SUPER STOCK Chevy, Pontiac, Dodge-Plymouth, Ford-Mercury
So, what is a “Super Stock”?
For our purposes here, a Super Stock car is a production Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Dodge and Plymouth sedan fitted with a powerful engine (typically, the most powerful factory engine available for that vehicle) and set up for drag racing. Very few of these vehicles could be described as street cars, although some of them could have started life as street type vehicles.
When we use the word “stock” we are actually talking about “NHRA (and other sanctioning bodies) Stock", meaning, standard production vehicles that were modified according to the rules and regulations described in the Official Hot Rod Associations technical rulebooks. So, although the engines were standard production engines, some modifications were permitted, such as bringing the internal engine tolerances and specifications up to standards not found in a mass produced vehicle. This was called “blueprinting”.
Things like air cleaners, for instance, could be eliminated. Exhaust systems could be modified, and areas of the chassis and running gear could be “beefed-up”. Larger rear tires with softer compounds were approved for competition (provided that
the tread width did not exceed 7-inches) and rear axle ratios were selected for maximum acceleration.
Drag classes were available for almost all types of stock production vehicles, such as A-Stock, B-Stock, C-Stock, etc., and were listed as A/S, B/S, C/S, etc. For purposes on this Section, I'm going to stay with the Top Classes only. The Top Classs were known as Super Super Stock (SS/S), Super Stock (S/S) and A/Stock (A/S). If the vehicle was fitted with an automatic rather than a manual transmission, an “A”was added to the nomenclature (Super Stock Automatic, or S/SA, for instance).
While dragsters, roadsters and modified coupes and sedans were the race cars of choice in the early drag racing years, the stock production type vehicle started to become a presence in the late 1950’s and in 1960. By 1961, the stock classes took off in competition, and in particular, the Super Stock class. The auto factories in Detroit took notice and pretty soon, they were providing customers with vehicles that could easily be converted into Super Stock drag vehicles. To keep every
automotive manufacture on an even footing, minimum production of the same vehicle needed to be produced and available. At first, a minimum of 100 vehicles had to be produced in order to be considered a “stock car”. This kept the factories from building a “one of a kind” vehicle to get a competitive advantage.
If any year could be called the bellwether year for Super Stock drag racing, it had to be 1962.
1962 was a pivotal year in “street n’ strip performance” (and I’m old enough to remember it). 1962 was probably the ONLY year in which the factory drag race cars could be purchased by anyone, off the showroom floor, driven on the street and taken
down to the local drag strip and raced. These were cars that were not designed or modified just for racing. These were cars that you could purchase without “knowing somebody”. These were cars in which the factory didn’t just make 500 of them, exclusively for competition. It never really happened prior to 1962 and it was over by 1963.
And the interesting thing is that all the major brands, including Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Dodge and Plymouth were represented by this unique and one time phenomenon in 1962. For instance, prior to 1962, the Chevy 409 engine could hardly be found in a production Chevy. And by 1963, the drag race Chevy’s such as the Z-11, were in short supply and almost unavailable. GM’s decision to pull out of racing also didn’t help much. In the Chevy camp in 1962, racers like Hayden Proffitt, Butch Leal, Ronnie Sox, Dyno Don Nicholson, Dave Strickler were all drag racing with the Chevy 409, the same basic car that anyone could purchase at your local Chevy dealer. Of course, the serious racers “blue printed”their engines and modified the cars for racing, right up to the allowable modifications for the class. But anyone else could do it too. It didn’t take a lot to change over to the Atlas Bucron rear tires and add some exhaust cut-outs. Anyone could make these modifications and race at the local drag strips on Sunday, with a reasonable chance of winning the S/S class. Try that today with an off the showroom floor car.
Before Super Stock was a category like it is today, it was a Class, dominated by Chevy, Pontiac, Dodge & Plymouth, Ford & Mercury. Scroll on down to view your favorite brand...
For our purposes here, a Super Stock car is a production Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Dodge and Plymouth sedan fitted with a powerful engine (typically, the most powerful factory engine available for that vehicle) and set up for drag racing. Very few of these vehicles could be described as street cars, although some of them could have started life as street type vehicles.
When we use the word “stock” we are actually talking about “NHRA (and other sanctioning bodies) Stock", meaning, standard production vehicles that were modified according to the rules and regulations described in the Official Hot Rod Associations technical rulebooks. So, although the engines were standard production engines, some modifications were permitted, such as bringing the internal engine tolerances and specifications up to standards not found in a mass produced vehicle. This was called “blueprinting”.
Things like air cleaners, for instance, could be eliminated. Exhaust systems could be modified, and areas of the chassis and running gear could be “beefed-up”. Larger rear tires with softer compounds were approved for competition (provided that
the tread width did not exceed 7-inches) and rear axle ratios were selected for maximum acceleration.
Drag classes were available for almost all types of stock production vehicles, such as A-Stock, B-Stock, C-Stock, etc., and were listed as A/S, B/S, C/S, etc. For purposes on this Section, I'm going to stay with the Top Classes only. The Top Classs were known as Super Super Stock (SS/S), Super Stock (S/S) and A/Stock (A/S). If the vehicle was fitted with an automatic rather than a manual transmission, an “A”was added to the nomenclature (Super Stock Automatic, or S/SA, for instance).
While dragsters, roadsters and modified coupes and sedans were the race cars of choice in the early drag racing years, the stock production type vehicle started to become a presence in the late 1950’s and in 1960. By 1961, the stock classes took off in competition, and in particular, the Super Stock class. The auto factories in Detroit took notice and pretty soon, they were providing customers with vehicles that could easily be converted into Super Stock drag vehicles. To keep every
automotive manufacture on an even footing, minimum production of the same vehicle needed to be produced and available. At first, a minimum of 100 vehicles had to be produced in order to be considered a “stock car”. This kept the factories from building a “one of a kind” vehicle to get a competitive advantage.
If any year could be called the bellwether year for Super Stock drag racing, it had to be 1962.
1962 was a pivotal year in “street n’ strip performance” (and I’m old enough to remember it). 1962 was probably the ONLY year in which the factory drag race cars could be purchased by anyone, off the showroom floor, driven on the street and taken
down to the local drag strip and raced. These were cars that were not designed or modified just for racing. These were cars that you could purchase without “knowing somebody”. These were cars in which the factory didn’t just make 500 of them, exclusively for competition. It never really happened prior to 1962 and it was over by 1963.
And the interesting thing is that all the major brands, including Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Dodge and Plymouth were represented by this unique and one time phenomenon in 1962. For instance, prior to 1962, the Chevy 409 engine could hardly be found in a production Chevy. And by 1963, the drag race Chevy’s such as the Z-11, were in short supply and almost unavailable. GM’s decision to pull out of racing also didn’t help much. In the Chevy camp in 1962, racers like Hayden Proffitt, Butch Leal, Ronnie Sox, Dyno Don Nicholson, Dave Strickler were all drag racing with the Chevy 409, the same basic car that anyone could purchase at your local Chevy dealer. Of course, the serious racers “blue printed”their engines and modified the cars for racing, right up to the allowable modifications for the class. But anyone else could do it too. It didn’t take a lot to change over to the Atlas Bucron rear tires and add some exhaust cut-outs. Anyone could make these modifications and race at the local drag strips on Sunday, with a reasonable chance of winning the S/S class. Try that today with an off the showroom floor car.
Before Super Stock was a category like it is today, it was a Class, dominated by Chevy, Pontiac, Dodge & Plymouth, Ford & Mercury. Scroll on down to view your favorite brand...
CHEVROLET
Chevy's in Super Stock began before the 1961, but the Chevy 409 hit big in 1961, at least in the magazines. Few were available to the general public. Of the 491,000 Chevy Impalas built for 1961, only 142 were fitted with the 409 cubic inch engine. These engines were rated at 360 HP and had a single four-barrel carburetor. Some racers purchased the engines seperately and installed them in 2-door Biscayne sedans. This was permitted in 1961, factory installations were not required. Two racers that went to this trouble in 1961 were established drag racers Frank Saunders out of Phoenix, Arizona and Dave Strickler from York, PA. Frank Saunders won the S/S class at the 1961 NHRA Winternationals while Don Nicholson took the win in the Stock Eliminator category at the same event.
Section 1 Chevy, 1960 S/S
Section 2 Chevy, 1961 S/S
There has always been Chevys in drag racing and there has always been Chevys in stock class, but 1961 was a banner year..."she's so fine, my 409"...
Section 3 Chevy, 1962 S/S
In 1962, many things changed for Chevy fans. The 409 with dual AFB carbs and a solid lifter cam was available installed in most models right from the factory. Anyone could go down to the Chevy dealer and pick one up. This was the same basic combination that the more serious Super Stock Chevy racers were using. Even in stock trim, with stock tires, the 409’s were capable of very low 14’s and high 13-second ET’s. With just a little work, like some stickier tires and open headers, high 12-second runs were possible, and the cars could be driven to and from the strip. Chevy drag racers were having a field day in 1962. Don Nicholson won the Stock Eliminator event at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona (second year in a row) and Hayden Proffitt won that same catagory later in the year at the NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis. If that doesn’t fit into the “street n’ strip performance” category, what does?
Photo above by: Doug Marion
Now running a small block engine in M/S, in it's heart it's still the 409 S/S it was born to be...
Section 4 Chevy, 1963 S/S and Z-11 F/X
Yes, they still built 409 Chevy Super Stockers in 1963. But the big news was the introduction of the famed Z-11 Impala for Super Stock competition. Only 57 were produced (the Z-11 option added $1240 to the price of the car). These were all out race cars, not particularly suited for street use. They came with an aluminum front nose, aluminum hood, front fenders, front and rear bumper, front and rear bumper brackets and braces, grille, brackets, and other light weight pieces under the hood. Curb weight was 3405 pounds making the Z-11 Impalas about 300 pounds
lighter than a similar 409 cubic inch production car.
Although it looked like a 409 power plant at first glance, it was equipped with a much more powerful 427 cubic inch engine, rated at 430 HP.
Despite the fact that the Z-11's were conceived as a Super Stock cars by the factory, because of the low production numbers, it ran in various sanctioning organizations as either a Super Stocker, Limited Production class, a Factory Experimental class, or as a Match Race Stocker. I have also sprinkled in some 409 equipped S/S cars, too...
lighter than a similar 409 cubic inch production car.
Although it looked like a 409 power plant at first glance, it was equipped with a much more powerful 427 cubic inch engine, rated at 430 HP.
Despite the fact that the Z-11's were conceived as a Super Stock cars by the factory, because of the low production numbers, it ran in various sanctioning organizations as either a Super Stocker, Limited Production class, a Factory Experimental class, or as a Match Race Stocker. I have also sprinkled in some 409 equipped S/S cars, too...
PONTIAC
The Pontiacs were killer Super Stockers from about 1960 on. Both the 1960 and 1961 Pontiacs were powered by a very stout “Super Duty” 389 cubic inch engine which was available with tri-power carburetion. Pontiac never produced a “Super Duty” 421 cubic inch engine for the 1961 Pontiac but they did make it easy for select individuals to purchase “SD Kits” and install them in the cars themselves. Well known Pontiac drag racers like Hayden Proffitt and Arnie Beswick did exactly that and ran in NHRA’s “Optional Super Stock” class (OS/S).
Section 5 Pontiac, 1960 S/S
Section 6 Pontiac, 1961 S/S
Section 7 Pontiac, 1962 S/S
In 1962, things got even more serious. NHRA mandated that Super Stock legal cars must be produced at the factory. Prior to that, Pontiac got away with shipping engines to “the favored few” to run as S/S cars, but that was no more. It was the mighty Super Duty 421 available with dual four-barrel carbs that got the crowds excited. Again, these cars were available to anyone with the cash, but in much smaller quantities than the Chevy 409’s. Pontiac released the 421 SD package in the Catalina and Grand Prix series on a limited scale. Along with numerous 421 Pontiac enthusiasts heading to the drag strips
around the country on Sundays in 1962 were racers like Arnie Beswick, Hayden Proffitt, Jim Wangers, Jess Tyree, Arlen Vanke, Harold Ramsey, Lloyd and Carol Cox and Don Gay. The 421 showroom Super Stock Pontiacs existed only in 1962.
around the country on Sundays in 1962 were racers like Arnie Beswick, Hayden Proffitt, Jim Wangers, Jess Tyree, Arlen Vanke, Harold Ramsey, Lloyd and Carol Cox and Don Gay. The 421 showroom Super Stock Pontiacs existed only in 1962.
Section 8 Pontiac, 1963 S/S & F/X
Because of stiff competition from the lighter weight Chevy 409’s in 1962 and the Chevy Z-11’s in 1963, fourteen Pontiac Catalina’s were especially prepared and modified in 1963 at the factory strictly for racing, with many lightweight parts, including modifications to the factory frame. The frame modifications included the removal of some inner cross members and the drilling of numerous “lightning holes” in the outer frame rails, giving rise to the nickname,“Swiss Cheese Pontiacs”. The end result was a weight savings of about 425 pounds overall.
Of course, the Swiss Cheese Pontiacs were powered by the most powerful Super Duty 421 cubic inch engines available, as were some of the standard production Pontiacs, also shown here.
Pontiac dealers such as Royal Pontiac, Van Winkle Pontiac, Union Park Pontiac, Anderson Pontiac and Packer Pontiac were some of the sponsors of the “Swiss Cheese” race cars. Some of the racers of note included Don Gay, Arlen Vanke, Arnie Beswick, Warren King, Al Hodges, Stan Long, Bill Jarrett and Pete Seaton. Despite the fact that these cars were required to race in the F/X class at NHRA National Events, I am including them in the S/S section as they were originally conceived by the factory to represent the Super Stock Pontiac's for 1963.
Of course, the Swiss Cheese Pontiacs were powered by the most powerful Super Duty 421 cubic inch engines available, as were some of the standard production Pontiacs, also shown here.
Pontiac dealers such as Royal Pontiac, Van Winkle Pontiac, Union Park Pontiac, Anderson Pontiac and Packer Pontiac were some of the sponsors of the “Swiss Cheese” race cars. Some of the racers of note included Don Gay, Arlen Vanke, Arnie Beswick, Warren King, Al Hodges, Stan Long, Bill Jarrett and Pete Seaton. Despite the fact that these cars were required to race in the F/X class at NHRA National Events, I am including them in the S/S section as they were originally conceived by the factory to represent the Super Stock Pontiac's for 1963.
DODGE and PLYMOUTH
The Plymouth and Dodge Super Stocks hit the drag strips in 1960 and 1961 with very powerful 383 and 413 cubic inch engines. Although they did not become an instant success in the Super Stock class (they were pretty heavy vehicles), they did make a name for themselves as serious competition and took out some big name Chevy, Pontiac and Ford racers. There were even a few big Chrysler 300 sedans that ran very well in the Super Stock classes in the early 1960's.
Section 9 Dodge & Plymouth, 1960, 1961 S/S
Section 10 Chrysler 300, 1961-1962 S/S
Section 11 Dodge & Plymouth, 1962 S/S
In 1962, things really picked up. A new, short wheelbase, lighter weight sedan went into production. And under the hood for the Super Stock racers was a new Max Wedge 413 cubic inch powerhouse engine, equipped from the factory with actual exhaust headers and a short-ram, dual carb intake system. And to back up the power was the almost invincible TorqueFlite automatic transmission, with a dashboard mounted push-button shifter. A heavy duty 3-speed trans was available (there was no 4-speed manual transmission) but it was the automatic trans equipped Dodges and Plymouths that worked to perfection, especially considering the narrow 7-inch wide tires required in NHRA Super Stock class. In the Super Stock automatic (S/SA) class, the Dodges and Plymouths were near unbeatable. The Plymouth version was called the Super Stock 413 while the Dodge edition was known as the RamCharger 413. The cars from the factory weighed in under 3200 pounds.
In 1963, displacement was increased to 426 cubic inches for the Max Wedge engine, and for the first time, a heavy duty 4-speed manual transmission was available. And in 1964, the 426 Hemi was introduced.
Let's begin with some 1962 Plymouth and Dodges equipped with the 413-inch engines.
In 1963, displacement was increased to 426 cubic inches for the Max Wedge engine, and for the first time, a heavy duty 4-speed manual transmission was available. And in 1964, the 426 Hemi was introduced.
Let's begin with some 1962 Plymouth and Dodges equipped with the 413-inch engines.
The only photo I have ever seen of Dick Landy's '62 Plymouth.
Section 12 Dodge & Plymouth, 1963 S/S
1963 was the year that the Dodge and Plymouth Super Stockers added displacement to the 413 inch wedge engines. bringing the wedge power plant up to 426 cubic inches.
Section 13 Dodge & Plymouth, 1964 S/S
And that brings us to 1964. Dodge and Plymouth fans rejoice, the 426 HEMI is among us.
Section 14 Dodge & Plymouth, 1965, S/S
FORD and MERCURY
At the grass roots level, drag racing was the auto enthusiast’s dream during the sixties. Unlike NASCAR races, at the drag strips across the country fans could see the cars and drivers up close. The manufacturers recognized that “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” worked. Sensing this trend, Ford jumped in with both feet.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) got the ball rolling by creating so-called Stock Classes for production cars. As long as the car came off the assembly line, it would fall into one of the many stock classes, based on shipping weight divided by advertised horsepower. The top class was Super Stock and the “S/S” symbol became an easily recognized logo.
Without realizing it, Ford inadvertently built the first true Super Stocker in 1960. How many of you remember the 1960 Ford Starliner fitted out with the 352 inch engine? The 352 (FE series block) came from the factory with lots of heavy duty parts including a solid cam, 10.6:1 compression and 360 HP at 6000 RPM. The transmission was a Borg-Warner heavy duty 3-speed. Ford’s goal with the special Starliner was to upstage Chevy’s 350 HP, 348 W-block engine. The Starliner had a 119 inch wheelbase and was certainly no lightweight.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) got the ball rolling by creating so-called Stock Classes for production cars. As long as the car came off the assembly line, it would fall into one of the many stock classes, based on shipping weight divided by advertised horsepower. The top class was Super Stock and the “S/S” symbol became an easily recognized logo.
Without realizing it, Ford inadvertently built the first true Super Stocker in 1960. How many of you remember the 1960 Ford Starliner fitted out with the 352 inch engine? The 352 (FE series block) came from the factory with lots of heavy duty parts including a solid cam, 10.6:1 compression and 360 HP at 6000 RPM. The transmission was a Borg-Warner heavy duty 3-speed. Ford’s goal with the special Starliner was to upstage Chevy’s 350 HP, 348 W-block engine. The Starliner had a 119 inch wheelbase and was certainly no lightweight.
Section 15 Ford, 1960 S/S
Section 16 Ford, 1961 S/S
For 1961, Ford increased the displacement to 390 cubic inches. The new engine was rated at 375 HP. A 4-speed B-W trans and 10.5 inch clutch was added in mid year just before the NHRA Nationals on Labor Day, along with a new intake manifold with three 2-barrel carbs. The new intake raised the rated horsepower to 401.
The Ford 406 for 1962 was an improved 390 block with a larger bore. Cross bolted mains for the number 2, 3 and 4 main bearing caps strengthened the bottom end. More compression (11.4:1) kicked the “rated” horsepower to 405. It didn’t take long before NHRA figured out that using a ‘weight divided by rated horsepower” formula wasn’t the way to go. The factories were downgrading the actual horsepower figures. The standard curb weight for the 1962 Ford was a hefty 3800
pounds.
pounds.
Section 17 Ford, 1962 S/S
And let's not forget about the 427 cubic inch Super Stock Mercury Marauder. Racers like Tom Sturm, with his heavy '63 Mercury, put the hurt on many unspecting racers with far lighter cars.
Section 18 Mercury, 1963, S/S
Section 19 Ford, 1963 S/S
The Ford Super Stock plan for 1963 was to use a special lightweight Galaxie for drag racing. These cars were to be available in
white paint only and with a red interior. Weight was 3480 pounds (700 pounds lighter than the production 63 ½
Galaxie). The frame was from the lighter weight Ford 300 series sedan. Sound deadener was deleted. All of the bolt on parts such as the doors, trunk lid, hood, front fenders and inner fender panels was fiberglass. The bumpers and bumper brackets were aluminum. Small front bucket seats manufactured by Bostrum designed for the Ford Van were used. The B-W 4-speed had a full aluminum case and an NHRA legal aluminum bell housing.
Displacement was now 427 inches and the horsepower was conservatively rated at 425 at 6000 RPM. Torque was rated at 480 foot pounds at 3700 RPM. The compression ratio was up to 12.0:1. Bigger heads, more cam and two 600 CFM Holleys finished everything off.
The first two lightweights were assembled at Ford’s Wayne, MI assembly plant in late January 1963 barely in time to compete at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals. The cars were delivered to Tasca Ford in Providence, RI, for Bill Lawton (Tasca team driver) and Bob Ford in Dearborn, MI. At the Winternationals, Les Ritchey drove the Bob Ford car. This was all a last minute project. Parts from the Ford’s Los Angeles assembly plant were shipped to Bill Stroppe in Long Beach to finish the cars in time for Pomona.
Approximately 170 lightweight Galaxies were constructed at Ford’s Norfolk assembly plant. Twenty more were built at the Los Angeles assembly plant and an unknown number of Galaxies were converted into lightweights by Holman & Moody.
Ford racers like Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, Butch Leal, Les Ritchey, Dick Brannan, Phil Bonner, just to name a few, carried the Ford banner into the winner's circle many times in 1963 with the Galaxie "lightweights".
Of course, not all the '63 Fords were "lightweights" or even powered by the high performance 427 engines, as in the case of several 406 and 427 powered sedans below.
white paint only and with a red interior. Weight was 3480 pounds (700 pounds lighter than the production 63 ½
Galaxie). The frame was from the lighter weight Ford 300 series sedan. Sound deadener was deleted. All of the bolt on parts such as the doors, trunk lid, hood, front fenders and inner fender panels was fiberglass. The bumpers and bumper brackets were aluminum. Small front bucket seats manufactured by Bostrum designed for the Ford Van were used. The B-W 4-speed had a full aluminum case and an NHRA legal aluminum bell housing.
Displacement was now 427 inches and the horsepower was conservatively rated at 425 at 6000 RPM. Torque was rated at 480 foot pounds at 3700 RPM. The compression ratio was up to 12.0:1. Bigger heads, more cam and two 600 CFM Holleys finished everything off.
The first two lightweights were assembled at Ford’s Wayne, MI assembly plant in late January 1963 barely in time to compete at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals. The cars were delivered to Tasca Ford in Providence, RI, for Bill Lawton (Tasca team driver) and Bob Ford in Dearborn, MI. At the Winternationals, Les Ritchey drove the Bob Ford car. This was all a last minute project. Parts from the Ford’s Los Angeles assembly plant were shipped to Bill Stroppe in Long Beach to finish the cars in time for Pomona.
Approximately 170 lightweight Galaxies were constructed at Ford’s Norfolk assembly plant. Twenty more were built at the Los Angeles assembly plant and an unknown number of Galaxies were converted into lightweights by Holman & Moody.
Ford racers like Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, Butch Leal, Les Ritchey, Dick Brannan, Phil Bonner, just to name a few, carried the Ford banner into the winner's circle many times in 1963 with the Galaxie "lightweights".
Of course, not all the '63 Fords were "lightweights" or even powered by the high performance 427 engines, as in the case of several 406 and 427 powered sedans below.
Section 20 Ford, 1964 S/S
By 1964, the primary focus for Ford was on the Fairlane Thunderbolts in the Super Stock class. However, a full-size "Lightweight" sedan was also offered. Here are a few examples. These race cars typically did very well in the A/S class at NHRA events.
Section 21 Fairlane Thunderbolt S/S, 1964
The original concept for the Ford Thunderbolt came from Tasca Ford, a dealer in Rhode Island. They dropped a big block Ford engine into a '62 Fairlane and ran it in the Factory Experimental class. FoMoCo thought it was a great idea and so for 1964, they built enough 427 equipped Fairlanes to qualify for NHRA Super Stock competition.
Section 22 Fairlane Thunderbolt S/S, 1965
