Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins: How he changed NHRA ProStock drag racing with his 1972 Chevrolet Vega
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- Today on Unity Motorsports Garage we take a look back at how Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins changed ProStock Dragracing forever by building his 1972 Chevrolet Vega and put a stop to the Chrysler/Mopar domination of the Team Sox and Martin.
Not only did his actions end the first big block era but also gave rise to such legends as Bob Glidden Lee Shepard and other NHRA ProStock greats!
I hope you enjoy..
till next time I will catch you later
Andy
#chevy #nhra #prostock - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Interviewer was Brock Yates,
Ray Brock was a photographer for Hot Rod magazine
You are 100% I have no idea why I said Ray Brock..
Thank you for catching that
Andy
And Brock Yates worked for Car & Driver magazine for years or even decades! I heard he had to retire many years ago - due to dementia, unfortunately.
Brock was also instrumental in putting together the first(?) Cannonball Race, non-stop from NYC to Calif. If I remember correctly, Brock and Dan Gurney drove a Ferrari Daytona (!!) - and Dan did top speed 173 more than once; they went by a trooper at high speed (l think it was 170+) and the trooper caught up to them when they were already refueling at a gas station miles later! (I think it gave the idea to the Cannonball movie writers.)
I believe the interviewer was actually Steve Evans...
@joemvin.j3-16 ...you are exactly right on the money about the 1st Cannonball.
Back in 1978, I was in high school, studying the Chevrolet Overhaul Manual for my 1970 Camaro, in order to do my first build, starting with a 327-300. Grumpy's book "The Chevrolet Racing Engine" was a treasure trove of great info and a look into the mind of this great racer/builder. I still have those books, along with Smokey's book.
I was initially a MoPar fan, then went to work for Ford, so switched over to them. Never was a Chevy man. That said, I took one look at Smokey Yunick's book and bought it. Still have it 30-40 years later on. Smokey had so much general use advice that even if you ran a Studebaker or a Nash, there were things in it for you. I still remember Smokey's comment, "if the tech inspectors didn't catch me on at least one "liberal rules interpretation" every race, then I'm not doing my job." He never stopped pushing the envelope. To this day, the 3-inch diameter fuel line from the tank to the carb is still with me. And of course, moving the body back on the frame of the 1966 Chevelle is an all-time classic.
I had both those books too - it was hard back then for us young guys to learn about hot rodding and modifying engines - Grumpy and Smokey helped a lot. Bill Jenkins was a hero - I just read about him in Hot Rod they didn't have this stuff on TV ...a shame.
@@tankthebear The other books, articles and videos that I like are ANYTHING by David Vizard. His channel (David Vizard, NOT David Vizard Performance - that one is defunct) is excellent.
Grump was always thinking & experimenting and very focused especially at the track. That “Grumpy” moniker that stuck was not true. He just didn’t have time for much small talk at the track. If you had a good question or something interesting to impart he was very congenial. He was all ears. We had a car that kept cracking the main body that held the ring gear. He had the same rear-the 10 bolt-in his ‘66, his first Toy. Back then they had no crowd control roping around the “big boys” of the sport. You could walk right up and talk. I walked up and told him a little about my car and the breakage problem. His answer was short but very sweet. He said:
“Soften the ring & pinion to 50C hardness and put the pinion about 15 thousands deeper into the ring gear. That should solve your problem.” End of conversation. I thanked him and we never cracked a rear again. Bill Jenkins was to drag racing what Smokey Yunick was to stock car racing.
@@bobkonradi10273.88÷24
That thing Bill Jenkins built, was a bloody fast 23° iron heads factory based small block Chevy. even by today's standards. Not too many can make that sort of power from those junk heads they had to work with, and run to
10, 000rpm naturally aspirated.
Remember that was 50years ago.
Guy was a Legend.
One of the Best for the time.
👍
Brenton, Jenkins is truly an Icon! You are exactly right stock parts and 10,000 rpm!
Thanks for watching
Andy
Pushing 600hp with 331ci he said in the pro stock truck his small block was putting out right at 1000hp NA when program ended 20yrs later.
Well I don't have any idea about the head Bill ran . I bought a set of cylinder heads off a g gas car a Monza from a fellow who had stopped racing. I is used them in my 302 chev I had built for my street hot rod . I the ports were a lot of Devcon . . Seems I was told the heads were angle milled .120. Titanium valves . They had I think hemi valve springs. I had those replaced with springs that would carry out to 8k . My motor was nothing special but it was a fun car to drive with the 4 speed...
He would order literally dozens of heads from Chevrolet. He’d go over them, knew what to look for as far as the best castings, put those aside and just send the rest back. Mr. Chevrolet. We used to hear little tidbits about his shop thru the local grapevine. His shop was a few towns over.
Grumpy was a star in the late 60's and he played his role perfectly. He was a little guy with a big cigar and a fair sized ego. Sox and Martin were the team to hate (their hemi was a superior engine), and they really cleaned up, but what the Grump did in 1972 is the stuff of legends. He shows up with the Vega and blows everybody clean out of the water. I remember it like it was yesterday. RIP Bill Jenkins!
The Grump was my idol. He did amazing things with the SBC and the BBC. The Vega was a uni-body. He knew that the only way his vision of a very light car like the Vega sporting a SBC that could hook-up on the track would be if he could build a sub-frame for the car. He went to NHRA, explained the above that needed to be done to be able to compete against the Hemi’s and told them it would be like David vs. Goliath and it would fill the stands. So, he shows up with the car at the Winternationals and, guess what……it passes inspection. The Hemi guys were furious. And rightly so. The rest is history.
@@harryfeld1786 The tube frame choice was offered to everyone. Grumpy took it, and the others didn't follow until later. Same with the small displacement engine in a light car, Grumpy did it first. Same with the weight break that everyone had to adhere to. Seven lbs per cubic inch, Small block cars could weigh as little as 2300 lbs while bib block cars had to weigh 3000 lbs. Many bib block cars had to add weight to make 3000 lbs. This is the reason so many were screaming about being "penalized" What we got to see was a realistic side of the law of physics. A lighter object can be moved faster, requiring less power.
It was not the HEMI- Herb M said in many interviews. The other cars made the same HP. What made them win? According to Herb, they cheated. They built the chassis that worked best for their set up. Then they fit the body over the chassis. Since them, NHRA did not use templates back then they did not know. They only checked front wheel to back wheel centerline. And I know you like BJ and I saw him, and his cars run. He was a sore loser, and cried to the NHRA to change the rules because he could not win or beat the top teams the way his cars were. And yes, the Mopar's and Ford's beat him dozens of times.
A Hall of Famer for sure! When it comes to wringing every ounce of power out of a small block Chevy, he and Smokey Yunick are in a class by themselves!
I agree!
Thanks for watching
Andy
Bill was my hero, I started building small blocks trying to copy some of bills engines and made some really good horsepower. I was in Don Garlets museum and got to see and touch Bills Vega , Don let me go over the rope and get up close to Bills vega ,and it brought tears to my eyes. I will never forget it. I've always said if I ever win the lottery I want to build a copy of his 69 camaro.
Awesome story! I felt the same way in the Garlits Museum
Andy
I only saw Bill Jenkins at one event, but what a roster was there that day. Bill Jenkins, Bob Glidden, Gapp and Rousch and the Tijuana Taxi Maverick 4dr, I think Sox and Martin, among others. I don't even remember who won, but it really doesn't matter. It was at East St. Louis International Dragway a long, long time ago. As I remember, Jenkins was much like Smokey Yunick in his reading of the rules, if a rule didn't specifically say, "Thou Shalt Not" do something, then the interpretation was, "It is OK for Thou to do it." And let the inspectors try and catch it. Jenkins' schict was to show that a smaller engine in a lighter car was fully capable of running with a bigger engine in a heavier car. As I remember it, he ran a 331 SBC, a 327 with an overbore. One of his alleged tricks was to take a 327 block, build an "everday engine" around it, then put it in his transporter truck with a hot thermostat, (190+ degrees) and run it for a month or two, heat soak it so as to get the maximum settling of the block, then take it out, remachine it to the Nth degree and only then put it in his race car. He contended that taking a new block and using it in a race car right off the bat, the block hadn't "settled down" and was subject to microscopic amounts of settling which degraded performance just enough to keep him out of the final round of a Pro Stock race. The only thing keeping him from drag racing immortality was Bob Glidden and his Boss 351 Pinto and Fairmont. That's another story for a different day.
I was home ported on a Naval ship in San Diego in 1972 and bought a brand new Gold 1972 Vega GT Coupe. I really liked the looks but the performance was meager at best. Grumpy Jenkins was getting a lot of Hot Rod press and came out with a 350ci V8 conversion on ads running in the back of several of the car magazines. Unfortunately, not many young sailors with a wife and a baby got into converting "grocery-getters" into street-rockets. Reality didn't stop the day dreaming though...
My first car was a 72 Vega gt, orange with black stripe.looked nice but was a piece of crap. Fill it up with oil and check the gas please 😂😂😂
I built a 74 Vega with a 350 in it, in the late 70's. It was a fun car, even scared a few guys who rode in it. I got to see a different sight with it one night watching the grass in the ditch fly by as it was sliding on the roof backward. It was fun while it lasted.
In Clermont, FL somebody went off the road and tossed their Vega into a grapefruit tree. They weren't discovered until the tree died and was visibly different.
In the late 70's I helped somebody put a 327 in a Vega. The first time out, he spun the tires everywhere in a parking lot. We got out and we couldn't close the doors! The engine had twisted the car so much that the doors couldn't be closed. None of the windows broke and it was fun while it lasted.
I built a cozworth to the chevy racing sppecs that was published later but I put my touches on it. Then did a 74 USA Vega with a aftermarket concept aluminum block bored to take Sleeves a 1/8 plus bore increase was added with a diff crank 3/16 shorter stroke and a different firing order . It reved up, like my ex-wife while with her and I looked at a red haired girl .
Those were the days ❤😮
Long live the Grump! You know Andy, what still gives me pause is that there are now street cars idling around with near, or over, 1000hp that can run 9's in no-prep races. Pretty amazing.
Lets not forget that the Grump was documented as running over 250 consecutive passes shifting a 4MT and NOT missing a shift. THAT is another record that will stand forever!!
Thanks for the memories Andy. I was 19 in 72 and being only 18 miles from Malvern where the Grump's shop was, I got to see the match races Jenkins ran at all the local tracks like Atco, Maple Grove and Englishtown. Good stuff.
That is awesome Frank! The Grump was awesome...
Andy
@@UnityMotorSportsGarage This is a TRUE story...... It was at Englishtown. It was one of those "fun" days, no pressure. Jenkins had his Camaro there with a "mountain" motor. I got into a conversation with him about tires, I think. Anyway, I was just leaving when a little kid, about 10 or so, started to talk to him. He "snarled" a few choice words then turned his back. He did not curse at the little guy, just unkind. I knew then how Jenkins got his name............A fierce competitor, just a bit grouchy if you could not talk technical with him...............I was still a BIG fan of Grump, just did not want to have dinner with him !
I grew up in Audubon, a 72 HS grad and totally agree - Bill Jenkins was a legend and inspiration for Chevy enthusiasts of that era.
I am sad to say that even though I ended up living in Malvern, I never took the opportunity to stop by his shop (was still in Malvern) before he passed away in 2012.
Tha chassis was built at s and w race cars in spring city PA
@@dcarey5480 Wasn't there a Speed Shop by the same name in Spring City? - On Rte 724 if I recall.
I was offered a job at Jenkins Comp at the age of 19 but could not afford to make the move to Malvern. This was during the Joe Lapone Jr era but I did go up for an interview and wow was that place amazing. "Da Grump" introduced so many innovations we take for granted today. His book is amazing, a bible of high performance engine building.
Thanks for the video.
Certainly a man worthy of respect.
The cigar was worth two tenths of a second easily.
So are the sunglasses
A true innovator for the sport.
Would be nice to be young again and knowing what I know now. I am 67 and working on my 55 Chevy 350 starter today.
I know what you mean Warren!
Thanks for watching
Andy
The NHRA put a weight penalty on the hemi cars, is the reason why they stopped being dominant.
Had I been running one back then, I would have spelled that out in giant letters on the side of the car.
The 351C was the most handicapped engine in PS racing.
Can't get enough history like this. As always thanks.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Ben! Thanks for watching
Andy
In 1978 I purchased my first car a 68 Camaro I still have it in 2023 Bill and others like him fueled my passion to go faster and faster I did go
They don't come like that anymore. Great walk down memory lane.
Thanks Brother!
Andy
9.7 seconds seemed so damn fast back then. Tuesday at Bradenton Motorsports Park, street driven cars were far surpassing that time. Ticking time bombs though.
That Vega was epic and changed Pro Stock drag racing forever.
Thanks for sharing
JT: Orlando
I bet there were none without a power adder doing it.
@@bobbyjohnson3331 that’s the future, now we have 3 cylinder 300hp Toyotas
There are cars that do that time off the showroom floor
It seems pretty damn fast to me, too, even now. I've never made a sub-11 second pass, and never driven or even ridden in anything capable of 9s as far as I know. I know 7 is the new 10, but I like stuff you can actually use and have fun in on the street, and I can't imagine something like that being usable or fun on actual roads without the risk of death or jail. And 9s naturally aspirated on gasoline is still pretty impressive if I'm not mistaken, even now.
I would go to English town raceway in the late 60's early 70's and watch Sox and Martin and Jenkins race at that time Jenkins didn't stand a chance, it wasn't till nhra added weight to the hemis that he won,,,,my favorite funny car was Gene Snow,,, "The Snowman"
Thank you and NHRA did the same thing with the new Challengers,,,, Gave GM a 50lb weight break...
As a kid I saved up my paper route money to buy this model car kit. He was always one of my favorites. Thank you for this video.
Just seen a re-issue, $35!!!!!
@@vincentenk4449 worth it
Just bought one myself at Walmart. It was like $24. Great memories!
Growing up near Orange county international raceway. 1977 at 17 years of age I remember hearing this guy's name and watching his car eat up the quarter mile. Thank you for the flashbacks that was awesome!
One of my heroes growing up
I worked for Ronnie Sox in the early nineties when he had the pro mod comet. I got to hear a lot of stories driving home late at night from the track from him. Herb McCandless lives near me and he’s a super guy. Him and his son have opened a museum here in Burlington North Carolina. R.I.P. Ronnie
The first guys in Pro Stock were super stock racers in earlier years. They all knew one another and shared a great comradery. There are many good stories to hear from these guys.
This really brings back the memories I grew up on the west coast was a gearhead early 60's took a few tours to Nam got out in '69 lost my '55 chevy before I got out spent 43yrs twisting wrenches. Old father, grandfather and great grandfather driving 2018 Daytona Dodge 525hp haven't gotten a ticket yet. Loved your story thanks much. Old Farts Rule!
Thank you for this blast from the past.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it
Andy
Every race car with wheel tubs and strut front end and every Pro Street car with those big tires can trace its roots back to that 1972 Vega. He started it all Very Smart man.
Yeah, sure.....With NHRA kissing his ass & letting his Altered, tube "Gasser" Vega run Legit Pro Stock.....After '73, a Lot of local speed shops dropped out of Pro Stock racing due to Affordable but now, Non-conpettive factory unibody cars with roll bar hoops compared to expen$ive full Tube cars.....That ruined Affordable regular racer & local Speed shop Pro Stock match race participation......Wished that damned Vega was never allowed into Legit Pro Stock.......
@@tomstrum6259 Yep, the Vega that ruined pro stock.
@@tomstrum6259 you and @bill miller seem to forget that he was running a 350 hp 331 SBC with one carburetor in his '66 Nova and giving Jere Stahl's 426 dual quad Hemi Belvedere fits back in A/Stock class , and on seven slicks to boot .
I have gone through all these comments waiting for someone to bring this up, no dis on the grump but G m piss and moaned for so long they were not competive the NHRA changed the weight breaks ( weight per hp) , at 18 yrs old then and a pile of car mags on pro stock talking about the weight change, he didn t just beat them at the head to head race, they did the same thing to bob glidden, changed the weight breaks, glidden over came it, I mite be a mopar guy but glidden was the all time best, took a 79 Plymouth arrow and won prostock,thanks Andy for the story , following you, D V and uncle tony on the 318, your carb mods were awesome
Great stuff right here. Hard to deny the genius of Grumpy Jenkins!
Winternationals, I went to a few of those. Watched a lot of 67, 68 and 69 Camaros beat everybody. Good memories, thanks Andy.
Somewhere I still have a copy of his book, "The Small Block Chevy Racing Engine". Thanks for the memories, I miss those simpler times.
grump knew how to make them small block chevy engines run! good video Andy.
Yes he did Kurt!
Andy
There's NO school like OLD school! ✊🏻😎
Love my Mopar's, but at an old age (54), I've come to appreciate Ford and GM as well....👍🏻
Great video, looking forward to see many more!
Let's never forget just how Grumpy achieved his success in Pro Stock. Up until 1972, it was a level playing field, with all makes and all cylinder head designs running equal weight requirements, with all cars required to weigh 7 pounds per cubic inch of displacement. Then, in 1972, Jenkins (and others) who simply could not compete under these rules whined loudly to the NHRA, who buckled under their constant sniveling and introduced the concept of "weight breaks". Canted valve motors, like big block Chevys and Ford Clevelands were the only motors that remained at 7 pounds per cubic inch. MOPAR Hemis, Ford 429's, and Ford SOHC motors all went to 7.25 pounds per cubic inch. Wedge motors, like Grumpy's Chevy small blocks, were allowed to go down to 6.75 pounds per cubic inch. At half a pound per cubic inch lighter than his competition, things got awfully easy for ol' Bill. Just not a level playing field by anyone's measure. Chevy couldn't provide a competitive motor design, so he simply got the rules changed instead. What nonsense.
The most complete rundown of what happened in early prostock, thanks for writing this
While you are correct , you also have to remember that the big engine cars even at the same weight break had to move a lot more weight from the start line . If the light car gets out on you it's hard to make up advantage he has . Mopar and Carlton were working on a SB engine but Carlton died and Mopar was late coming to the party with the SB .
@@bobwillis6391 That would be true for engines of similar specific output, or as we say "horsepower per cubic inch". If all of the engine designs enjoyed the same, or very similar specific outputs then, yes, with the same weight requirements, running the same "pounds per cubic inch", the lighter car has an advantage via its lower inertia. Except that was not the case - the wedge heads on the small block Chevy simply could not match the flow of the canted valve heads on their own big block, nor the Ford 351 Cleveland and 429 "Semi-Hemi". And none of those could match the flow of the Chrysler Hemi head design. So the small block Chev was not only smaller, it made far less power for its displacement than its competition. It just cannot breathe as well. It's worthwhile noting that these unfair weight breaks were not assigned by engine size, but by cylinder head design. A big block MOPAR wedge, like the 440, would get the same 6.75 lbs/C.I. break as the small block Chev, as would the Ford 427 FE motor. And, true, MOPAR could have run the 318/340/360 small block wedge motor and taken advantage of those weight breaks, but they, as you note, never got around to adequately developing it. Of course neither Chevrolet nor Bill Jenkins ever adequately developed the small block either, so they just got the rules changed instead...
Excellent. Good memories, and tickled to hear the mention of "Akron" Arlen Vanke.
Riverside Raceway!
The influence was felt here too!
From the Winston Western 500
Parade,too the sweet memories of just pulling off the highway in Moreno Valley CA. A small town,
Then known to me as, simply,"Sunnymead"!
I couldn't even see over the oval track,tin, halfway up the fence!
But when I did,a whole new world,
of white t-shirts,some with belly-buttons showing,taught me love and people that cared.
,,,,,,Thanks Andy.....I'm 72 yrs here....My Drag Racing career began in 1965 ; when I grabbed an issue of Car Craft magazIne frOm a candY stORE RacK......I study and read ,,thus my mind is full of great mentors , whom and which I learned from.........Science and Engineering separate the men from the hobbyists...................
That is so true!
Andy
Hi Andy, thanks for researching the Grump, I always enjoy your perspective. I was 19 when this happened and bought my first 55 chev not long after. Great footage.
Thanks Peter, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Andy
Hundreds if not thousands of Chevy racers at the time and only one could bring a competitive version to the line. Amazing.
It was so very gentleman and sportsmen like for you to mention that although you're a die-hard Ford fan, you give respect for the innovation that grumpy brought to drag racing we applaud you sir
Thanks Pete! I'm glad you enjoyed it.. I believe in giving credit where it's due!
Andy
That's a great history lesson! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to put this together.....lot of memories.
What he was able to do with a small journal sbc was amazing
Not to mention that the chevy heads he was working with are absolute junk by today's standards. He was making power and it was a fight to get it.
@FrostyBob lol he beat everyone with those heads including the hemis
@@gearyheidinewaccount3237 Yes. He absolutely did. The hemi cars are cool but there ain't nothing like a high flying small block.
GREAT VIDEO Thanx so much for posting
There is a young fellow out of Grump's shop at that time that deserves recognition for Grumps success especially when it came to manifold plenum design.
Great video. Thanks for posting such fascinating piece of Motorsport history.❤
In the early 1970's I ran a Kawasaki 750 triple at Englushtown and Island. I preferred Island Dragway in Hackettstown NJ. While running there, the motorcycle pit area was right by the staging area. I ended up hanging out with Grumpy numerous times. While having lunch, he would light up that cigar as soon as he was done! It was great to be drag friends, even though he thought i was nuts for going that fast on only two wheels. Interestingly, I got to hang out with Don Garlitts there, also. It was actually seeing Don drag there in 1965 that got me interested in drag racing. He ran his "rail" 159 mph! That was so fast back then. Gosh, I loved drag racing!
That was my third car and the reason why is on the screen and shared by Andy @ Unity Motorsports Garage! Thank you for sharing this piece of history with us all.!!!
Hey Andy! Big fan of you and UTG. born in '68 I missed the heyday but glad you and others feature great historic content. Vicariously lived thru my Hot Wheels collection and dreamed. It helped that my oldest brother had a "69 GMC stepside w/327 4 spd and neighbors w/ SS Camaro, SS Chevelles, and a 440 6pk Challenger. God I miss those days. Thx for the memories and letting us live thru your racing content with Tony. Take care.
I was in High school and already building hot rods. I remember the time I spent with friends at the Green Valley race way. By the way it was very nice to see Jungle Pam. NOBODY could walk like her, absolutely beautiful ❤️
Fantastic video man! I just stumbled across Bill Jenkins and I had know everything about him and you have the best video for that.
Awesome video man!! We love some old school racing, Let's make dry hops great again!!! lol
Good piece on Da Grump. Well done. Thank you.
I really shouldn't watch these videos. I miss those day's greatly. Drag Racing just wasn't a racing event. It was a full out party. 64 Funny Cars at Seattle International and some of the other events and even Puyallup Raceway Park was such a blast. Thank you for this Andy. It makes me happy and sad. God Bless.
I have mixed emotions about it as well... But I feel that the history needs to be told!
Andy
@@UnityMotorSportsGarage I agree Andy.
Right before the interview at the '72 Winternats, probably that same crowd around the car jumped the fence and swarmed the car on the way down the return road . I'd love to see video of the crowd jumping the fence . ABC Wide World of Sports probably has the original unedited tape . Meanwhile : Joe Tryson and myself were sitting in Malvern totally unaware .
As a kid of about 8- 12 i was really into car modeling.Once i went to a pro modeling show that showed more detail...like engine wiring....and weathering on certain parts of the body.And boy did i get some great ideas and also did a drag racing diorama with two cars taking off at the start of a drag race.Using cotton on the rear slicks to look like smoking tires....Grumpy's Toy Vega model was one of my best ones.Now these days modeling shows are coming back and i think its real cool man......lol.What fond memories of youth.
I always admired Bill 'Grumpy ' Jenkins and his drag racing success I had previously read a number of his books and magazines on Chevy engine building. I had the opportunity to meet him in 1977 on a flight out of LAX and I had him sign my boarding pass. If I recall in the Summer Nationals at Empire Dragway (Leicester NY) in either 77 or 78, the final in pro stock was Grumpy's Vega against Sox and Martin's Hemi. The Grump beat Ronnie by 1/2 car in the final. The place went ballistic. Also saw Bill take one of his race cars down the track on exibition at Maple Grove Raceway [Mohnton PA] in the late 80's during Super Chevy Weekend. Lots of fond memories of a Chevy Icon. RIP Bill, you served Chevy nation well !
Yeah!!! Jenkins competition, driver and builder. A super shifter.
Interesting video. Since I was around at the time and saw these guys run, there is a lot I remember differently than the guy in the video talks about. Match racing was still big, and pro stock was dominated by Ford and Mopar. Grumpy was as good as most, but not as good as the upper tier like Ronnie S and Dyno D or Jack R. The Grump came to Island Drag Strip to run Jack R's Taxi, the 4 door Maverick. Grumpy and others were complaining that Ford had a big adv because of the short wheelbase Maverick. So, JR built the Taxi, then the GM guys said they had a bigger adv because of the long wheelbase of the 4 door. Well, Gapp beat the Grump 3 straight races. Each loss made Grump madder and madder. He was screaming at his pit crew, kicking anything close and cursing up a storm. Jack R said he enjoyed beating Grump and it was his superior ability that gave him the win. True that!
Good Job, Andy, LOVe Casper & am looking forward you & Uncle Tony lining up!
This is/was a great story! There's got to be more. Good story Andy!
Excellent video. It brings back a lot of memories. I always enjoyed Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins' racing prowess but my roommate and I were diehard Mopar fans so Sox and Martin were our favorites. We tried to build our cars to their specs. I had a 1970 Roadrunner and he had a 1974 Duster. When we weren't working on Uncle Sam's aircraft we were in the auto hobby shop trying to improve the performance of our cars. 😉
Thank you Andy for sharing this trip down memory lane for me. Much appreciated and heart felt, since there was no one since from home to accomplish this and keep me interested until Bob Glidden came up through his reign as Champion! Great evening and I hope that you have a excellent upcoming week!
Sincerely, John T. Elliott!
Yes grumpy was good but what Glidden did was just incredible.
Ok m no
Yep grumpy was good but Glidden and his Fords were definitely the best ever. No other has his amount of wins.
@@wudznutt6732yep no one else has ever done what Glidden has done and never will it's just the way it is.
@@wudznutt6732 🤔
I have one of his small block books from the 70s. Very good stuff in there
Awesome, thanks for sharing,all the best to yous and your loved ones
Thanks for watching Donald same to you and yours!
Andy
If you wanted to see the real Grumpy, you'd have to have footage of Bob Glidden tapping the brake lights at a thousand foot when he was a few lengths ahead, lol. I drove transport for Don Nicholson in the mid '80 to early '90's and Glidden told that story a LOT! He absolutely loved whooping a bowtie with the oval. Old boy put in operational lights just to piss Jenkins off, lol.
Sad that oval are corner cutters
Of course he did.... When it happened. When it comes to number of wins and championships in pro stock Chevy is the king, and it's not even remotely close.
@@craigcampbell8560 Just relaying a funny memory, it always hits a nerve with a few people, lol. I've never been a brand man, I like 'em all. And these guys never stayed mad for long anyhow, they'd be talking about chamber shapes, intake runner length and collector design an hour later over hamburgers. Most of the time, lol.
Yup glidden and his nitrous did pretty good.
@@craigcampbell8560 the reason for that is due to all of the handicaps that the NHRA started putting on the mopars in the early 70's to slow them down . Before that time the Mopars dominated . To the NHRA it's and NASCAR it's about the money , and they figure that since GM is a bigger company than Chrysler they would have more fans in the stands if the chevies are winning . So they write their rule books to help the Chevy drivers .
Dang, that's the best video I've seen in a while.
Thank you,that was awesome!
I saw Bill Grumpy Jenkins at Atco Draway many times in the late 60's running Grumpys Toy which if i remember right was a Nova at that time. I will 76 so its awhile ago.
Atco was awesome!
One of the highlights during my drag race days was having dinner with Bill at his home. He was a great guy.
That is so awesome!
Thanks for watching and sharing that
Andy
I remember this race it defiantly was exciting to watch
Thanks for the great videos
I can appreciate what the "grump" accomplished His time at Cornell paid off. He was able to dominate the '72 season beating the mighty hemi cars and others as well. He realized that light cars with small blocks that made good power could overcome big block heavy cars; however the hemi cars were penalized with added weight by the nhra for being so dominant.
"....light cars with small blocks....."
Everybody knew that light cars with less frontal area go faster.. But it wasn't until 1972 that Vegas with tube chassis were LEGAL TO RUN IN PRO STOCK, against the body-in-white/"real" cars that Chrysler was running.
Then came the 4-links. Then the Lencos. And the rest.
Some called this "improvement". I saw it as going away from what made Pro Stock popular to begin with, in order to make the GM and speed part manufacturers happy.
Didn't take too long for the Chrysler guys to run as fast as Jenkins and the other Chevys. At which point, they started "weight breaks" (making the faster cars carry ballast), to "equalize" the competition in theory.
In practice, this meant adding more weight to the Mopars Hemis and Cleveland Fords) until nothing but Chevys were competitive.
It got to the point that Glidden parked his Ford, and brought a brand new Big block Chevy Monza to the 1978 US Nationals, because the Rat Chevy carried less weight penalty than his Small block Ford.
@@bizjetfixr8352 Excellent point about the Vega tube chassis. Glidden was not successful with the Monza experiment in '76, but in 3 years he would clean up with the small block Arrow - even after being refactored for more weight multiple times in '79. Unfortunately the Glidden/Mopar sponsorship was done in '80 but Glidden continued to win with a Ford.
@@bizjetfixr8352 you are correct . Bill Jenkins obtained his success due to the fact that he got help from the NHRA . It's all about money with them , and they figured that since GM was a bigger company than Chrysler there would be more fans in the stands if the chevies were winning . Same thing with NASCAR .
Not hard to beat the Hemis when NHRA kept adding weight to them and allowing Jenkins to run a tube chassis. The Mopar Missile team was going to build a tube chassis for that 1972 season but when they ran it by the NHRA they told them is would be found illegal, when the Mopar Missile team rolled into the winter nationals there was Jenkins with a tube chassis. The Mopar Missile team built the most advanced stock chassis car to date only for it to be obsolete because the NHRA allowed Jenkins to build a tube chassis.
@@mustangecoboosthpp3869 the " tube chassis " in the first Vega was allowed by the NHRA so that there was a solid place to attach the roll cage for safety purposes . The car still had a Vega front suspension under it . Nobody said that Chrysler had to continue running the Hemis , they could just as easily built 340 Colts and raced them , and some teams did .
What a great looking little car.
If I had a Vega it would be a Jenkins clone!
Andy
@@UnityMotorSportsGarage
That sounds fun.
I've always thought a Vega would look good in the kaido racer style. They've got similar lines to a lot of the cars that might get done in that style, but they're already a bit wider.
Fender flares, oil cooler, etc.
I love these videos, thanks Andy 🤙🏼
Thanks Dylan!
Andy
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LEARNED A LOT. I HEARD ABOUT BILL JENKINS. BUT I NEVER GOT THE FULL STORY. GREAT DOCUMENTARY AND THANKS FOR SHARING. THAT EXPLAINS WHY THE CHEVY VEGA WAS SO POPULAR IN NHRA, AND AS HOT ROD BUILDS. I LOVE THE VEGA REGARDLESS.
Grumpy an Kenny weld were way ahead of all the rest!!🏁🇺🇸😎🙏❤️
Hey, that was a great step back in time. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was watching the video.
John, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for watching
Andy
Great video Andy. I always appreciate the history lessons.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for watching
Andy
Great video Andy!! I sure enjoy the old school stuff along with seeing what they could do with old cast iron stock stuff
Exactly! Rick, they didn't have the aftermarket like we have today! Thanks for watching
Andy
Grumpy Jenkins and smokey were too good old Pennsylvania boys .
Thanks Andy, some incredible history! My first car was a 1973 Vega. It was a fun car, horrible 4 cyl engine ruined it's reputation. Stuffed a Buick V6 in it, ran great. I gave that car away after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 to a friend of mine, who then sold it a few years later. I wish I still had that car.
Bless him and NHRA for creating race cars that even poor high school kids could aspire to emulate. Who could afford a hemi in 1973? SBCs and Vegas were everywhere.
That is true..
Andy
Tube frame Vega’s?
@@drippinglassExactly!
Jenkins name fit even better once the Cleveland head came out, glidden’s Cleveland to be exact.
Small block Henry TTF
Bill Jenkins and his Vega is what got me hooked on drag racing, and 4yrs later I bought a '76 Vega, won the King Of The Hill Championship at Bandimere Speedway '77, and five bracket races in six final rounds '79! Now I'm winning races with it's grandson, the Chevy Cavalier!
Saw Grumpy once back in the 70's. Got some pics of him staging. Good times.
Great video, PLEASE do more of these.
A great video ! I learned a lot today thank you.
I am digging these videos on the history of drag racing
Super cool!
Thank you bill, for paving the way for Glidden and his Cleveland powered fords! 😊
hey thanks for bring this to the front great job
great video Andy ! keep up the good work man !
Thanks Great video 😎😎😎😎
Looking good. Love the grump. You know me and history☺️
You know Tim I was thinking if it wasn't for Grumpy would we have Bob Glidden and the Cleveland ProStocks? Once Bob got that Cleveland dialed in there was no coming back!!!
Andy
@@UnityMotorSportsGarage I know what your saying, no doubt about that. That is why I love pro stock history all the innovators and development back then. The foundation for today.
Great video and a great legend in Super Stock drag racing..I actually saw his 1975 Monza with a Bid Block Chevy engine in Box Hill, Maryland about 20 years ago..A guy I know bought it wrecked severe front end damage,But I saw it after all the repairs and he had a guy actually hand paint the sponsors logos and names! It was amazing!!.Love the vintage films like this..Let's us know where we came from!
Bill was the man back then. I was 18 in 1973. Built my Chevy.
Jack Rousch actually commented once on the Jenkins book "The Chevrolet Racing Engine" which almost everyone I knew had purchased....The "Cat in the Hat" said....He was so far ahead of the rest of us in his thinking and research in those days....Great compliment from one of the toughest Ford Racers of the era....Great times. I had a Cougar Eliminator Boss 302 as a kid then a 340 Duster....Glidden became my hero with his back to back Pro Stock Championships with his Ford then the Plymouth Arrow....Glidden worked his behind off! Etta Glidden was right there too @ the track wrenching away probably Bob's "Unfair Advantage" in his Racing career. Great times when a privateer could beat a well financed professional every so often.