Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Hey guys, I thought this might make a cool thread. Show us what your current race car looks like and what it looked like when you first raced it. I know many of you have been racing the same car for decades, let see how it has changed over the years.

For the racers that have changed there cars over the years, lets see them too. If you have a story behind them lets here it.

I will start it off....The first photo is my first race car, a 1968 Mustang running C/SA that I bought in 1987, that started my racing career. The second photo is from the mid 90's with a new look. The third photo is what is looked like as a 1967 Shelby before I sold it 2 years ago. I owned it for 24 years. Sold it in 2000, but bought it back in 2006. Many of you know I now drive a 2008 Cobra Jet. To new for me to post about it, so I just posted what I had the longest and the most memories. One interesting fact about the car. I won 3 national events with this car at the same race at Englishtown, NJ. Something tells me I should have kept it.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Here’s my car back in 1993 when it was owned it by Royce Virgin from Salt Lake City.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...psc7hthjdh.jpg

Here’s a photo from the Dutch last year - 26 years later. From the outside not much has changed. But inside there’s been plenty of change.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ps4lq1m6rm.jpg

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...9e&oe=5A7C57A0
Went through a lot of changes over the years. I bought it from the Ross family in 2005 as an I/CM car.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a4&oe=5A7B4202
I had Tim Sloan of Sloan Racing Engines do the engine and set the I/CM and J/CM Records a few times, then ran it in H/CM for many years. (Juuuuust missed the H/CM record one year, but got my first #1 Qualifier with that run at Skyview)

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...74&oe=5A75B609
In the middle of 2011, Sloan completed the 5.9L DragPak combo for me to run GT/HA. Gibbs Race Cars completed the backhalf and 4-link with a Moser 60 rear in April of 2012.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...9a&oe=5A62BC64
Last year, I went back to a 'small' tire with the 29.5x10.5 M/T Pro Bracket Radials, and the car is even BETTER. I broke the crank in July 2016, which is when it ceased to be a Super Stocker. Top end is still all the legal 5.9 DragPak stuff, but made it a 408 stroker shortblock.

To my knowledge, this is the only car on the planet that has won a Stock World Championship, a Super Stock World Championship, and a Bracket Finals.

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

My brother Joe and me bought our Nova in 1999 as a Roller from Chet Fincke jr. the original owner/builder was famed Div.2 racer Richard James.

We converted the Nova to a stickshift.

We first raced it in K stick.

We have worked on the car from end to end over the years. The biggest change was to have Dave Cech strip the car to bare metal and repainted it. He saved a lot of weight for us.

Since we bought it, we have always had V8 stick combos in it. The classes we have been in are: K, J, I, H, F,E,D and C stick. Richard did race this with a straight six auto and a 327 auto.

This has been and is a very fun car to race!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Very neat topic Ken. Here are some shots of my "second lady love" over the years.
Joe Scott built this car as the somewhat infamous "Nickelodeon neon green slimer", well known in div 1 in the early 90's. He sold it to another gent who then painted it silver, then only after a year or two of dabbling in racing he traded it to the Matukas family as partial payment for a new SS s-10 truck they built for him. I then purchased her from the Matukas's as a roller in 1999 . Its so hard to explain to folks who just don't understand the connection you can have with an inanimate object.....there are times where you just make a connection to a car/machine that goes beyond what would otherwise seem logical... I will never, ever sell or otherwise get rid of this car, so long as I am alive.

I bought this car just past the apex of my battle with cancer when I was finally confident I would actually live past the next year or two. This "car" (yes that term seems so insignificant to those who don't get it) is a part of my life that just cannot be explained in any practical or logical fashion to those outside the "racing" circle....

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Started racing the car in Stock in 1973, bought it late 1970. In 1982 after Indy I took the car home and restored it back to street again. Then I brought the car down to Florida in 1992 and starting racing it again in Stock and now to present time. Set the NHRA record in F/S in 1974, 78 and 79 I think. Too old to really remember the exact years. I still keep the completely street legal with full exhaust and even the radio and wipers work.

Casey Miles
248H Stock

BTW, Jim Schaechter gave me the opportunity to race his car, it's all THAT!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Kevin, neat story! I didn't know that was Joe Scott's old car! I heard the story was that he gave the car to the paint shop and said, "Do whatever you want", and that's how it came back... probably wasn't the "whatever" he had in mind! LOL

I was walking to the concession stand at Beaver Springs one day and Joe was sitting at the end of his trailer and called out, "Hey kid! You wanna drive a Super Stocker?" Never did know if he was being serious. I probably missed a lot of opportunities from being shy back in the day. :o Doh!

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

As bought in Dec. 2012 --P/SA : Up to the point when I purchased the car, it had set 9 records (combined ) in NHRA and IHRA classes. In the next 34 months it would set 8 more NHRA records

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...49&oe=5AA3A325


August 2017 @ Indy entered in SS/PA in Stocker legal trim : Same powertrain as bought in 2012

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...2f&oe=5AA3B75A

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a9&oe=5AA4E2F3

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

1939 Chevy Coupe "THEN H/G" 1927 Ford Roadster "Later SST" Dakota (ME) & Nova (SON) "now"

Re: Your Race Car.... Then and Now
 

Funny how a car sitting neglected in the tall grass in my neighbor's yard could wind up parked in a warm garage---- famous and highly prized by someone else. :-)