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Pre-'66 NASCAR/USAC Big Mercs-NOW SERVING CRAWFISH!

 
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:50 pm    Post subject: Pre-'66 NASCAR/USAC Big Mercs-NOW SERVING CRAWFISH! Reply with quote

I've noticed that more than a few members have a similar affinity for these Mercs. This is great and I hope the interest continues and grows!

I'm starting this thread with the idea of assembling a photo collection of these cars for reference, discussion and inspiration.

We currently have 3 (now 4) threads dealing with the topic. As time goes by they will become separated and spread far and wide across the board unless they become stickies or someone constantly gives them a "bump". Since I kind of like "one-stop shopping", I'm going to put hot-links to the other threads for ease of access. There are great modeling tips contained therein and I don't want to see them get lost get lost.

I'm also hoping this thread gets the sticky treatment....

First up we have the reprint of the HM chassis article posted by slidinsideways:

http://randyayersmodeling.com/modelingforum/viewtopic.php?t=231

Next, Len Woodruff is working on a Stroppe Merc and has some questions:

http://randyayersmodeling.com/modelingforum/viewtopic.php?t=62

Another question regarding shocks from Len:

http://randyayersmodeling.com/modelingforum/viewtopic.php?t=311

Len - I want to see pics of this project! Snap a few while it's still a work in progress then post your completed pics please!

OK, lets start off with some of the more commonly seen "postcard pics" then we'll head-off into some others that are harder to find:


starting things off with Dave McDonald in #17


#17 again, this time with Rodger Ward at the wheel.


#14 at the '64 Yankee 300 can't tell if that's Troy Ruttman or Dave McDonald on the car. Anyone with better eyes?


Here we have Leroy Yarbrough with a "63 Stroppe Marauder This is the only good photo of a "reverse" paint scheme I've seen on a big merc. Additional info: Racing Reference says the car was owned by a Lou Sidoit. No other info on his relationship with Stroppe or why the "reverse" paint scheme.


Here's the #69 finishing up a pit stop trailing fuel out of the filler. New info found here - this photo and the one below it are from the 1963 Daytona 500, with Johnny Allen driving.


Here's a pic I just received from FallsCity48. The caption says it was taken at the 1963 Daytona 500.



Late 1963 saw Bud Moore Engineering switch over from Pontiacs to Mercs. Here we see Joe Weatherly at the wheel of a '63 Marauder at Riverside.


Here's "Little Joe" puttin' the moves on one of them Stroppe Mercs in 1963



Both of these photos were taken at Riverside in 1964. This is the race that took "Little Joe's" life.

After the crash Bud Moore retired the number 8. Billy Wade (1963 Rookie of the Year) became his primary driver and the No. 1 car the primary car.

Here's Billy:


Billy himself was killed in a wreck when he blew a tire during tire-testing at Daytona in Jan. 1965.

Back to the "West Coast" Mercs:


Troy Ruttman 63 Merc


Darel Dieringer '63 Merc


Rufus '63


Rufus '64

Stay tuned because there is a lot more to come!
If you need something I haven't posted yet shoot me a PM or ask in this thread. I'll see if I have it, I don't have a huge collection of pics but I'm always "tripping" over stuff while doing research.

I'll leave you today with some decals:

First we have the Powerslide set:

Very comprehensive. You can do both the '63s and '64s, it has all the driver names and it has mercury heads with foil! A must have!

Next a Dave Romero set:

It has 2 versions of the Bill Stroppe logo, some extras like "Vel's" & "Ford" and I don't recall if the Mercury heads are chrome or just grey.

From WINSCALS :

This is the only set I've found specifically to do the Lee Roy Yarbrough '63 no chrome on this one

Finally from Fred Cady:

This is a very nice set and until the Powerslide set came along it was the nicest quality-wise. Typical of Cady decals however, there is "some assembly required". Fred would separate out each color layer when silk screening these to keep things simple and hold the line on his costs, so the end user would have to layer them back together when decorating the model. I believe Fred used chrome for the Mercury heads. Also the name Rodger Ward is included in this set but I think it is misspelled. Looks like Cady left out the "d" in Rodger opting for the more conventional spelling of "Roger".

OK, there we are for today. Much more to come. If you have any additional information and/ or corrections don't be shy.


Last edited by 67 Fairlane on Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:11 pm; edited 10 times in total
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Bill J



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 392

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of my favorite Mercury's is the 64 that was run by Bud Moore in 64 and 65. Note that in 65 the fuel filler had to be moved to the quarter panel and the 427 C.I. on the hood instead of the H.P. ratings used in prior years. The exhaust had to be under the frame, instead of through the frame also. This car was the pole winner for the 65 Daytona 500 and finished second behind Lorenzen.

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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow great photo Bill! This is what happens when I take too long to post my initial thread, I hit "submit" and get a nice surprise like this! Laughing I was saving the 15 & 16 Mercs for my next posting (but who's complaining!!). The interesting thing about Bud Moore is he retired both the number 8 and the number 1 after the deaths of his drivers (Weatherly and Wade) and adopted the 15 & 16 which he campaigned for sometime. 15 actually survived into the Modern Era with drivers like Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt.

Thank you!
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Bill J



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 392

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for all the great Mercury photos, an often forgotten model, the 63 and 64 big Merc. Always liked them, both Stroppe's and Bud Moore's cars.

Keep them coming, inspirational Smile
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Len Woodruff



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 100
Location: Frisco, TX

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for this thread. It will great to watch it grow.
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FallsCity48



Joined: 02 Feb 2018
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:31 am    Post subject: Re: Pre-'66 NASCAR/USAC Big Mercs Reply with quote

67 Fairlane wrote:



Here we have Leroy Yarbrough in a "63 Stroppe Marauder This is the only photo of a "reverse" paint scheme I've seen on a big merc.


Bill... Great thread!
Always loved the Stroppe Merc's... beautiful cars.
A little info on the #69 Yarbrough photo. The car owner was listed as Lou Sidoit & was raced (I know of) 4 times in 1963. Twice at Speedweeks at Daytona with Johnny Allen driving & twice by Yarbrough (once at Bristol & once at Martinsville). I believe the car had some USAC origins, possibly connected to John Rostek. This was a Stroppe built car. I have several photos of the car but without photo hosting I am limited to sharing a couple links of the car at the Stroppe shops.

Click on links below.......

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/1963-three-of-bill-stroppe%C3%B5s-racing-mercury-stock-cars-sit-outside-his-shop-in-california?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=1963:%20three%20of%20bill%20stroppe%C3%B5s%20racing%20mercury%20stock%20cars%20sit%20outside%20his%20shop%20in%20california&sort=mostpopular#license

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/unknown-%E2%80%94-1963-the-fleet-of-bill-stroppe-owned-mercurys-is-unloaded-from-their-haulers-prior-to-a-united-states-auto-club-usac-event.?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=unknown%20%E2%80%94%201963:%20the%20fleet%20of%20bill%20stroppe-owned%20mercurys%20is%20unloaded%20from%20their%20haulers%20prior%20to%20a%20united%20states%20auto%20club%20
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Henryjint



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 1957
Location: NY State's Hudson Valley

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great thread! Thanks for posting!
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a few more pics from the Stroppe Shoppe:


#69 being loaded onto the Stroppe hauler. At this point in its career #69 is assigned to John Rostek. Can't tell if it now wears the standard Stroppe paint scheme or if it still has the reverse scheme. May not even be the same car as previous.


The Rostek and Ruttman Mercs


The Stroppe team with #14 and hauler. Note the Ford C-Series cabover has custom Mercury badging!


The humble Stroppe Shoppe. Compare this with the sprawling high-tech shops that NASCAR stock cars are built in today!

A NOTE on Johnny Rostek. Even though his name appears on the #69 there is no evidence so far that supports him actually getting behind the wheel of this car. He ran only one NASCAR race in 1963 at Riverside. He used his own 1962 #19 Ford Galaxie in that race. Johnny was a prolific USAC driver but again my research indicates so far he only piloted his own race cars in those events as well.
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R.J.



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 382

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome stuff! I love the 60's era of the sport.
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

THEN THERE WAS "CRAWFISH" CRIDER!

Curtis "Crawfish" Crider was probably the hardest working independent driver in NASCAR and was a big fan of the big Mercs.

Here he is with his '62:




He also ran some '63-bodies:




The pics of the white car were taken at Daytona although the first one appears to be from a different race.


Crider's '62 Merc on the trailer. Note: the rear window/ roofline is different than the previous pics of his '62s.

You may be asking yourself how does a guy end up with a name like "Crawfish"? Certainly sounds like maybe ol' Curtis hails from Louisiana or someplace else in the Deep South. Maybe he worked in the crawfish industry for his "day job". Well, you'd be right if you guessed Deep South, but his career had nothing to do with crawfish. He got that nickname another way! Here's his brief bio from Wikipedia:
Born in Abbeville, South Carolina, he was one of the hardest working and underfinanced racers to ever drive the stock car circuit. Landing in a lake eventually earned him the nickname "Crawfish". Like most early NASCAR racers, Crider was a bootlegger and delivered moonshine to his customers. From 1959 to 1965, this driver has competed in 232 races in his seven-year career and accumulated a grand total of $58,740.00 ($456,149.90 when adjusted for inflation). Crider's average start was in 19th place while his average finish was in 15th place.

Following his retirement from NASCAR competition, Crider competed in late model stock car racing in Florida, competing primarily at Volusia County Speedway and winning the Florida State Championship in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He operated an automobile restoration shop near his home in Ormond Beach, Florida before dying on December 21, 2012, at the age of 82.

Crawfish certainly held the same credentials that Junior Johnson and others of their time held. While not universally known he was one of the pioneers of the sport.
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BVAUGHN



Joined: 29 Jan 2018
Posts: 503

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Couple more Mercs come to mind. #01 64 Bud Moore Merc that Johnny Ritherford & Rex White drove, Rex White #4 Merc, both red/black & gold/white versions, Earl Balmer #15 64 Bud Moore Merc he drove in 65 and the #7 Stroope Merc that Bobby Johns drove in 64 at Atlanta.
Bill
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BVAUGHN wrote:
Couple more Mercs come to mind. #01 64 Bud Moore Merc that Johnny Ritherford & Rex White drove, Rex White #4 Merc, both red/black & gold/white versions, Earl Balmer #15 64 Bud Moore Merc he drove in 65 and the #7 Stroope Merc that Bobby Johns drove in 64 at Atlanta.
Bill


Hey Bill:

You mean these guys?

Johnny Rutherford

Here's JR a little on the "inverted" side!



Rex White Black/Red Merc

Rex White White/ Gold Merc



Earl Balmer at the 1965 Daytona 500 with Ned Jarrett & GC Spencer



Bobby Johns fence-climbing outside of his Stroppe Merc at Atlanta 1964

How'd I do? Laughing Laughing
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BVAUGHN



Joined: 29 Jan 2018
Posts: 503

PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From Bill to Bill: That's them!!! Great pix especially the Bobby Johns car. My pix was from Sptbg newspaper at point of impact. Yours is much better.
Bill
PS Why don't you do the 62-64 Fords LOL.
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slidinsideways



Joined: 01 Feb 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Man, I love this thread!! Does anybody have a better pic of the license plate on the front of Joe Weatherly's '64 Marauder ...? Had no idea it was there....
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

slidinsideways wrote:
Man, I love this thread!! Does anybody have a better pic of the license plate on the front of Joe Weatherly's '64 Marauder ...? Had no idea it was there....


Yes I do. Here is a cropped version of the front of the #8 after Joe was killed in it. This was taken I believe in the back of the Bud Moore shops.


I do have a photo of the complete car, but because Joe died in the car I will not post it on any public forum, out of respect. Same for Dale Earnhardt or Adam Petty or any other driver who perished on the track.

It is interesting to note that not long after Joe died, Billy Wade also died in a crash of one of these Bud Moore Mercs while testing tires at Daytona. Bud Moore retired both the #8 and the #1 in their honor.

Yes I do have some post-crash pics of that car too, but again no public display...
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BVAUGHN wrote:
From Bill to Bill: That's them!!! Great pix especially the Bobby Johns car. My pix was from Sptbg newspaper at point of impact. Yours is much better.
Bill
PS Why don't you do the 62-64 Fords LOL.


That would be this article??



Either you or Tony sent me this a few years ago. Very Happy Thanks!

As for the Galaxies.... I'm thinking about it. There is exponentially more information available for Galaxies than Marauders. I'll consider it but it is contingent upon my available time; and again the quality of these threads goes waaaay up when we have board members willing to share photos, experiences and knowledge. These are all team efforts. Thanks for the vote of confidence Very Happy
Jerry
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BVAUGHN



Joined: 29 Jan 2018
Posts: 503

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 7:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jerry
i found that article several years ago looking thru the newspaper archives in the Spartanburg Library.Being from Spartanburg very interested in racing from 60s-70s. i sent it to Tony . If you decide to do the Fords let me know. I have the Racing Pictorials and some race programs from that era. You already have a pix of one of the obscure cars in this thread-the #77 Ford that was teammate to Ned Jarrett in Daytona 500 in 64. My spelling is lousy is why I did not try for the drivers name lol. I do not post pix on this site so pm me your email address if you go forward with the project and I will send you some of what I had.
Bill
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slidinsideways



Joined: 01 Feb 2018
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for that cropped pic... As an aside, just by chance I met a guy in Houston in 1980 who over the decades has become one of my dearest friends. He happens to be married to one of Billy Wade's daughters. I have not seen him in a while but I will try to get pics of Billy Wade's trophy collection when I do...
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67 Fairlane



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 125
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BVAUGHN wrote:
Jerry
You already have a pix of one of the obscure cars in this thread-the #77 Ford that was teammate to Ned Jarrett in Daytona 500 in 64. My spelling is lousy is why I did not try for the drivers name lol.
Bill


Hey Bill;

That would be Jo Schlesser:


I think he did 2 races in 1964 for Bondy Long. A native of France (Yes folks we have a strong contingent of NASCAR fans in France! Smile ) he died in 1968 at the age of 40 I believe....
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29-Ford



Joined: 17 May 2018
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I'm sure most of you guys already know this, but...…..
Black roof Bud Moore '64 Merc = 1964 season.
White roof Bud Moore '64 Merc = '65 and '66 season (until the '66 Comets).
The white roof was Dieringer's idea; make it cooler for the driver. Bud thought it was a good idea and implemented it.

Sue Myler (Ken's wife) told me that at one time there were 7 nascar teams based in Spartanburg, SC.
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29-Ford



Joined: 17 May 2018
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

67 Fairlane wrote:
THEN THERE WAS "CRAWFISH" CRIDER!

Curtis "Crawfish" Crider was probably the hardest working independent driver in NASCAR and was a big fan of the big Mercs.

Here he is with his '62:




He also ran some '63-bodies:




The pics of the white car were taken at Daytona although the first one appears to be from a different race.


Crider's '62 Merc on the trailer. Note: the rear window/ roofline is different than the previous pics of his '62s.

You may be asking yourself how does a guy end up with a name like "Crawfish"? Certainly sounds like maybe ol' Curtis hails from Louisiana or someplace else in the Deep South. Maybe he worked in the crawfish industry for his "day job". Well, you'd be right if you guessed Deep South, but his career had nothing to do with crawfish. He got that nickname another way! Here's his brief bio from Wikipedia:
Born in Abbeville, South Carolina, he was one of the hardest working and underfinanced racers to ever drive the stock car circuit. Landing in a lake eventually earned him the nickname "Crawfish". Like most early NASCAR racers, Crider was a bootlegger and delivered moonshine to his customers. From 1959 to 1965, this driver has competed in 232 races in his seven-year career and accumulated a grand total of $58,740.00 ($456,149.90 when adjusted for inflation). Crider's average start was in 19th place while his average finish was in 15th place.

Following his retirement from NASCAR competition, Crider competed in late model stock car racing in Florida, competing primarily at Volusia County Speedway and winning the Florida State Championship in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He operated an automobile restoration shop near his home in Ormond Beach, Florida before dying on December 21, 2012, at the age of 82.

Crawfish certainly held the same credentials that Junior Johnson and others of their time held. While not universally known he was one of the pioneers of the sport.

Interesting that his '62 body was not a hardtop, but a "post" sedan. Never noticed that before...….
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