An evocative picture of the Ammon R Smith racing team – regardless of Jenkins genius and Strickler’s hot shoe – prof. drag racing demanded insane hours and buckets of sweat. Pic- Strickler family collection.
This was the year the factories went to war, and the gap between the ‘hobby stock racer’ and the professional became wider than ever.
Top of class cars became unaffordable to the ‘little guy’ …and ‘Super Stock’was established as the elite class.
A page from a memo from Ford racing detailing results at the NHRA Nationals
CARS AND DRIVERS NOTES
CLASS SELECTION & FACTORING
Weight/HP was again used to factor cars into classes from S/S down.
FX cars were factored in the basis of CUI/Weight.
With the Lightweight Z11, Swiss Cheese Cats and LW Galaxies (for part of the year) pushed into FX and MP, the Max Wedge cars had little to bother them in S/S.
This would not be the last time Chrysler was late to the party…..but brought a big stick.
S/S 0- 8.69
- 63 426/425hp 8V Alloy Maxwedge Plym Savoy 2dr sed. (Cold air)- 7.54 – 3204
- 62 413/420hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plymouth Savoy 2dr sed – 7.58. – 3184
- 63 426/425hp 8V Alloy Maxwedge Dodge 330 2dr sed (Cold air)- 7.60 – 3230
- 63 427/430hp 8V Chevrolet Impala LW Z11 – 7.70 (Not legal – no production plans – info only) -3341
- 63 426/415hp 8V Alloy Maxwedge Plym Savoy 2dr sed (Cold air)- 7.73 – 3207
- 63 426/415hp 8V Alloy Maxwedge Dodge 330 2dr sed (Cold air)- 7.79 – 3232
- 62 413/420hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge Dart – 7.80 – 3276
- 63 427/425hp 8V lo riser Galaxie 500 ‘Lightweight’ (Not legal for WinterNats) – 7.82 – 3324
- 63 426/425hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plymouth Savoy 2dr sedan- 7.84 – 3333
- 63 426/425hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge 330 2dr sedan- 7.90 – 3357
- 63 427/425hp 8V Mercury Marauder 2 dr H/Top – 8.00 – 3404
- 63 426/415hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plym Savoy 2dr sed – 8.03 – 3332
- 63 421/410hp 8V Pontiac Catalina Super Duty LW ‘Swiss Cheese’ – 8.07 – 3308 (Not legal build#s – info only)
- 63 426/415hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge 330 2dr sed- 8.09 – 3357
- 63 409/425hp 8V Chev Biscayne 2dr sed- 8.25 – 3508
- 62 409/425hp 8V Chev Belair 2dr bubbletop – 8.47 – 3602
- 63 426/425hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plymouth Belv Wagon 6p – 8.49 – 3608
- 63 426/425hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge 330 Wagon 6p – 8.51- 3574
- 63 426/415hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plymouth Belv Wagon 6p – 8.69 – 3608
A/S – 8.7- 9.49
- 63 426/415hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge 330 Wagon 6p – 8.71 – 3754
- 62 409/409hp 8V Chev Biscayne 2dr sedan – 8.71 – 3564
- 62 413/410hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Dodge 330 Wagon 9p – 8.75 – 3587
- 62 409/409hp 8V Chev Belair 2dr bubbletop – 8.81 – 3602
- 63 426/415hp 8V Steel Maxwedge Plymouth Belv Wagon 9p – 8.85 – 3672
- 62 421/405hp 8V Pontiac Catalina Super Duty LW – 8.91 – 3609
- 63 427/425hp 8V lo riser Galaxie 2ht – 9.02 – 3833
- 62.5 406/405hp 6V Galaxie 2dr sed – 9.06
- 62 390/401hp 6V Galaxie 2dr sed – 9.16
B/S – 9.5-10.59
- 63 406/405hp 3x2V Galaxie – 9.51 – 3851
- 63 427/410hp 4V lo riser Galaxie – 9.52 – 3903
- 62 383/343hp 8V in line Plym Belvedere – 9.54 – 3272
- 62 389/363hp 3x2V Pontiac Catalina – 10.27 – 3728
C/S – 10.6 – 11.29
- 62 361/305hp 4V Plymouth Fury 2dr H/top – 10.71 – 3267
- 61 283/270hp 8V Corvette – 10.76 – 2905
Chevrolet Z11 controversy – By the time Pomona came around Chevrolet had built the requisite 50 cars it need to in order to qualify for Stock. However, GM had announced its withdrawal from racing in the December of 62.
This gave Chrysler due cause to protest the inclusion of cars they had no further plans on building in the Stock division & NHRA agreed. The Z11 was put into FX, and those that turned up with Cheater slicks were put into the hastily formed Limited Production class. The cars performance made a mockery of the alleged 430hp.
Ford Galaxie lightweight – At the start if the season Ford had not built enough of the 427 FE lightweight Galaxies, so they competed in FX. By Indy, they were eligible and ran in numbers.
DISQUALIFICATIONS – Both the Winters and the Indy Nats were marred by crucial disqualifications in S/S and Limited Production/Stock respectively. Worse for the racers, runners up were not promoted back then….the whole class got booted – so their otherwise strong performances were not rewarded.
The NHRA was quite ruthless and the stories of teams being repeatedly asked to tear down their motors are legendary. The Chrysler Ramchargers team even had two crews- one to do the tear down and one to do the re-assembly!
Unusually some drivers were declared winners, only to receive notifications later that they had been caught out! This explains the picture of Dick Harrell holding the trophy, only to be DQ’d later!
The following drivers attracted the wrath of the techs:
Dickie Harrell – Presented as winner of B/FX but later DQ’d. Bill Nelson missed out as runner/ups were not promoted.
John Barker – Won S/S but was DQ’d for an illegal cam. Al Joniec – Was the runner up, but the class was outed as a result of Barker’s DQ.
Don Turner driving the Ed Martin Galaxie took on John Barker’s Dodge…and lost – no surprise given Barker’s illegal cam.
Ray Christian – Won C/SA but was found to have illegal pistons.
Frank Sanders – Initially his Z11 along with others was moved to Limited Production class – but was later DQ’d for cylinder head volume and valve height discrepancies. He was disqualified for the whole 1964 NHRA season. Butch Leal – Under NHRA rules, no runner up was promoted to trophy status.
63 Winters LP/S ‘bad boy’ Frank Sanders – later tech DQ’d for over a year!
EMERGING DRIVERS
SOX & MARTIN
A young team started to make its presence felt in 63, in an FX Z11 Chevy Impala sponsored by Garden City Motors, North Carolina.
Ronnie Sox was a hot-shoe gunslinger, fast on the light and faster on the shift.
Buddy Martin raced also, but saw Ronnie’s potential..and loved drag racing. For the 1960s, they would accrue more NHRA National Elimination Super and Top Stock titles than any other person or team.
Furthermore, Sox & Martin raced for almost every manufacturer through the 1960’s, representing each with loyalty and integrity, so much so that eventually NHRA scuttled their efforts when they were at their best, in the early 70s.
Sox & Martin’s 1963 Z11 425cui/430hp Chevrolet
AL EKSTRAND
Al Ekstrand was one of the three top drivers for the Ramchargers. He was a ‘Mad Man’…a Chrysler corp. lawyer in 1963. When he went west, early for testing in 63….he sought out additional sponsorship outside the the team…but the money went to him.
It didn’t go down well….and even though he won the ‘big one’ (Top Stock) at the WinterNats….he lost the class final (S/SA) at the light….another ‘no no’.
But he WAS still an attorney for Chrysler. So Frank Wiley had no issues with him driving. Especially since he was a very good driver.
So Al’s relationship with Chrysler was never an issue. It was how the Ramchargers felt about him that was the problem.
He parted ways with the Ramchargers …but remained a factory supported racer, racing the LAWMAN racecars, with more than a little success. A genuine Chrysler legend.
DAVE STRICKLER – Strickler was another ‘hot-shoe’….a young man who could read a light and shift a stick trans.
He splashed onto the scene in 1962….as runner-up to Nicholson in Top Stock.
His best friend Mike Strand taught him to drive……and he drove the wheels off Chevs, Dodges, Plymouths….and anything else.
MALCOLM DURHAM
Malcolm Durham’s 63 Z11 Chev. As one of the few Afro-American racers, Durham was highly regarded and well-liked in the sport – proving once again that sportsmen & women can see past racial boundaries…..administrators and fans not so much.
1963 proved to be possibly the most exciting year in NHRA Super Stock for the decade. While rule changes and funny cars created a ‘vibe’ in the late 1960s, no year saw such a variety of exotic factory sponsored and built ‘stock’ race cars.
Hubert Platt leaps out of the hole in his Chevy.
Gasper ‘Gas’ Ronda steps out of his 63 427 Lightweight Galaxie.
This awesome photograph shows Bob Tucker’s Chevrolet Z11 Impala in full ‘tail dragging’ mode – Chev racers achieved rear tire traction by exaggerating the weight transference to the rear axle by raising the nose. Note the elongated traction bar also, providing leverage down on the rear axle by trying to lift the body shell – like a teeter/totter (see-saw).
CHRYSLER
1963 saw Chrysler Corp step up and start to take drag racing seriously – 426 cui, 13.5:1 compression combined with aluminium panels (both made available in mid 63) made for far more competitive machinery.
Chrysler also had an ace in the hole – their lightweight auto transmission was not only extremely efficient…it ‘softened’ the hit on the skinny rear tires – as S/S engine output increased…Ford and Chevy’s stick cars were slowly squeezed out of the Elimination finals.
MOPAR also put their money where their mouth was, building lightweight cars in sufficient #s to qualify for S/S. The factory supported teams showed their professionalism by running away with Top Stock at both meets.
CHEVROLET –The start of 63 saw the 409cui increase in horsepower to 425hp….but the really big news for Chevy fans was the development of the 427cui/430hp Z11 package including lightweight front sheet metal and cowl induction.
Bill Jenkins replacing the cowl induction cold air assembly on Old Reliable IV – The Strickler/Jenkins Z11 lightweight FX 63 Impala. Z11s ran a lightweight aluminium front clip package, along with a bored and stroked 409 block to 427 cui, making 430HP with dual carbs.
This package ran in FX- A hi-rise manifold , re-designed 427cui and 12.5:1 compression, it made 430hp, and came only with the lightweight front end. It was released on 55 production 1963 Chevrolets.
So Chev had taken the 409 as far as they could, out to 427cui..and it was NOT the NASCAR ‘Mystery motor’…that one owed more to the next years 396.
Unfortunately for fans, and for the reasons explained earlier, they were bumped into both FX class and Limited Production (LP/S) – Technical DQ’s from both classes added salt into the wound.
Old Reliable IV , a Z11 Chevrolet Impala driven by Dave Strickler, hurtles down the Indy track in A/FX class. Pic Ron Cooper archive.
A win for the Z11 by Dave Strickler in A/FX gave the Chevrolet fans something to cheer….and proved the validity of the Z11 program.
Old Reliable II and III. ORIII ran a ‘pre-Z11’ alloy front clip. After Indy the aluminum front end and 409 were removed from OR3, the car was put on the used car lot at Ammon R. Smith. Pic Ron Cooper archive.
Terry Prince – Another Chev Impala Z11 driver.
Not all Chevs were Z11s – this S/S car was very likely the slightly tamer 409/425hp model.
FORD – Ford was also made to run FX and LP/S class with their lightweight 427 Galaxies at the WinterNationals.
These cars ran an FE 427ci V-8 was equipped with an aluminum low-riser manifold sporting two Holley four-barrel carbs and a 324-degree mechanical tappet camshaft, and was factory rated at 425 hp. Because of the immense torque (480 lb-ft) produced by this high-performance evolution of Ford’s FE big-block, an RC Industries aluminum safety bellhousing was installed in front of a BorgWarner T10 (with aluminum case and extension housing) close-ratio four-speed manual transmission. The 4.11 final drive ratio spun a set 8.20-15 Firestone Dragster cheater slicks, while 6.70-15 Firestone Polyester bias-ply tires rolled up front. To bring things to a halt, each car was equipped with Police Interceptor low-fade 11×3-inch brakes. These performance blocks featured cross bolt mains and other performance modifications.
Even with LW treatment, these cars struggled to match the smaller FX Tempests and the Chev Z11s due to weight issues…..but Ford had a great motor in the FE427 and was learning.
At the Nationals, the 63 lightweight Galaxies ran in both S/S and A/FX.
It was announced that on 15 May the Ltwt Galaxie would be legal in S/S class for Indy.
“Tipping the scales at just under 3,500 pounds, the lightweight Galaxies would still find themselves facing lighter foes. While contemporary estimates of the successes, or lack there of, on the part of the Ford lightweights during 1963 seems to be based almost entirely on the outcome of the Super /Stock class at the two NHRA national events held that year, a more careful examination of the record book reveals that week after week during 1963, Ford Galaxies were taking home Super Stock class and Top Stock Eliminator titles on dragstrips from coast to coast.
A seldom reported fact is that Drag Council team captain Dick Brannan won more than 65 events and set 22 track records with his lightweight Galaxie during the season, along with setting the NHRA class record for Super Stock on July 13, 1963”.(Mustang 360 magazine)
Factory records indicate 200 DSO units were built. Al Joniec got runner up in S/S at Indy, but unfortunately the class was booted due to the winning Dodge driven by John Barker being DQ’d.
Al Joniec and his ‘almost’ winning 63 Galaxie.
MERCURY
TOM STURM – NHRA World Champion was determined by a points accrual system prior to 1965. Sturm won the 62 Championship in a 62 327 Fuelie Chevrolet – in 63 he changed to an A/Stock Mercury discussed in the article below. (The article is confusing, implying he won the 62 championship in a Mercury – This is incorrect- Ed.)
PONTIAC – Pontiac was represented by two newcomers for 63.
– The radical 421 Super Duty Pontiac Tempest which won A/FX at the Winter Nationals, and
– The just as radical ‘Swiss Cheese’ 421 Super Duty Catalina. These Catalinas were intended for S/S, however build #s spoiled that expectation and they were simply too heavy for A/FX…so they ran off in B/FX and C/FX.
Pic courtesy Ron Cooper
The light weight full frame 421 Catalinas were still very competitive in A/Stock.
Don Gay was a highly competitive racer, r/up at the 63 Winters, he went on to win A/Stock at the 63 Nats and 64 Winternats in his 62 421cui Pontiac.
Bill Abraham’s 62 421 cui Pontiac class winning run.
The Pontiac ‘Swiss Cheese’ frame used in a limited number of 1963 Catalinas. The crowds missed out! It’s a shame these cars were required to run FX…they would have really sparked up S/S.
“ We took off the metal highlight rims, removed the bottom headlight. bought a piece of screen,, heater duct hose, a few clamps and made a little air system to the carbs. At Plant 5 we cut the Ring , Pinion , side gears and side pinions. We tricked those cold air boxes.” – (Source – A worker at Plant 5)
Pontiac legend Jim Wangers in the Royal ‘swiss cheeser’ in a B/FX run off.
The most insane Stocker of 63..the ‘swiss cheese’ framed Pontiac Catalina – Even with radical weight reduction these monsters could not match their smaller brother Tempests in A/FX – so they added ballast to make the B/FX class….which they won at the US Nationals.
MEETS
WINTERNATIONALS – February 17
Due to the re-classing of the lightweight Fords and Chevies, there were only 12 cars in S/S at the 63 Winters – all Dodges and Plymouths running the Max Wedge 426 motors.
The Dodge Ramchargers were one of the first factory sponsored teams – their professionalism was unquestionable, their ruthless approach to winning is remembered less favourably by other drivers.
INDY US NATIONALS – September 2 – The electronic ‘Christmas tree’ was introduced.
CLASSES
STOCK – Pontiac, Mopar and Chev also brawled it out in the A/S classes in the previous years S/S cars. Strickler, Gay, Abraham and Macauley made A/Stock an all GM affair at both meets – reflecting the previous years S/S dominance.
Don Gay in his ‘Rainmaker’ 62 LW 389 Pontiac waded through a school of 409 Chevs to claim A/S honors at the Nationals.
Bill Abraham doubled Pontiac’s fortunes taking the A/SA trophy.
Ron Nemeth owned the car, Bob Mcauley raced as Runner up A/Stock – Indy Nationals.
Ed Martin running his 62 Ford Galaxie in A/SA at the Nats.
SUPER / STOCK –In Super/Stock class at the Nationals, the Mopars rose to the top in the class run offs and the Stock Eliminator, although the Stick class was tainted by the DQ of John Barker in a 62 Dodge – “Old Dependable.” 63 Chevrolet and Fords lightweights were not accepted into S/S at the WinterNats due to build numbers – but two Fords ran at Indy.
Hayden Proffitt started the year in a winning Chevrolet – Hayden ran his ’62 Indy winning S/S Bubbletop 409 car in A/S as seen in this photo, and the rare Z11 409/430hp car in FX….but he finished the year in a 426 Max Wedge Plymouth!
Strickler and Jenkins formidable Chevrolet arsenal – By the end of 63 Dave Strickler saw the writing on the wall – the lighter Mopars were becoming more competitive- so he left the bow tie brigade with his pal Jenkins, and also started a successful tenure with Chrysler Dodge as ‘The Dodge Boys’.
Bill Lawton (777) Galaxie runs off against Bill Flynn.
FACTORY EXPERIMENTAL – The modified Pontiac Tempests gave the top FX class headaches again in A/FX….nothing could touch them at the Winter Nationals – the Chev lightweight Z11s and Pontiac’s ‘swiss cheese’ Catalinas shared the spoils in B/FX.
The Indy Nationals was a different story – Z11s, Tempests, Catalinas, Max Wedge Mopars and Lightweight Galaxies fought it out – spoils went to the Z11 over a Stage 11 Maxwedge.
‘Cheeser’ Pontiac Catalinas running off for the US Nats B/FX trophy.
Owned by Dick Boynton and driven by Jim Nelson, this 413 Maxwedge truck got Harrell’s B/FX Chev off the line and held him through the 3/4 mark during the B/FX final at Pomona. Harrell blew by Nelson on the top end.- Recollection and pic courtesy Raj Reddy
LIMITED PRODUCTION / STOCK – LP/Stock came into focus because a number of the factory lightweights turned up with cheater slicks. Already ruled out of S/S class due to Chrysler protesting the ‘production status’ of the car, Z11s and Lightweight Galaxies found themselves ruled out of FX class as well! Regrettably, the LP class was booted due to Frank Sanders disqualification, so no winner or runner up.
A LP/S run off featuring Sanders Z11 and a lightweight Galaxie piloted by Dick Brannan. Note the LP/S sign-writing.
The Strickler Z11 – fast car, but 8 balled from S/S due to complicated arguments. Won in Limited Production ,but the cars were a loss to Super Stock class.
Butch Leal in his Impala Z11 thought he was r/up in LP/S at the 63 Winters with a 12.36 ET, until Frank Sanders’ illegal cylinder heads took him out of the class also.
The Strickler/Jenkins Z11 ran 2mph faster than the opposition through most of the year – so what did Grumpy know that others didn’t?
RULES
Build numbers – A minimum of 50 cars had to be built in order to qualify for S/S and FX in 63.
7.5lb per CID rule – For 1963, NHRA brought in this rule banning cars under 7.5lbs from Stock class racing.
This kept excessively light ‘stockers’ out of the Stock division. It doesn’t appear to have had any impact on any contenders.
Technical requirements
Under the class requirements, NHRA now limited the amount a car could be raised or lowered, either front or rear, to 2 1/2 inches. Many of the teams were raising the front and/or lowering the rear to gain a weight shift advantage (which actually hindered weight transfer, but it looked like it worked).
Other rules changes of note included overboring of engines. In ‘62 you could bore an engine a maximum of .60” for clearances and to allow for wear. Beginning in 1963, the limit was .30” for ‘63 model engines, as long as the overbore did not break the 427cui limit.
Replacement pistons now had to retain the same basic design pattern as factory pistons. Also, for the first time, the size of the opening on exhaust headers was not limited to the same size as the original equipment exhaust pipes. The new limit was 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
The NHRA 60’s Superstock Diary 
