More on the ’37 B/A

[tomblakeParticipant]

More on the car.
Posted a short story about this car in another place previously.
This is one of three cars other than a couple of stockers that we ran.
The car was put together by Bill McWilliams and I in four days.
He had the car & I had the driveline.
The year we ran the car must have been 1963 or 1964.
The engine was a 409 with a four speed.
Times were in the 10’s and MPH around 120’s, best that I can remember.
Bill and I took turns driving.
I do remember running against the world record holder but don’t remember who it was at the time. The run was exciting, I remember being out front till I shifted to fourth gear. I sort of remembered the car rocking back and forth as he passed by so fast.
The catch-can is actually the gas tank and if I remember back than you had to have something in front of the gas tank. The rules were different back than but it did make it through tech. 😆
If you think that was a good one checkout the hood hold down (rope).
After we finished with the car it was purchased by a guy in Stratford CT that owned a body shop. He made that car a show piece. I couldn’t believe it was the same car. It was in the Hartford car show back than and that show was the biggest one I knew of at the time.
After the show I never saw the car again and lost track of it.

Thanks for asking
Tom Blake

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[masoParticipant]

Looks like a ’37 to me. It could run in the Gas class if the motor mounts are right.

[tomblakeParticipant]

You are absolutely right it is a ’37. As I posted earlier Bill MacWilliams supplied the car when we built this project. For the last 42 years I thought the car was a ’39. I called Bill last week to tell him about the Dover site and he corrected my thinking and told me it was a ’37 also. I didn’t try to correct the post because I didn’t think anyone would notice. Bill told me other things I didn’t remember or that changer over the last 42 years due to memory fade. I guess that’s what happens to memories as we get to be Old Dover Farts.
I think the engine setback was more than the 10% for the gas class. I think that is what the rule book said for setback (memory again???). Thanks for the correction on the car’s year.

[masoParticipant]

quote TomBlake:

… I think that is what the rule book said for setback (memory again???). Thanks for the correction on the car’s year.

Gas Coupes and Sedans also Street Roadsters needed to have the engines mounted such that the forward most spark plug would be within 10% of the wheelbase measured from the centerline of the front end spindals to the centerline of the rear axel.

The ’39 Ford had the same body as the ’38 and the ’40 but the gilles were different each year. To confuse the matter even more, the “Standard” models always had the grille from the previous year instead of the newly designed grille. ‘Nuther words… a ’40 Ford “Standard” model would have a ’39 Ford grille… and a ’39 Ford “Standard” would have a ’38 grille. Only the “Deluxe” models in those years had the newly designed grilles. The ’37 Ford was the same body as the ’36 but also with a new grille design and with the headlights for the first time mounted inside the fenders. I don’t know if the ’37 had a “Standard” and a “Deluxe” model… that was the height of the depression and the Dearborn production facility must have been… well somewhat like it is now…eh…???

[tomblakeParticipant]

It looks like you sure know your older cars. That is really interesting about the grill options. When I was younger I pretty much knew all the model year vehicles, but between the late ’40’s into the 70’s. And I know what a ’27 T roadster looks like because my wife had one. Now all the computer designed cars look the same. Thanks for the information.

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[dinoKeymaster]

ALL RIGHT MARY…you go girl! wheels in the air …Is this a “Current Project”? fill us in Tom- track ,when ?

[tomblakeParticipant]

No, not a current project, only the Mustang left now (posted under Current Projects– Street toy. This was way after Dover. My wife got interested in drag racing after we built a V8 Vega for the street (new picture – below). Took it to the dragstrip and that started me again and us together. Over a 15 year or so period that consumed our lives together. A guy couldn’t ask for anything better, both of us wanting the same thing, drag racing.
The picture above was taken at the Citrus Nationals, West Palm in the mid 1990’s. At the time it was the Dick Moroso track in Florida.
The roadster was her last of several cars before she decided to retire from the sport. We now just play with the 900+ hp street driven Mustang.

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[cullyflower]

1937 fords did come in standard and deluxe. Standard had the grill painted body color and the 60h.p. flathead
was used. Deluxe had a chrome grill and the much better 85h.p. engine. Will post a photo of the 37 2dr. that
I owned for 22 years before selling it in a momentary loss of good judgement.

[masoParticipant]

quote cullyflower:

1937 fords did come in standard and deluxe. Standard had the grill painted body color and the 60h.p. flathead
was used. Deluxe had a chrome grill and the much better 85h.p. engine. Will post a photo of the 37 2dr. that
I owned for 22 years before selling it in a momentary loss of good judgement.

That’s interesting because the Ford V-8 engine had serious design flaws that were not worked out effectively untill they came up with that 85 HP engine in ’37. Henry must have just wanted to get rid of all the bad 60 HP engines that he still had in his invantory this way…

Did you know that Ford had a V-8 in 1923…??? It was available in the more expensive Lincoln car. It was a terrable engine with a two piece cast iron block that must have been impractical for asembly line production. When Henry wanted a “production line” V-8 in ’32… he knew that the stock holders would not go for it, and he didn’t want a 6 because Chevy had that… so he set up a special covert design facility in another city ( Cleveland… I think ) at his own expence and had his engineers work out a block casted in just one piece… a very difficult problem for that time.

True.

[masoParticipant]

quote TomBlake:

…I do remember running against the world record holder but don’t remember who it was at the time. The run was exciting, I remember being out front till I shifted to fourth gear. I sort of remembered the car rocking back and forth as he passed by so fast…

Ummm… Does this picture give you a clue as to who that “World Record Holder” might have been…???

( I wish you could see the smile on my face. )

Attn: Dino…

Tell Tom Blake who George Brazee is…

[tomblakeParticipant]

Is it possible that the green car pictured in the right lane is our car? The ’37 Ford we ran was green and had while wall slicks. If this is possible I sure would like to get a copy of that picture. The Little Giant and Charlie Boucher’s Bad News cars were my favorite cars from back than. I also remember them being very fast cars. Loved those cars.
It doesn’t matter if Little Giant was faster and won the race, it would be amazing to have that picture for Bill and I to remember those days.

[masoParticipant]

quote TomBlake:

Is it possible that the green car pictured in the right lane is our car?..I sure would like to get a copy of that picture. …

That is obviously your car…

Get a copy by right clicking on this image and select “Save Picture As…” from the pop-up menu, then follow the prompts and you’ve got it.

[vbobParticipant]

Hey,
I’ll be going to George Brazees house today and fill him and his brother Joe in on the Dover Fest !!
I’ll see if he’s not camera shy for some pics!!!
‘V’Bob

[dinoKeymaster]

Maso …were is that shot from ?…here on the forum or yours…could use a bigger -higher resolution of it e-mailed to me for future articles…classic good shot. Tom-‘ World ‘ Record holder?…Well maybe NATIONAL RECORD HOLDER -NHRA B/A Gerge Brezee and Charlie Sabis ran this Little Giant Crosley and become one of Dover’s all time favorites. Took it to Indy natls- 64 Ithink (There’s a video on youtube that shows him -real quick ,but its him) and got into the trophy run too. Not the first or only Dover Regulars that Held rocords .Bobby LaRegina Also held (Later) the B/A record….hmmmmm -just got an idea for a new thread.

[tomblakeParticipant]

Maso / Dino……If there is a high resolution picture available please keep me in mind for a copy, e-mail what ever.
This thread has been something else for me. Got history lesson on the old Fords, I know more about them now than I ever did.
Dino…. Guess I got carried away with the “World record holder” instead of national record holder but I told that story so many times it grew up like all stories that get told over and over. That kind of fits with “when the world record holder (now know it was the Little Giant) passed me so fast my car rocked back and forth.” But it is my story and I am sticking to it.
WHAT A GREAT PICTURE.

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