least!!! I'm sure there were other succesful racers in that group, but those are the ones whose names I remember reading most often in the Class Winners columns. Their 2bbl cars all ran like 4bbls... LOL! Maybe some old Ohio racers on here might remember Jim Kronenbitter and know if he's still around. Bill __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 01-29-2009 at 02:42 PM.