Thread: 1964 NHRA B/SR Class Champ "The Blue Racer"

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Hi all,
I am looking for any more information or pictures of a old B/SR Drag Car I picked up some time ago, I do know it was run by Loren McCombs of Dearborn Mi. and won the B/SR class at the 1964 U.S. Nationals in Indy, it was # 424, a Model A Roadster channeled over a Deuce Frame, It ran a 312 "Y" block,..... I have it posted on Gasser Madness and Hot Rods of Dearborn,... and have had no response yet, Dave Crane was the one that gave me the most info on this car as to date and found two pictures in "Popular Hot Rodding and Hot Rod annual.
Any info would be great,... Thanks.

Just in case some of you are interested,.... Here is a *UPDATE*

I got a lead where Loren McCombs might be,... and hit pay dirt !,... I just got off the phone with him and he answered a lot of questions I had. But here is some cool stuff for those of you interested.

(1) Won B/SR Class at the 1964 U.S. Nationals Indy.

(2) Won B/SR Regionals at Dragway 42 Ohio 1965

(3) Was disqualified for B/SR 1965 at Bristol because this Model A
had a 106" wheelbase, was bumped to Altered class,... Loren
added a second front cross member at 103", both cross
members are still in the car.

(4) Went back to Bristol Spring Nationals in 1966 and Won B/SR
Class.

Here some details on the engine as was told to me by Mr. McCombs,

He bought the engine in 1961 from a junkyard, his machinist thought it might be a truck engine, blueprinted, they shaved the heads .035, and decked .065 off the block, Forged high dome pistons,13.5 to 1 compression ratio, knurled crank, bored out to 327 c.i.d., Isky cam,Hilborn Fuel Injection, custom built headers. all built by Leo Gonzales. ( He said he got the biggest, heaviest most powerful battery he could find and mounted it in the trunk )

The transmission was a Mercury 3 speed that he said "was really long" He said the driveshaft was under two feet long.

The rear end might have been a 57 Ford or Olds.

He bought the car as a running Hot Rod in 1961 with a Gonzales Flathead (that he blew up), Zepher trans & 40 banjo rear end. It was light green and had done duty at Eckles Rd. and Motor City Dragway.

Don't know if this is interesting to you guy's but it's really exciting for me.

Is the "Blue Racer" in your possesion now? Are you going to get it back to it's original shape?

Originally Posted by nitrowarrior

Is the "Blue Racer" in your possesion now? Are you going to get it back to it's original shape?

I have had the car sense September 05, I put it in the barn until I could find as much history as I could. Now that I have a parts list to go by, I am hoping to restore it back to its former racing condition ( I don't want to over restore this car),... but most likely wont race it, I need to find a Hilborn F.I. setup for a Y-Block. The car was found in a backyard in Detroit.

It's amazing where you can find some of the old relics. Good luck and keep us posted on how it's coming along.

I was at Indy in '64, but was too long ago to remember much. The Street Roadsters are gone now, but were always a favorite with me. As I recall, they were blended into the Gas class, along with the modified Sports class.

What a great story. I just love it when these old race cars are found. And to know the history makes it really special. The picture on the the trailer is my favorite. Looks like it had Guide 682 headlights, wow........what a car!!

Bob

I was also at Indy in 1964, but don't remember the car. Nevertheless, I love it when these old relics are rediscovered and saved. Good luck with finding more of its history.

Sorry to bring this up again,.. but thought some of you might be interested that the Blue Racer is one of the cars in the "Barn Find" issue of the new Hot Rod Magazine, oct.07 Here is a picture of it in 1962 just before it became a full time racer.

Good effort on your part to keep the deligence up on tracking this thing.

awsome story, thanks for sharing with us, and please keep us posted on evey step of the restoration. and also send the original owner some pictures to relive his past!!!!

Hey All,......

This will be the last post on the Blue Racer until I begin restoration, But I thought you guy's would get a kick out of this, after the article came out in Hot Rod, A really nice guy called me from Ohio that had the Hilborn F.I. unit I needed, and we worked out a deal, Also Loren McCombes was in Michigan this summer and wanted to stop by to see the "War Horse",...He and his Wife Pat brought me some things they said should stay with the car,... here are some pictures,...

Please keep us updated on your progress!!! With a car having that kind of history, the restoration with story and pics would make one heck of a good book!!! Thanks in advance for all the hard work and expense involved in restoring this piece of drag racing history!!!!!

PS--That drive unit for the mag must be priceless!!!!!