Oddball Muscle Cars

Paul Ceasrine · 03-09-2010, 03:44 PM

WJ,Any of those mis-guided parachute jumpers from the Orange Dragstrip, did they ever land on your home in central Mass.On those Checkers, the body on that thing was indestructible. Had one race at Dover, in 70' or so. Ran in M/S (14.00 - 14.99 wt/hp).Funniest thing, trying to watch the guy power-shift with a 3-speed on the column...We used to make believe to 'Hail-A-Taxi' every time he went down the track,,and down the return-road we would scream 'Taxi!!..Now that was fun racing...Paul,,

W J · 03-09-2010, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

WJ,Any of those mis-guided parachute jumpers from the Orange Dragstrip, did they ever land on your home in central Mass.On those Checkers, the body on that thing was indestructible. Had one race at Dover, in 70' or so. Ran in M/S (14.00 - 14.99 wt/hp).Funniest thing, trying to watch the guy power-shift with a 3-speed on the column...We used to make believe to 'Hail-A-Taxi' every time he went down the track,,and down the return-road we would scream 'Taxi!!..Now that was fun racing...Paul,,

Paul, I just knew that you'd be all over me as soon as you saw this Checker post! I would definitely want the automatic model Checker wagon w/at least 5:38's....or does anyone make a 6.19 gearset???? BTW, to land on my house in Paxton, those jumpers would have to be blown off their landing target by almost 35 miles, but here in New England, ANYTHING's possible....the runway that was used for the Orange Dragstrip is still intact.....Keep the hits coming, and best wishes....

WJ

Bret Kepner · 03-09-2010, 08:06 PM

Incredibly, a Checker Marathon ran in M/S at the 1984 ADRA (not AHRA) Winter Nationals at Tucson; it was actually a pristine car complete with cab benches and quarter-inch thick interior upholstery.

Concerning the supercharged '57 Fords, the Thunderbirds ran in Sports Production, (/SP), because they were true two-seaters and not subject to homologation rules. If memory serves, the Fairlanes started out in D/Stock and then got booted up to C/S and, eventually, B/S where they were shuffled off to uncompetitive oblivion.

W J · 03-09-2010, 08:49 PM

I also was told today that some of the 1964 Checker models had Chrysler power....not sure if they were the taxi models, or consumer models....6 or V8? Maybe the slant-six that tons of other Chrysler model cabs ran?.....I've heard stories of slant six powered cabs going well over 600 thousand miles w/out being re-built?? How true? Not sure, but everyone who remembers them says the Checkers were real rugged cars that were real survivors.... Mark Yac, you must know something about the Checker vehicles, no? WJ

dakota tom · 03-09-2010, 10:24 PM

50s early 60s Checkers used Continental flat head six engines. The same basic engine as a Kaiser-Jeep.

63-64 slant 6 in most and the 6-8 door Aerobus used the 318 V-8.

late 64 Chevy six and Chevy 283/327 V-8 started to be used.

Borg Warner 3 sp stick or BW automatics were used.

The 300hp 350 was avalible in 1969.

The GM TH400 was used in 1973 and newer.

Dana 44 rear axle 1968 and newer.

There is a raceable combo in there if you want something different.

Mike Schwartz · 03-09-2010, 10:43 PM

Oddly enough, I thought about mentioning Checkers in this thread yesterday. Did you know that they finally closed the book on Checker just this past January, 27 years after the last car was produced?

"On January 14, 2010, the Checker Motor Company ceased to exist with the sale of its Kalamazoo headquarters. It was purchased for just under $3 million by a holding company, the Jones Group, which will sell off the assets and clear the 72 acres. Checker president David Markin was quoted as saying, "It's finished. Our family is very distressed about the closing of the company, but it became inevitable."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Motors_Corporation

ps. The Buick Lacrosse is built in Canada with tooling acquired from Checker.

Rory McNeil · 03-10-2010, 12:51 AM

Hopefully these photos come up OK, this is the ex Larry Walker "Legal Cheater" blown 57 Ford 312. I took these shots in 1972 or 73, at Mission Raceway, with an old Kodak Brownie camera. Shortly afterwards, the car went into storage for 35 or so years, hopefully it will come back out this year, back in the Larry Walker paint scheme.

03-09-2010, 03:44 PM	#1
Paul Ceasrine VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,546 Likes: 0 Liked 10 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars WJ,Any of those mis-guided parachute jumpers from the Orange Dragstrip, did they ever land on your home in central Mass.On those Checkers, the body on that thing was indestructible. Had one race at Dover, in 70' or so. Ran in M/S (14.00 - 14.99 wt/hp).Funniest thing, trying to watch the guy power-shift with a 3-speed on the column...We used to make believe to 'Hail-A-Taxi' every time he went down the track,,and down the return-road we would scream 'Taxi!!..Now that was fun racing...Paul,,

03-09-2010, 08:06 PM	#3
Bret Kepner Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Posts: 418 Likes: 1 Liked 11 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars Incredibly, a Checker Marathon ran in M/S at the 1984 ADRA (not AHRA) Winter Nationals at Tucson; it was actually a pristine car complete with cab benches and quarter-inch thick interior upholstery. Concerning the supercharged '57 Fords, the Thunderbirds ran in Sports Production, (/SP), because they were true two-seaters and not subject to homologation rules. If memory serves, the Fairlanes started out in D/Stock and then got booted up to C/S and, eventually, B/S where they were shuffled off to uncompetitive oblivion. __________________ Bret Kepner BRETKEPNER@Prodigy.net Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

03-09-2010, 08:49 PM	#4
W J Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Paxton, Massachusetts Posts: 638 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars I also was told today that some of the 1964 Checker models had Chrysler power....not sure if they were the taxi models, or consumer models....6 or V8? Maybe the slant-six that tons of other Chrysler model cabs ran?.....I've heard stories of slant six powered cabs going well over 600 thousand miles w/out being re-built?? How true? Not sure, but everyone who remembers them says the Checkers were real rugged cars that were real survivors.... Mark Yac, you must know something about the Checker vehicles, no? WJ

03-09-2010, 10:24 PM	#5
dakota tom Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 13 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars 50s early 60s Checkers used Continental flat head six engines. The same basic engine as a Kaiser-Jeep. 63-64 slant 6 in most and the 6-8 door Aerobus used the 318 V-8. late 64 Chevy six and Chevy 283/327 V-8 started to be used. Borg Warner 3 sp stick or BW automatics were used. The 300hp 350 was avalible in 1969. The GM TH400 was used in 1973 and newer. Dana 44 rear axle 1968 and newer. There is a raceable combo in there if you want something different.

03-09-2010, 10:43 PM	#6
Mike Schwartz Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Maryland USA Posts: 533 Likes: 129 Liked 248 Times in 89 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars / Checkers Oddly enough, I thought about mentioning Checkers in this thread yesterday. Did you know that they finally closed the book on Checker just this past January, 27 years after the last car was produced? "On January 14, 2010, the Checker Motor Company ceased to exist with the sale of its Kalamazoo headquarters. It was purchased for just under $3 million by a holding company, the Jones Group, which will sell off the assets and clear the 72 acres. Checker president David Markin was quoted as saying, "It's finished. Our family is very distressed about the closing of the company, but it became inevitable." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Motors_Corporation ps. The Buick Lacrosse is built in Canada with tooling acquired from Checker.

03-10-2010, 12:51 AM	#7
Rory McNeil VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: from Vancouver BC Canada, now in Nova Scotia Posts: 1,311 Likes: 317 Liked 1,104 Times in 302 Posts	Re: Oddball Muscle Cars Hopefully these photos come up OK, this is the ex Larry Walker "Legal Cheater" blown 57 Ford 312. I took these shots in 1972 or 73, at Mission Raceway, with an old Kodak Brownie camera. Shortly afterwards, the car went into storage for 35 or so years, hopefully it will come back out this year, back in the Larry Walker paint scheme. Attached Thumbnails __________________ NHRA 6390 STK M/S 85 Mustang