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Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!
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hemidave
Posted 2011-09-15 9:04 AM (#288825 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Riverside, CA



(Riverside Drag Strip.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-03 8:25 AM (#291108 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Plymouth at the drags



(Plymouth at drags.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-04 10:15 AM (#291248 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Ready to race



(ready to race.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-04 5:08 PM (#291293 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Chasing "Fireball"



(Chasing Fireball.jpg)



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d500neil
Posted 2011-10-04 6:39 PM (#291313 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

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...at the 1957 "Grand National Race on the Beach and Road Course at Daytona Beach", with Lem Svajian driving
his own (apparently/reportedly) "1957 Plymouth", following (momentarily; maybe LAPPING) Glen "Fireball"
Roberts, who is seen driving DePaolo Engineering's 1957 Fart.

Lem Started in 32nd place (out of 57 starters) and finished in 29th place, earning him $50bux for his day's work.

Fireball started in 14th, but finished in 37th place.

Both cars were apparently not running at the end of the race, but their laps-completed is not recorded in "40 Years
of Stock Car Racing" (Vol 1).

Winner was Cotton Owens (soon to be a big time Dodge Boy) driving Ray Nichels' 57 Poncho; winner received $4,250.00.

Highest placing Plymmie was Charlie Cregar, driving his own 1957; he got $200.00.

No '57 Dodges appeared in the race; highest 56'er was Joe Lee Johnson, driving S.T. Campbell's car; Joe Lee earned $25.00
for finishing in 33rd place.




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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-04 7:16 PM (#291318 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Trophy getter



(Kiekhaefer1956.jpg)



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Ron
Posted 2011-10-06 12:42 PM (#291560 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Extreme Veteran

Posts: 303
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Location: Harrisburg, Penna

YEAH, I WENT RACING

http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=35887&...
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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-06 5:03 PM (#291597 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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# 42

#42 and #43



(42.jpg)



(42 and 43.jpg)



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B/G 61
Posted 2011-10-06 5:07 PM (#291600 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Keep postin ! ! !
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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-06 5:45 PM (#291607 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Okay...how about a Nightmare



(Nightmare.jpg)



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d500neil
Posted 2011-10-06 6:00 PM (#291613 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Howabout THIS nightmare?



(aply.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-06 6:15 PM (#291615 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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I wonder how "quiet" it was.
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d500neil
Posted 2011-10-06 7:45 PM (#291639 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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The paint is certainly loud enuf.

With all of the built in weight transfer, the front bumper was probably installed to keep the front end down.

The driver was probably not the 'quiet' one, while trying to keep this guy running in a straight line.




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B/G 61
Posted 2011-10-06 8:01 PM (#291642 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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I posted those a few back boys . . . BUT, keep um comin ! ! !


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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-06 8:15 PM (#291646 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Martinsville '56

Edited by hemidave 2011-10-06 8:17 PM




(MartinsvilleStart55.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-07 4:19 PM (#291736 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Daytona



(Daytona.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-10 9:39 PM (#292160 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Paxton Products



(Paxton Products.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-11 7:09 PM (#292250 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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300



(Chrysler 300.jpg)



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Handygun
Posted 2011-10-12 1:42 AM (#292286 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!


Elite Veteran

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Is this the same Zeder who was part of the original Chryco engine design team?
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Ray Bell
Posted 2011-10-12 2:22 AM (#292289 - in reply to #292286)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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I think it was, but Bill will know for sure and it will be on the Allpar site too (look under the Hemi engines details)...

One of the ZSB team had a son involved in the fifties, as I recall.
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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-13 8:39 AM (#292428 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Ragtop racing



(ragtop racing.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-15 7:46 PM (#292740 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Speedway



(cantleyspeedway1.jpg)



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longram60
Posted 2011-10-15 8:00 PM (#292744 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Veteran

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Bob Kammer's 60 Plymouth 'Weekend Warrior' is shown on page 1. I can't remember if his second 60 Plymouth convertible "Weekend Warrior II' has been posted:



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hemidave
Posted 2011-10-18 7:13 PM (#293101 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Off and running



(Off and running.jpg)



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mogge65
Posted 2011-11-15 7:45 AM (#296206 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Location: Nasco , SWEDEN
Hang in there...............



(i299388.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-11-15 7:54 AM (#296207 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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At the races



(at the races 2.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2011-12-07 7:25 PM (#298973 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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On the beach.....



(On the beach.jpg)



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Ray Bell
Posted 2011-12-07 7:37 PM (#298976 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Strong Chrysler representation there...

But how did the station wagon fare?
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d500neil
Posted 2011-12-07 8:04 PM (#298979 - in reply to #298976)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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It was (one of the-) official support car(s) for Daytona Speed Weeks.

It just had to look pretty.

But, Kiekaefer apparently had something to do with its presentation, there.



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hemidave
Posted 2011-12-21 2:05 PM (#300577 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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NASCAR



(nascar.jpg)



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mogge65
Posted 2011-12-28 2:53 AM (#301316 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

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speeeeed.......... just suck in these pic´s in your gearhead an close your eyes ahhhhh can you smell the hi octane parfume

Edited by mogge65 2011-12-28 2:59 AM




(tk.jpg)



(bonnevilleE.jpg)



(bonnevilleD.jpg)



(nt.jpg)



(thatcher.jpg)



(elmirage252.jpg)



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Ray Bell
Posted 2011-12-28 2:58 AM (#301317 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Fabulous...

Can I post these pics on another forum, please?
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Doctor DeSoto
Posted 2011-12-28 7:57 AM (#301327 - in reply to #301317)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Location: Parts Unknown
I gotta start wearing my pants like that. Is that a watermelon he's got in the front ?
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B/G 61
Posted 2011-12-28 9:52 PM (#301399 - in reply to #301316)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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mogge65 - 2011-12-28 2:53 AM

speeeeed.......... just suck in these pic´s in your gearhead an close your eyes ahhhhh can you smell the hi octane parfume :inlove:



GREAT PICS ! ! !


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mogge65
Posted 2011-12-29 5:18 AM (#301419 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

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Norm Thatcher´s car as it look´s today! it´s a "Time capsule"



(front300d.jpg)



(interior.jpg)



(motor300d.jpg)



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hemidave
Posted 2012-01-06 9:19 AM (#302283 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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Richard Petty



(Richard_Petty.jpg)



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BarnFind57
Posted 2012-01-06 12:58 PM (#302314 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Elite Veteran

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Location: Signal Mountain, TN
My dad picked me up one of these last October as a birthday present....





(60-richard-petty.jpg)



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earleebob
Posted 2012-01-06 3:53 PM (#302344 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Elite Veteran

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Norm Thatcher's 300D is my favourite, understated, uncluttered style. The 'under hood' shot showing the dual carbs has a blanking plate on the fire wall instead of the heater/A/C cowl. Is this standard or a weight reduction measure?

Edited by earleebob1 2012-01-06 3:56 PM




(motor300d.jpg)



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B/G 61
Posted 2012-01-07 10:23 PM (#302542 - in reply to #302344)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



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earleebob1 - 2012-01-06 3:53 PM

Norm Thatcher's 300D is my favourite, understated, uncluttered style. The 'under hood' shot showing the dual carbs has a blanking plate on the fire wall instead of the heater/A/C cowl. Is this standard or a weight reduction measure?



Standard heater delete firewall block off used through '61












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earleebob
Posted 2012-01-07 10:47 PM (#302544 - in reply to #302542)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Elite Veteran

Posts: 1120
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
Yikey you are not going to believe this, but I have built a blanking plate so similar it is spooky. check out the pic



(137_5814.jpg)



(14032011248a.jpg)



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d500neil
Posted 2012-01-07 11:01 PM (#302546 - in reply to #302544)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Very nice work, there, Bob; but, that smaller blower block off plate is harder to find than the large heater block-off
panel, probably because that small guy is so easy to remove.



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mogge65
Posted 2012-01-17 4:54 PM (#304141 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

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Here is another heat deleted 300D (conv)



(chrysler-300d-convertible-1.jpg)



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d500neil
Posted 2012-01-17 5:30 PM (#304148 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Location: bishop, ca
Gonna stick my neck out a tad, here (waiting for confirmation/correction from S.O.T.)...but, it is my understanding
that the lower section of the FWDLK/WCFB carbs are not supposed to have a 'gold' finish on them, but, the face
plates of the bellows-type brake boosters ARE supposed to have a varying-extent of a gold 'lacquer' finish on them.



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FURY
Posted 2012-01-19 3:37 PM (#304403 - in reply to #304148)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Elite Veteran

Posts: 1049
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand.
The brake booster front and rear cover plate has a finish known as gold pasivate, which is a zinc plating process, but just a different color. If you have ever taken apart an original booster, the finish is on the inside of these cover plates too, and having spent it's life in a vacuum (literally), the gold finish is preserved better than new. The outside tends to fade to a silver color over time.
The WCFBs, I am lead to believe, have a gold center section, the top section is natural and the bottom section I have seen in both black and natural cast iron.
Glenn.

d500neil - 2012-01-18 9:30 AM

Gonna stick my neck out a tad, here (waiting for confirmation/correction from S.O.T.)...but, it is my understanding
that the lower section of the FWDLK/WCFB carbs are not supposed to have a 'gold' finish on them, but, the face
plates of the bellows-type brake boosters ARE supposed to have a varying-extent of a gold 'lacquer' finish on them.



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hemidave
Posted 2012-01-27 9:10 PM (#305450 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: RE: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

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Colton, CA



(Colton, CA.jpg)



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Dash One
Posted 2012-02-07 8:50 PM (#306822 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!


Regular

Posts: 80
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Location: Golden, CO
Hi Folks, To update on my 56 New Yorker. I finished my 4th season. The combination came into its own by the end of the season. While it is still quite slow in the 1/4 I assure you there is ample power in longer distances. The Mile High Bracket Nationals is the final race of the season at Bandimere and I won the first 2 rounds in spectacular fashion. First up was a 10 sec bike, I dialed 18.99 and ran a 19.02 and won by .0005 on a holeshot his trap speed 140, mine 81. Second up was a 12 second 78 Malibu won by .03 and on a hole shot. Over 200 runs now on a 56 year old car, engine still has original pistons and over 100k miles, trans has never been rebuilt. Oh Yeah and Two recent photos of the D500-1 in the midst of an 8 year long slumber in its cosy garage (a remote secure location). Tim in Golden

Edited by Dash One 2012-02-07 8:59 PM




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(IMAG0009a.JPG)



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StillOutThere
Posted 2012-02-08 9:58 AM (#306887 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



2000100010010025
Location: Under the X in Texas
Early WCFBS did not have gold center body sections.
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Ray Bell
Posted 2012-02-13 6:40 PM (#307699 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

Posts: 2473
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Location: Dalveen, Queensland, Australia
This one will bring a tear to your eyes:

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120212/NEWS02/202120461
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mogge65
Posted 2012-02-15 2:03 AM (#307887 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

Posts: 1295
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Location: Nasco , SWEDEN
Sitting in the kitchen of her Bloomfield Township home, Anne Armstrong looks like a grandma about to bake cookies.

That is, until she pulls out a scrapbook and talks about her glory days as a drag racer.

“Our car was one-of-a-kind,” she said. “Nobody in the country had a full-sized Chrysler with a 600-horsepower hemi motor in it.”

Anne and her husband Jack raced a 1962 Chrysler 300 sport, affectionately named “The Beautiful Brute.” Painted bermuda turquoise, the two-door hardtop is gloriously large and sleek with leather bucket seats and chrome to spare.

The couple paid about $3,700 for the car Dec. 28, 1961. They were soon winning races on quarter-mile tracks from Brownstown to Ontario. They left the house early on weekends, tossing the kids in the back seat with a lunch basket and heading to the drag strip.

Mostly, Jack was behind the wheel. Anne drove, too, even winning races when she was pregnant. She had a thing for beating Chevys.

Anyone who grew up in metro Detroit in the '60s can picture those stock cars and muscle rides racing the local drag strips and cruising Woodward Avenue. Kids like Anne and Jack Armstrong were behind the wheel, pedal to the floor, pushing the motor, caught up in the moment and the speed.

THE COUPLE THAT RACES TOGETHER

They married in 1958. Anne had just graduated from Avondale High School, where she was editor of the school newspaper and planning for a career as a reporter. She barely knew how to drive.

“My dad always bought Fords,” she said. “He was a television repairman and he never made much money, but he bought Fords because they were easy to work on.

“I never got to drive my dad's car, even though I had a driver's license. He was afraid if I drove it and got into an accident, he wouldn't be able to get to work on Monday. So he never let anyone drive his car.”

The honeymoon couple needed a new car when they came across a 1959 metallic green Plymouth Sports Fury with a 305-horsepower engine. The car ran so fast they decided to test it at the old Detroit Dragway at Sibley and Dix — better known as the “The Dirty D.”

On a whim, Jack told Anne she should take the car out for its initial tune-up run. It was her first time at the dragway and her first time racing on a quarter-mile track. She faced off against a '55 Chevy and won.

“I didn't hear it, but I guess the announcer saw me and said into the loudspeaker, ‘Will you look at that — the man sends his wife out for a loaf of bread and look where she ends up,”' she said. “I was probably one of the first women to drive that strip.”

They were winning races with the Plymouth, but they wanted something faster. They went to a dealership in Rochester and saw the Chrysler 300 in the showroom. It was love at first sight. They were living in a small house in Clawson, and Anne remembers how they passed on the electric windows and other extras when ordering their new car.

“Jack was making low weekly wages at the time,” she said. “He was working in an automatic screw machine shop. Before we got married, he was doing construction work and building Esther Williams swimming pools. Two weeks before our wedding, his brother got him a job in the machine shop.”

They kept racing at the local drag strips, winning more often than not. They kept tinkering with the Chrysler, replacing the engine with bigger ones until they ended up with a hemi 600-horsepower motor. Anne said it did not take any special skills to drive the car — just a good set of nerves.

“When it had the hemi in it and the 600 horsepower, you had to aim it,” she said. “You couldn't really steer the car. You put your hands on the steering wheel and more or less aimed it.”

FAST AND LOUD

One time Jack was out of town and Anne decided to visit her aunt in Pontiac. She was driving along Woodward through Birmingham, her 3-year-old asleep in the back seat of the Chrysler, when she came across three guys cruising around in a '57 Plymouth.

“Somehow we looked at each and decided we would go for it at the light,” she said. “I beat them — twice. And I thought, ‘Well, there are three of them so they can't pretend it didn't happen.' Oh, and I was pregnant at the time.”

A police officer happened to spot the two cars and ticketed both drivers for drag racing, a $50 fine. Anne pleaded with the judge, claiming the guys were chasing her, and got the ticket dismissed.

Another time she was nine months pregnant when she took the Chrysler to a drag strip in New Baltimore, hoping to burn off some nervous energy. Jack stayed home with their daughter. She won seven of her races and gave birth to a second daughter two days later.

FINAL LAP

They moved from Clawson to Bloomfield Township in 1965 and raced for several more years. Jack was growing tired of the racing circuit and one day sold the hemi motor without telling Anne. They almost didn't speak to each other for two weeks.

“I drove the car,” she said. “I thought we're a married couple and we're supposed to tell each other these things.”

Years passed, the kids grew into adults, the drag strips closed and the Chrysler stayed in the garage under a dust cover. It only came out in nice weather. In 1998, Jack and Anne decided to restore it. They took the car completely apart — all the chrome, the bumpers, the engine, the interior — and sent the frame to a body shop.

A few weeks later, Jack had open heart surgery and died. He was 60.

It was left to Anne to put the car together. She had an original dealership parts manual that was six inches thick and help from an old family friend. Otherwise she was on her own.

“The hardest part was finding all the parts,” she said. “What I took off I put in zip-lock baggies and labeled. What Jack took off went in tool boxes, coffee cans and drawers.”

It took her more than a decade to finish the job. Some of the time she spent waiting on parts. During the winter months she stayed indoors, choosing not to spend her evenings alone in a cold garage.

Every road has its curves. In 2002, Anne's daughter died unexpectedly from heart disease. A few weeks later, Anne herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. Bumps and blind spots, hills and detours.

In August 2011, nearly 50 years after she first set sight on the Chrysler 300, Anne made the car drivable again. Her son Duane was alongside her at last year's Dream Cruise. She plans to display it at the Detroit Autorama show later this month.

“Jack would be proud,” she said with a smile.

She turns 72 in June. Look for her at the next light along Woodward. She'll be the one shifting into high gear, open road ahead.

jgrossman@hometownlife.com (586) 826-7030




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Ray Bell
Posted 2012-02-15 5:32 AM (#307902 - in reply to #178862)
Subject: Re: Cruisin's cool but who goes RACIN!?!?!?!



Expert

Posts: 2473
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Location: Dalveen, Queensland, Australia
She sure has some go in her, that gal...

I couldn't work out from the story, though, whether or not she put a Hemi back in there.
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