Lots of my favorite cars in the history of drag racing came from the Street Roadster class. Now relegated to Competiton Eliminator and lacking virtually all of the character and coolness of the old school versions, Street Roadster ain’t what it used to be. This car is an example of what it used to be. A true vintage time capsule race car this roadster started out as a coupe until the hack saw came out and the roof went bye-bye.
The 327 has Hilborn mechanical fuel injection and it backed by a four speed manual transmission with an ancient bell housing on it that has the words, “NHRA APP” cast into it, letting us know that it was an approved explosion proof bellhousing. The interior has a couple of spartan seats that show lots of wear, a simple sheetmetal dash with only the most basic gauges, and the handle for the Muncie M22 four speed coming up through the floor.
The freakin’ awesome three point roll bar and wildly cut down windshield, combined with the full fenders and light bar up front add up to pure 1960s Street Roadster perfection. The wheels and modern tires need to go, and go fast, but everything else needs to be left the heck alone. Even the rear end, an Olds piece with 5.38 gears makes us giddy.
There are no front brakes, the fuel tank is in the rear and it is a period EELCO piece. This is not a junkyard creation or someone’s modern rendition of what an old Street Roadster was, instead it is a piece of drag racing history frozen in time. To me, the Street Roadtsers were the last of the true hot rods on the drag strip. Fuel Altereds and Gassers are awesome machines but by the late 1960s they were like the Pro Mods of today. Incredible, but a cartoonish version of their beginnings. The Street Roadters still had their street equipment, looks, and attitude. If I bought this car, a blown 1960s era FE combo would land in the front of it and those tires and wheels would hit the scrap pile within the first hour it came home.
RacingJunk Find: A 1932 Ford Vintage Drag Race Car
Sweet Jesus!
I actually had a moon tank in a 67 Camaro a ways back. Shoulda kept it!!