More Legends of Drag Racing

[Bret Kepner]

IIRC, Montgomery's advantage with the turbo in AA/GS was about three tenths of a second. Initially, Montgomery and Mallicoat were both thrown into BB/A but, in 1971 (I think!), the NHRA pushed the turbos out of AA, BB and CC/GS into the turbo-specific classes of /GS(T). After the /Gas Super classes were absorbed into AA/A, BB/A and CC/A, NHRA created similar /A(T) subdivisions, too. Obviously, we still have them today.

[bill dedman]

Thanks, bunnyman; I was hoping you'd come through with some good information!

I think the pertinent thing here is that NHRA recognized, early-on, the significance of the built-in superiority of turbochargers in class racing. I see where that mindset continues, today, with NHRA having reduced the size of the turbos on a Pro Mod (Brad Personnet) for the 2011 season after Brad's performances, lately. And, the beat goes on...

[Tom Goldman]

Originally Posted by bill dedman

Must have been a HydraMatic car, Al..... As I said earlier, Pitman-Edwards once ran a 3,600-pound '41 Willys... LOL! No wheelspin there, and the tires didn't much matter....

Bill, I never weighed a Hydro,but I've lifted a bunch over the years,and worse, I had one fall on my chest when I was putting it in my '50 Olds! ...Man that thing was heavy!
Whole lot of cast iron in those babys.

[Rich Biebel]

The hydro we used in our sedan delivery was a Vitar. Was pretty heavy and I recall used a thin paper gasket and a lot of bolts on the torus cover to flywheel connection. I usually made my partner do that job. It was really his car in the first place so I could use that excuse...LOL On at least one occasion he missed with the gasket and we had a mess of ATF all over the floor. I think it was something like 11 quarts in one of those tankers.

We adjusted the pressure regulator at the race track many times. Adding or removing a shim made a big difference on the gear change. Too much pressure and the little 283 would bog down on the 1-2 shift or maybe it was the 2-3, I can't recall that detail....too little and it slid...... I used spark plug washers and a big wrench.....Was a nasty job at places like Atco in the sand......but then so was R&R' ing the driveshaft at every race....we had no towing hubs....

Work is slow....can you tell....LOL

[bill dedman]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

Bill, I never weighed a Hydro,but I've lifted a bunch over the years,and worse, I had one fall on my chest when I was putting it in my '50 Olds! ...Man that thing was heavy!
Whole lot of cast iron in those babys.

I weighed mine when I had one in my sedan delivery. I weighed the bell housing, transmission (ready to race), flywheel, torus cover and both torus members, and the total for all that cast iron was...

TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY CHEST-CRUSHING POUNDS.


Gravity always wins....

As the Dual Range Hydros were being ushered out of popularity, I HEARD that Cal Hydro had an aluminum case for that transmission, and that SOMEBODY had fabbed a 2.20 rear planetary to replace the 2.63 that was in (as I understand it) every Hydro that was ever built.... giving ratios of 3.19:1, 2.20:1, 1.45:1 and 1:1. Not bad, for a light car with a big engine.... But, they needed some alulminum rotating parts, too, such as clutch drums for the bands to wrap around.

In a parallel universe, maybe...

[bill dedman]

Originally Posted by Rich Biebel

The hydro we used in our sedan delivery was a Vitar. Was pretty heavy and I recall used a thin paper gasket and a lot of bolts on the torus cover to flywheel connection. I usually made my partner do that job. It was really his car in the first place so I could use that excuse...LOL On at least one occasion he missed with the gasket and we had a mess of ATF all over the floor. I think it was something like 11 quarts in one of those tankers.

We adjusted the pressure regulator at the race track many times. Adding or removing a shim made a big difference on the gear change. Too much pressure and the little 283 would bog down on the 1-2 shift or maybe it was the 2-3, I can't recall that detail....too little and it slid...... I used spark plug washers and a big wrench.....Was a nasty job at places like Atco in the sand......but then so was R&R' ing the driveshaft at every race....we had no towing hubs....

Work is slow....can you tell....LOL

Our hydro had the disgusting habit of blowing out the seal between the crankshaft flange and the flywheel and dumping the entire 11 qts. of ATF on the starting line. We called it "Old Leaky." This happened at the trophy race at the 1961 AHRA Nationals at Green Valley (Texas.) Don Biggers went on for the win. He had us covered by about a full second...

AHRA cleanup crews were not amused....

I used the spark plug washer "trick" for mainline pressure adjustment and ended up coil-binding it (un-knowingly,) and I got my first lesson in physics as regards the compressibility of fluids... they aren't.

Blew the whole end off the oil delivery sleeve. Now, we had a 2-speed.... 1st and 3rd....

Live and learn....

[CycloneFE]

I was on Bob Rice's facebook and linked to the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame and came across this pic. Wow! I love the traction bars.

[bill dedman]

Originally Posted by CycloneFE

I was on Bob Rice's facebook and linked to the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame and came across this pic. Wow! I love the traction bars.

Bob MIGHT have a picture of Junior Garrison's "Wicked Willys," the '40 Willys coupe that won B/Gas and the "Little" (or was it "Street") Eliminator at INDY in '62. It had traction bars that ran from the axle housing to the rear cross-member!

I'm pretty sure that Bill Taylor (of Coleman/Taylor Transmissions) had a lot to do with that car.

[CycloneFE]

Not too far from the subject, I am posting pics of Jack Ditmars Lil Screamer. It was at the Hunnert Car Pile Up here in Decatur in October. The fellow doing the restoration has a web site and has been documenting his progress. My only concern was that I called Jack out of the blue and he wanted me to help him get the Screamer back, the fellow would have nothing of it unless it was very large $$$$. I contacted Jack because his Opel funny car ended up at our local track as a bracket car and he found out it went sand racing and was destroyed. What a shame.

[bill dedman]

I saw that Ditmars car (not the Opel) run several times, and it really WAS a "screamer!" Fantastic little altered, and fabulous paint job!!!

I hope he gets it back!!!!