Pro Stock. The good old days

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I find it hard to believe this fit a factory template of a mustang

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I thought the current bodies were all the same other than the vinyl that gets stuck on them.
 
some would call it cheating, some (like me) consider it "creative engineering". Right from the head of Chryslers racing program in a speech at the Carlisle Mopar event (2016?)..... Chryslers internal racing motto for ALL their programs (early 60's to 2000) was..."Win if you can, loose if you must, but always, always cheat". He went on to explain Chrsyler expected their racing teams to always be pushing the envelope. His point was that not allowing "creative engineering" stifled creativity.

I used to love going in Daytona and checking out the tables of "creative engineering" on full display in the garage area. One year I was there, they has several complete roofs cut off of Roush cars. Apparently the Roush engineers discovered if they moved the roof flaps slightly ahead, the driver could push up on them slightly causing the air not catch the rear spoiler. There was probable 5 or 6 tables full of all kinds of stuff just from that race. I believe Dick Beatty was no longer in charge of tech, the new sheriff was Gary Nelson who I think must have been Smoky Yunicks illegitimate son. :)
 
I remember when WCSS started winning races, I was thrilled. Prior to that, NHRA, NASCAR, rigged the game for Ford and Chevy. Couldn't have the little brother whipping up on the two bigger brothers, that would look bad. The sanctioning bodies have always tilted the scales to deny Mopars being competitive. And speaking of WCSS, didn't Alderman get busted in a drug sting?
 
This car 'CRAZEE CUDA" last raced Pro-Stock in '71. I was a one man crew for Lee Smith in '72. He was pretty much out of it by then, did 3 or 4 local tracks once in awhile. Ran 2 different engines, 426 and a 305 cu in Hemi's. C/gas and E/gas. Understand the car may be in Florida now. These pictures were the day from Moline, IL to Eddyville, IA dragstrip. Ray Murphy's Challenger in back drop. Those were the days. Swore that I would never post again after the other day, but here I am.

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This car 'CRAZEE CUDA" last raced Pro-Stock in '71. I was a one man crew for Lee Smith in '72. He was pretty much out of it by then, did 3 or 4 local tracks once in awhile. Ran 2 different engines, 426 and a 305 cu in Hemi's. C/gas and E/gas. Understand the car may be in Florida now. These pictures were the day from Moline, IL to Eddyville, IA dragstrip. Ray Murphy's Challenger in back drop. Those were the days. Swore that I would never post again after the other day, but here I am.

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Thanks for the short story and pics!!!! I love that car!! Guy in my area had his Whackee Wagon for awhile.
 
I remember when WCSS started winning races, I was thrilled. Prior to that, NHRA, NASCAR, rigged the game for Ford and Chevy. Couldn't have the little brother whipping up on the two bigger brothers, that would look bad. The sanctioning bodies have always tilted the scales to deny Mopars being competitive. And speaking of WCSS, didn't Alderman get busted in a drug sting?

Yep, some BS deal on cocaine. They charged him with “conspiracy to possess with INTENT to distribute”.

My lawyer at the time you could get a conviction on those charges very easily.

In fact…in part of my checkered past I could have been convicted on the very same charges.

Pretty crappy deal for DA. NHRA pretty much crapped on him.
 
My all time favorite Pro Stock team - Roy and Allen Johnson.

The Johnson Racing team works on the big Hemi between rounds. Photo by TIm Pratt.jpg



Roy always took the time to talk with the fans in the pits.
 
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A Friend of mine has the last set of 4.84 pso heads, and the last intake they built.
Somewhere out there is a ford video, showing what Bob Glidden was doing to his heads, in a part of it the guy explains how Glidden modified the w2 heads to be like his Cleveland based combo.
 
A Friend of mine has the last set of 4.84 pso heads, and the last intake they built.
Somewhere out there is a ford video, showing what Bob Glidden was doing to his heads, in a part of it the guy explains how Glidden modified the w2 heads to be like his Cleveland based combo.


Thats cool. I’ve never had my hands on the PSO head but I’d love to finger it for a day or two.

Any chance you have a link to the Glidden video?? I’d love to see that.
 
I don't know how but the YouTube video is by drag boss garage. He has several videos about different things glidden did in the 70s that are now common. Welding combustion chambers similar to how they are now. Brazing/welding the spring side of the head to raise the roof, then drastically changing the intakes incoming angle.
 
I don't know how but the YouTube video is by drag boss garage. He has several videos about different things glidden did in the 70s that are now common. Welding combustion chambers similar to how they are now. Brazing/welding the spring side of the head to raise the roof, then drastically changing the intakes incoming angle.
 
Rat mentioned Glidden reworking the lifter banks in the W2 pro smallblock. Is it correct that welded in the small Ford lifter banks? Thought I heard or read somewhere that he did. Pretty amazing ingenuity. Hagen and others welding up 383 Mopar blocks to accept Hemi heads to run De-Stroker engines in Pro Stock.
 
I actually remember seeing some of those backfires. I don't think it was ever proven, but you know that bout had to be what it was.
I only knew of one, which we duplicated on our car when the dist rotor broke leaving the line.
 
Rat mentioned Glidden reworking the lifter banks in the W2 pro smallblock. Is it correct that welded in the small Ford lifter banks? Thought I heard or read somewhere that he did. Pretty amazing ingenuity. Hagen and others welding up 383 Mopar blocks to accept Hemi heads to run De-Stroker engines in Pro Stock.
Glidden was the precurser to the 48 degree lifter block development
 
Wayne county Daytona was one of the most torn down pro stocks to ever run. NHRA seen to it. If there was NOS, NHRA would have been guilty for covering it up as well.
 
Rat mentioned Glidden reworking the lifter banks in the W2 pro smallblock. Is it correct that welded in the small Ford lifter banks? Thought I heard or read somewhere that he did. Pretty amazing ingenuity. Hagen and others welding up 383 Mopar blocks to accept Hemi heads to run De-Stroker engines in Pro Stock.
Back in the 70s, Clyde Hodges (Carlton's right hand man) was cutting the head bolt pieces out of blown up Hemi blocks and welding them into 383 blocks to create a shorter stroke 396 cubic inch Hemi. He said that was their best running engine ever.
 
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