Fuel Altereds - Gone But Not Forgotten

Pictures and movies that I took of some Fuel Altereds back in the '60s. The most evil handling cars known to man, the fuel altereds were banned by NHRA over 30 years ago. I was fortunate to get to see and photograph these beasts in action. If you are interested in the history of these legendary vehicles, check out these websites. They have hundreds of pictures (much better than mine) and stories of these brave men and their machines.
www.mysterion.net/AAFA/
www.draglist.com/lists/fuelalt...
For the soundtrack I'm jammin on Bad Company's Gone Gone Gone. I hope you like it! Thanks for watching!

[@eronacalloway9159]

NICE to see videos of Old Altered’s racing. Those will ALWAYS be my Favorites. NHRA needs to Bring That Race-car Bracket BACK. The NHRA has become a Sport for the Elitist for too long and THIS bracket would bring back TONS of Non- Elite independent racers. Just keep the MAX H.P. At about 1500.

[@outdoorfreedom9778]

Loved them! No one ever really knew what direction the car was going to launch? All we knew for sure it was going to be exciting!!

[@fairydust5511]

As a proud old world Michigan Muscle man, thank you ever so much for the smile you gave me and the memories you brought back. Your videos are treasured by all that were there.

[@MrGotsquashed]

Racing in the '50s and '60s was so much better than drag races of today.

[@KevinRoche-kz4bw]

Yeh!!! They used to let you stand right on and behind the starting line and you could feel the Horse Power that made you feel involved and you felt it all the way down the track!

[@peppermorris8736]

Been there. Just wish the sound of those beasts could have been with the runners on this video. That sound still rings in my ears after 55 years.

[@DrDoom-uu3cj]

I saw Wild Willie Borsch back in the day, he was driving with one hand on the wheel and one hand on the door at Orange County International Raceway. Also saw the car on display after Willie's passing at the Winternationals in Pomona. R I P Willie

[@Breatherable]

@jrsn2cars I was lucky enough to see the "Michigan Madman" perform in Australia at the Surfers Paradise raceway in Queensland, what a showman, he used to throw the bike sideways just cos' he could, great memories.

[@joelwilliams7805]

Reminds me of Orange County Inter. Raceway. They had great AAFA races.

[@alanmumford8806]

I got into the drag racing thing from Cleetus McFarland videos and here I am, watching your epic historical records. For a Brit, living in the Czech republic in 2020, I want to say thank you for giving us these reminders of what we missed in our younger days! Also, loved the green onions on the other vid... :-)

[@nitroeze]

Great video!!👍👍 Thank you for posting this!! It's just a few years before my time, but I remember seeing a few fuel altereds in places like Gulfport, Tulsa and Atlanta in the seventies....wow!...what a ride that must have been!!

[@donaldtittlejr460]

I always said that N.H.R.A meant "No More Hotrods Allowed" after the AA/FA cars were banned. I was watching Two Lane Blacktop (I have the 2 dvd set) the other night and the Beaver Hunter car is in it at the old Lakeview Dragway (long since closed) near Memphis,TN.

[@txobserver4946]

What an awesome video. The stop action with comments is especially good. Well done!

[@happydays8171]

Great video. Never realized they had shorter wheelbase than a funny car. Must've been a handful to drive!

[@vintagedragsters]

John... Great job! The blending of the music, the stills, and the movie footage were well done. Glad you had all that to draw from. Having a nice collection of altered shots to view shows to all how spectacular they were when they ran. My thanks. Bill Pitts

[@randy109]

My uncle took me to the "drags" at the old Lion's Raceway in 1967. I was hooked for Life! In the mid 1970's a buddy and I went to the Winter Nationals and I got to shake hands with Don Garlits. I'll never forget it. Those old Gassers were sick! Too much motor sitting on a man's lap. Like trying to ride a Wild Horse for a few seconds and just try to keep that Wild Horse running in a straight line!

[@robertmcculley4758]

I know the feeling it wasn't a drag race but when you get to shake hands with your favorite driver nothing better I shook hands with Steve kinser and jack haudenchild

[@twcaldwell1951]

I have fond memories of watching the altereds run back in the day. Seen some pretty squirrely runs. Seen one that got all torqued up like a spring at the christmas tree, he let off the throttle and when the car sprang back into shape it hopped off the ground, all 4 wheels.

[@Nitrouk]

beautiful......wish i could turn back time.

[@jrsn2cars]

You know I'm in awe of YOUR playing Dale! Thanks so much for watching and commenting! It means a lot! Your friend, John P.S. Thanks for the lesson too ;-)

[@Bigskyguy56]

How I wish we could go back to these times. Loved going to the drags back then. Also, GREAT music choice for these Altereds.

[@chevypower406]

i have a poster in my garage of pure hell standing straight up that my dad got way back then, never thought i would ever see it in action

[@iamtheskinman51]

Just looking at some of slide of old drags and searched for wild willie. I was at Martin US131 when he crashed. Slid upside down along the guardrail past us and stopped about 30 feet beyond. The wing flew over the stands and landed by the pit side concessions. One crazy dude!!

[@frednull8530]

I have nothing but respect for these real men and wild machines they raced truly pure untamed pices of speed art

[@rchydrozz751]

Not surprised to see John Force drove these.

[@danf321]

Brought back many great memories. These Altereds were what I really wanted to watch. I wonder how they would do with a modern fuel motor pushing 8000 HP?

[@Granddad1100]

Gabby and Willie I think was 1969 my first trip there. Those were the days for sure.

[@Steve7SP]

No doubt the hardest cars to drive at the drags. Great video!

[@BloodRaven1969]

Man oh man. THANK YOU for sharing these pics and vids of you memories with us all. What a different time.

[@garthcasagrande9387]

Where is wild willie have a t-shit

[@garthcasagrande9387]

Where i NHRA got the flu

[@jrsn2cars]

You're right, it was a different world back then! Thanks so much for the nice comment! John

[@ThePponu]

You certainly know haow to make an old man's day. Thanks!

[@fuzzynod]

Wow that is a great video. Just not long enough :-) Those days look like a different world to today's corporate racing. And probably more fun. Thanks for sharing.

[@1776vtgmb]

RIP, Wild Willie......... Sadly, those days will never return in the FUSA...

[@kelleytm57]

too funny you wrote wild willie gets a little out of control... he was always sideways! man what a blast we had then. my brother-in-law built heads for Dyno Don Nickelson and some others. thanks John.

[@pappypoopmonster]

@jukeshotrods thanks for the reply . I seen him at maple one time go through the traps sideways and smoke boiling off the tires ! God I miss those days !!!

[@jukeshotrods]

@pappypoopmonster Bob Parmer passed a few years ago. He certainly was a fearless driver. Of course, all those guys were fearless. What a great class that was.

[@bigjohn912]

You can still see them race at California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, Ca. Last part of October. They’ve been running annually for around 30 years.

[@jrsn2cars]

Thanks for checking it out Les! You're always welcome on my channel!! John

[@clifbelville5833]

I loved watching Gabby Bleeker!

[@WhiteNacho]

Love the car names! BTW Nice Jam!

[@Davidthorough]

Really awesome! Thanks for putting this up! I was a drag racing fan (through Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines) when I was a grades schooler in the late 60s & early 70s and HAD actually forgotten about Altereds! Thanks for this great bit of nostalgia! Your editing wove a really wonderful tale!

[@burningblue1254]

Hot Road and Car Craft. Ine of them if not both had a centerfold. I remember Wild Willie. Bucking broncos.

[@MrRonnieG]

RE: 0:05 ~ I remember, growing up at SoCal drag strips beginning in 1963, that both Pure Heaven and Pure Hell began life with small block Chevys and there were a couple of very strong altereds, running out of SoCal, that continued to be competitive with big block Chevys. Probably the best of the lot was the Mondello & Matsubara AA/FA with Sush Matsubara in the seat. I saw him light up Wild Willy's butt more than once. Interesting that Willy ran the 354" Chrysler block in those early days.

[@ThomasDeLello]

Those things are bloody dangerous...! I did love the smaller B and D Altereds in the 1960's during the fuel ban.

[@eclampsium]

Bad Company's Gone Gone Gone!!!! What a nice sound track!!!! Soooooo smoooth! Who said Rock must be Harsh! Nice Nostalgia anyway!!!!

[@jrsn2cars]

@ThePponu I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment! John

[@user-mo9gx1ns7l]

Cool stuff, these were the bad boys of drag racing, They all walked bow legged !

[@jrsn2cars]

@stokedstang Thanks Jim! I'm just glad that I took my cameras along! Good times!! John

[@danf321]

Hot Wheels sold a 2-Pack of Altereds that included Winged Express and Pure Hell. Nice to honor these cars after so many years.

[@moeshouse575]

in the late 60s my dad and went to the world points finals in Tulsa from 65-68. the raceing was great. BUT i miss my dad. he was in WW 2 india, China

[@dannygieck3985]

Thanks for the photos

[@68dart]

AA/FA , Awesome , Thanks

[@formerfarmer1718]

The “Winged Express” is still going great guns‼️

[@joevald3]

I hope fuel altereds will never go away . There are part of NHRA today is they were then .

[@harrisonmccullough1183]

Sixes were a dream back then. The tires we have now would have made a world of difference. Smokey runs and fiery burnouts were norm.

[@RifleMarksman1]

fuel altereds are still around, their just not the same as they were in the good ole days

[@LANDSEAAIRCANADA]

Classic video Thanks for posting

[@jrsn2cars]

@Towball22 Ahh the Michigan Madman, obviously a legend here in Michigan! He might have been nuts but at least he didn't have to share the track with another nut in the other lane!! Thanks a lot for the comment!! John

[@Cise82]

Great video! Thanks for posting it

[@michaelgautreaux3168]

Wild Willie & Dale 4 ever! Many thanx 👍 👍, AA/FA cars now are more like F/Cs🙁. Don't get me wrong, they're GR8 too but it's not the same.

[@MrRonnieG]

I saw E.J. (Potter) go down, twice, on his Chevy powered Triumph motorcycle and both times he was at least 1,000 feet down the strip. Once at Irwindale and once at Lions (SoCal strips). This was about 1968 and both times he, and the bike, did about 300 feet worth of a spark filled slide. His bike was powered by a 327 Chevy block using Hilborne mechanical fuel injection and a light load (30-40%) of nitro. His E.T.'s were always fat (usually 9:00's) but his top speeds approached 190 MPH.

[@nixjag1]

Thanks for posting. Liked the vids but the photos grabbed me, Can you tell me anything about the song that's playing alongside? I hope it's okay to do this, but is anyone familiar with the name Mike Hickey from Lemont, Illinois. Mike would take his altered T-bucket to Oswego. The car was painted with all the circa 68 tricks by a painter from Lockport, Ilinois by the name of Little Ray.

[@williambrindley2832]

Winged Express,,,,,Got my signed shirt @ Beech Bend 5 yrs. ago,,,took a wild& crazy guy to drive that thing!!!

[@tonedr]

great video - and GREAT playing! You are very talented sir - keep rockin!! dale

[@jrsn2cars]

@newagemotor That's true, and it took some very brave souls to try out some of those ideas! Thanks for watching and commenting! John

[@jrsn2cars]

Well, maybe it's the golden age of KZbin! LOL! Get those dragbike movies posted, I wanna see em! Thanks for watching Rich! John

[@wayneosmand7652]

Only have to look at the stands to understand DRAG RACING is now in real trouble! great era and am fortunate to have been there

[@MonteHoopla]

Since you are fan of Wild Willies.... We both know Willies last ride was the mighty Walts Puffer AA/FC now dont we?...

[@hotroddoug6605]

there was a A/FA FROM Chicago Dennison,Arlaski&Knox(Lonnie, Dave&Willie) they were #1 onDrag News top10 in the 60s.They use to match race Gabby alot.Rockford, Union Grove Martan 131.

[@CommercialVehicle]

great vid - thanks for posting

[@rynard63]

A most satisfying video.

[@jrsn2cars]

Hey Les! Thanks for stopping by, my friend! John

[@jrsn2cars]

@pappypoopmonster Well, I don't have any answers for your questions but I must say your user name just made my day!! Thanks for watching! John

[@whitelx50]

Cool video..thanks for sharing it

[@strattuner]

THIS IS WHAT 392'S WERE MADE FOR,HEMI POWER with power adder makes for a great weekend,would have missed it for the world

[@brucecarney4416]

Saved the best for last Wild Willy Borsh was the class of the class. That much horsepower and so little wheelbase made for some thrilling drag racing. They were as dangerous as hydrazine!

[@TRUMP4PREZ]

first drag race ever went too i was 6, fuel altered national the original Tucson Dragway.

[@fourfortyroadrunner]

The one person who disliked this drives a Pree Ass

[@belair55zz56]

That's a "Bad Company" song. Great video

[@pappypoopmonster]

yep ! those were the days . Willie , Sush , and my favorite car around the early 70's Charlie Hill's bad habit fiat !! anybody know what happened to Bob Parmer the driver ? I know charlie died , but what ever happened to Bob ?

[@Towball22]

Wonder if E.J Potter is amongst that collection of drag bike footage you have ? He was more even more nutso than these guys, absolutely fantastic footage, pure gold............

[@bigblockmustang]

Nice Bud! Thanks! :) Les

[@Stokjockey]

Bad Company great choice !!!

[@lesmorrisracing6571]

Thanks buddy

[@witchfindergeneral13]

very nice video.

[@joevald3]

Found of dragstrip this would be my draw . Two fuel alters best two out of three . I don't know anybody wouldn't come to see that

[@andypressley578]

Back in them days that was drag raceing not like to days stuff my dad had a 55 chevy gasser it was a bad ass car the chevy man 😁🤗😉🙃

[@jaded16340]

The NHRA did that a lot, ban entire classes of cars. Cars people spent years and every damn dime they had to build. Normally when NHRA bans something it's because it's not a "cookie cutter" all the same and easy to tech vehical. Look at the classes now, other than the promods they all look like identical cars other than the paint and logos. Another reason is if they're dominant. Sound farmilliar regarding the mopar hemi? They ended up letting it back in, not sure why, pressure from mopa I bet

[@harrykeel8557]

It took someone who had really big gonads to drive one of those things. Over 2 thousand horsepower in a 12 to 15 hundred pound chassis. Better hang on and have it pointed in the right direction.

[@sizzlehalt]

COOL!!

[@tomford5416]

no wonder you cant find a HEMI nowadays these guys thrashed them into extinction

[@stevecarr5952]

Cool

[@gregmiller5907]

these were evil bastards and I grew up on this shit and loved evry minute of it

[@MrRonnieG]

Did anyone ever see Potter when he campaigned that '59 Plymouth stationwagon with a 1,710 cubic inch V-12 Allison aircraft engine in the front seat?? E.J. sat all the way back by the tailgate in a fabricated seat & steering column that ran about 12-14 feet back. It was a sight, I'm telling you. Finally, the NHRA banned E.J. from running the big ugly wagon on their sanctioned strips because when he ran that thing ~ it was an honest-to-God death wish. I also saw the Triumph/Chevy cycle.

[@TheGG794]

Wild Willy and his Winged Express visited Hawaii Raceway Park in 1968.I bet most of you did'nt know that Honolulu was a happening place for drag racing back then.Check out pics. theGG794

[@bradcarpenter2396]

Where is it now ❓❓❓❓

[@McKJudo]

I love this, the suggested videos on the side. hot rod, hot rod, hot rod, breast feeding, drag racing, drag cars...

[@eclampsium]

Ahhh, and.. I´m south American... By the way, the fuel altereds were banned by NHRA over 30 years ago, becouse of..... It´s Danger? Rigth? Did many people died trying to tame those beasts?

[@f4tweet]

Evil, wicked, mean and nasty. Yeah.

[@tshot52]

Why is there no mention of a fellow named R.T. Reed who built the engine on Pure Heaven. And, the origional driver....a guy named " Hawk"

[@ripemm5737]

shawndell 52 I grew up with the Reed family,we would help R.T. getting Pure Heaven ready to race every week.our family's r still friends

[@hogdick5867]

where is 2015 world finalz

[@hoplite46]

why were altereds banned

[@EndeavorsDnB]

As I’m a younger generation drag fiend, y do u say they are banned? We have Fuel Altered cars on track still today? I’m guessing it’s that the ones of today may have much stricter regulations and they aren’t “real” fuel altered comparably?