Drag Car Magnets

drift

This design includes a large Bee Line Dragway imprint on the back and a small AHRA logo on the front making it twice as cool! On July 20, 1963, ground was broken for a drag strip to be built on the Salt River Indian Reservation in what was then a pretty rural area in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jim Rodgers, national 1962 C/S drag champ, built the track on eighty acres of land leased for ten years from the Salt River Pima Indian tribe. Directions to the track were given as being four miles north of the McDowell Road on Arizona Highway 87. It was a 60-foot wide quarter-mile asphalt strip, with seating for 2,000 people, and a pit area to accommodate 300 cars. It opened for every-week Sunday racing on October 6, 1963, under AHRA sanction.

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.

Drag Racing

This Is My Drag Racing Shirt Auto Car Race

Detroit

a little Modesto, a little Pasadena ,a touch San Demas, drag racing , hot rods in the summer sun.

What is now known as "STP" was invented by German scientists during WWII as a response to Germany's need for lubrication of the German war-machine vehicles. WWII US Army divisions in Africa that overtook German Afrika Korps vehicles alleged that the Germans employed an engine oil that is now known as STP formulation full-strength in their air-cooled 4-cylinder engines, which successfully traveled through the hot African Desert war-front without seizing due to friction and extreme heat. How the Germans' original chemical synthesis formulation found its way to the U.S. after WWII is not known, but most likely it made that journey along with many of the other German innovations through the distribution of technology through the spoils of war.

drag racing

The original racing slicks for drag racing and other applications were simply recaps of varying quality, but in 1952 things changed when purpose-built, first-run drag slicks were produced, changing the game and upping performance for decades to come.

Hurst Performance 1958

While organized drag racing came about in 1951, it was in the early '60s that the big three started paying attention. Detroit began quietly building stock-looking cars stuffed full of high-performance parts and no factory warranty, aimed squarely at taking drag strips by storm. With this new breed of off the lot drag racers, increasing numbers of people were suddenly able to get into drag racing without having to build a car from scratch, and boy did they ever. Once the bug had bitten them, they were all in as drag nuts and their stock racers began the never-ending modification process that all hot rodders go through in pursuit of speed.

Hurst Hemi Under Glass is the name given to a series of exhibition drag racing cars campaigned by Hurst Performance between 1965 and 1975. Each wheelstander was based on the current Plymouth Barracuda for the corresponding model year. The car was so named because the fuel injected Chrysler Hemi engine was placed under the Barracuda's exceptionally large rear window. The result of the rearward weight transfer was a "wheelie" down the length of the drag strip. The Hemi Under Glass was developed by Hurst Corporation to showcase their products in the A/FX class - precursor to funny cars. In 1965, George Hurst hired Wild Bill Shrewsberry of Mansfield, OH, an accomplished drag racer who had raced for both Mickey Thompson and Jack Crissman.

Hurst Drag Racer

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.

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.

Due to its naturally swooping lines, the '37 Chevy Master Coupe is one of the more popular bodies to hot rod or in this case, builder a hopped-up gasser. Whether it's cruising the street or throwing down at the strip, these old coupes only get better with age.

Foulger was a Blue Oval dealership on Huntington Drive in Monrovia, California and was one of the first dealerships to dive headfirst into drag racing, sponsoring several drag cars in the '60s and '70s. Their racing logo definitely reflected the times and their top competitors, most notably the 440 powered Plymouth Roadrunners.

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."

It was Don Blair’s interest in racing the dry lakes that prompted him to opening a small business selling speed parts. If any business contributed to hot rodding in Southern California, it was Blair’s Speed Shop in Gardena where 25-year-old Don opened for business in 1946. From the early days of doing tune-ups and selling used parts to building legendary engines and complete funny cars, Don Blair left an indelible mark on the world of hot rodding.

American drag racing

Among the dealership-based supercar builders of the 1960s and ’70s — including Yenko, Nickey, Grand Spaulding Dodge, and Royal Pontiac, most of these dealerships of the muscle era offered what was known as a 'supercar' service, which essentially provided a brand new, stock-bodied vehicle with plenty of extra horses, using either a highly tuned factory power plant or a high-performance crate engine. Baldwin Chevrolet took a slightly different approach, taking new Chevys sold through is dealership in Baldwin, New York (Long Island), and then delivered them to Joel Rosen’s Motion Performance speed shop (also in Baldwin), where they became street-legal, turn-key drag cars. many of which had optional wild custom body kits

Prudhomme and crew dominated these seasons with their vaunted Army Monza, winning six of eight events in 1975 and seven of eight in 1976 en route to the first two of four straight championships.

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.

hurst racing part

Drag racing is my antidepressant was inspired by my parents, they were racecar drivers when I was a child and we traveled the Country going from race to race, my parents always said car racing was their antidepressant

The 429 was NOT simply a 1 (or 2) cubic inch larger version of the blue oval 427 & 428 engines. It was a totally new engine from a different engine family. This design was a departure from the paradigm, utilizing thin-wall casting methods and a skirtless block to reduce weight. The Super Cobra Jet, rated at 375 HP, had a 4-bolt main block, a Holley 780 cfm 4BBL carburetor, and a larger mechanical camshaft. It was only available with a 3.91 or 4.30 rear axle ratio. In 1971, the CJ engine also used a 4-bolt main block. However, these engines were actually derated and produced power in the 440–460 HP range. This was done to deceive insurance companies (common practice in that era), so that buyers did not have to pay higher insurance rates.

Jungle Jim - Retro 70s Car Drag Racer

Drag Racing in 1960s

A red 1969 drag car, this is one of my favorite classic American muscle cars!

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, Both Scotty Fenn (on the west coast) and Pat Bilbow (on the east coast) 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 Pat retained his firm’s already established name, Lyndwood Welding Co. and by 1957, both had produced a pro built dragster chassis and both claimed to be the first, though depending on who you ask, that remains up for debate.

Following the discontinuation of the Demon, the Redeye was created to fill the void. Essentially a heavily upgraded Hellcat, the Redeye is equipped with a slightly less powerful (due to a smaller hood intake system) Demon engine: a supercharged 6.2L V8 producing 797 horsepower and 707 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 90 hp (67 kW) and 11 lb⋅ft (15 N⋅m) over the standard Hellcat motor. Other upgrades include reinforced ZF 8 speed automatic, track-tuned suspension, Torque Reserve and 41-Spline Heavy-Duty Half-Shafts, and SRT Power Chiller® and After-Run Chiller.

Super Stock & Drag Illustrated was founded by John "Monk" Reynolds, publisher of Eastern Drag News and owner of Pennsylvania's US30 drag strip. The first issue was November 1964 and the magazine published continuously until June 1996 when it was re-titled 'Drag Racing' and only made it a few more years until a final issue in March 1999. The magazine was a thoughtful mix of drag racing coverage, tech articles, and street machines, which gave it pretty diverse appeal to gear heads of all sorts.

R.A. and F.D. Stranahan are essentially the founders of Champion Spark Plug Company. Sort of. At the very least, they ended up with the patent on the Champion name which they legally and wisely used to eventually create the largest spark plug manufacturing company in the world. But it certainly didn’t start out that way. More than 20 thousand dollars in debt, and with a company that was fledgling along at best, the brothers had little choice but to move to Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Company offered R.A. and F.D. a contract under which Champion would become the exclusive spark plug of automobiles manufactured at Willys-Overland. The deal came with the stipulation that the Stranahans must make Toledo their home.

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.

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.