Drag Racings In The '60s Part Two
The pits were full of wild, Nitro burning Funny Cars at US 131 Dragway in Martin, MI in the late '60s and I was there with my camera.
2012 Jalopy Showdown Drags Bobby and Tyler Hilton's Little Honker Gas Coupe Nostalgia Drag Racing
Brought to you by http://www.dragstripgirldesigns.com September 29 - 2012 Rod and Kulture Magazine Jalopy Showdown Drags at Beaver Springs Dragway. Bobby and Tyler Hilton's Little 'Honker' - Supercharged Oldsmobile Competition Gas Coupe on a full smoky pass. Gassers Nostalgia Drag Racing Drift HD Action POV Camera
Jungle Jim and Jungle Pam - Drag Racing Legends
Years before John Force arrived on the scene, drag racing's original flamboyant showman was "Jungle Jim" Liberman; a larger-than-life individual whose flaming burnouts, glib personality, and boundless energy helped endear him to fans in a manner that eluded other drivers with better winning records.
Liberman was much more than a touring professional; with his wild wheelstands, 100-mph backups from burnouts, stubborn refusal to lift on even the most out-of-shape runs, and his curvaceous companion, "Jungle Pam" Hardy, Liberman provided all the entertainment of a traveling circus.
Liberman's life, like the lives of many fast-living icons of youth such as James Dean, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin, was as short as it was fast-paced. He died at the age of 32 after suffering fatal injuries in a head-on collision with a bus on Sept. 9, 1977. His premature passing left a void in the sport that wasn't replaced until Force's explosive personality emerged in the late 1980s.
Today, the legend of "Jungle Jim" lives on with "Jungle Pam," his constant companion in his heyday who titillated race fans with her skimpy outfits and provocative on-track actions.
"At every race track that I go to," said Hardy, "everyone comes up and asks for my autograph. They ask what he was like and if he was as crazy as they've heard. The fans really miss him, and they miss the fun part of drag racing. The sport has become so professional now that there's no room for any of that anymore."
"I was just 18 when I met him. I was still attending high school in West Chester, Pa., and had never been further away from home than the next town over. I was walking down the street one day, and here comes this yellow Corvette speeding down the street. This guy walks out, comes up to me, and says, "Hi, I'm Jim."
I had never been to a drag race before, but the next thing I knew, we we're heading for his match race in Xenia, Ohio. He showed me how to back him up after the burnouts, and from then on, my life was just a whirlwind tour all over the country."
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song "American Girl" was released in 1977, the same year Jungle Jim passed away.
Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die
Tryin' she had one little promise
She was gonna keep
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
It was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
She could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' in the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
This video was created from clips from the Diamond P video "Fabulous Floppers" and photos that I took of some of Jungle Jim's cars at 131 Dragway back in the '60s. The photos of Jungle Jim and Pam at 1:48, 1:53 and 1:59 are courtesy of Tom McCrea tmccrea. Photo at 2:36 is by Steve Scott. Other pictures are from unknown photographers.
1970 Bristol Drag Race.mp4
This video is part of the Tim Lopata collection and contains footage of the 1970 drag races at Bristol TN. Brought to you by http://www.LegendaryCollectorCars.com
480HP 55 chevy gasser 2
puting the 55 chevy gasser up at the shop..yes it has mufflers..its not open headers!! its a 383 ported and polished.. msd... fenderwell headers with dinomax race mufflers...3 speed with trans break...dana 44 rear end with 4:10 gears (was 6:10's) high rise intake from the 60's with 2 holly four's..high lift cam..around 450hp
Vintage Drag Racing: Late 1960's - Early 1970's (Jeff Beck "Big Block")
This piece is based on 1960's and 1970's Drag Racing photographs by Charles L. Gilchrist, and is dedicated to "Piston Heads" and "Gear Jammers" all over the world. enjoy!
Produced by CG Imaging
Music "Big Block" by Jeff Beck from the album "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop".
If you like these hot drag racing images, check out the artists website:
www.CharlesGilchrist.com
1990 - Part 5 Best of Famoso Raceway Vintage AA Gassers Willys Nostalgia Drag Racing Bakersfield, CA
Drag Strip Riot Posters! http://www.maziracing.com/2004poster/
1990 Vintage AA Gassers Willys Nostalgia Drag Racing, Part 5 Best of Famoso Race Drag Racing; Dan Horan Jr. Top Fuel dragster, Willys Gassers, K.S. Pittman, Stone-Woods & Cook, Gary Fore Willys Foreplay Gasser, Junior Fuel, Bakersfield, California.
Vintage Famoso Raceway, Nostalgia Drag Racing, Pro Mods, A/Gas, Nitro Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Cars, Crash, Funny Car body explosion, Auto Club Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, California. Brought to you by http://www.dragstripgirldesigns.com
Video courtesy of Ralph West of One Man Video.
Grumpy's Toys
Grumpys Toys is available online and in book stores now. Check out Amazon.com for a look inside.
Side note; The images depicted in this slide are internet finds and I claim no ownership to them. All photos in the Grumpys Toys book have been used with written permission and differ from what you see here.
Slide show created by one-headlight@live.ca
60's Drag Racing
Gassers (I was really into the Willys coupes!), Early Funny Cars, some Stockers, Rails, and more, taken when I was just a kid. Most are from the NHRA Nationals in Indy, some from Great Lakes Dragway, and from US 131 in Martin, Michigan. The Hemi Under Glass is a hand-out, not an original photo.
Gassers At 131 Dragway In The '60s
This is an updated version of my video "Drag Racing In The '60s part 3". I made that video about three years ago and since then I have upgraded my photo and video editing software. I have been able to clean up the photos and video a bit and I added sound to the movies that I extracted from some recent video I took at the drags. I thought it would be fun to add some sound to the old 8mm movies. I also made it widescreen. The soundtrack is me jammin' on some Booker T and the MGs and CCR.
