In the 50s and 60s what kind of trap speed were these guys getting in the 1/4?

Red5 · 01-09-2002, 05:39 PM

So Im at my boat club meeting an a bunch of the old guys get to talking with me about racing and stuff. This guy tried to convince me that he had an old Hemi engine that ran regualr gas and he would cross the traps at 167 MPH in the quarter mile. Now I know some of the old stuff is/was fast, but is this reasonable? Or was he F.O.S.? :rolleyes:

Larrym96815 · 01-09-2002, 05:50 PM

I practically lived on the drag strip in the 60's (Milan and Detroit MI). I was also a Mopar fan. Raced them, drove them, owned them, built them. So my answer is yes they were BAAAAD but 167mph! He is FOS :rolleyes:

Aloha,
Larry

olephart · 01-09-2002, 07:13 PM

Just from hazy memory it seems like blown fuel dragsters were running high 6's - low 7's in the very low 200 mph range in 1962-63. Hemis ruled, but not n/a on pump gas.

What kind of car did he have?

The Dude · 01-09-2002, 07:13 PM

What class was he running?
167 might not be too much out of the ballpark, depending on what he was doing. I dunno about "regular" gas, though. Maybe he was running a XX percent blend of gas/nitro?

1979toy · 01-09-2002, 08:13 PM

I have an issue of Hod Rod in front of me that mentions "Big" John Mazmanin's 1941 Willy's A/Gas Supercharged car ran 149 MPH in 1964. The same year Roland Leong's Hawaiian top gas dragster went 7.47 / 204.54 at the Winternationals. This was during the period that the NHRA had outlawed nitromethane so all cars were running what we now think of as "racing gas".
So the answer has to be "sure, in the late 60's those box cars may have been running numbers as high as 165 MPH".
Whoa!! In the same issue they mention that E.J. Potter ran 164 at 10 flat on his small block chevy powered motoercycle!

Larrym96815 · 01-09-2002, 08:35 PM

I personally saw Rolond Leong and EJ Potter (Michigan Madman). I still say unless your friend was running an all out race machine, maybe, 167mph in a bodied car did not happen.

Larry

Larrym96815 · 01-09-2002, 08:37 PM

I personally saw Roland Leong and EJ Potter (Michigan Madman). I still say unless your friend was running an all out race machine, maybe, 167mph in a bodied car did not happen.

Larry

Red5 · 01-09-2002, 09:32 PM

Im leaning toward thinking the guy was full of it... Just another X racer that has a car that gets faster as a function of time.

Thanks guys.

1985z51 · 01-10-2002, 12:12 AM

i met ej potter this summer...now theres a guy whos not wrapped tight!! he has an autobiography out that is a hoot to read!! :crazy:

Larrym96815 · 01-10-2002, 12:43 AM

E J Potter (Michigan Madman) stories are unreal. He got paid to do three runs at Milan MI once. Picked up a nail in his rear tire somewhere in the pits and didn't have a spare. This was his V8 powered cycle. He was afraid he wouldn't get paid if he didn't do three runs so he ran a 10 sec. blast at 160mph with a nail in his tire! Last I knew he had an Allisson aircraft engine on a tractor for tractor pulls. You are right he is a crazy old man. I believe in the sixties he had an Allisson in the back of a Plymouth station wagon if I remember right.

Aloha,
Larry

korvetkeith · 01-10-2002, 12:54 AM

I've met some old timers that are FOS just as much as the little ricer boys. It seems like every old timer with some sort of hot rod has 500hp small block in it. :rolleyes:

Larrym96815 · 01-10-2002, 03:11 AM

Hey, us "oldtimers" aren't liars, we just can't remember anymore. :)

Aloha,
Oldtimer Larry

The Green Rocket · 01-10-2002, 04:22 AM

E.J. Potter, he was nice enough to autograph his book "Michigan Madman" for me - and I got the video too. Talk about thinking outside the box, E.J. is a true original. Think about this for a moment: he built his first V8 Harley while he was still in school, he wanted to drive it on the street - the local police had other ideas.

Thomas

mountainmotor · 01-10-2002, 09:00 AM

I know a guy that almost bought a Corvette once :D