Cliff
Nitro Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2017
- Messages
- 5,595
- Age
- 78
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
I remember this car. Didn't remember the name. He had X/S painted on the roof, for Xperimental Stock.
Wow....'Green Seen'....that's interesting. I don't know why that car stuck in my memory but I remember it plain as day. Were you racing at Lyons around that time, Roger?
Looked around a bit and found of picture of it:
View attachment 14063
Well I can tell you right now just by looking at the snow cap mountains in the background, that track is not Lion's. With all the smog around back then you could bearly see across the 405 Fwy.
Maybe Irwindale, but I don't remember there being tree like that on the other side. But then again, I was just a kid back then. LOL
I have no idea where that picture was taken although I assume it was somewhere in California. I found it searching the net. But it's the same car.Well I can tell you right now just by looking at the snow cap mountains in the background, that track is not Lion's. With all the smog around back then you could bearly see across the 405 Fwy.
Maybe Irwindale, but I don't remember there being tree like that on the other side. But then again, I was just a kid back then. LOL
Wow, as a very young kid I do remember your cars. I do recall hearing you constructed the cars yourself.July 1971, My first pass in a F/C
Wow....'Green Seen'....that's interesting. I don't know why that car stuck in my memory but I remember it plain as day. Were you racing at Lyons around that time, Roger?
Looked around a bit and found of picture of it:
View attachment 14063
First Time at Lions was 2 days after I arrived in California. A little later I got a 57 Chevy (Body in White) from a guy named George Boltoff. He had the Fastest & Quickest Top Gas Dragster at the time and Chevy Gave him the car. He never put it together and I bought it from him. Put it together with a fiberglass tilt front end and doors - (327) - Straight Axle to run C Gas. Well: I then found out that those guys at the "Beach" were SERIOUS, so I decided to make it a Friday night at "Bobs" car. The problem with a "Body in White" car is that they have no numbers or front clip - lights - turn signals - gas tank - seats - etc.. Finally got it registered and showed up at Bobs. Guess what - Larry Dixon (Sr) was there in his 55 Chevy with a Blower on it. Shortly after that I decided Jr. Fuel was for Me. The cars I ran at Lions were C Gas - Jr. Fuel - Top Gas - Fuel Altered & Top Fuel. They were not all mine.Wow....'Green Seen'....that's interesting. I don't know why that car stuck in my memory but I remember it plain as day. Were you racing at Lyons around that time, Roger?
Looked around a bit and found of picture of it:
View attachment 14063
My first thought was San Gabriel or Irwindale but San Gabriel Mnt. would be much larger in the background and be more on the right hand side of the picture. Pretty sure that would be the original Fontana Drag strip.Could that be Fontana on a rare clear day? (Maybe a Santa Ana wind condition).
My first and only trip to Lions was in 1967 while vacationing with my grandmother in Simi Valley. Her across-the-street neighbor was as big of a drag racing nut as I was and we visited both Lions and OCIR (which had just opened). I'd read about Lions and all those famous cars; getting to actually see them was something I'll never forget. The race I attended wasn't any sort of a final but I do recall several of the cars Mark mentioned, including one that still stands out - a green '55 Chevy running a 427 BBC on nitro. It was like a 9-flat ride and the quickest doorslammer I'd ever seen. And I recall at least half a dozen twice-engine dragsters and how loud they were.
I didn't know who Larry Sutton was at the time but I do now. Always nice to see you posting, buddy...56 years later.
First Time at Lions was 2 days after I arrived in California. A little later I got a 57 Chevy (Body in White) from a guy named George Boltoff. He had the Fastest & Quickest Top Gas Dragster at the time and Chevy Gave him the car. He never put it together and I bought it from him. Put it together with a fiberglass tilt front end and doors - (327) - Straight Axle to run C Gas. Well: I then found out that those guys at the "Beach" were SERIOUS, so I decided to make it a Friday night at "Bobs" car. The problem with a "Body in White" car is that they have no numbers or front clip - lights - turn signals - gas tank - seats - etc.. Finally got it registered and showed up at Bobs. Guess what - Larry Dixon (Sr) was there in his 55 Chevy with a Blower on it. Shortly after that I decided Jr. Fuel was for Me. The cars I ran at Lions were C Gas - Jr. Fuel - Top Gas - Fuel Altered & Top Fuel. They were not all mine.
I remember when Larry Sr. ran the green 55 on the street ( no blower) and at San Fernando.Larry Dixon Sr. was the inspiration for Bob Falfa in American Graffiti.
True Story,
Alan
'57 Chevy, 327, straight axle....man, it just doesn't get any better than that. Faster for you, obviously, but not better and I bet there's times you wish you still had that car even though Old Man Dixon one-upped you a bit.First Time at Lions was 2 days after I arrived in California. A little later I got a 57 Chevy (Body in White) from a guy named George Boltoff. He had the Fastest & Quickest Top Gas Dragster at the time and Chevy Gave him the car. He never put it together and I bought it from him. Put it together with a fiberglass tilt front end and doors - (327) - Straight Axle to run C Gas. Well: I then found out that those guys at the "Beach" were SERIOUS, so I decided to make it a Friday night at "Bobs" car. The problem with a "Body in White" car is that they have no numbers or front clip - lights - turn signals - gas tank - seats - etc.. Finally got it registered and showed up at Bobs. Guess what - Larry Dixon (Sr) was there in his 55 Chevy with a Blower on it. Shortly after that I decided Jr. Fuel was for Me. The cars I ran at Lions were C Gas - Jr. Fuel - Top Gas - Fuel Altered & Top Fuel. They were not all mine.
Indeed....I still recall it taking quite a bit of time to get there. And then I didn't want to go home once we got there. I'll never forget it, or (recently opened) OCIR, either.That was quite a hike from Simi Valley back then. No 118 FWY yet, and the 405 didn't go through the Santa Monica mountains. Not as much traffic, either, however.