(Words: Brad Klaassen – Photos: Klaassen and Shane Carson, Mar-Car Photo Collection)- It’s no secret drag racers have been reusing performance parts for decades. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so to speak. And while many of those parts and pieces should be assigned to the trash bin, other hot rod performance enhancers live on to be raced again today.

With that thought in mind this story led us to a nondescript garage in “Hub Cap Alley,” just a stone’s throw away from downtown Oklahoma City to Ross Automotive. The proprietor of the joint, Ross Collins, has had racing fuel pulsing through his veins for more years than many of us have been alive and he’s one of the reasons that old school cool exists today. Ross has also been around the Heartland’s gear head scene so long that he appreciates the history associated with all the Okie racing legends and he continues that tradition today. Just checking out the old iron both running and in hibernation at his shop explains it all.

When Collins decided to dust the cobwebs off of his all steel 37 Willys drag truck and put it back on the track he knew exactly what old school parts he was going to pull off the shelves to use. Ross along with his buddy Bill Norris built a small block 350 Chevy mill for the old Willys and both agreed this old school rod must include a blower. They had the perfect piece in mind that would pay homage to another Okie racer that helped pave the way, plus make the Willys scream. So, being the king of repurposing, Ross grabbed the Cragar 4/71 blower off his shelf that was last used on “The Smiling Okie” Jimmy Nix’s front engine dragster and hadn’t been spun in over 40 years to complete his bitchin build. Ross’s engine fired up on the first hit from the starter and the all steel baby brought back to life screamed like a newborn after its first smack on the behind. Having been there to witness this historic moment in motion left us blown away.

As you’ll notice in the shots, Collins is running a carb on the ex Nix blower, but that’s not entirely by choice. Ross has located the Hilborn two port injector that originally resided on top of the old blower as seen in the black and white shot of Nix in his slingshot from back in the early 1960s. But, the current owner elects not to part with it for now. This reporter is willing to offer up burnt pistons and bent rods as a sacrifice to the drag racing Gods to see these two parts reunited together on Collins’ drag truck sometime in the near future. After completing the initial warm up on the new engine without any major seepages, Ross went on to add that the only new performance parts he used for the rebirth of his drag truck were the addition of a new electric fan and MSD ignition.

So, with a good dose of racing fuel and a flick of the starter switch, Ross Collins’s bad to the bone 37 Willys drag truck is alive and well. And the unique pop and roar coming from his little small block is compliments of gear heads that will continue to turn old school parts into drag strip ready anew. See you at the drags. – Bad Brad