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A History of...thread

11K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  classic gary 
#1 ·
I/We need a history of, Hilborn injectors, blower drives, Cal Custom valve covers, Sun tachs, American Racing wheels, ect.
I guess what I'm looking for is dates when the first type/design units were available.
Like the first bug catcher Hilborn, or the first use of the 4 port Hilborn, first Cragar blower drive, first use of Delta blower drive. Then second design, 3rd, .....
I just want to get the parts correct for the year build date of the gassers, or any others, being built.
You'd think HotRodDelux would be doin' something like that.
 
#4 ·
I can answer the Hilborn question. Stu Hilborn debuted his system on his Lakes car in 1948 at El Mirage. His car was the first to break 150 mph. After that everybody wanted one of his Hilborn injection systems. Stu is still alive and well, and is consulting with the company that owns Hilborn today; Fuel Injection Eng. Co.
The first Cragar blowers came out around 1959., and they were still being made throughout the gasser wars era. Sometime in the 70's I think they stopped building them.
 
#7 ·
I look at certain things that were very common back in the "early days" of my hot rodding life that were everywhere that are now very "rare", hard to find & pricey.

I recently came across a common-looking "wing nut" that was being sold on eBay.

The wing nut is an "original wing nut" that was used to hold down the chrome air cleaner on a 2nd generation Vette.

Winning bid....... $52.00 ...... Dahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Looks like the same kind you can get at Home Depot for 33 cents!!!!!
 
#8 ·
Some of the old vintage parts are getting crazy prices. The internet hasn't helped, as it seems to just intensify the insanity. I've been looking for a couple small parts on Ebay, and they are common enough to see them every week on Ebay, but I always get outbbid by the crazies.
 
#11 ·
I just found this article at Hot Rod online. It's the 20 greatest speed parts of all time. The Hilborn injection and Cragar superchager are both listed in the top 20.
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_0411_greatest_speed_parts/viewall.html

I don't agree with the whole list, but there are a number of others that I sure do agree with!
The B&M Hydrostick, American Torq Thrust wheels, Paxton superchargers, M&H and MT tires. It's a good read anyway.
 
#15 · (Edited)
The Tennessee Boweevil Cars owned by Ray Godman or Godman Performance in Memphis Tennessee represent some of the finest historical restorations I have ever seen. Preston Davis who drove for Ray from the early 1960s through the late 1970s was instrumental in the restoration of the 60's top fuel car and the 1956 car. Preston recently restored the 1960 car that made the ceremonial opening pass at Indy when the track was opened. Wally Parks actually picked the car to make the pass. Watching Preston restore the car was one of the most awesome experiences I have ever had. The 1960 restoration is all original with the exception of some frame rail parts that were rusted severely over the years. Currently they have four cars, three of which were restored. The funny car wasn't restored. Preston simply closed the trailer up in 1979 and it sat locked up through 2007 when they opened it to take it out for a Nostalgia Cacklefest in Beech Bend. Enjoy

This is the 1960 car that made the opening pass at Clairmont







I found this interesting. It is a vacum bypass for the injectors. When the boost reached a certain point the pump would bypass the injectors and put the fuel directly into the cylinder. According to Pat Henry this was added to the car in 1969.



I believe this car won the national event for its class in 1956.



This was the Godman pit area at the NHRR this June in Bowling Green



Any interest in this?
 
#20 ·
Well, I started this thread and I haven't added much to it. So, I'm gonna do some addin', LOL.
WICO electronic ignition, Popular Mechanix mag circa, April 1967.
Clear distributor caps, (of dubious performance benefit, but cool anyway), Universal Speed Equip. Co. catalog early 1965.
Blower drives and manifolds, look at the different companies makin' them, Universal Speed Equip. Co. catalog early 1965.
 

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