BEARS DRAGRACING PAGE

Above picture was spring of 1973 Just got the 56 it had a 250 hp 327 in it with 3 on the tree. I was building on a small journal 030 over 327 with dome pistons 300hp heads and a Duntov solid lift fuelee cam. I had a 400 turbo with a 4:56 posi rear end and fender well exit headers that was passed down from Dwight Southerland. I run the car a few times at Carlise in the brackets. Below is my last real dragcar the last time it was run while I had it. Was at Centerville in November 1982. The 55 was an old California Gas car that the Senn brothers run at Orange County in the early 70s it was rumored to have been featured in Hot Rod mag. but I never found it. It had a fiberglass front cap, doors and trunk the frame had been cut at the firewall and new frame rails with a drop front axel full roll cage and alium fire wall with an Olds rear end. And a Moon 3gal fuel tank. By then there was no class raceing so I never put my fast eng. in it. I would build a basic 300hp 350 with a good cam intake and carb. I had a 350 turbo in it with a 2500 stall it had a spool and 5:57 gears. The eng. wouldn't pull at the end of the 1000 ft if I let off or just let it hum to the line it run 11 flat more or less every pass. It ran in the low 8s at Newport which was an 1/8th mile. I didn't make many unnessery passes in it at Centerville because the eng was on the edge at the end of every run. But I had me a little engine selling business going on I would sell the eng out of it for $500.00 bucks keep the intake, carb, oil pan, dist. and water pump go back home and have another one ready to go with about $250.00 worth of parts and do it again in a couple of weeks. In those days 300hp 350s was a dime a dozen and a compleat over haul set was $75 to $100 dollars with molly rings. I had a deal going with LUNATI cams so a decent cam and lifters wasn't much. I traded the 55 off in the mid 80s got it back in a couple of years and finally sold it in the early 90s.

You have seen the first and last on the page now for the inbetween. In 1974 or the winter of 73 I built a 33 Chevy 3 window coupe. with basickley what I had in the 56 I started out with the same eng trans and rear end that I had in the 56 It run in the low 14s at Carlise so to speed it up I bought a set of the new angle plug heads put a bigger cam in it lower gears and a bigger carb I was going to fly like the wind. After spending a good bit of money it run about the same then I became awaire of what I didn't know about drag raceing. I later learned that I had fallen into the trap that most racers land in at one time or another bigger isn't always better. I learned first hand that everthing has to work together the cam the carb the trans and rear end. I only back slid one time after that when I bought a set of high dollar super big tube headers for the Chevell that may have cost me a little horse power or at least made no difference in the ET. My next project was a 1966 SS Chevell. One of my buddys J Cullum was running the Chevell in B/G at Charlise with a 427 425hp with a cross ram and 4sp he got runner up one time but was disqualfied when he claimed 396cid the car was legal weight to cubic inch but he thought it was lighter than it was. In the summer of 1975 I traded him the 33 less eng. for the 66 less eng. I built a good 331 for the Chevell TRW 12.5 pistons big roller cam with all the extras angle plug heads tunnel ram with 2 7:15 holleys. I had Ray Sullines at Newport to balance it and fly cut the pistons along with pumping him for information. It had a 4sp inline shifer Mcload flywheel 5:13 gears and ladder bars. I left the line at 8 grand and shifted at 8. THe  car was a good match and run in the low 12s and high 11s at Carlise running E/G which was 331cid at 3650 lbs. But I was a couple of grand short still it would make a few rounds until I run up against Ray Sullins, Buddy Bennett or Sanford Bolain that I couldn't beat unless they broke. But the car run good enought not to be ashamed of it. It run 7:70 at I 30 in the 1/8 mile which was decent. I took it to Centerville when it first opened at the urgeing of my running buddy Professer Ken Mayfield who had been running his F Stock Camaro up there. Instead of pulling the wheels up when I launched I spun through 1st and 2nd gear with the tack buried and screwed up a good T 10. When I came back down the return road I drove it back on the trailer never to return till the track was fixed. After we pulled my eng out of the 33 me and J put his 427 in it with the auto trans. We put on a show at Cralise and I 30 with it. It still had the original steering system in it which worked fine when I drove it but was as wild as a bull with the 427. It had a roll cage in it and I suspected it might get tested so J did all the driveing. THe throttle linkege I had in it was fine for 1 carb but didn't work well with the big block cross log. After J did the burn out I would have to reach under the hood and hand close the throttle to keep it from pushing trought the lights. When he went power on it turned about half sideways and stayed that away until he let off at the traps. I run the Chevell off and on untill 1979 when I bought the 55 less eng and trans. I had a number of good street cars through the years. and I have a 91 S-10 Blazer at the shop with enough parts to build a decent street rig which I intend to do but I seem to be a little slow getting started. But my need for fast things has not been neglected after we bought a place close to the Sugarloaf marina onGreersferry lake a few years ago I have been cruiseing the lake in a 16ft low profile jet boat that I put a small block 406 in. it goes pretty fast and makes a good bit of noise with unmufferled through the transom ex.

I plan to along with my pictures post other folks cars on the photo page. That run in my day at Carlise, I-30, Newport, Prescott and other Arkansas Tracks. Some of the folks I run with still do it but most have quit.