|
|
Post by pmossberg on Mar 19, 2010 20:37:09 GMT -5
I was thinking the same thing.
Ricklou got warbird over here to talk about the Superbird, and within a couple hours I've learned a ton!
It's an surreal feeling. I was probably standing five feet from warbird at Amelia but didn't know which person was the owner. Don't know what he looks like. And now were talking here!
And since I came back, I've learned of two other friends, both from SC, that were at the show also. Never saw them.
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 19, 2010 23:35:40 GMT -5
Funny, I was going to ask about your "warbird" screen name...then saw your post of your car. In many respects, nicer than the showroom Petty bird, as it was actually raced. Really beautiful car! Thank you very much. It's a wonderful car, and I am just lucky to be able to take care of it. We took it down by the #43 Superbird as the show was ending to take some pictures.   |
|
|
|
Post by pmossberg on Mar 20, 2010 0:05:49 GMT -5
Terrific photos.
Would you share some of the history of your car?
|
|
|
|
Post by mugley on Mar 20, 2010 7:56:28 GMT -5
great conversation, please continue
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 21, 2010 22:33:40 GMT -5
Terrific photos. Would you share some of the history of your car? Sure. The 7 car was built new at Nichels Engineering over the winter of 1969-70. Aside from Richard's cars, the rest of the Mopar stock cars racing in 1970 were built in some fashion at Nichels, who had the contract to build and supply parts for all Chrysler teams from 1964 through 1970. The car was given by Chrysler to Iowa driver Ramo Stott who took the car to Daytona in 1970 and won the ARCA 300 race, which was the first win for any Superbird. That win gave him an automatic entry into the Daytona 500 where he finished 8th. The car later won an ARCA race at Talladega (photo below) and ran the NASCAR Talladega 500 finishing 8th.  In 1971 and 1972, the car ran in the USAC series in the midwest, as wing cars were still legal and welcome. It ran Milwaukee, Michigan and Pocono, winning the MIS race in 1972. During this time, the Dodge Daytona style nose opening was added and the rear wheel openings slightly enlarged for larger tires. After '72, Ramo kept the car intact and pushed it off in a corner of the shop. He liked the car, and he had a newer 71 Road Runner to race. He kept the car until 1988 when he finally sold it. The photo below is from 1988 when the car came out of storage.  Since then, it has had a paint job back to the 1970 style, and that is about it. All the body panels are original to the car. It was never in a serious incident. It's a nice time capsule. You will see photos of the car running number 7, 77 or 47 depending on the race series and year. But it always the same car. The photo below is from Road America, about 1993 which is probably the last time the car ran hard at speed.  Overall, the car is not as slickly finished off as a Petty car from back then would have been. But it is what it is, as just an honest old race car. |
|
|
|
Post by pmossberg on Mar 21, 2010 23:12:08 GMT -5
Thank you warbird! Nice story.
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 22, 2010 15:48:27 GMT -5
Here is what I believe to be the Hawthorne Superbird under construction at PE about 1977. At this time, the trophy room Bird was already in place and on display. Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 22, 2010 15:50:30 GMT -5
This photo of Richard's trophy room Superbird was taken the same day as the shop photo of second Bird under construction... Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by ricklou on Mar 22, 2010 18:46:56 GMT -5
Unreal ! And it is here. Thanks Warbird
|
|
|
|
Post by sundance on Mar 25, 2010 7:35:01 GMT -5
Hi All.....I'm new to your forum.
This discussion was linked to a model building forum I belong to by your moderator. I am the one who has the photos of the cars at Petty. Thanks for posting them Warbird. They were at an old hosting site I cannot access anymore. I will try and rescan them and clean em up a bit. I have a new host so I'll try and get some more up there.
Here is the story (it sounded like you guys would like to know).
At the age of 15 (fall of 1976) my family moved from the Cincinnati area back to St. Louis. My friend in Cincinnati, Benny Allen, went on vacation to the Charlotte area after I moved. Knowing I was a HUGE petty fan, Benny took some photos with his instamatic camera. These are the result which he mailed to me and described the experience in the letter.
What I am facinated by, now, is ......
There is a Bird in the Showroom. There is another being worked on. It is in the same shop a Charger is being worked on....I'll try and post more pix soon. If one is already in the showroom, is the one being worked on the one being built for Hugh Hawthorne? What became of the Hamilton birds? Is the bird currently in the Petty Museum, the same one that is in this museum picture. If so, I have a bunch of more current pictures taken at the new Petty Musuem a few years ago. This is also much after the Birds were no longer racing.
In recent years I have tried to locate Benny, we long ago lost contact. I hoped he would know some more of exactly what was going on when he took the pictures.
By sheer chance, I believe I have some pictures of Petty Enterprizes in the mid 70s, thanks to a Jr. High friend.
Mike George
"Sundance"
|
|
|
|
Post by pmossberg on Mar 25, 2010 8:03:51 GMT -5
Sundance...welcome aboard!
There are some shots out there of pieces of Hamilton's bird, particularly sectionsof the nose. So it's possible his car(s?) were destroyed/disassembled/lost.
I look forward to seeing those old PE pics if you can dig them out!
|
|
|
|
Post by revilo on Mar 25, 2010 14:09:05 GMT -5
Welcome to our humble forum, Sundance. Great to have you with us. You will find that we have a group of people here who LOVE the history of Petty Enterprises. If you have any pictures of the 1964 Plymouth, Tom will be your friend for life.
In the words of Kent "Flounder" Dorffman: "This is great!"
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 25, 2010 18:40:11 GMT -5
Hi All.....I'm new to your forum. This discussion was linked to a model building forum I belong to by your moderator. I am the one who has the photos of the cars at Petty. Thanks for posting them Warbird. They were at an old hosting site I cannot access anymore. I will try and rescan them and clean em up a bit. I have a new host so I'll try and get some more up there. Here is the story (it sounded like you guys would like to know). At the age of 15 (fall of 1976) my family moved from the Cincinnati area back to St. Louis. My friend in Cincinnati, Benny Allen, went on vacation to the Charlotte area after I moved. Knowing I was a HUGE petty fan, Benny took some photos with his instamatic camera. These are the result which he mailed to me and described the experience in the letter. What I am facinated by, now, is ...... There is a Bird in the Showroom. There is another being worked on. It is in the same shop a Charger is being worked on....I'll try and post more pix soon. If one is already in the showroom, is the one being worked on the one being built for Hugh Hawthorne? What became of the Hamilton birds? Is the bird currently in the Petty Museum, the same one that is in this museum picture. If so, I have a bunch of more current pictures taken at the new Petty Musuem a few years ago. This is also much after the Birds were no longer racing. In recent years I have tried to locate Benny, we long ago lost contact. I hoped he would know some more of exactly what was going on when he took the pictures. By sheer chance, I believe I have some pictures of Petty Enterprizes in the mid 70s, thanks to a Jr. High friend. Mike George "Sundance" Mike, thanks for chiming in. Yes, the car in the RP Museum today is the same car that was in the trophy room at the old shop. The car being built is in my opinion, the Hawthorne car. There is one other shot from your group that shows the same angle of Plymouth quarter panel decal. The two Birds are too close to together in the style of construction. Neither are like the ones raced in period in the underhood details - specifically the construction of the upper hoop. |
|
|
|
Post by ricklou on Mar 25, 2010 19:45:03 GMT -5
Doug, the car you own is certainly priceless being an actual race car top to bottom.
There is a ton of info at Randy Ayers as to what happened to some of these cars being sold off, reskinned or who knows.
I think to have read at Randy's that some of the museum cars have issues to their originality including Isaac's Daytona and the 200 mph Daytona. It looks like most teams sold off their cars when they were finished.
Were the Petty throphy cars built from the ground up or were they built from older race chassis ?
|
|
|
|
Post by warbird7 on Mar 26, 2010 15:09:57 GMT -5
Doug, the car you own is certainly priceless being an actual race car top to bottom. There is a ton of info at Randy Ayers as to what happened to some of these cars being sold off, reskinned or who knows. I think to have read at Randy's that some of the museum cars have issues to their originality including Isaac's Daytona and the 200 mph Daytona. It looks like most teams sold off their cars when they were finished. Were the Petty throphy cars built from the ground up or were they built from older race chassis ? Yes, I am very lucky as there are no holes in the 7 cars history from new. Had Ramo not put the car away as he did, it probably would have been cut, rebodied and disappeared into the abyss. The Isaac Daytona is a real K & K car, but hard to say which exact one. The Daytona lettered up as #88 in the Talladega museum car is actually a real K & K 1968 Charger race car, and the first car to wear a Daytona nose and wing. It's a significant car wearing the wrong paint. A 1970 Chrysler memo explains the museum donation switcheroo with the real 88. They donated the more well used car because the real 88 has some life in it. The real #88 Daytona is owned by Greg Kwiatkowski in Michigan and is still under resto, but progress is being made. Greg bought the car from Don White in Iowa and its history is bulletproof. Not much is known as to the prior histories of the two modern Petty Superbirds as actual race cars or not. The previous owner of my car got a call from some folks at RPM about a year ago asking what he might know about the trophy room car. We know they were built by PE, probably in the 70's and that's about it. There may be some PE oldtimers who could tell us more. |
|
I have Richard petty cars 1/18 1/24 scales! Etc...
