Slingshot Dragsters of the 1960s Photo Archive

Slingshot Dragsters of the 1960s Photo Archive PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
ISBN: 9781583881484
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In the early 60s, front-engine dragsters, or slingshots, featured tubular built chassis powered by a variety of power plants, consisting of small-block Chevrolets, Chrysler Hemi's, Ford, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Lincoln motors either fueled on Nitro Methane or pump gas. Wheelbases varied from 110 inches in 1962 to over 200 inches in 1969. During the early sixties, racing legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits ran a series of "Swamp Rat" dragsters which not only dominated the quarter-mile, but many of his creations were made by using experimental aerodynamic parts to give better traction and faster speeds. During a fuel ban from the late 50s to the early 60s, many chassis builders utilized a two-engine power plant to gain more power that was lost due to running pump gas instead of fuel. One of the most popular twin-engine dragsters was the "Fright Train", powered by twin small-block Chevrolets. The dragster was driven by 16-year-old Bob Muraviez who used the alias name of Floyd Lippencott, Jr. to fool his parents who did not approve of his racing. Near the end of the 60s, the Chrysler Hemi came to dominate Top-fuel racing, as it produced tremendous torque and horsepower. These dragsters were the quickest accelerating vehicles in motorsports. Elapsed times in the quarter-mile were ranging from the 8-second bracket in the early 60s to the low 7's late in the decade with speeds over 200 mph.In 1970 at the AHRA Nationals at Lion's Dragstrip (Long Beach, CA), Don Garlits experienced a violent clutch explosion that cut his dragster in two and severed a portion of Don's right foot. After being sidelined for several months, Don returned to racing with an innovative rear-engine, top-fuel dragster, which would eventually spell demise for the front-engine dragsters. Relive the 60s era of the front-engine dragster, nicknamed the slingshot for it's aerodynamic design in crisp high quality color and black and white photos. Enjoy memorable moments from some of the famed drivers that are highlighted throughout this book.

Slingshot Dragsters of the 1960s Photo Archive

Slingshot Dragsters of the 1960s Photo Archive PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
ISBN: 9781583881484
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the early 60s, front-engine dragsters, or slingshots, featured tubular built chassis powered by a variety of power plants, consisting of small-block Chevrolets, Chrysler Hemi's, Ford, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Lincoln motors either fueled on Nitro Methane or pump gas. Wheelbases varied from 110 inches in 1962 to over 200 inches in 1969. During the early sixties, racing legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits ran a series of "Swamp Rat" dragsters which not only dominated the quarter-mile, but many of his creations were made by using experimental aerodynamic parts to give better traction and faster speeds. During a fuel ban from the late 50s to the early 60s, many chassis builders utilized a two-engine power plant to gain more power that was lost due to running pump gas instead of fuel. One of the most popular twin-engine dragsters was the "Fright Train", powered by twin small-block Chevrolets. The dragster was driven by 16-year-old Bob Muraviez who used the alias name of Floyd Lippencott, Jr. to fool his parents who did not approve of his racing. Near the end of the 60s, the Chrysler Hemi came to dominate Top-fuel racing, as it produced tremendous torque and horsepower. These dragsters were the quickest accelerating vehicles in motorsports. Elapsed times in the quarter-mile were ranging from the 8-second bracket in the early 60s to the low 7's late in the decade with speeds over 200 mph.In 1970 at the AHRA Nationals at Lion's Dragstrip (Long Beach, CA), Don Garlits experienced a violent clutch explosion that cut his dragster in two and severed a portion of Don's right foot. After being sidelined for several months, Don returned to racing with an innovative rear-engine, top-fuel dragster, which would eventually spell demise for the front-engine dragsters. Relive the 60s era of the front-engine dragster, nicknamed the slingshot for it's aerodynamic design in crisp high quality color and black and white photos. Enjoy memorable moments from some of the famed drivers that are highlighted throughout this book.

Drag Racing Funny Cars of the 1960s

Drag Racing Funny Cars of the 1960s PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781583880975
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In the 1960s funny cars captured the fans with tremendous smoky burnouts and gigantic wheelstands, they were so unpredictable that you never knew what to expect--they might go straight or end up glancing off the guard rail. It was an era of development, of success and of failure. Many raced for Saturday night bragging rights, but many raced for a living--today they are legends of the sport, several of which have contributed information to this book.

Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive

Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
ISBN: 9781583881880
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
One of drag racings very popular classes formed was the Gassers. During the `50s, Model A and 1932-`34 Fords were considered the hot set-up for these gas classes. Using Ford V-8 "flatheads" and later overhead valve engines, Gas Coupe and Sedan classes had to maintain stock wheelbases and the engine relocation was limited. By the mid-60s, it was rare to find an upper classed gasser with any other body make than Willys, Studebaker, Austin or Anglia. They were the stoutest full-bodied cars on strips nationwide. Touring teams ran four to six times every week, often traveling several hundred miles day and night to make their next dates. This was old school racing! However, interest waned as fliptop funny cars took over in popularity. The battles in A/GS (later AA/GS) ranks created many heroes and villains who etched their marks into drag racing history. Gassers shared with fans of the quarter mile one the most thrilling overall racecar types, and for an era that was all too short, they were literally the Kings of the Sport. Enjoy this photo book that takes you back to that time.

Kings of the Quarter-Mile

Kings of the Quarter-Mile PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
ISBN: 9781583882344
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When our young heroes began returning from World War II, they applied the knowledge gained from Uncle Sam towards the fledgling hot rod movement. While speeds increased, rodders learned the hard way just how dangerous it was to “drag it out” on the city streets. In the mid ‘50s, organized drag racing gave hot rodders a safe place to race. Cars evolved from pre-war coupes and sedans to crude “rail jobs,” which were stripped and narrowed frame rails with nothing more than an engine, driveline, seat, and steering gear. As hot rodders were the true Mothers of Invention, the cars later became hand-made, finely crafted “Slingshot Dragsters.” Dubbed the “Kings of the Sport,” these supercharged, fuel-injected Slingshots burned exotic fuels and captured the attention of every young enthusiast from coast to coast. The cars dazzled with gleaming chrome, Candy Apple, Pearlescent, and Metalflake® paint jobs, while the nitromethane fuel produced an unforgettable thunderous sound. This new volume contains all the stars that waged war on quarter-mile strips of asphalt from California to Maine. It’s a vivid pictorial display that captures the true essence of extreme acceleration in all its glory.

Drag Racing Fuel Altereds Photo Archive

Drag Racing Fuel Altereds Photo Archive PDF Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
ISBN: 9781583881835
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
The Fuel Altered, one of the most brutal and exciting cars that ever covered the quarter mile, consisted of a wheelbase average less than 100 inches that was fitted with a blown-supercharged 1500-horsepower engine running on Nitro! With a low center of gravity, the Altered was often compared to a 4,000-pound raging bull, as the driver had all he could handle keeping these beasts on the track! From flatheads to Nitro-burning monsters, see daredevils Mooneyham & Sharp, Gabby Bleeker, John Forska, Willie Borsch, Dale Emery, Leon Fitzgerald, "Big" Glenn Way, Don Green, Sush Matsubara, Leroy Chadderton, and many more blaze the quarter mile to standing-room-only crowds!

Slingshot Spectacular

Slingshot Spectacular PDF Author: Steve Reyes
Publisher: Cartech
ISBN: 9781932494648
Category : Automobiles, Racing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Follow the history of the front-engine dragster in Slingshot Spectacular: The Front-Engine Dragster Era, with over 400 vintage photos and personal stories to help you smell the nitro and feel the horsepower of the good ole days of front-engine, top-fuel racing.

Hot Rod Gallery II

Hot Rod Gallery II PDF Author: Pat Ganahl
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613252811
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
In the best-selling original book, Hot Rod Gallery: A Nostalgic Look at Hot Rodding’s Golden Years: 1930-1960, author and historian Pat Ganahl opened his archives and shared 192 pages and 350 photos of "some" of the most interesting and best photos of his collection. Filled with fascinating images of some of the coolest cars and builders, long-forgotten car clubs, and great shots of the dry lakes, nostalgia fans flocked to grab a piece of hot rodding history all in one convenient package. Well, if some is good, more is better, right?" In Hot Rod Gallery II: More Great Photos and Stories from Hot Rodding's Golden Years, Ganahl dug deeper into his massive archive for even cooler and more never-before-seen photos in both color and black and white to provide another album of great hot rodding photos. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he had more great stuff in old files and folders, hidden away for decades. In this edition are even more dry lakes shots, post-war rods, lead sleds, show circuit cars, and a chapter on marvelous mills. He even dug a little deeper into the early 1960s. If you liked the first edition of Hot Rod Gallery by Pat Ganahl: A Nostalgic Look at Hot Rodding's Golden Years: 1930-1960, you may like this one even more. Ganahl guarantees that it is filled with images you have never seen, and he offers his commentary and a lifetime of expertise in this selection of fantastic images from his expansive archive. You can spend hours looking at all the details and soaking in the history in these images, and we know you’ll enjoy this book as much as you did the first.

Inside Shelby American

Inside Shelby American PDF Author: John Morton
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 1627880828
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
In the late 1950s, a young John Morton was transfixed with sports car racing. His dreams of competition eventually led him to enroll, in 1962, in the Shelby School of High Performance Driving. In a bold moment after the last class, Morton asked Carroll Shelby if he might come to work for the newly formed Shelby American. The answer was “Yes, here's a broom.” Thus ended Morton's college career and began his long racing career. Over the next three years, Morton would be a firsthand witness to the evolution of one of the most iconic sports car builders and racing teams of the 1960s. Inside Shelby American is his personal account of a company overflowing with talent, from designer Pete Brock to fabricator extraordinare Phil Remington to drivers like Dan Gurney, Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, and Phil Hill. The cars were equally captivating: AC Cobra, Mustang GT350, Ford GT, Daytona Coupe. In this book, Morton’s story is intertwined with the memories of other Shelby staffers of the period, revealing through historic photography and an untold perspective the rousing story of America’s most legendary racer and car builder.

"TV" Tommy Ivo

Author: Tom Cotter
Publisher: Motorbooks
ISBN: 1610601270
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
2011 International Automotive Media Gold Award Winner In the early 1960s, Tommy Ivo had the world in the palm of his hands. Still a young man, he was already a star of television and film with a promising Hollywood future ahead of him. Then his producers told him he had to quit drag racing. He quit the entertainment industry instead. This is the official story of Ivo’s incredible life and racing career. Readers will follow “TV” Tommy as he becomes the most ambitious drag racer in the nation, building his own cars in the garage behind his Burbank home; becoming the first driver to pilot his dragsters to 170, 175, and 180 miles per hour and towing his cars to match races at small-town drag strips across the United States. Always the showman, Ivo pioneered promotional techniques that are today taken for granted. In this regard especially, his impact on the sport cannot be understated, and his legacy is detailed in this incredible bio of one of drag racing’s most irrepressible characters.

Quarter-mile Chaos

Quarter-mile Chaos PDF Author: Steve Reyes
Publisher: Cartech
ISBN: 9781932494259
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Quarter-Mile Chaos" looks at the treacherous side of drag racing's golden age. Almost 200 rare and stunning photographs from the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s capture terrifying fires, explosions, and crashes, all by-products of the quest to go faster. "Quarter-Mile Chaos" is full of up close and personal documentation of the perilous task of reaching the 1,320-foot mark first. Armed with just a couple cameras and some film, veteran drag racing photographer Steve Reyes shot some of the most dramatic and eye-catching pictures of these quarter-mile warriors. Reyes roamed the nation's hazardous strips in search of the perfect action photo. The result is some of the most breathtaking drag racing imagery ever recorded depicting out-of-control demolition and devastation during drag racing's most entertaining era.