80’s/90’s Stock and Super Stock pics

[Jim Hanig]

Originally Posted by SS BRP

Anyone have some old photos of back in the day racing Stock/Super Stock? 80’s and 90’s?

What are you looking for?

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by Jim Hanig

What are you looking for?

Yeah, there are probably thousands of Stock/SS pics posted on this site. And, between all the members here, they probably have 10's of thousands of pics. So, you may need to be a little more specific.

I have mostly just pics of Pontiac powered cars. Have hundreds, total. But probably several dozen, at least, were active Stock/SS cars, during the '80's & 90's. Some were active in the '60's and/or '70's & are still active today.

I'd be glad to post pics of any of these Pontiacs you'd like to see. But you'll have to give me an idea of exactly what you'd prefer. Like maybe: National event winners, division event winners, national record setters, US Nationals class winners, Firebirds, A-bodies, X-bodies, big cars.

[SS BRP]

Originally Posted by oldskool

Yeah, there are probably thousands of Stock/SS pics posted on this site. And, between all the members here, they probably have 10's of thousands of pics. So, you may need to be a little more specific.

I have mostly just pics of Pontiac powered cars. Have hundreds, total. But probably several dozen, at least, were active Stock/SS cars, during the '80's & 90's. Some were active in the '60's and/or '70's & are still active today.

I'd be glad to post pics of any of these Pontiacs you'd like to see. But you'll have to give me an idea of exactly what you'd prefer. Like maybe: National event winners, division event winners, national record setters, US Nationals class winners, Firebirds, A-bodies, X-bodies, big cars.

80’s/90’s cars in general, that were new in that time period. Grand nationals, Foxbody’s, Firebirds, Thunderbirds, Iroc’s, etc.

[oldskool]

" 80’s/90’s cars...that were new in that time period..."

OK, that REALLY narrows it down for me. The only new Pontiac V8 powered cars during those years came in '80 & '81. All those that I am aware of, were 301 Turbo Firebirds. Billy Nees may know of some '80-'81 301 non-turbo powered Pontiacs that ran back then. But, right now, I can't think of any.

There were some really strong 301 Turbo Birds, for their class. Some qualified well & some set national records. I haven't been able to find real good sources for finding out EXACTLY when some of the Pontiacs were running. Many of the cars that were running in the early 2000's were also running in the last century.

DRC has pretty good records back thru 1998. But I've had to do LOTS of searching to find info about many of the Pontiac Stock/SS cars that ran before that time.

Now, if you wanna include the Super Stock GT cars, that will include some Pontiac powered '80's & '90's cars.

With this in mind, I'll begin with Don Kennedy. Just saw him listed at the '98 Winter Nats, with his '92 Bird. I think it had SD455 power, at that time. We can include 9 pics per post. So, in order to save space on this site, I'll edit & add pics as I determine which ones meet your criteria.

Another really good Pontiac powered GT car was Phil Monteith's '82 "Hatari" Fiirebird. Peter Biondo won his first SS World Championship driving that car.

One of the successful 301T cars belonged to Neil Smedley.

While still in the '90's, Phil Monteith built a 4th gen Pontiac powered GT Bird. Peter Biondo also drove this one, & would later win more SS Championships with it.

Lynn McCarty has been running a couple of GT cars for a while. Just found his son Stacy listed in the late '90's driving a '92 Bird.

Another nice 3rd gen GT Bird that was running in the late '90's belonged to Victor Santos.

Nat record holder Carroll Warling had a 3rd gen GT Bird, back when Don Kennedy had his.

Steve Smith had a real strong Pontiac powered 3rd gen Bird, which Scott Burton now has & still races. Not sure exactly when Steve 1st raced it. But I did find him on the SS Q-list @ Indy, in 2001.

Most currently active '80's & '90's model Stock & SS cars were also racing back in the last part of the 20th century. Some still have the original owners. Some have had 2 or more owners who raced them. This 301T Stocker has been raced by Rick Unterseh, for quite a few years now. Can't remember it's history, before Rick got it. IIRC, Rick posted somewhere that he has bought another former 301T Stocker, & is gonna rig it up for his wife to race. His car has been painted a different color, since this pic was made.

[SS BRP]

Originally Posted by oldskool

" 80’s/90’s cars...that were new in that time period..."

OK, that REALLY narrows it down for me. The only new Pontiac V8 powered cars during those years came in '80 & '81. All those that I am aware of, were 301 Turbo Firebirds. Billy Nees may know of some '80-'81 301 non-turbo powered Pontiacs that ran back then. But, right now, I can't think of any.

There were some really strong 301 Turbo Birds, for their class. Some qualified well & some set national records. I haven't been able to find real good sources for finding out EXACTLY when some of the Pontiacs were running. Many of the cars that were running in the early 2000's were also running in the last century.

DRC has pretty good records back thru 1998. But I've had to do LOTS of searching to find info about many of the Pontiac Stock/SS cars that ran before that time.

Now, if you wanna include the Super Stock GT cars, that will include some Pontiac powered '80's & '90's cars.

With this in mind, I'll begin with Don Kennedy. Just saw him listed at the '98 Winter Nats, with his '92 Bird. I think it had SD455 power, at that time. We can include 9 pics per post. So, in order to save space on this site, I'll edit & add pics as I determine which ones meet your criteria.

Another really good Pontiac powered GT car was Phil Monteith's '82 "Hatari" Fiirebird. Peter Biondo won his first SS World Championship driving that car.

One of the successful 301T cars belonged to Neil Smedley.

While still in the '90's, Phil Monteith built a 4th gen Pontiac powered GT Bird. Peter Biondo also drove this one, & would later win more SS Championships with it.

Lynn McCarty has been running a couple of GT cars for a while. Just found his son Stacy listed in the late '90's driving a '92 Bird.

Another nice 3rd gen GT Bird that was running in the late '90's belonged to Victor Santos.

Looks like Welds and Cragar Super Tricks ruled that era in terms of wheels! Interesting to see.

[oldskool]

"Looks like Welds and Cragar Super Tricks ruled that era in terms of wheels! Interesting to see."

Yeah, as I remember it, The Tricks were the 1st mass produced lightweight drag wheels, which were widely used by Stock/SS cars.

Just did a search & found this.

"...1970: New Super Trick Wheel is introduced..."

They were quite a bit more expensive than regular steel wheels & street legal "mag" type wheels. So, I had to stick with cheaper wheels. Bought my 1st pair of S/T front wheels in '78. Probably found a good deal on 'em, used. All the other wheels I ran that year were Cragar S/S wheels.

To save $$, I bought some Appliance brand wheels, which looked sorta similar to the S/S, from a distance, but were cheaper. On my 1st Stockers, I ran alum slot wheels on the front, & painted steel wheels on the rear. Yeah, my operation was low budget. But, the cars won quite a few area races, back then.

These pics are not of '80's-'90's cars, but show some of the different wheels that I & others used, back in the mid to late '70's & '80's. Some here may be interested - others not.

(1) I started in '73, with my '69 GTO. Had alum slots on the front & black painted steel wheels on the rear. At our local tracks, slicks were not legal. Had to be DOT legal street tires with stock type grooves. If there were any soft compound street tires, back then, I was not aware of them. But, M&H Racemaster did sell some hard rubber street legal tires. So, that's what I used.

(2) In '74, we were allowed to use a new M&H "cheater" tire. They were just like a soft compound slick, but had a couple of small grooves. These tires knocked a half sec off my ET, instantly. That season, I ran alum slot wheels front & rear.

(3) Here's a close up pic of how I remember those "cheater" tires lookin. Only used 'em in '74. They let us run 9" slicks in '75.

(4) For my girlfriend's E/SA '68 Bird, in '75, I used alum slot fronts, & black painted steel wheels with 9" slicks on the rear.

(5) For her bracket Bird, in '77, I used Appliance spoke wheels on the front & alum slots on the rear.

(6) In '78 I switched her car & mine over to all Cragar S/S wheels.

(7) Also in '78 I built another '69 GTO for another guy to drive. It used my 1st pair of Cragar Tricks, on the front.

(8] My wife's last bracket car was in '88. IIRC, it has Tricks in the rear. On the front, it had the American Racing brand version of a Trick. It was just a solid center alum wheel with no holes or slots. It had decorative rivets, so it would look similar to a Trick. Was much cheaper than a real Trick.The car had drum brakes. So, I bought 14" wheels, & the shortest tires I could find, locally.

(9) I think most competitive Stock/SS cars in the '80's had Tricks, all around, & probably ran Moroso brand front tires. This '72 GTO Super Stocker belonged to Sonny Ray. It was a nat record holder & won several national events, including the Cajuns Nats, in the '70's & '80's. My wife took this pic at the '78 Cajuns.

As for the Weld 8-hole wheels, I found this. Can't confirm.

"...weld drag lites came out in 1979 as a factory option on the fox mustang...There was also a change in design around the mid 80's. The first sets were thin in the center and the holes appeared closer together. Then the later sets had a thicker "hub" and the holes looked farther out..."

[SS BRP]

Originally Posted by oldskool

"Looks like Welds and Cragar Super Tricks ruled that era in terms of wheels! Interesting to see."

Yeah, as I remember it, The Tricks were the 1st mass produced lightweight drag wheels, which were widely used by Stock/SS cars.

Just did a search & found this.

"...1970: New Super Trick Wheel is introduced..."

They were quite a bit more expensive than regular steel wheels & street legal "mag" type wheels. So, I had to stick with cheaper wheels. Bought my 1st pair of S/T front wheels in '78. Probably found a good deal on 'em, used. All the other wheels I ran that year were Cragar S/S wheels.

To save $$, I bought some Appliance brand wheels, which looked sorta similar to the S/S, from a distance, but were cheaper. On my 1st Stockers, I ran alum slot wheels on the front, & painted steel wheels on the rear. Yeah, my operation was low budget. But, the cars won quite a few area races, back then.

These pics are not of '80's-'90's cars, but show some of the different wheels that I & others used, back in the mid to late '70's & '80's. Some here may be interested - others not.

(1) I started in '73, with my '69 GTO. Had alum slots on the front & black painted steel wheels on the rear. At our local tracks, slicks were not legal. Had to be DOT legal street tires with stock type grooves. If there were any soft compound street tires, back then, I was not aware of them. But, M&H Racemaster did sell some hard rubber street legal tires. So, that's what I used.

(2) In '74, we were allowed to use a new M&H "cheater" tire. They were just like a soft compound slick, but had a couple of small grooves. These tires knocked a half sec off my ET, instantly. That season, I ran alum slot wheels front & rear.

(3) Here's a close up pic of how I remember those "cheater" tires lookin. Only used 'em in '74. They let us run 9" slicks in '75.

(4) For my girlfriend's E/SA '68 Bird, in '75, I used alum slot fronts, & black painted steel wheels with 9" slicks on the rear.

(5) For her bracket Bird, in '77, I used Appliance spoke wheels on the front & alum slots on the rear.

(6) In '78 I switched her car & mine over to all Cragar S/S wheels.

(7) Also in '78 I built another '69 GTO for another guy to drive. It used my 1st pair of Cragar Tricks, on the front.

(8] My wife's last bracket car was in '88. IIRC, it has Tricks in the rear. On the front, it had the Appliance brand version of a Trick. It was just a solid center alum wheel with no holes or slots. It had decorative rivets, so it would look similar to a Trick. Was much cheaper than a real Trick.The car had drum brakes. So, I bought 14" wheels, & the shortest tires I could find, locally.

(9) I think most competitive Stock/SS cars in the '80's had Tricks, all around, & probably ran Moroso brand front tires. This '72 GTO Super Stocker belonged to Sonny Ray. It was a nat record holder & won several national events, including the Cajuns, in the '70's & '80's.

Just the resale value of those M&H tires alone today would be high. I was looking on Ebay earlier and saw some old 60’s Firestone drag slicks for almost $10,000!

Unbelievable pictures, thats really interesting. I hear some guys who raced Stock/Super Stock back in those days ran stock drum brakes, stock suspension, everything because there wasnt much around at the time.

If I had more money the first thing I’d buy a 1962 Dodge Polara! Id make it a period-correct Super Stock car. Those are what I remember my grandfather telling me about, then the 70’s came around and Hemis kicked everyones asses and got banned. My car that im building now is my dads old Ford Mustang from 1992.

I get inspired by the discontinued, old school stuff, hearing all the stories. I find a ton of old parts online and I buy them. Just last week I bought original Cragar Super Tricks, the guy I bought them off of said they came off of his 68 Camaro that he had in ‘72. He said they will break and bend if I drive them on the street though, apparently Super Tricks are notoriously weak, but light weight? I dont know, those are just the rumours I heard, dont want to take a chance at destroying original Cragars.

[Mike Schwartz]

Take a look at the Auto Imagery site. They have Sportsman galleries under the 1976 through 1985 Events links. Then they skip to 1999 & later. Also look at the Way It Was link.

www.autoimagery.com/index

[tommy d]

You need to "friend" Tom Kasch here and on Facebook. He has it all.

[bobbyd6]

I have tons in my Facebook photo albums, just send me a FR!!