All this was discussed in the May 96 issue of the WPC news. Arnie Beswick
and others were supposed to have run low 14's - high 13's in 56 D-500-1's,
running in Super Stock class in drags sanctioned by the ATAA (Automobile
Timing Association of America). Maybe they did, but it does seem funny that
there are no actual written records to document these runs, supposedly
because the ATAA merged the next year with the NHRA, and NHRA records do not
go back to 1956.
You all may or may not know that the NHRA didn't have a Super Stock class
until 1957. In 56, NHRA put all factory cars with less than 15 pounds per
horsepower in a Gas Coupe/Sedan class. The 56 D-500 and D-500-1 were put in
"C" gas, along with the Fury and Chrysler 300, police interceptor Ford, etc.
(56 Studebaker Golden Hawk with its factory installed 352 Packard V-8 was
put in "B" gas).
I don't have any sources other than my collection of Hot Rod magazines
(every issue from 1950-1980), but just looking at the drag race results
reported for the 56 model year, it looks like Arnie Beswick won his class (C
gas) at an NHRA regional meet in Oswego, Illinois, with a 56 D-500, running
15.74 at 92.78 mph, and Al Perrenond won C gas class at an NHRA regional
meet in Sioux City, Iowa, with his D-500, running 15.45 at 89.19mph. These
are very good times for production cars of the era ("A" stock times were
generally in the mid-16's), but are well short of 14 flat et's at 100+ mph.
My recollection is that NHRA's Super Stock cars didn't get into the 13's
until around 1960 or so.
Anyway, I think 56 D-500's and D-500-1's are great cars (my Dad had a 56
D-500 when I was a kid), but I have to say I'm skeptical of claims that a 56
D-500-1 could run 14 flat at 100 mph in the quarter, even making allowances
for within-the-rules "fine tuning" that the quickest cars would have had.
For what it's worth, Dad's D-500 with powerflite (not a dash 1 car) would
run 84 in the quarter.
Curtis
56 Belvedere
59 Coronet
56 Studebaker Golden Hawk
----- Original Message -----
From: "eastern sierra Adj Services" <esierraadj@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 11:16 PM
Subject: [FWDLK] Show ME da NUMBERS!
> Tim/Dave List, et al. ; while it would be unlike me to disbelieve
> hearsay--I believe whatever
> I'm told-- isn't it a "scientific" fact that there is a relationship for
> power-to-weight, in quarter-mile
> times-calculations?
>
> Can 295 "flywheel" horsepower , with skinny tires, an "open" rear-end,
> and 3650 lbs to move (fuggeddabout
> aerodynamic DRAG) transport same 1, 320 feet, from a standstill, in 14
> seconds? Howabout 16.75 seconds?--We're NOT talking about a "flying"
> start, are we?
>
> Where are the drag results published?
>
> Neil
>
> -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
> Over 25,000 pages of archived Forward Look information can be easily
searched at
> http://www.forwardlook.net/search.htm Powered by Google!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Over 25,000 pages of archived Forward Look information can be easily searched at
http://www.forwardlook.net/search.htm Powered by Google!
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network