Shop Tour - Hardcore Drag Racing

  This cool looking Gasser is based on a 1962 Mercury Comet. The Ford-Lincoln-Mercury exec’s were looking for a catchy name and they found one ! The NASA space-race was on everyone's mind at the time, so they named it after NASA’s mission “Mercury”, added in Comet for an extra nod to the space-race and you have a winner. The body was painted a classic matte-black. Throw in some old-school lettering and some period looking decals and you have a classic race car for the street.     The body was customized with the typical racer tricks of the day, the front bumper was removed & the grill was worked over by removing the inner headlights.   Poking through the fiberglass hood sits a transplanted Chevrolet 454 big-block, topped off with a tunnel ram and dual quad Holley carburetors. The motor was hopped-up with a solid roller cam and roller rocker arms.  Backing up the big-block is the heavy duty TH-400 with a high stall converter and manual valve body, the tr...

  The Legacy of Jack Chrisman Part I     Jack Chrisman was an American Drag Racer who had an active racing career that started in 1953 and ended with retirement in 1972,but he remained active behind the scenes.   Throughout his career he raced at Southern California tracks such as Lions, Pomona,Riverside, San Fernando & Santa Ana. Jack wasn’t just an inovator he was also a record setter.  In 1961 he drove the Howard Cams Twin Bears gas dragster to the first 8-second run in NHRA national event history and won the first ever Winter Nationals with an 8.99 second pass.     Chrisman won the 1961 World Championship after winning in national, regional, and divisional meets throughout the United States. In 1962 Jack joined Mickey Thompson’s team where he drove the Tommy Ivo-built A/Gas Dragster to an 8.34 second pass,giving him the Top eliminator crown at the U.S nationals.             ...

  Campaigned by Sam Auxier Jr. for Moyer Lincoln Mercury in Frederick, Maryland, this is #7 of 8 A/FX Mercury Comet lightweight drag racing cars built by Bill Stroppe and Associates,with the ID. # BS1044 The complete nut & bolt restoration was completed by Ambrosio Concepts in Denver Colorado,their hard work payed off by winning the National Automotive Heritage Award at the 2018 Ford Nationals .          The body features lightweight fiberglass doors,hood and bumpers.Back in the day the body's were acid dipped to save weight,as well as using aluminum bumpers to save even more. The dual scooped hood was a true ram air system that connected to an air box to feed the dual Holley's. After a fresh coat of bright white paint was applied the race-day lettering was hand painted the old fashioned way. The 427 side-oiler went through a full rebuild with fresh internals but the outside remains vintage,not giving a clue to what's inside.The big block features a fre...