Pit Stop #29

Sebring 12 Hours 1963.
Shelby American Cobra CSX 2128.

Dan Gurney and Phil Hill finished in 29th place, well behind the winning Ferrari 250 P of John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti.

Via: aviatorr727.

Street Brawler

1965.

They didn't come any tougher than this. John Davies' Model A Coupe had a stance that guaranteed it could smash your Corvette or Mustang clear into the middle of next week, the instant the red light turned to green.

Box Top #2

Yet more Cobra portraiture.

Via: Drastic Plastics.

Futuristic Plastic

Willie Ley's visionary space models had budding intergalactic travelers eagerly gluing their way toward tomorrow.

Via: Drastic Plastics.

Box Top

Artistic representations are infinitely more stimulating than simple photographic depictions.

Via: SeattleGuy51

Crazy Canucks

Canada's band of motorized madmen.

Via: jmv.

Don't Look Back

1968 Dodge Charger III.

I was a proud Dodge Charger III owner during my youth. Mine was green and manufactured by Matchbox. I always thought it quite strange that you couldn't see out the back of the car and therefore reasoned that you could only drive it forwards without changing lanes.

Fastest Woman in The World

Lee Breedlove became the World's Fastest Woman when she drove "Spirit Of America - Sonic 1" to a new female World Land Speed Record of 308.56 mph at Bonneville on November 4th 1965.

Via: dbreedlove.

The Performer

Although it may come as a surprise, Shelby American didn't just road-race the Mustang, they also hit the quarter mile with their GT 350. Shelby built just four "Drag Units" in 1965 and this car SFM5S360 was campaigned by Don McCain under the sponsorship of Mel Burns Ford of Long Beach. McCain's Performer is best remembered in its blue and silver livery, however it was originally plain old Wimbledon White like every other 1965 GT 350. Les Ritchey's Performance Associates handled the original modifications for Shelby, but further development by McCain including a Crane roller cam, 5.13:1 gears and a quartet of 48 IDA Weber carbs saw this pony stop the clocks in 11.06 seconds. In 1967 at the end of its career The Performer was sold to an L.A. County fireman and subsequently stolen, never to be seen again.

Via: shelbynation.

Up In Black

Wheelstands don't get you down the quarter more quickly but who cares ?

Via: The HAMB.

Oddball Austin

K. S. Pittman ran this offbeat Austin during the late sixties. Looking like a London cab on steroids, the "football" as it was affectionately known, still managed an intimidating profile despite its hunchback and prosaic British ancestry. Originally built by Big John Mazmanian, Pittman bought the car from Big John in 1968 and ran it successfully for two years .

Via: The HAMB.

The Long Horse

Bill Lawton's Mystery 9 AF/X Mustang taking shape at Holman Moody. Dr Frankenstein would have been proud of the surgery required to fit a SOHC 427 into a Mustang. After a successful heart transplant, skeletal surgery, skin graft and nose job there wasn't a whole lot left of the original patient.

Via: HOTROD.

Pit Stop #28

1967 Daytona 24 Hours.
The Porsche 906 of Charles Vogele and Walter Habegger before it crashed and burned.

Via: koa.

Strip Shot #3

The fittingly named Groundshaker launching hard.

El Carrera Panamericana en Blanquinegro

Carrera Panamericana 1953.
The Porsche 550 of Jaroslav Juhan imparts the appearance of a Germanic spacecraft against the bucolic backdrop of the Carrera.

Via: LIFE.

Honey I Crashed The Cobra

Oops !!!!

Via: 4Durt

Pit Stop #27

Sebring 1967.

Fred Baker's Porsche 906.

Via: aviatorr727

Dragoo !!!

Miss Cobra

Riverside 1963.
Miss California Sports Car Lori Campbell.
Via: vintagesportscarphotos.com

Pit Stop #26

Riverside 1964.
Dave MacDonald in the Ford powered Lang Cooper.

Via: davemacdonald.net

Pit Stop #25

Jack McAfee Porsche RS60 1962.

Jack started out running on the dry lakes and went on to race a myriad of European machinery. For the whole story on "Jack the Bear" go to jackmcafee.com.

Fliegenuntertasse

Long before the little green men came down in their flying saucers, earthlings were building unbelievably futuristic racing cars.

Designing Speed

Ponies & Goats

An A/FX menagerie at Irwindale.

Driver's Seat #6

1955
Stirling Moss
Mercedes W196

Via: Jesse Alexander

Sunday Drive

"What could be a more spine tingling thrill than motoring along in a fine handling roadster with a pretty girl at your side ? Of course, the driving is only half the fun ........."

Hot Rod Magazine January 1961.

Confederate Grand Prix

Via: Autosport.com

Straight Axles

Willys coupes were amongst the gasser war's heaviest hitters. Sitting high and packing a solid punch, these curious vehicles are remembered as definitive drag machines, a far cry from their homely utilitarian origins.

Ferrari 750 Monza

Pit Stop #24

When was the last time you saw the pit crew wearing terry towelling ?

Via: Club Cobra

Hanging Out

Kandy Snapshots

Big John Mazmanian built some of the most stunning drag machines ever and thankfully you could wander through the pits with your camera, snapping away merrily.

Thanks to ltownrodder @ the H.A.M.B. for these great shots.

Precious Cargo

When Cobras were just race cars, they loaded them up and went racing.
Via: Club Cobra.

Under The Sicilian Sun

48th Targa Florio 1964
Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie

The Cobra of Bob Bondurant and Phil Hill cornering hard. It retired due to suspension problems.

Trophy Queen

Billy Scott enjoying victory spoils with Linda Vaughan.

Driver's Seat #5

Illustration by Russell Brockbank.

Speed Magazine - January 1938.

Weight Loss Program

This is what you get when you take one of Ford's all conquering GT40's, slice a little off the top and put it on a strict diet of aluminum. Lightening a proven race winner would seem to make perfect sense, unfortunately the GT40 X1 didn't quite live up to expectations. Despite tipping the scales a full 1000 lbs less than its steel siblings, thanks in part to an experimental aluminum chassis from Abbey Panels in Britain, the X1 failed to make its presence felt during the 1965 season. It took a transplant of good old NASCAR brewed horsepower for this test mule to finally get up and run. In its last race at Sebring in 1966, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby took the checkered flag for Ford ahead of a strong field of Ferraris, Porsches and Chaparrals.

Wild Wild Willie !!!

The Drag Cars In Motion thread over at The H.A.M.B has been a treasure trove of classic drag racing images for quite some time. Recently, Plum has been kind enough to share a plethora of high resolution pictures for everyone to enjoy. I couldn't resist compiling a selection of the wildest Fuel Altered of them all, The Winged Express. With his casual one handed driving technique, Wild Willie Borsch must rate as one of the most insane drivers to ever run down the quarter mile.
For more drag racing go to the H.A.M.B.
Warning: It may take some time to view as there are nearly 900 pages !!