{"id":51841,"date":"2014-02-23T01:30:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-23T09:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bangshift.com\/?p=51841"},"modified":"2014-02-22T14:16:09","modified_gmt":"2014-02-22T22:16:09","slug":"winning-a-1960s-cragar-blower-off-an-early-top-fuel-car-has-blown-life-into-this-willys-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/bangshift1320\/winning-a-1960s-cragar-blower-off-an-early-top-fuel-car-has-blown-life-into-this-willys-truck\/","title":{"rendered":"WINNING: A 1960s Cragar Blower Off An Early Top Fuel Car Has Blown Life Into This Willys Truck"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Words: Brad Klaassen – Photos: Klaassen and Shane Carson, Mar-Car Photo Collection)-\u00a0It\u2019s no secret drag racers have been reusing performance parts for\u00a0decades. One man\u2019s trash is another man\u2019s treasure, so to speak.\u00a0And while many of those parts and pieces should be assigned to the\u00a0trash bin, other hot rod performance enhancers live on to be raced\u00a0again today.<\/p>\n

With that thought in mind this story led us to a nondescript garage\u00a0in \u201cHub Cap Alley,\u201d just a stone\u2019s throw away from downtown\u00a0Oklahoma City to Ross Automotive. The proprietor of the joint, Ross\u00a0Collins, has had racing fuel pulsing through his veins for more years\u00a0than many of us have been alive and he\u2019s one of the reasons that\u00a0old school cool exists today. Ross has also been around the\u00a0Heartland\u2019s gear head scene so long that he appreciates the history\u00a0associated with all the Okie racing legends and he continues that\u00a0tradition today. Just checking out the old iron both running and in\u00a0hibernation at his shop explains it all.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/a>When Collins decided to dust the cobwebs off of his all steel 37\u00a0Willys drag truck and put it back on the track he knew exactly what\u00a0old school parts he was going to pull off the shelves to use. Ross\u00a0along with his buddy Bill Norris built a small block 350 Chevy mill for\u00a0the old Willys and both agreed this old school rod must include a\u00a0blower. They had the perfect piece in mind that would pay homage\u00a0to another Okie racer that helped pave the way, plus make the\u00a0Willys scream. So, being the king of repurposing, Ross grabbed the\u00a0Cragar 4\/71 blower off his shelf that was last used on \u201cThe Smiling\u00a0Okie\u201d Jimmy Nix\u2019s front engine dragster and hadn\u2019t been spun in\u00a0over 40 years to complete his bitchin build. Ross\u2019s engine fired up\u00a0on the first hit from the starter and the all steel baby brought back\u00a0to life screamed like a newborn after its first smack on the behind.\u00a0Having been there to witness this historic moment in motion left us\u00a0blown away.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ll notice in the shots, Collins is running a carb on the ex Nix\u00a0blower, but that\u2019s not entirely by choice. Ross has located the\u00a0Hilborn two port injector that originally resided on top of the old\u00a0blower as seen in the black and white shot of Nix in his slingshot\u00a0from back in the early 1960s. But, the current owner elects not to\u00a0part with it for now. This reporter is willing to offer up\u00a0burnt pistons and bent rods as a sacrifice to the drag racing Gods to\u00a0see these two parts reunited together on Collins’ drag\u00a0truck sometime in the near future. After completing the initial warm\u00a0up on the new engine without any major seepages, Ross went on to\u00a0add 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\u00a0ignition.<\/p>\n

So, with a good dose of racing fuel and a flick of the starter switch,\u00a0Ross Collins\u2019s bad to the bone 37 Willys drag truck is alive and well.\u00a0And the unique pop and roar coming from his little small block is\u00a0compliments of gear heads that will continue to turn old school\u00a0parts into drag strip ready anew. See you at the drags. \u2013 Bad Brad<\/p>\n

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