Boy is this some awesome video! This five minute Super 8 time travel trip back to the early 1970s was original shot by (apparently) by someone named Marvin King. The video depicts what seems to be a typical Saturday or Sunday at the strip during that era with a ton of cool door cars hammering on each other, some gassers, an altered or two, and the some truly neat junk. That truly neat junk comes in the form of cars like Bob Perry’s Vette wheelstander with it’s crazy blunderbuss style headers snaking out the back and wild paint, it was one of the great show pieces of the era and Perry had several (including his later wheelstander tank, “Hell On Wheels”). In addition to the wheelstander action there’s plenty of funny car footage in the pits late in the film. You’ll see Pinto bodied machines, a pair of Jegs backed floppers (one of which Jeg Sr. drove), Nova, Barracuda, and Camaro bodies are also present and accounted for. It is the cool “fiberglass forest” that we all love to dream about walking through during these fun days of funny car warfare.
Being that the film was shot on Super 8 format, there is no sound so whoever posted the video added a few Beach Boys tunes to fill the silence and that was the right move as far as we’re concerned. The classic tunes and equally awesome classic footage work hand in hand to create a nice dream-like viewing scenario. We dig for sure!
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO TRAVEL 40 YEARS BACK IN TIME TO A SUNNY AFTERNOON AT THE LONG DEAD OSWEGO DRAGWAY!
Oswego was my home town Drag Strip as I was growing up. My older brothers took me there, and when I was licensed I took myself there every Sunday, after church.
In 1971 I decided it was my turn to race my 66 Malibu Convert small block 4 speed. Since my folks required I attend church, I hurried to the track, to late to do any time trials, but enough time to go through tech and race. We didn’t bracket race in those days, it was class racing (power to weight) and either S for bone stock or O for “Optional equipment” They then took shoe polish and lettered your car. So, my car was… a J O… and they told me so on the windshield, and side windows, and I begged enough to not write JO on my plastic rear window. I ended up racing a 340 Dart, and miraculously beat him. I wasn’t even sure I had beat him until I got to the booth where they give you the time slip. Did I win? I asked the girl responded, “You sure did, you won a Trophy” I was shocked… pleased… disappointed, because I wanted to make another pass, but very proud.
When I pulled back into the Pits ( the big grass field) I was putting my mufflers back on the headers. A couple of old guys ( they were probably 19 or 20) pulled their car near mine.They asked “Did ya win?” I said yeah how’d ya know? They said, “You won’t quit smiling” Still makes me smile today. 1 pass, 1 trophy, one of my most prized posessions.