Found a old Nascar stock car at junk yard. Pretty neat looking at it. Appears to be Johnny Mantz’s car. Under the front seats are two chunks of concrete that when the seat was bolted down, you couldnt see them.
This should probably be in a museum. Its a old Plymouth
[QUOTE=77NovaRacer;124903]Saw it today in LKQ Bradenton, in the Ford section[/QUOTE]Is that the name of the junkyard?
[QUOTE=kendo;124904]Don’t think they ran window glass back then…does not add up [/QUOTE]Yes, NASCAR ran window glass in the race cars all the way up until about 1970. They actually had working, roll-up windows, even in the wing cars.
[QUOTE=BOB KRUPA;124908]They do have the original Johnny Mantz’s car in a Museum.[/QUOTE]According to people I know that work with, and know, their historic NASCAR race cars, the original Johnny Mantz Plymouth that won the very first Southern 500 at Darlington in 1950, was destroyed in a wreck at Charlotte Fairgrounds, a 3/4-mile dirt track, in 1951. The car that was in the Joe Weatherly Museum at Darlington was, indeed, a replica.
[/QUOTE]Not the same car at all. The one in the junkyard (in your pictures) is a '52 coupe. The one (and only) time Mantz drove a '50 Plymouth was the 1950 Southern 500, which he won. It was with a “fastback” style sedan. Mantz ran only 3 races in 1950, 6 races in 1951, and then semi-retired. He came back to NASCAR in 1955, race 2 races, and in '56, ran only one race, then called it quits for good.
As far as this car is concerned…I’m not sure, and my guys that I’ve had looking at the pictures are stumped as well.
If I were you, I’d get with Dave (Westerman - ancrdave here on the boards) and see if he’s got any info to help you out.
To me, it looks like a very old ‘tribute’ car. I don’t think the colors even match, from other old pics I’ve seen of Mantz’s cars.
On the other hand, that info about a hidden box for concrete blocks is interesting. Why would someone go through that effort if not to gain a ‘competitive advantage’? I’m betting it DID race at some point, probably not with Mantz at the wheel, but no clue who it would have been.
[QUOTE=Frasson118;124978]To me, it looks like a very old ‘tribute’ car. I don’t think the colors even match, from other old pics I’ve seen of Mantz’s cars.
On the other hand, that info about a hidden box for concrete blocks is interesting. Why would someone go through that effort if not to gain a ‘competitive advantage’? I’m betting it DID race at some point, probably not with Mantz at the wheel, but no clue who it would have been.[/QUOTE]Like I said, Mantz only drove a Plymouth once in his NASCAR career (only 12 races); the rest were in Olds, Fords, or Mercury’s. He never drove a '52 coupe, at least in NASCAR, so we’re wondering if maybe this car could be a AAA stock car. Mantz drove open-wheelers (Indy cars, or “big cars”) as well.
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