More vintage Pro Stock

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Bob Glidden

Taking the Arrow to the staging lanes

 

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Pro Stock staging lanes

Back in the day. Going to say about 71. Look at all those future legands

 

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Jim Kinnett

1980 Pro Stock Volare with real Hemi power

 

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Shay Nichols Pro 426

She crashed her 71 Demon

 

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Shay Nichols Pro 426 version 2.0

Then got a 74 Dart Sport. This pic is at Amarillo, Texas

 

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Match Race Flyer

From 1971 held on pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

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Sox & Martin

Their two Cudas in the pits

 

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John Hagen

His Hemi Arrow in the pits at Indy 1978

 

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Hand me downs

One of the Mopar Missiles sold to Nelson Des Champs & painted all black

 

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Another Used Missle

This one was bought by a racer out of Toledo, Ohio & thus named the T Town Missle

 

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The weight break days

Ok in 73 NHRA put heavy weight penaltys on big block cars. And even more on the Mopar Hemi's. This lead to a rush to smallblock Vegas & Pintos. Kinda backfired on NHRA as the Ford guys chose to run their powerful 351 Cleveland engine which had a "semi-Hemi " head. Turned out to be the winning combo. As 351 Pinto's & Mustang II's where suddenly everywhere. As an example here is s pic of Mopar racer Don Grother who sold his Cuda & built a Pinto. Still had his hauler painted in the Plymouht theme. Soon NHRA added weight to the Fords & that slowed them down so the chebbies could win again. Ford racer Bob Glidden was so upset that he built a Chebbie in 76, but decided to stick with Ford. The NHRA wouldn't let the Mopar teams run a smallblock Colt because it wasn't American made. So that was the end of Mopars being competitive Untill 79 when Gliden came out with the smallblock Arrow

 

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Nelson Des Champs

Nelson wrecked his Missile

 

[70bigblockdodge]

It is funny when the NHRA tries to outlaw combos out of competition, and another dominate rises up, probably the worst drawback from no Colts was no development of small block heads earlier and more of it.

 

[C Body Bob]

Yes I think had the Colts been legal some of the teams would have developed the LA. And the W2 heads woul have come out in late 73 or early 74.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Another what if is that if Ford with the Cleveland would have been Ma Mopars target something like the 5.7 hemi may have been developed earlier.

 

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Cleveland

I wish they had come out with a smallblock Hemi. I guess the move to V6 engines killed that. Those early V6 engine where horrible. All 3 brands.

 

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Roy Hill wins Darlington. Hill in his Hemi Arrow celebrating in victory lane (blue shirt) after winning the IHRA Pro Stock race at Darlington, SC. IHRA was a bit kinder to the Hemi cars and they had a fighting chance. Didn't dominate as they still had restrictions, but at least they ran well. What doomed them in IHRA was the Mountain Motors. The engines kept getting bigger & bigger & no one wanted to make a Hemi block that could go that big as the fear they would get handicapped if they got winning too much. Today there are a few 800 plus inch Hemi's running IHRA & are largely mid pack

 

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Humphry & Lambeck Hemi powered Pro Stock Volare

 

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The Missile in the pits. Dick Landy next door

 

[70bigblockdodge]

That is just a thing of beauty