Lower Class Stockers

[Bench Racer]

Originally Posted by Bret Kepner

Certainly most of you remember that Tom Redier won Stock at Indy '76 with his X/S Pinto wagon. However, arguably the most brutal of all the "little cars", (at least from the perspective of being more than capable of winning a National Event for more than a two-year stretch), was George Williams' Z/S Vega panel wagon.

What happened to all the Vega stockers? I remember seeing a Pinto at Indy this year and a couple of years before but I have not saw a Vega stocker since one ran some IHRA in the mid 1980's? Were the Vegas horsepowerer factored to death? Don Jackson

[raceewing]

PS This is why George Williams raced a vega wagon. George raced a ply road runner with a hemi in stock and did not do very well. One day Marty B. division three tech director said to George __your racing the wrong car__ and George said what do you mean? Marty said you need to be racing your daily driver, your vega! In division three you did what Marty said.

[TGould]

Not OEM Bill. 1975 was the first year (1975 - 1987) of the aftermarket "lift,duration,and overlap " cams. I'm still running my 1976 Lunati cam. Rocky, good to hear "the rest of the story". I knew about the "special gears" but not the 8.8 in a 1974 wagon only thing.

[Bobby Zlatkin]

It's not how fast you go, but whether or not you go back to staging for the next round.

[Mike Taylor 3601]

X-tech man Now you know JT never was illegal."Buddy they cheated me like a dog."[to quote JT]''LOL That was JT's story anyway.In case you didn't know JT passed away from cancer a few years ago. Whether you liked JT or not you have give him credit WHATEVER he was doing he did wide open and with passion.More JT quotes-Buddy I cut that light so close last round that reden flickered a few times and went out .-Man that baby ul'fly. I rather run anybody here than you[ right before you get in car].He won alot rounds in staging lanes before he ever got in car with his "gift for gab".
Mike Taylor 3601
PS Going rounds is fun no matter how slow you go!!!

[bill dedman]

Originally Posted by TGould

Not OEM Bill. 1975 was the first year (1975 - 1987) of the aftermarket "lift,duration,and overlap " cams. I'm still running my 1976 Lunati cam. .

Tom,
Are you talking about cams that still had stock specs but had increased rates of lift ("plus area" cams)???
I think Crane called them "Blueprint cams." But, they were not "any duration" cams, like are legal today; is that right?

Thanks for correcting that.

Bill

[TGould]

That's right Bill. From 1975 - 1987 they had to check lift, duration, and overlap against factory specs. Since 1988 they only check lift. In 1974, I was in the staging lanes at Englishtown and Joe Lunati came walking down the line. He knew that in 1975 those cams were going to be allowed. He gave me his card and said "young fella when you get ready for a cam for that thing give me a call". When I decided to build the 95 HP combination in 1976, I called Lunati. Two weeks later I received the cam. It's been in there every since.

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by TGould

That's right Bill. From 1975 - 1987 they had to check lift, duration, and overlap against factory specs. Since 1988 they only check lift. In 1974, I was in the staging lanes at Englishtown and Joe Lunati came walking down the line. He knew that in 1975 those cams were going to be allowed. He gave me his card and said "young fella when you get ready for a cam for that thing give me a call". When I decided to build the 95 HP combination in 1976, I called Lunati. Two weeks later I received the cam. It's been in there every since.

Tom....those cams were like the older jr. stock days up until 1972 when they had to run the OEM cam when everyone went to S/S.. Your correct in that they went back to "Blueprinted" cams or "rate of lift" cams in 1975 because NHRA could not police the OEM cam rule. Then in 1985 it was anything goes as long as the lift checked.

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by Mike Taylor 3601

X-tech man Now you know JT never was illegal."Buddy they cheated me like a dog."[to quote JT]''LOL That was JT's story anyway.In case you didn't know JT passed away from cancer a few years ago. Whether you liked JT or not you have give him credit WHATEVER he was doing he did wide open and with passion.More JT quotes-Buddy I cut that light so close last round that reden flickered a few times and went out .-Man that baby ul'fly. I rather run anybody here than you[ right before you get in car].He won alot rounds in staging lanes before he ever got in car with his "gift for gab".
Mike Taylor 3601
PS Going rounds is fun no matter how slow you go!!!

Yes He was a good guy but I still caught him with V8 replacement pistons in his V6 which had a smaller dish (more compression). Didnt know he passed away. Sorry to hear that.

[Bench Racer]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Don't even have to use past tense! Randall Campbell busted my butt with a double-oh and .01-over in the semis of Saturday night combo at Mt. Park a couple years ago, running his HT/SA '86 Chevy C-10 pickup. I think it's R/SA in NHRA.


gcasey - Awesome! It's good to hear those lost bits of history.

Mike, I did not mean that Randall had lost any of his robotics over the years lol. Back in the 80's I saw Randall with some different cars at the drags other than the tried and true Nova wagon. They seemed to usually be heavy with letters towards the end of the alphabet. If memory serves me correctly I think one was a chevelle wagon with a straight 6 that fit in Z. Randall was and is a friend to all he meets. Don Jackson