Indholdsfortegnelse for August 1959 i Hot Rod

In the early days of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, many of the young automobile companies in this country used the 21,-mile track to test new ideas for their cars. The brutal beating of 500 miles of racing would show up weak points much faster than everyday driving so the automobile companies gathered a lot of valuable information. As the automotive industry grew and became more competitive, the once-a-year event did not allow enough time for testing so the manufacturers built their own proving grounds which could be used year-around and withdrew from active racing. Today, the Indianapolis track is used by the Firestone Tire Company to test fabric and rubber compounds which might eventually lead to better passenger car tires, but other than this the average car to be turned…

Among the west’s most capable drag strip operating groups is the Dragons car club of Santa Maria, California. They’ve been presenting superior events at their Municipal Airport strip since 1954, first Sunday each month, attracting the cream of the sport’s drivers and acceleration equipment. Teamwork has never been more in evidence than it is at one of the Dragons’ meets, where club members, wives and girl friends all turn out to handle the countless chores that are so essential to well conducted events. This year’s Spring season championship at Santa Maria was a two-day affair where action was the keynote. Winners were declared in 30 all-gas classes of competition. Two ’A’ dragsters tied for top speed at 163.63 mph. running into a strong headwind. ’ But that’s how things go…

West Islip, L.L., New York…

Portland, Oregan…

It seems to have started shortly after the invention of the wheel, for as far back as most of us can remember there has been a prototype of the “cart"; squirrel-cage powered or foot propelled, the “soap box racer” has held fascination eternal for pre-teen mankind. Now, through an evolution of miniature powerplants graduating from the early washing machine engine, a whole new world of carting has exploded; a creditable industry mushrooming overnight to supply the sudden demand for simple tube frames, engines, wheels and sprockets. Simplicity and resulting low cost form the keystone of this cart climax, with a “century note” nearly blanketing many of the manufactured kits, and some of the five-cubic-inch two-stroke mills selling individually for about a third of that figure. Bodies and intricate suspension systems…

Who said that deuce roadster bodies were hard to come by! If you are ’ ’ willing to settle for l1-th scale, there’s a full supply at your nearest model shop, authentically reproduced in plastic by AMT Corporation of Birmingham, Michigan. Identified as their 3-in-one kit, the little Ford can be assembled as a strictly stacker (complete with four-banger mill); then pulled down, channeled 10 inches, equipped with a hairy Chrysler and cycle fenders; then by adding a GMC blower, 8-inch slicks and roll bar (all in the kit) you change quickly from street rod to modified competition roadster. Such fine little items as chrome headers, moon discs, reversed rim wheels and wire wheels bring a new thrill to model making for the hot rodder, young and old alike. In…

Drag racing at Abernathy got off to a good start two years ago when members of three NHRA Charter clubs banded together to form the Tri City Drag Association—Hale Center’s ’Texas Jacks.’ Abernathy’s ’Falcons’ and Lubbock’s ’Road Dusters.’ Since then they’ve been conducting good events regularly, featuring well built equipment and plenty of close competition. Known as the Big Three Drag Strip, Abernathy’s choice facility boasts a 200 ft. wide asphalt runway that is a full 6,000 ft. in length; plenty of room for the hottest of dragsters. Their opening meet this year drew some 200 contestants. Quick-running Stocks and Gas coupes and sedans were uppermost. There’s never a dull moment at the Big Three Drags. They take racing seriously, Texas style, for the fun of it.…

One of the very first things many visiting auto enthusiasts look for in Southern California is the much-heard-of hot rods; the search usually centers around finding the “hang out” of the classic hot rod roadsters. As with too many good things in our bustling world, however, the old familiar sight of several roadsters at a Southern California drive-in is fast fading away. The car that wrote hot rodding history is giving ground to its newer cousins from Detroit. But there are still plenty of hot roadsters to be found in the sunny Southland! One determined group has banded together under the title of “Roadsters of LA” to see to it that the beloved little rods are preserved in all their dignity. Requiring members to own a 1934 or older roadster…

EI Cajon, California…

Portland, Oregon…

Broomfield, Colorado…

If you are an energetic young man living near Denver, Colorado, and owning a Chevrolet-bodied or GMC-powered car. you may be in luck. So far you’ve qualified for one of the most live-wire NHRA chartered hot rod clubs in the west—the Chevruns of Denver. Realizing that one hard worker is worth two strictly “placque flyers.” the Chevruns have pegged their membership at twenty-five. Now. after a very brief resume of their activities, let’s see if vou feel you’d like to be one of the elite fold. While some members are almost constantly working on club events and inter-club activities of every description, others are organizing scrap drives for the club’s own drag strip fund or participating in important civic welfare projects. Sponsored themselves by the local Burt Chevrolet agency, the…

America’s newest and most significant entry in the growing motor scooter market was unveiled when the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. took the wraps off its first scooter model at a series of previews held in various sections of the U.S. As unveiled by company officials, the Harley-Davidson “Topper” sports a trim, stylish exterior design and claims a number of exclusive mechanical features. Its announced price of $430 makes it strongly competitive with other scooters. The new scooter is powered by a compact, two-cycle engine of special Harley-Davidson design which is mounted to the frame on four rubber mounts between the foot rests and frees the unit from vibration. This positioning of the engine places 42 per cent of the scooter’s total weight on the front wheels, and gives it a lower…

Reporter: Roger, I understand you’ve been driving in competition for three years, and you’ve never lost a race in Texas. That’s a mighty fine record. Roger: Yes—but it’s not just mine. It’s been a team effort all the way … my partners and me. I do the driving … but we all work together to keep our “bomb” in the best possible racing condition. Reporter: I know it’s basically a ’29 “A” … but what have you got under the hood? Roger: A ’57 Olds engine—bored to 403 cubic inches; Howard and Weiand equipped. Lubricated with Pennzoil with Z-7. And that’s something very important to our winning streak … Pennzoil. Reporter: I noticed the Pennzoil emblem on your car. Have you always used Pennzoil? Roger: Right. Wouldn’t use anything else.…

Drag racing got off to a good start in Oregon this season when two of the various lending hot rod organizations—the Multnomah Hot Rod Council and Northwest Timing Association —joined forces in the presentation of one of their typical never-a-duil-moment events. Scene of the action was the Aurora airstrip. some 20 miles south of Portland, where a spacious 150 x 4.750 ft. asphalt runway affords an excellent setting for superbly conducted drag races. A crowd of some 5.500 fans turned out to watch over 250 cars compete for trophies and honors in the wide selection of classes. This was the first of a series of cosponsored events scheduled at Aurora this year; proceeds to be used in the completion of a new strip being built at Wood-burn. Oregon, by the…

Smart hot rod clubs are spending those precious dollars from their treasuries where they’ll do the most good—on equipment they can use themselves. As excellent an idea as this is, it’s still one requiring a little forethought regarding each purchase. After all, clubs that really need a crank grinder, or an align-boring mill are few and far between! But why? Because any equipment bought by the club should pay for itself in savings to the members long before it starts to lose resale value from sheer old age—and only the largest and most active draggin’-every-Sunday groups would ever find buying their own automotive machine shop facilities profitable. Equipment purchases that pay off best for most clubs are those involving relatively inexpensive items performing services everyone in the group periodically needs.…

Ever since hot rodding took to the water new terms have t cropped up to be added to the enthusiasts’ lexicon of speed. Phrases built around “glued-in.” “riding free.” “wild in the chop,’’ “planing flat” are just as commonplace at the boat drags as they are incomprehensible to the land-based rodder attending one of these spectacular events for the first time. Taken in order, “glued-in’’ refers to an undesirable condition wherein the boat’s hull has too much of its bottom surface pressed tightly into the water to attain its potential top speed. “Riding free” denotes a condition that can be felt easier than seen; the boat gives the driver the impression it is riding on a knife-like edge down its center. “Wild in the chop” is a phenomenom best seen…

Omaha, Nebraska…

Merced, California…

Los Angels, California…

FOUR ELIMINATORS will be declared at the Labor Day weekend’s National Championship Drag Races, Detroit. They’ll be the “Top Eliminators,” for Dragsters, Modified roadsters, and Competition coupes and sedans; the “Middle Eliminator,” for Roadsters, Altered coupes and sedans, and Street roadsters; “Little Eliminator,” for Gas coupes and sedans, and the “Stock Eliminator,” for factory production Stock cars. Top-ranking award of the entire meet will of course be the “National Championship,” as it is determined by matching the winners of the top classes in a big finalist series of two-car tournament style heat races. 34 CLASSES will be in effect at the ’59 Nationals, including the return of Stock cars to competition. The stackers will run on Thursday and Friday nights (Sept. 3 and 4), all other classes will run five…