Re: Racing Polys

[William Harrison <bbjt3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim and Gary
My brother and I owned an ex state police 62 Dart with the 318 poly.
We used to run it at the Bean Blossom Indiana track.  Ran the cut out that clamped to the exhaust pipe with a choke pull cable to open and close it.
Like you, we couldn't afford headers or other engine mods but that motor and tranny were strong enough to pull the world. Had 3.23 open gears and wasn't the best out of the hole but man could it pull at the top end.
It is close to the top of my list of cars I would like back...
Later
Bill

--- On Mon, 1/31/11, Gary Pavlovich <glpavlovich@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Gary Pavlovich <glpavlovich@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Racing Polys
> To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Monday, January 31, 2011, 12:16 AM
> 
> Jim,
> 
> Very cool story on your Poly racing days.  I would
> love to own a 1962 Dodge Dart.  While I like all the
> 62-65 cars I would have to say the '62 Dart would be my
> first pick and of course it would have a 402" Poly Stroker
> motor in it.
> 
> Thank you for sharing your history with us.
> Gary Pavlovich
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Rowland" <dodge440@xxxxxxx>
> To: <1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 6:31 PM
> Subject: Re: Racing Polys
> 
> 
> > 
> > Don;
> > 
> > I used to race my parents 1962 Dodge Dart, Sedan, at
> Route 30 in Gary, IN. That car was a 318 stock 2 Barrel. It
> was a radio delete. It had  an open rear end and I am
> assuming it was 3;23 but it may have been a  2:
> something because on the open road it would get between 17
> and 20  mi. to the gallon. Also it was single exhaust
> power steering and  manual brakes. It ran in F/SA. It
> was a 727 trans. It weighed exactly  3,000 lbs. Also,
> stock 14 inch wheels.
> > 
> > The first time I took it to the track i had a cutout
> put on the  exhaust, standard 6 inch by 2.5 inch
> galvanized plumbing pipe and a  screw on cap. Back in
> the day it was against the law for a welder to  weld a
> cutout on a cars exhaust system if they were still on the
> car.  I found one in Chicago Heights, IL to do the job,
> I even remember  their name (The Brooks Brothers). Most
> welders wanted you to take the  exhaust pipe off the
> car and then they would weld the cutout on it.  The
> pipe and cape ran about $1.25 and the welder charged me
> about  $2.50. He just cut a small hole in the exhaust
> pipe and welded the  pipe over the hole at a 45 degree
> angle. The next step was a seat  belt only on the
> drivers side. Try explaining that to your 
> parents!!!!!! They will buy the safety logic but why for
> only the  driver. I forget what i told them, something
> like I did not have the $ $ for two or the driver is
> essential to getting help if there is an accident. What ever
> it was they did not make me take it out.
> > 
> > Anyway, everyone was going to be at there on opening
> day, March of 63, and we were excited. I paid my fee
> $3.00  and go to tech. They tell me  to take a
> hick until I get a drive shaft loop. thats when I
> first  learned about unibodies My buddies were running
> Gm cars and they had  the X frame, thus a drive shaft
> catch. The next week I got two long  threaded cheap
> bolts 1/4" by 1 1/2 inch fine tread, several nuts and
> a  piece of steel probably 4'L x 1.5 W" from the trash
> at the gas  station. Located the spot on the floor
> where the drive shaft was  mostly still in the tunnel
> hump. Drilled two holes though the floor  dropped in
> the bolts and put two nuts up to where they would keep
> the  steel piece of the drive shaft and then put the
> other 2 nuts on after  the  small, and I mean
> small. piece of metal.
> > 
> > The next Sunday, i passed tech with flying colors. In
> those days the rules said  at some point the drive
> shaft had to be encompassed for  360 degrees. It did
> not say specifically what type of steel or what  width
> and thickness. If my dad saw it i would point out it was
> another  engineering safety feature that I read about
> to make the car safer.
> > 
> > We get to the line and i make my first ever pass and
> with that cut out open I thought i was driving a max wedge.
> I make my first pass and my time slip said about 16:45 and
> 80 something MPH. My buddy said i  should let him drive
> it. I forget his et but he upped the MPH over  90. I
> was mad. I did not realize at the time that the MPH was 60
> ft  before and after the finish line. I do not think he
> knew it ether and  just kept his foot in it as long as
> the engine was still climbing. It  was not his car as
> long as he could get it stopped. So i came back and 
> and made 3 or four runs with a best time in the 16: teens.
> Every body  always lost in that class to a 1958 Old's
> 98 or 88 Convertibles, there  were several, with the J
> 2 option, 3 deuces. Man did they pull on the  top end.
> Kind of like how the Hemis would fly by the Thunderbolts
> in  mid to late 64. Never did win a trophy with that
> car. I never realized  until much later i was always
> smoking the right rear way too  much.
> > 
> > That is one of my other poly stories.
> > 
> > Just a side note and I will sign off. I would race a
> friends 64  Pontiac Cat. three on the tree  389 2
> door with a deuce and he would  always beat me by 
> about 3 bumpers. If I opened up the cutout I would 
> have him by usually 2 to 3 cars. I kept telling him to put
> on a cutout.
> > 
> > Jim
> > 
> > 1965 Coronet 440CI
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > The next week we took a couple of long bolts
> > On Jan 30, 2011, at 6:49 PM, Donald Gallimore wrote:h
> > 
> > Gary P wanted to know who raced polys.
> > 
> > Back around 1970, my brother and I raced a 318 Poly in
> IHRA/AHRA Pure Stock.
> > Pretty much a stock set-up in a 1965 Belvedere
> 1.  With a slipping tranny, we
> > set the National Record.  Best run was a 15.96 in
> L/SA.  This was in legal
> > trim.  Back then that was a very amazing
> performance for a couple of  guys with
> > limited financial resources, if I can say so. 
> Would have been nice to see the
> > performance if we'd had a good tranny and the right
> gears.
> > 
> > Akron Don Gallimore
> > 
> > 
> > ----
> > Please address private mail -- mail of interest to
> only one person --  directly to that person. 
> I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well
> as other personal messages only to the intended recipient,
> not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will
> protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and
> fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!
> > 
> > 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
> > http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and
> 
> > 
> 
> 
> ----
> Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one
> person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send
> parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other
> personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the
> Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your
> privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the
> content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!
> 
> 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
> http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and
> http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html.
> 
> 
>