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1962 — Super Super/Stock
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The year dawned bright and full of hope. John H. Glenn, Jr. rocketed into space on February 20th,
becoming the first American to circle the globe. Five months later, the U.S. launched the first
telecommunications satellite, Telstar.
In the world of music, new dances were the rage throughout America, led by the Twist, Locomotion,
Limbo Rock, Mashed Potato, and the Monster Mash. On the West Coast, a new group called The
Beach Boys began singing songs about surfing. While in England, a small rock group replaced its
drummer with someone named Ringo Starr.
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Around the world, events continued to darken American attitudes. The conflict in South Vietnam
escalated and Agent Orange was first used. This chemical would be classified many years later as
a major carcinogen, after affecting hundreds of thousands of people who were exposed to it.
Conflict also occurred within the borders of the United States when the Supreme Court ordered a
black student be admitted to the University of Mississippi. Riots ensued when the student tried to
register and U.S. Marshals were called to restore order.
The darkest moments came in October when the world stopped and watched as events unfolded in
Cuba. It was there that U.S. spyplanes discovered Soviet missiles, ostensibly with nuclear
warheads, just 90 miles off Florida’s beaches. President Kennedy forced a showdown with
Kruschev and the Soviets by blockading Cuba and putting U.S. armed forces on alert. The missiles
were withdrawn and the world took a collective sigh of relief. It was the closest to all-out nuclear war
the world has ever seen.
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To many, the excitement brewing on race tracks and in car dealer showrooms was a welcome
distraction to world events. There was only one year when literally anyone in America could go to a
local dealer and buy the same vehicle that was being raced in both the top NASCAR and drag
racing classes: 1962. If you saw Don Nicholson run the Ramchargers on Sunday afternoon at the
local strip, you could walk into the showroom the next day and buy one. If the dealer didn’t already
have what you wanted on the lot, then you could place your order and six weeks later you’d have
the same car that Dyno Don started with. Then it was a matter of tuning, purchasing the necessary
extras like headers and safety equipment, and setting up the chassis, then you were ready to run. If
you knew anything at all about engines, your car would run within about 3/4 of a second of the top
dogs. If you bought one of the Dodges or Plymouths, all you needed were some tires!
The rules for 1962 were basically the same as they had been for 1961, with two exceptions: the
definition of a “stocker” and the new Factory Experimental class (FX). The new definition for
“stocker” was that the car had to be available as is, off the assembly line. No more over-the-counter
parts being added and still remaining in Stock class. Those “built” cars were now in FX. NHRA
allowed for up to 23 Stock Classes. At the top was a new class: Super Super/Stock Class, for the
top-of-the-line showroom-available stockers. NHRA had classes from SS/S through L/S, with
automatic transmission classes from SS/SA through G/SA only.
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In the SS/S classes, both stick and automatic, the breakdown was 0 – 9.59 lbs./advertised
horsepower. In 1961, the top class was S/S at 0 – 10.59 lbs./hp. The cars that ran S/S in 1961 still
ran S/S, but the breakdown was now between 9.60 and 10.59 lbs./hp. SS/S Class was set aside for
only the new model year vehicles with the top horsepower options, and the manufacturers took note
of this right from the start. All the other class breaks remained the same except at the bottom where
K/S stopped at 27.99 lbs./hp. L Stock would now be the class for cars like stock Model A Fords with
the original 4-cylinder engines.
There were several minor additions to the actual class rules to compensate for adjustments that
some of the teams had made at the close of the 1961 season. For instance, under “Air Cleaners,”
ram tubes or other-than-stock ducting to either the air cleaner or carburetor was prohibited.
Several of the drivers in 1961 had scoops on the hood or flex tubing ramming air to the carbs.
There was no rule for this in 1961, but it would be illegal in 1962. Additionally, hood openings
and/or hood scoops not of original equipment manufacture were not permitted.
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For the first time, NHRA allowed use of any heavy-duty or “explosion-proof” pressure plate and
flywheel for stockers, allowing the use of such after-market units from Schieffer and Weber.
Flywheel shields, i.e. scattershields, were required in all the Factory Experimental classes, and from
SS/S through A/S. Interestingly, NHRA also required scattershields on all Chevrolets having the
283ci engine in B/S and C/S. A stock 283 with solid lifters could easily rev way over 7000 rpm, and
several cars suffered a clutch failure during the 1961 season, resulting in minor injuries to both
drivers and spectators from clutch shrapnel.
Also for the first time, beginning on June 1, 1962, all cars competing in Stock Classes were required
to have safety belts installed. It was the last thing the tech guys checked before you went up to the
line to run — seat belt installed and you were wearing it! NHRA also allowed progressive throttle
linkage to be installed on stockers in lieu of the vacuum-operated multiple carb set-ups from the
factory.
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Under “Tires,” the only change was that NHRA specified how wide a tread could be, based on the
width of the casing used, i.e. a 7.50 casing could have a 6 1/2 inch tread width. The rule really didn’
t mean a whole lot since they also stated that any wheel/tire that will fit in the original wheel well
could be used. Thus everyone went to the 9.00 size casing which allowed a 7” tread width, the
maximum allowed. The tires still had to have some type of tread pattern, however. Magnesium
wheels were not permitted.
The new Factory Experimental (FX) Classes came as a result of what had happened near the end
of the 1961 season. In the late Summer of ‘61, many of the factories had released various parts to
selected teams and drivers. Parts that would be standard production items in ‘62, but were not
available to the general public. Indeed, several manufacturers released entirely new engine
combinations, like the 421 Pontiac and 413 Dodge and Plymouth. Chevrolet introduced a new set
of cylinder heads and a dual four-barrel intake that were slated for production in 1962. NHRA
created a class at mid-season for these cars: Optional/Super Stock.
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The OS/S class in 1961 became three FX classes for 1962 — A, B, and C/FX. The rules were
simple: Optional equipment not necessarily factory assembly-line installed and/or showroom
available would run in one of the FX classes. The same rule applied to all equipment announced
on/or after June 1, 1961. You could run any engine or option listed by the manufacturer for the
engine model used if it was approved by the NHRA tech people. That left a very large gray area for
drivers to build a car using many different factory parts and compete in one of the FX classes.
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The Old Reliable Drag Team hooked
up and ready to tow at the dealership
in late 1961. The Strickler-Jenkins
team broke in an engine on the streets
of York, Pennsylvania. This is the
reason for the hastily hooked up street
exhaust system. (Susie Strickler)
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NHRA compensated a little for this by breaking the class down by cubic inches rather than
advertised horsepower as in Stock Class. The class breaks were 0 – 8.99 lbs. per cubic inch for
A/FX, 9.00 – 12.99 lbs./ci for B/FX, and 13.0 or more for C/FX. There were some very interesting
combinations built for the FX classes such as Tom Sturm’s C/FX ‘62 Chevy Bel Air hardtop, the
same basic vehicle used by most of the top drivers in SS/S.
Sturm’s Bel Air coupe was equipped with a 283 Chevy block and a 327 crankshaft for a total of 302
cubic inches. (Did Sturm know about the Z-28 of later years?) Sturm used the heads, camshaft, and
Rochester fuel injection from the ‘62 Corvette. Thus he had all factory-stock pieces, although
nowhere else was this combination listed as available. Evidently Chevrolet authorized this
combination to NHRA at some point, as Sturm was allowed to compete in C/FX throughout the 1962
season.
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The top class in FX was reserved for those teams that could gain access to the manufacturers’
engineers for parts when needed. When needed was the key phrase. If the Chevys started to run
away with SS/S class, then Pontiac (or Dodge, Plymouth, and Ford) would release something to
bring the class competition back in line. For a short time until the item was assembly-line available,
these cars would compete in one of the FX classes.
Of course, there were the true factory experimental cars, that were actually hot rods that had been
built with the knowledge and cooperation of the factory. These included vehicles like the ‘62 Pontiac
Tempests built by Royal Pontiac and Mickey Thompson, equipped with the 421 engine; or the ‘62
Dodge Dart that had a 413 Ramcharger engine installed; or the Chevy IIs with fuel-injected 327
Corvette engines.
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The Cars
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Chevrolet
For the 1962 model year, Chevrolet introduced parts that had been made available to several of
the teams in late Summer: new heads and camshaft, plus the two four-barrel intake. Cars that were
equipped with these new parts were forced to run in OS/S class, the forerunner of the FX classes. It
was this combination that Chevrolet would have available for anyone in 1962.
The new 409 engine had different pistons, not only to those used in the ‘61 engine, but to each
other. The new pistons had a large valve relief milled in the top that required different pistons for
different cylinders to match up with the valve position in the head. Thus pistons nos. 1, 4, 5, and 8
were the same; while 2, 3, 6, and 7 were matched. The crankshaft and rods remained the same as
they had been in ‘61. The oil pump was modified to provide almost double the oil pressure over ‘61,
from 40 psi to 75 psi.
The new cylinder heads had larger valves for both intake and exhaust ports. The intake valves
were increased from 2.066” to 2.203”, while exhaust valve size went from 1.72” to 1.734”. One of
the biggest changes made increased the actual port size almost 1/4 inch. Chevrolet also increased
the valve spring tension on the ‘62 heads, and made the rocker arm studs a little longer, then
pinned each stud to eliminate the possibility of the stud pulling loose during high-RPM operations.
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The legendary 409 Turbo-Fire
engine as installed in Old Reliable
II. With two Carter AFB 4-barrel
carburetors and the early 1962
solid lifter camshaft, the engine
was rated at 409 horsepower.
(Author’s Collection)
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Cars delivered from the factory had an actual compression ratio of about 10.2:1, even though they
were advertised as having an 11.25:1 ratio. The reason — Chevrolet delivered the vehicles to the
normal driver with two head gaskets for each head, thus lowering the ratio to minimize piston
burning and engine knock during street use. The first thing that every Chevy SS/S team did was to
tear down the engine and replace the two head gaskets with a single copper gasket to get all the
advertised horsepower.
Mated to the new heads and redesigned to take advantage of the larger ports, were two new intake
manifolds, a new single Carter AFB four-barrel unit for NASCAR operation, and a new two four-
barrel design that accepted a pair of 525 cfm Carter AFBs. With the single four-barrel carburetor,
the ‘62 409 was rated at 380 horsepower compared with 360 in the ‘61 package. The dual four-
barrel engine was rated at 409 horsepower, thus keeping up with the Chevrolet legacy, of being
able to put out one horsepower for every cubic inch.
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In the Spring of 1962, Chevrolet introduced a service package of new parts for the 409. If you got
the whole package, it included a new cam, valve springs, exhaust pushrods, a new single four-
barrel intake manifold, and a new pair of free-flowing exhaust manifolds. The package installation
did not raise the advertised horsepower at all. It did however, raise the actual horsepower a great
deal. However, most of the serious drag teams did not use the entire service package, as most of
the parts were aimed at the serious street-driven 409.
The drag teams were only interested in the new valve train, i.e. the new cam and valve springs. The
new camshaft had more lift, from .440” in the ‘61/early ‘62 cam, to .480 with the service package
cam. The new cam was much wilder in timing with 322° duration on the intake side (317° on the
early cam), and 320° on the exhaust (301° on the early cam). Coupled with the new cam were all
new valve springs, that offered increased spring rates and reliability due to a new method of
manufacture.
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Although the new exhaust manifold design was a vast improvement over the original design, adding
up to a 10% increase in actual horsepower on the street, almost all of the drag teams discarded the
manifold for the new design lightweight tubing headers coming from many different aftermarket
companies. Some teams and drivers designed their own such as Frank Sanders with the Rudolph
Chevrolet team in Phoenix. His headers were so successful that many other drivers had him make a
set for their cars, and he founded the S&S Header Company. Dave Strickler’s Old Reliable II initially
used S&S Headers, as did Hayden Proffitt on his car.
Two other changes were included after the beginning of production — one for increased
performance and reliability, the other for safety. For performance, a new single-point distributor with
vacuum advance was added that increased available spark from the coil as well as improving
overall economy on the street. Finally, Chevrolet began installing a new pressure plate made of
pearlitic, malleable iron that could withstand RPM ranges up to 10,000 without coming apart. Of
course, the ‘62 Chevrolets could be equipped with seat belts, which were required if you wanted to
race.
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Previous | Next
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This has been a sample page from
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Super Stock: Drag Racing the Family Sedan
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Super Stock takes a look at what was, in the 1960s, the most
popular class of drag racing - factory Super Stock. It traces the
evolution of the cars, the engines, the rules, the personalities, and
many of the teams, from its beginnings in the mid-1950s through to
the 1960s and the era of the Super Stock 409s, Ramchargers, 421
Pontiacs, 406 and 427 Fords.
This was a time when Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors competed
on a weekly basis, at local drag strips throughout the country, and
the saying “...win on Sunday, sell on Monday...” had real
significance in the marketplace. This is also the period that saw
emergence of the term “musclecar” and the production of a whole
class of American automobiles – which are now the most sought
after by collectors, restorers, and performance enthusiasts.
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Click below to view sample
pages from each chapter.
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Chap. 1 - 1955-60 Racing
Chap. 2 - 1961 Drag Racing
Chap. 3 - 1962 Drag Racing
Chap. 4 - 1963 Drag Racing
Chap. 5 - 1964 Drag Racing
Chap. 6 - 1965 Drag Racing
Chap. 7 - 1966-68 Racing
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Included in this book are first person accounts of what drag racing
was really like in the early 1960s. How the manufacturers controlled
the competition and even the results of the races, and how the
sanctioning bodies attempted to control the manufacturers, who in
turn simply sidestepped the rules. Appendices include all of the
major event winners and the rules defining the classes as well as
information detailing the engines and chassis’ competing in Top
Stock categories. Also includes detailed coverage of the American
musclecar era, coverage of the famous drivers and teams of the
period and vintage photos and accounts of the early days of
American drag racing.
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Hardbound
Item: CT953
Price: $Discontinued
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Click here to buy now!
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"It's the best, best, best, single work I've ever encountered on a
subject so dear to my heart." -- Steve Magnante, Hot Rod Magazine,
May 2002
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This is a great book and something no racing enthusiast should be without.
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Other items you might be interested in
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Total Performers: Ford Drag Racing in the 1960s
The 1960s was arguably the most important decade for drag racing. It
had exciting cars, thrilling races, and most importantly, factory
participation. Factory participation in drag racing pushed the envelope
for high performance developments. Ford’s FE-series engine, Police
Interceptor, GT 390, Single Overhead Cam, Cobra Jet, and Boss 429
are all covered in detail.
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Price:
$Discontinued
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Factory Lightweights: Detroit's Drag Racing Specials of the '60s
Among racers it has never been a secret that a lighter car is a faster
car—particularly in drag racing. When Detroit’s automakers got
involved in organized drag racing, they paid heed to this principle,
issuing a series of rare race-only cars that became legends in their
own time. Factory Lightweights: Detroit’s Drag Racing Specials of the
‘60s chronicles these rare cars that still inspire admirers and imitators
today, like the Ford Fairlane 427 Thunderbolt.
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Price:
$22.95
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Fire, Nitro, Rubber, and Smoke:
Bob McClurg's Drag Racing Memories
Fire, Nitro, Rubber, and Smoke is top drag racing photographer Bob
McClurg's highly anticipated follow-up to his best-selling Diggers,
Funnies, Gassers, and Altereds. McClurg drew upon his substantial
photo archives to deliver hundreds more of the best drag racing photos
ever taken, including many gems that have never been published
before.
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Price:
$29.95
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Slingshot Spectacular: The Front-Engine Dragster Era
Out of drag racing’s early years came one style of drag car that stood
above the rest: the front-engine slingshot dragster. Now you can follow
the history of the front-engine dragster in Slingshot Spectacular: The
Front-Engine Dragster Era, with over 350 vintage photos and personal
stories to help you smell the nitro and feel the horsepower of the good
ole days of front-engine, top-fuel racing.
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Price:
$22.95
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