Dragster Hoodies

In 1923, George Wight opened an auto parts yard on Gage Avenue in Bell, California. The shop was a combination of salvage yard and machine shop, and it catered to the race crowd in the early days of dry lakes racing. George began removing speed equipment from the junkers he bought. George sold the speed equipment separately under what eventually became Bell Auto Parts. Bell Auto Parts is one of the first, if not the first, speed shop in the United States and it didn't take long before it was the center of racing and rodding activities for the greater Los Angeles area.

Drag Racing in 1960s

Awesome old school 1957 style hotrod, popping a wheelie, huge chrome engine, classic flames custom paint, American muscle car cartoon vector illustration

A classic drag truck

Most longtime drag racing fans are familiar with the ultra-swoopy Wonder Wagon Vega that he debuted at the 1973 U.S. Nationals, and some may even remember that the sponsorship program actually began with a completely different team at the end of the 1972 season. The Wonder Wagon was one of the most popular funny cars ever fielded amongst fans, but it’s driver frequently stated that it was the most dangerous too, mainly due to the car’s aerodynamics, or lack thereof. Dangerous or not, the cars and the sponsor was something different, and these bread truck inspired wagons really resonated with race fans.

This World War II era airfield was located ten miles north of Green Cove Springs off of U. S. Highway 17 opened up in 1960. Drag races were held on the northern east-west asphalt runway of the Fleming Island Naval Outer Landing Field and was named after the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft that flew out of the base. The track was back-lit by two big WWII surplus searchlights that would go from idle to full light when the cars staged. Starting was by a liberated traffic light hanging across the track, so no Chrondek type tree here. Races were first every Sunday, but later in 1961, changed to the first and third Sunday.

The early days of drag racing were largely a run what you brung affair, but by 1954, the true dragster shape and form had emerged and was a refinement of the earlier “slingshot” concept. Built using haphazardly assembled tube steel pipes, these cars gained the nickname “rail jobs.” In 1956, Scotty Fenn decided it was time for a dragster chassis built of quality materials and welded by professionals. Scotty called his new company “Chassis Research, Inc.” and by 1957 he had produced the first pro built dragster chassis that would lead the way to an expansive line of chassis and components that would go on to make and break records throughout the drag racing world.

By the '50s, drag racing was becoming more organized, largely due to the efforts of the American Hot Rod Association. Dirt fields sprouted bleachers and concession stands, and then beautiful paved tracks with safety fences and elaborate pit areas as drag racing became big business. Being a racing-crazy state, Indiana was not immune to this, and so a famous track was born in 1954 in Hobart, Indiana, just east of I-65 on the north side of US 30. For tourism purposes and making it easier for folks to find, the track was said to be in the much larger city of Gary, Indiana which was just a few miles north of Hobart. The track became a favorite for fans and drivers alike and quickly became known as the place "where the great ones run."

Stock car racer Robert Newton wanted to design a tire compound to gain an advantage against fellow racers. This was done by retreading street tires in order to obtain a compound that would adequately gain enough traction. Using an abandoned barn in his home state of Indiana to start his business, he began sales to local racers, making him the first producer of specialty tires for competition use.

dragster car

This Pennsylvania-based performance legend started out as a maker of motor mounts for engine swaps and floor-shifters back in 1958, but they steadily expanded their product line through the 1960s. Hurst wheels, Line/Loc, and Swifter Shifter gloves were developed among other items, and later, Airheart Brakes and the Schiefer Manufacturing Company, which made clutches and other driveline components, were acquired. Hurst Performance floor-shifters were skillfully engineered, reliable and stirring in appearance, plus, their marketing was in tune with the times, catering to the flourishing muscle car movement of the 1960s. Their shifters infiltrated the drag racing, stock car racing, off-road racing and many other areas of motorsports.

the drag build slick big tires 2003 mustang mach 1

silvia s14 kouki v8 ls1 dragster black

The ”Big 4” American auto manufacturers couldn’t agree on too many things in the 1950s and ’60s, but one thing they could agree on, however, was the Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed transmission. Each of the manufacturers used the T-10 at some point during these years and even into the 70s in some applications. Because the transmission was used in so many production vehicles, they were easy to find, as well as being a reliable and strong four-speed, sought after by many racing enthusiasts of the time. They are still very popular with classic car and muscle car restorers today with the most popular version of the T-10 among enthusiasts being the Power Brute Super T-10 which used a 26-spline input shaft and were built to withstand the higher rpms.

Original Art from Morrissey OC. Great gift for the female Drag racing fan!

More American Graffiti is set over the course of four New Year's Eve holidays beginning in 1964 and tells four separate stories, one of which is that of John Milner, the head honcho of the racing scene in the first film, as his drag racing career advances. John's story follows him and the Milner Racing Team crew through a series of personal and professional ups and downs, culminating in a fatal finale. This Milner Racing Team design is a replica based on a screen used tee, ensuring it's accurate to those seen in the film.

Huge oversized engine and tires, popping a wheelie, lots of chrome, old school sixties style American muscle car cartoon vector illustration

Conceived in 1959 by the Smokers Car Club of Bakersfield as sort of an East vs. West challenge, the March Meet (aka United States Fuel and Gas Championships) became much more than that. Held at Famoso Bakersfield Raceway, the event's reputation as the most fierce outlaw drag race brought competitors from coast to coast. Winning the event gave a drag racer immediate caché as the race was that tough to win in its heyday.

silvia s14 kouki v8 ls1 dragster silver

Gnarly Camaro tribute to Niagara Dragstrip that closed in 1974, as some neighbors just didn't like the noise.

Bianca Del Rio

silvia s14 kouki v8 ls1 dragster dark green

B&M came up with the idea of using a competition reinforced Hydramatic transmission for drag racing in the '50s and has been making performance automatic shifters, torque converters, shift kits, and transmission coolers ever since.

A design for those who love to send it at the drag strip, even if it means breaking parts!

Wacky Time Travel Racer

At the height of the muscle car era, Oldsmobile made a deal with Hurst that worked out really well for both companies. In order to create a “halo” car, the two companies collaborated to produce special, limited edition, high-performance Cutlasses. The program started in 1968 with a run of 515 cars, and continued off and on for a number of years, with the final run in 1984, but for many fans, the 1968, 1969, and 1972 versions were the best out of the nine years these cars were offered. The inspiration for the production cars was the Hurst Hairy Olds of 1966-67, drag cars that made a huge impact – twin-engine, four-wheel-drive monsters that were really fun to watch.

Founded in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwise was a chain of auto parts stores in the United States. In 1974, Nationwise partnered with Columbus-based engine builders, The Rod Shop, sponsoring a series of highly successful drag racecars. In stores, a Rod Shop section was created as kind of a speed shop inside of a parts store. In addition to go fast goodies from all the big names, Nationwise also sold Rod Shop branded performance parts. These parts were typically embossed with NRS (Nationwise Rod Shop), making them easy to identify by collectors, even decades later. The Rod Shop partnership ended in 1987, and less than a decade later, Nationwise became insolvent, and closed all stores on Sunday, October 15, 1995 at 3:00 PM.

Livin’ the life at 1/4 mile a time.

Winged Mercury V8 emblem - hot vintage rod look.

white nitro 2

Speed Shop near Milwaukee Wiscosin, 60's

1950s rat rod truck, vintage hot rod art, retro

white nitro

An exact recreation of the 1940-50 winged Mercury flathead V8 emblem. Perfect for a vintage rod look.

Careful, third gear is a real killer!

The Ansen Automotive company traces its roots to a machinist named Louis Senter, a California native and machinist's mate in the Navy during World War II. Louis opened Senter Engineering with his brother in Los Angeles, where they worked on custom machining for hot rodders. The Senter brothers found another partner in engine building specialist Jack Andrews in 1947, and the trio combined their last names to re-christen the business Ansen Automotive Engineering. The new firm developed many go-fast parts as well as began building dry lakes racers, midgets and drag racers in-house. Ansen Automotive speed shop was also where Louis developed complete engines that were popular with racecar drivers, moonshiners and the revenue agents chasing them.