Walking on the hallowed patch ground that is Famoso Raceway it becomes easy to see why the March Meet is now in its 52nd year. People like this stuff. In our case a rekindled interest in drag racing and hot rodding started again around 15 years ago with a wiff of nitromethane and a flashback to the Coca-Cola Funny Car Cavalcade of Stars tossing up fiberglass down a … [Read more...]
Austin Bantam Not Once But Twice
Taking the castaways of the automotive world and transforming them into race cars through ingenuity and steel tubing is nothing new in America. This sixties-built dragster was at one time a thirties-built Austin. Opportunity Washington's Duke Cornell first constructed this Bantam bodied drag coupe 1961. Duke claims he ran 10-second quarters at the drag strip with alarming … [Read more...]
Hot Rod Reunion Roundup
The celebration of all that is awesome in drag racing known as the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion is a wrap. Extracting maximum performance and entertainment from alternative fuels was nothing new to these guys even back when flat out timed runs across SoCal dry lake beds gave way to the quarter mile contest we know today as drag racing. Early troublemakers and speed merchants bolted up … [Read more...]
Famoso Swap Meet
While October brings the smashing of giant pumpkins or a odd compulsion to eat candy corn for some, it also brings a season wrap up of west coast vintage drag racing scene. Clunkbucket has set up temporary residence at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield for the 18th running of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion. Thunderous disintegration of pistons and valves is a large part of the … [Read more...]
Onward Thames
From the project cars we wish we had money and time to build department, comes this 1959 Thames Trader 300E panel wagon. The complete and original if not somewhat rusted vanwagon was for sale at the NHRA Bowling Green Hot Rod Reunion swap meet - with a bonus. Inside the van-like wagon's cavernous cargo area were all the parts to fix or replace any rusty bits. Also included was … [Read more...]