Ford Drag Team

Author: Charles R. Morris
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780983060673
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description
Ford expert and veteran drag-racing author Charles R. Morris has written the definitive book covering the members of the Ford Drag Council and Drag Team of the 1960s, perhaps the most important decade in Ford performance history. In writing Ford Drag Team, Morris performed candid, one-on-one interviews with Ford drag racing legends like Phil Bonner, Hubert Platt, Ed Terry, Randy Payne, Al Joniec, the late Bill Lawton, Drag Team captain Dick Brannan, and more. Morris also collected factory documents and race reports and scoured the earth for photos and statistics to document the full story of these drag racing pioneers. Ford Drag Team is your opportunity to get the true story, directly from those who made the history from behind the wheel and behind the scenes. You'll learn how this talented group of individuals from diverse backgrounds came together to make motorsports history that should never be forgotten.

Hubert Platt

Author: Allen Platt
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613253974
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
Webster's Dictionary lists the term showman as "a notably spectacular, dramatic, or effective performer." In the art of drag racing, Hubert Platt checked all boxes. Known as the "Georgia Shaker," Platt cut his motoring teeth on the long straightaways and twisty back roads of South Carolina while bootlegging moonshine. After a run-in with the law in 1958, Platt transferred his driving skills from illegal activity to sanctioned drag racing and began one of the most dominant runs in drag racing history until his retirement in 1977. After stints in 1957, 1938, and 1962 Chevrolets, Platt's next ride was a Z11 Impala, which carried his first "Georgia Shaker" moniker. Once Chevrolet pulled out of sanctioned racing, Platt found a new home with Ford for 1964 and remained there until he hung up his helmet. Some of the cars he campaigned became icons in their own right. His factory-backed and personal machines included a 1963 Z11 Impala, 1964 Thunderbolt, 1965 Falcon, 1966 Mustang Funny Car, 1967 Fairlane 427, 1968-1/2 Cobra Jet, 1969 CJ Mustang, 1970 427 SOHC Mustang, and 1970 Boss 429 Maverick. A 1986 NHRA Hall of Fame member, Platt's lasting legacy on the sport can’t be denied. Whether he was launching his Falcon with the door open, conducting a Ford Drag Team seminar, or posting low E.T. at the 1967 US Nationals in his Fairlane, Platt's imprint on drag racing was all-encompassing. His son and biggest fan, Allen Platt, shares his dad's iconic career in, Hubert Platt: Fast Fords of the "Georgia Shaker"!

Racing Mustangs

Author: Steve Holmes
Publisher: David and Charles
ISBN: 1787117596
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 619

Book Description
Racing Mustangs is a photographic historical study capturing many Ford Mustang road racing cars in action throughout the world in the period 1964 to 1986. Includes hundreds of period images of Mustangs, many of which have never been published before.

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320

Author: Elana Scherr
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613255187
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme reveals for the first time ever his incredible life and career on and off of the drag strip.

Imagine spending a year with Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, having coffee together and talking about his life, his racing, his friends, and his family. He’d tell you about how he rose from being a high school drop-out who was painting cars to a respected Top Fuel dragster driver and successful businessman. You’d hear how he toured the country with Tommy Ivo and "The Hawaiian" Roland Leong, racing all the legends from "Big Daddy" Don Garlits to "The Golden Greek" [Chris] Karamesines. He'd say how he met Tom McEwen and recall how they became the Snake and the Mongoose, leading to a career in Funny Cars that netted him four championships in a row. He'd talk about the thrill of first wins and owning his own teams but also the struggles of bad seasons, crashes and fires, broken parts, and broken contracts. Along the way, he’d speak about the people in his life, such as engine-builder Keith Black and NHRA president Wally Parks, and those who were killed in the wild and unpredictable sport of nitro racing. It wouldn’t be only racing, though. Prudhomme would share lessons he learned about business and life from such varied sources as a neighbor in Granada Hills to Ford GT40 driver Dan Gurney. He also would talk about the importance of family: how his wife, Lynn, and daughter, Donna, changed his world and how finding out about his African-American roots opened his eyes to a culture and inheritance he’d always wanted. This is the experience you’ll get in Don "The Snake" Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320.

We Were The Ramchargers

Author: David G. Rockwell
Publisher: SAE International
ISBN: 1468605763
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
With over 200 new images, the new edition of We Were the Ramchargers is perfect for drag racing enthusiasts. This book takes readers behind the scenes with the group of Chrysler engineers who, from the 1950s through the 1970s, became one of the most successful and influential drag racing teams of all time. The only team of engineers from an automobile manufacturer to drag race successfully, the Ramchargers broke the most time barriers in drag racing history and earned the most National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Super Stock titles during the sport’s golden era of factory competition. Author Dave Rockwell, a Ramcharger himself, interviewed more than 40 team members, competitors, and track operators for We Were the Ramchargers, making it the first and only book to provide inside details on all elements of the Ramchargers story. In addition to chronicling the races they won and legendary cars they developed (including the High and Mighty, 426 Hemi, and first Funny Car), Rockwell opens corporate and personal files to take readers behind the doors at Chrysler (showing, among other things, how the Ramchargers helped pioneer the platform team concept), while revealing the personalities of the men who made it all happen. (Second Edition, ISBN: 9781468605754, ISBN: 9781468605761, ISBN: 9781468605778, DOI: 10.4271/9781468605761)

Sox & Martin

Author: Jim Schild
Publisher: Cartech
ISBN: 9781613254783
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Book Description
Sox & Martin: The Most Famous Team in Drag Racing is a comprehensive archival recap of straight-line racing's greatest duo.

Ford GT

Author: Preston Lerner
Publisher: Motorbooks International
ISBN: 0760347875
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
"Ford GT40 tells the history of Ford's historic racing program of the mid-twentieth century that challenged "real" racers and established a racing dynasty for the American manufacturer"--

Grumpy's Toys

Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: Cartech
ISBN: 9781934709276
Category : Automobile engineers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Grumpy's Toys: The Legendary Cars of Bill Grumpy Jenkins stands as a full and complete history of Jenkins' career to date as told through his cars, and has been heartily authorized by the man himself (Jenkins wrote the book's foreword.) Author Doug Boyce has been following Jenkins throughout his racing career, and amassed an impressive collection of vintage photography which is shared on the pages. Through his own knowledge, extensive research, and by working with Grumpy himself, Grumpy's Toys offers readers an unparalleled look behind the man and his machines.

Boss Mustang

Author: Donald Farr
Publisher: Motorbooks
ISBN: 0760364605
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 179

Book Description
The Ford Boss Mustang is the most iconic pony car ever created, and this book covers it more extensively than any other. Boss Mustang: 50 Years—a fully expanded version of Mustang Boss 302—includes the complete history of its creation; racing and street histories of both the 302 and 429 models; and photos and interviews with Boss Mustang designers, engineers, racers, and more. Of all the legendary names in the history of the Ford Mustang, one stands apart: Boss. Originally created to homologate the new Boss 302 engine and option package for SCCA Trans-Am racing, the Mustang Boss 302 debuted for the 1969 model year and was built in limited numbers for the street through 1970. This book features never-before-seen production and racing photography, interviews with designers and engineers, and keen insight from author Donald Farr, a renowned Ford historian and Ford hall-of-fame inductee. Designed by the legendary Larry Shinoda, the Boss cars were easily distinguished from their less potent stablemates by their race-bred powerplant, standard front spoiler, and bold graphics. In 2012, Ford at long last revived this most revered of all Mustang models. With a new racing counterpart and a modern street version that delivers more than 440 horsepower, the Boss was truly back! In 2013, Ford rolled out the Boss one more time. In Boss Mustang: 50 Years, Mustang historian Donald Farr offers a complete history of the car—from its late 1960s origins in Ford's boardrooms through its Trans-Am successes and untimely demise in 1970, up to the conception and development of the spectacular, limited-edition 2012 and 2013 Boss Mustangs. Packed with brilliant photography and firsthand accounts from the people who created the original Boss, as well as the team that resurrected Ford's most iconic Mustang for the 21st century, this is the story every Mustang enthusiast has been waiting to read.

Drag Racing in the 1960s

Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613255829
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
The 1960s were a fascinating decade on the race scene. Relive the memories today through this wonderful new book. Drag racing has a long and storied history. Many have said that the first drag race happened shortly after the second car was made. While that may or may not be true, racing prior to World War II was mostly centered around dry-lake activities and top-speed runs. After the war, drag racing became organized with the formation of the NHRA, and during the 1950s, many tracks were built across America to accommodate the racers. Technology in the 1950s centered on the manufacturers updating old flathead designs into newer overhead-valve designs, and the horsepower race really started to heat up. In many forms of racing, the 1960s brought technological evolution. The decade began with big engines in even bigger stock chassis and ended with purpose-built race-only chassis, fiberglass bodies, fuel injection, nitro methane, and blowers. Quarter-mile times that were in the 13-second range in the beginning of the decade were in the 7-second range by the end. New classes were formed, dedicated cars were built for them, and many racers themselves became recognized names in the sports landscape. In Drag Racing in the 60s: The Evolution in Race Car Technology, veteran author Doug Boyce takes you on a ride through the entire decade from a technological point of view rather than a results-based one. Covered are all the classes, including Super Stocks, Altered Wheelbase cars (which led to Funny Cars), Top Fuelers, Gassers, and more.