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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9893
    
Location: Lower Mainland BC | As you go through the early D500 literature (D500 reviews) you find many references to Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick and his successful drag racing results driving a D500-1 ("dash 1") 2 x 4 bbl, 3 on the tree, 2dr Coronet, to speeds approaching 100 mph and times around 14 seconds (all great numbers for back in the day). I never knew why he abandoned Dodge and went to Pontiacs until today. Here is an excerpt from his story, in his own words:
"I had a 1954 Oldsmobile that won Top Stock at the 1955 and 1956 Nationals in Kansas, but this was my very first Mopar, a 1956 Dodge Coronet D-500-1. This was a 316ci (sic) Hemi with two four-barrel carburetors, backed by a three-on-the-tree manual transmission. A friend of mine ran a D500 on the circle track, and it was equipped with the same motor, only it was just a single four-barrel carb motor, hence the D500 designation. This was the year Chevy introduced its 265 two four-barrel Power Pack and thought it had the baddest of the bad—until it looked at the taillights of my Dodge too many times. Ford didn’t have much better luck.
After giving the Chevys and Fords a butt-kicking in my D500-1, I knew I had to have the new 1957 Dodge D501 model. They were putting that animal together with a big Chrysler 354 Fire Power Hemi, but it was just too nose-heavy. In those days, we had to run a 7-inch tire in Stock class, and the car was a big disappointment because there was no way to get it off the line. Dodge only made 56 of these cars built to legalize the package for racing, plus maybe 10 more used by the Ohio state police. This car broke me of my Mopar habit; the final straw was its pin-type synchronized transmission that’d break if power-shifted. This car was on display at Don Garlits’ Museum of Drag Racing in Florida for more than a decade.
When the Mopars let me down in 1957, I didn’t want a Chevy since they were like belly buttons, even then. So I looked at Pontiac and liked the 1957 Tri-Power 347. When it grew to 370 cubes for 1958, I bought one. My Chieftain ran in A/Stock in 1958 and left the starting line OK, but again, I got tired of rebuilding the steering-column-mounted shifter."
REFERENCE: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/arnie-beswick-drag-racings-consummat...
Edited by 56D500boy 2018-03-11 9:21 PM
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 ArnieTheFarmerBeswicks56CoronetD500dash1.jpg (110KB - 291 downloads)
ArnieTheFarmerBeswicks57D501.jpg (181KB - 248 downloads)
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5006
| Nascar effectively blackballed Mopars after they won everything in 55-56? They did everything they could to remove the Hemi's who simply walked away with everything.
Made Nascar boring and they have been rules lawyering every since... |
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Expert
Posts: 2002
Location: Branson, MO | Oh man, did this bring back memories. Back the summer of 1964, my brother and I were drag racing our '64 Plymouth Belvedere 2HT in S/SA. It had the 426 Stage III wedge and the aluminum front end. We were at the US131 Dragway in Michigan competing in a Super Stock/AFX round robin shootout. All of us running Super Stocks were allowed to run 10 inch slicks instead of the standard required 7 inchers for legal Super Stock. Arnie was there with his Pontiac Tempest 2 DR and Mrs. B's Grocery Getter wagon, both in AFX. We were up against his 2 Dr in the first round and won. As the night wore on, Arnie did not place with either of his cars. A Ford Falcon 427 AFX was first, a Mercury Comet AFX was second, Mr. Norm's Grand Spalding Dodge Hemi was third, we were fourth with our wedge, and two more Hemi MoPars finished fifth and sixth which was as far down they went with prize money.
Before they paid out the money, all of us winners had to pass a tear down inspection. We had just purchased the engine in our car from Al (Lawman) Eckstrand and knew nothing about it. He swithced to the Hemi and sold us one of his wedges. We passed inspection and from there on stayed with the wedge engine.
Our car was totalled the next spring when it broke loose from the tow car and rolled over several times while still on the trailer. I was in college at the time away from home and the car was in my btother's hands. He was towing it to the first race of the year and got about 10 miles away from home when that happened. I never saw the car again but was devistated to say the least.
Edited by Viper Guy 2018-03-12 8:00 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| Viper --
Did that Stage III come out of Al's 2-dr post? I talked to him a bit before he passed away about the '60 Fury he ran at the NHRA '60 Nationals, but he didn't have any pics or records left of that car. But he was nice enough to send me one of his '64 car.
'56 --
That old MoPar 3-speed manual was a lousy trans and it cost the Ramchargers to lose to Don Nicholson for top stock eliminator at the '61 Nats with Al driving. It would sheer or bend those synchro pins at thye drop of a hat and had to be rebuilt almost after every run. The Ramchargers did lose to Nicholson officially, but the NHRA guys did let them have grudge run during a lull and Jim Thornton waxed Don's 409. The pic of that race made all the rod magazines.
A buddy of mine had a '60 Belvie 325 horse/383 with that stick and I never had any problems with him in my '60 Fury 383 SonoRamic and TorqueFlite even when he put a Hurst Shifter on it.
Very interesting and thanks to both of you.
Joe Godec
'57 Chrysler 300C, '60 Fury SonoRamic, '65 Fuelie Vette, '65 Sport Fury 426-S/4-speed
PS, There seems to have been considerable debate within the Ramchargers back in 1961 as to go with the TorqueFlite or the manual, but the manual won out possibly because of the higher status (at the time) of the Super Stock (S/S) class versus the Super Stock Automatic (S/SA) class.
Edited by Sonoramic60 2018-03-14 4:07 PM
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Expert
Posts: 2002
Location: Branson, MO | I'm not sure the engine we bought from Al was in any car. If I recall correctly, it was a newly built Stage III he had left when he switched to the Hemi. I do remember it was painted black instead of leaving it the factory orange. Seemed strange to me that he didn't leave, or paint, it the orange color as at that time there were ads in various car magazines featuring the Stage III and saying: "Meet the Orange Monster". It wasn't too many years later all the HP MoPar big block engines were painted orange from the factory like in the Road Runners, GTXs, Super Bees, etc.
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Expert
Posts: 1739
Location: Alaska | Hey Joe, are you sure your buddy"s 60 Ply. had the Mopar 3 speed in it? My 60 Ply. with a 361 and manual from the factory had the Borg Warner T-85 which was a much stronger trans. |
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Expert
Posts: 1287
| 58 --
His had whatever Chrysler 3-speed manual trans that was just introduced in 1960 and it had the same problems that the Ramchargers had with theirs in 1961. Perhaps since he had the 325/383 Commando it was a early model or just the result of a factory modification, but I seem to remember it was a long time on order. My current SonoRamic has the early ball and joint throttle, linkage, no fender well cut outs, and a Golden Commando washer bag holder and bag and may have been a a "factory mule." Strange things did happen back then.
BTW, the column shift linkage on that thing was particularly lousy. The trans was supposedly brand new but was really primarily intended for taxicabs, so that is possibly why the synchro pins were a weak spot.
Joe
Edited by Sonoramic60 2018-03-17 3:36 PM
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Why Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick abandoned Dodge for Pontiac
