Little Hoss at Beardstown Dragstrip

[JoeC]

Pictures from Ken. The top photo is the original Little Hoss at Beardstown and bottom photo is the current Little Hoss at the closed down Beardstown drag strip. thanks ken.

[Dan 68 Chevy II]

Same car ,same place,many years later,neat pictures.

[sixtiesmuscle]

Is there any info as to when & why the look of the car was changed so dramatically?

[johnk]

if i remember correctly.gibb changed the color scheme&added the knock-offs for the 68 season.check out 1967z-28.com,i'm pretty sure that's where i got the info from!plus there were some neat old pics of herb&dickie harrell on that site from the good ol'days!hope this helps!

[68TopStock]

"Little Hoss" was raced by Fred Gibb and Herb Fox during the summer of 1967 with few modifications as it arrived from Chevrolet, starting at local tracks in late June. It was Royal Plum, with a black vinyl top. It was initially raced with the stock 302 motor and 4 barrel intake system, with a cowl plenum NASCAR style air induction system. They were undefeated in 1967, and set the first of 11 world records with the car on October 22, 1967 at the Beardstown Dragstrip. The record reads: Class FS/X elapsed time 7.85. The ferd it beat above (3X) was a factory backed national record holder. The car was named after "Hoss" Cartright, of the TV show "Bonanza", as actor Dan Blocker was racing Chevrolets, and Chevrolet was a major sponsor of the show. The "Little" may have been due to the sbc.

In late December '67 or early January '68 Fred had his paint shop respray "Little Hoss" a bright GM truck red, which we believe was called "Cardinal red". The purpose of this was to match the colors of Dick Harrell's two funny cars, which were both painted bright red, with black vinyl tops, along with a 4th car, a red/black top '68 Chevelle Super Stocker which was to be run by Dick Harrell during the 1968 racing season. It was at this time Fred and Dick were starting their business relationship, which lasted until Dick's unfortunate death in 1971 on Labor day.

Fred and Herb raced "Little Hoss" in the AHRA Grand Stock Circuit during 1968. It was fitted with an MAI or A&A cowl hood in October 1967, and after the new paint job, was lettered as it appears now. A set of fiberglass inner fender liners were added to compliment the lift off hood. Herb Fox was driving a '66 Corvette for his daily driver, and took the knock-offs from the car and installed them on "Little Hoss" for the season. The windows were tinted with a spray on tint, and the rear spoiler added by May of 1968. The final addition for the 1968 race season was the installation of the crossram induction system, which was shipped to Fred from Vince Piggins on May 6, 1968.

When I painted the car in 2000, I decided to paint it and equip it as it appeared in October 1968 during its final appearance with the Gibb dealership at the AHRA World Finals, at Kansas City International Raceways Park. I installed as much GM original equipment as possible, starting with an NOS 1967 302 shortblock. I did not "restore" the car per say, but left as much originality to its 5,756 mile chassis, only performing replacement of mechanical components as needed. The doors and trunk have never been off the car, and still have the factory Royal Plum in the jams and undersides. The body is as it left LaHarpe in 1968.

Fred and Herb won the following awards with "Little Hoss", I will quote from an article printed in the AHRA Dragworld magazine, dated October 18, 1968:

"Little Hoss", the 302 cubic inch Camaro of Fred Gibb Chevrolet of LaHarpe, was recently awarded three of the highest award in the nation for a stock car. At the first annual awards banquet of the American Hot Rod Association in Kansas City, Missouri, Fred Gibb and Herb Fox were presented a special plaque for the nation's Top Chevrolet Points Leader. The car was also the nation's "Top Stock" points winner and was runnerup in the overall points which included all classifications such as fuel and gas dragsters, competition and street eliminators, and others."

Thanks for posting the pics JoeC.

[Mr70]

Great pictures and story guys.Thanks for the memories,but I am curious as to Dick Harells sudden death.
Where,when and how did he die?
Does he have any relatives owning the rights to his name?
Would like to know more.
Rick

[JoeC]

Does anyone know why Dick Harrell ended his relation ship with Nickey and switched to Yenko in 1966/67? I found this photo on a drag site of the Nickey 66 Nova with the new owner/driver name painted on.

[68TopStock]

Rumor is that the '66 Harrell/Nickey ChevyII Funny Car is still around in the midwest. It is still red. Does anyone have any further information? It sure would be fun to see it run again at Cordova.

[68TopStock]

From what I have learned, talking with others who were familiar with the events
and what is in printed material, such as Fred's interview with John Hooper, in the
1969 Camaro Reference book. Dick Harrell had an untimely death on the 1971 Labor Day weekend, he died racing.

The suspected cause of the accident was the result of loss of front tire pressure
in an experimental tire. I understand the accident occurred at a Canadian race track,
involving the '71 "mini" Camaro Funny Car.

Dickie Harrell was such a unique individual, and I have come to conclude his death shook the drag racing world deeply. Close friends continue to miss his presence.

[Edited by 68TopStock (10-13-2001 at 08:41 PM).]

[68TopStock]

I think Mike G. in another post incicated Dick Harrell had a disagreement with the Nickey management in the spring of 1967. I wonder when he started his sponsorship with Yenko? I just bought a 4/67 Popular Hot Rod, which on the cover has the red '67 Nickey 427 transplant (yellow block), being installed. This was probably written in Jan/Feb., will be interesting to read about it when it arrives.(my own way to replace MCR!)

[Edited by 68TopStock (10-13-2001 at 08:48 PM).]

[Edited by 68TopStock (10-14-2001 at 11:39 PM).]