Hi Mart,
These attached photos and all the rest, were taken at the Charlestown
Navel Air Station dragstrip in
Charlestown, Rhode Island. I took these with my Kodak Brownie camera
when I
was 13 years old, so please forgive the quality of the images.
Steve Gould
Colorado Springs, Colorado
USA
Sooooooooo lets see what Steve has for us..Steve's comments in italics. All shots date from around 1963-1964.
Sheeit, almost wish I hadn't cut the front of my Pop now.
Car had V8, and heavily modified wheels to accommodate an un-narrowed axle. Jeez, that thing looks GOOD!
Baby Cakes Willys from Nutley, New Jersey
B/Gasser
B/Altered
404 A/Altered. Is that a Crosley station wagon body?
Jack Merkel Automotive Willys pickup out of New York. A beautiful race
car that ran like hell. Maybe it's in a garage somewhere, under a tarp,
waiting to come back to life.
Fuel injected small block rail being pushed past the rack of trophies.
(Whoops! I cropped out most of the trophies!..Mart)
Flathead powered D/A with plenty of weight distribution.
Blown rail called Diablo was run by Jimmy King, a very well know racer in
the North East.
Tasca Ford Thunderbolt out of East Providence, R.I. Tasca Ford was a
very heavy contender in S/S and later A/FX.
AA/D blown rail. Check out the tow vehicle with the slicks tied down on
the roof.
Flathead race motor. Home built and low buck, but they were RACING!
The 440 AA/Comp roadster looks very professional. Think they could have
fit a bigger blower on it?
Three dragsters, different classes. The blown, rear engine hemi rail on a
90" wheel base must have been a real thrill to launch.
Cobra was painted a bright red metalflake, and it was stunning. Love
those knock off wire wheels.
The Corvette was no doubt driven to and from the track.
Fuel injected Street Roadster. Those exhaust dumps were so large
you
could fit your head inside them. Not that I tried it.
My favorite picture, taken in April 1963 at Charlestown, R.I. It was a
chilly, windy, overcast day, so typical of Spring in coastal New England.
Although they were heavy and impractical, I always liked the look of a rail
with a roadster or coupe/sedan body on it. Check the guy with his back to
the camera wearing a Ed Roth Rat Fink Hat.
---oooOOOooo---
Thanks, Steve, for sharing these great pics with us, that Kodak Brownie didn't do too bad, eh?!....Mart.