Warren Johnson and his race cars.

[Charlie A]

WJ Vega:

[Hemi Moose]

Charlie, always liked Warren Johnson's pro stock Vega as well...that and Grumpy's Vega.

[Charlie A]

MotorWheel Flys on the front an Spyders on the rear!

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

Danny ,that 10000 rpm shot was in the pre 500" days ,when a lot of BBC Pro ,and Comp eliminator engines were destroked using a 348 crank with a stroke of 3.25 or less..
We ran one in the mid '70's in a B/A that was 379" and it regularly went over 9 grand!
It took me a long time to become a WJ fan, and now I'm sorry I was'nt one sooner.

Back in 77-78 I worked in a shop with Richie Zul who was building Bob Ingles Pro Stock motors for a while. He was using the 348 cranks in a 396 block, the CI was 360 or 366 I think. The dyno pulls were in the 8,000 range I seem to remember a little over 500 flb in torque and a hair under 800 in HP. I did a lot of the block prep and boring but Zul did every inch of the heads and manifold with his bare hands. We had a home made flow bench, but it did the job.

[Charlie A]

And an Olds.

[Charlie A]

The Man.........

[Geerhead55]

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Gearhead, cool story...so if WJ was in his Camaro what was Grumpy in a Monza or Camaro back then...if forget when they all switched from Vega's, Monza's and Camaro's.

Hm,,,,, Grumpy,,Lombardo and the boys had the Monza scattered all over the ground, working on that engine swap. It was the second year the Monza appeared at Seattle, as it debuted in '75 . We only saw the Vega here once,,, for a match race in '74,, which Jenkins lost(!),, to local racer "Jungle Gene" McKinney and his low slung '69 Camaro,,, don't remember what Gene ran, but the Vega went 8.55 which wasn't too bad at match race weight in the summer of '74. Yeah,,, the crowd went wild! I recall Jenkins was sporting a beard that year up here in '76.
Danny Durham

[Hemi Moose]

Originally Posted by Geerhead55

Hm,,,,, Grumpy,,Lombardo and the boys had the Monza scattered all over the ground, working on that engine swap. It was the second year the Monza appeared at Seattle, as it debuted in '75 . We only saw the Vega here once,,, for a match race in '74,, which Jenkins lost(!),, to local racer "Jungle Gene" McKinney and his low slung '69 Camaro,,, don't remember what Gene ran, but the Vega went 8.55 which wasn't too bad at match race weight in the summer of '74. Yeah,,, the crowd went wild! I recall Jenkins was sporting a beard that year up here in '76.
Danny Durham

[Hemi Moose]

I was just going to ask if anyone here remembers any old stockers that WJ used to run...when I came across this article.


It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... no, wait, that's another story. Actually, it was a long time ago 1963, as I recall. And the place was a long way from the center of the universe too, Minnesota Dragway. The world was a very different place in 1963. The Beatles were a British club band, a first-class postage stamp cost four cents, and the Cold War was hotter than a header pipe. I was a typical "Weekend Warrior" with a full-time job, a hot rod '57 Chevy, a new wife, and a baby boy.

I never went to the drag races as a spectator. After all, it was a 200-mile trek to the nearest track. My interest in organized drag racing may have been sparked by a few speeding tickets on the street. I've always been a frugal person, and I certainly appreciated the prospect of racing without the additional expense of traffic court. I grew up on a farm in the Iron Range. When something broke, we fixed it. I learned about engines and mechanical devices by repairing farm equipment. I transferred that interest in mechanics to my hot rod. I also discovered that I enjoyed the competition of building a car that was faster than my rivals' machines.

Several of my friends raced, and one day I simply decided to load up the family car and join them. My wife Arlene held our son Kurt in her arms while I drove to the drag strip. When we finally arrived, we had plenty of work to do before making the first run. I had to remove the differential from the rearend and replace it with one with a numerically higher gear ratio. I also slipped in a new pair of axles as insurance. If I broke an axle — and I often did — at least I'd have a spare to get us back home!

My first "serious" race was a Division 5 points race where I finished as runner-up in Street eliminator. My '57 Chevy competed in the C/Modified Production class, and ran low 13 -second elapsed times. It really was a street car, and it was a real heavyweight — I think it tipped the scales at 3,600 pounds. It had a 327-cubic-inch Chevy small-block, a cross-ram intake manifold, and a roller cam. Most of the hotshots had four-speed transmissions, but I could only afford a Packard three-speed.

I used a regular 10-bolt Chevy rearend, a design that was not exactly noted for its durability under the stress of drag racing. I figured out how to keep the ring and pinion gears from breaking, but I'd shear the ring gear bolts regularly. We didn't have the luxury of a truck or trailer, so I had to repair whatever broke before we could drive home and get to work on Monday morning.

In the beginning, I raced to satisfy my ego. I wanted to prove that I could build a faster hot rod than my buddies. Years later I realized that racing could also support my family. I became a professional racer in 1975, and this year I'm celebrating my Silver Anniversary in Pro Stock. It's hard to believe it all began with a '57 Chevy at Minnesota Dragway!

Warren Johnson.

http://www.dragracingonline.com/firsttime/ii_2.html

[Charlie A]

Great post !!!!