car club drag cars?

[flatheadgary]

first let me say, i am mostly a drag racer and a street car guy second. i have always built street cars off and on, but i enjoy drag racing more than driving on the street. ok, now that that is out of the way, on to the topic. i was looking at some old car books and was noticing how many car clubs used to build drag cars back then. what happen? contrary to what most people think, drag cars can actually be cheaper to have than a street car. they eat less gas and no insurance or dmv. even my trailer is permanently licensed. i also, along these same lines, was wondering why more people don't build old hot rod type drag cars like their street rods and race them. we have a group called the ANRA here in socal and there is a "27 ford coupe rat rod that runs in my class to the tune of 10.9. it is rusted and no paint and he says it's the fastest rat rod running. oh yea, it's also NHRA legal too. if you want to see it, look at ANRA.com. i know rat rod guys dig the drags, look at all the hamb drags and the drag fest next month. yea i know, their the traditional guys, but i also know there are alot of rat rods that will go to these events too! getting back to the topic though, why don't more car clubs build drag cars? with that many people putting up the money and talent, they could build some way cool drag cars. it can get expensive for one guy to build sometimes, according to how much money he wants to put in it, but a group could do it easily. any one of the cars on this site can be a drag car. roll bars, 5 point harness, drive shaft loop, not much else and you would have a going concern!! if it breaks, leave it on the trailer and fix it when you can. you would still have your street car to get around in. i have asked this question on other sites and didn't get much response. is there really that much divide between street people and drag people?

 

[donsrods]

I remember those days when various car clubs either built a drag car or a show car as a group effort, with everyone pitching in with parts and/or labor to get it built. There are probably still some clubs around the country who do this, but nowhere as many as at one time.

I think a large part of it is that we people ourselves have changed, we are not the same tightknit society that we were in the 50's and thereabouts. People back then socialized more all the way from having family and friends over more often, to knowing your neighbors on a personal level. Now we are pretty much into the "Me Generation" and don't do things like congretating any more. How many of us really know our neighbors, I know that I don't. I also don't think I will ever join a club again because I am not a stuctured person and hate to have obligations like attending meetings and cruises. My experience with car clubs is that a small percentage of the people do all the work and the rest just complain.

It could also be economics. Whereas back then the average guy couldn't afford to build his very own drag or show car, now we pretty much can, so we don't need others to contribute. If you look at how many of us talk about how we are not fans of car clubs, it demonstrates that group activities can be a pain in the butt sometimes. A club like the Poorboys is a relic anymore, these guys seem to really enjoy each others company and are as tight as can be. You don't see that much any more.

Interesting thread though, thanks for bringing it up.

Don

 

[bob w]

If you go to the H--- site and look at the HA/GR dragsters, you will see that a lot of them are built by a group of guys. I think the HA/GR concept is tuely unique for this day and age. Competition is not the main objective. Honoring the past and running something that resembles the earliest rails is the main focus. I hope the concept doesn't degenerate into competitive drag racing.
If nostalgia drag events continue to gain popularity, I believe you will see a lot more hot rods racing, both by individuals and by groups of buddies.

 

[gassersgarage]

If you go to the H--- site and look at the HA/GR dragsters, you will see that a lot of them are built by a group of guys. I think the HA/GR concept is tuely unique for this day and age. Competition is not the main objective. Honoring the past and running something that resembles the earliest rails is the main focus. I hope the concept doesn't degenerate into competitive drag racing.
If nostalgia drag events continue to gain popularity, I believe you will see a lot more hot rods racing, both by individuals and by groups of buddies.

Don't know if things have changed, but a guy I know runs a 56' Chevy street/strip car. The last time he went to LACR, before it closed, he was asked if he had insurance. If not, he couldn't run. He asked Bernie (manager) why he needed insurance on a drag strip. Bernie said that a racer backed into a Mercedes that was parked in the pits. The race car didn't have insurance, so the Mercedes owner sued the track.

 

[rustywrench]

my 37 packard will run under 10.90 if i put my big motor in it. it'll probably run high 9's. so calling a 10.90 rat rod the fastest is like anything called the fastest, biggest, whatever. theres always another that'll beat it.

 

[flatheadgary]

rustywrench, i do know what your saying. i think he just says it because it is a all out race car and about the only one around that runs all the events he can.