Old Wing Car Meet Photo

[CornDogsCharger]

I have seen this photo posted a few times here and there and have always wanted to know more about it.  Can anyone name all of the wing car owners in this picture?  Plus, are all of the cars pictured accounted for.... just looking for more history I guess.  This is probably one of my favorite "vintage" wing car photos.  Thanks

Justin
"CornDog"

[moparstuart]

very cool picture 

[Aero426]

I have seen this photo posted a few times here and there and have always wanted to know more about it.  Can anyone name all of the wing car owners in this picture?  Plus, are all of the cars pictured accounted for.... just looking for more history I guess.  This is probably one of my favorite "vintage" wing car photos.  Thanks

Justin
"CornDog"

I took this photo with my 126 Instamatic camera.  It actually is three individual photos scanned together and cleaned up.    At the time I was 13 years old.

Front row from left to right:
Chuck Sosinski - Wisconsin - yellow Bird
Gilbert Tarr - California - Keith Black Hemi Daytona
Monroe Schellinger - Wisconsin - Limelight Bird
Mike McGuire - Virginia - Tor-Red Bird
Ken Langford - Alabama - Blue Bird with white top    (Ken organized the 1975 and 1976 meets)
Joe Machado - California - silver Daytona (later painted as the #22 Allison car in the 80's)

Back row:
Tony Waters (second from left)  Tennesee - Blue Bird with black nose
Barbara Bowman (third from right) Ohio - custom blue and white Bird

As some of you know, this was the 1975 (first ever) National Wing Car Meet in Huntsville Alabama.    We left Milwaukee with Chuck Sosinski and his girlfriend early on a Friday morning and drove straight through to Huntsville.   I remember heading down the Interstate and our Bird turning 10,000 miles on this trip.    I know my dad was a little concerned because he had only put a few hundred miles on the car prior to this, and it needed a master cylinder before the trip.  We did have some kind of a tire wear problem where he wound up getting the tire trued on some kind of a machine down there before we came home.   

Anyway, we arrived fairly late in the evening.  It was still very exciting when we pulled in to the motel parking lot.   None of us had ever seen that many cars in one place.    It got better on Saturday as more cars arrived.     Around lunch time, we took a driving tour of Huntsville over to the Werner von Braun Civic Center and posed the cars for photos there.   Then it was back to the motel in mid-afternoon where we took the above photo.     There was a guy from the newspaper there, and he took a black and white which made the paper.   Nobody thought too much about climbing up on the wing.  Everyone took their shoes off and handled it pretty carefully.   

It rained some on Saturday night and we had an informal dinner talking about the cars, problems and how to handle.  Parts supply was a concern even then.  Even back then, we already thought of these as old cars.  In fact, I can't say it felt any different than it does today.    The cars were looked at with some degree of reverence, just because they were so far removed from what you could buy as a new car. 

Sunday morning we were up before dawn to drive to Talladega.   It was a pretty good ride from Huntsville to the track.  Seemed to me like was least a couple hours.     The skies and forecast did not look good.     We got to the track about mid morning and had time to kill before the parade lap.    They staged us on the backstretch on the old concrete military runways that were there before the race track existed.    In fact, if you look at aerial photos of Talladega, you can see the runways and how they actually dross over into the infield of the track.   

Finally,  it was time for the parade lap.    They took us in the gate just before turn three.   Even though the banking is not steep there, it felt like driving off the edge of the world.    Looking up at the full banking as we cruised around the bottom of the track was incredible.      It had already rained at the track, and although it was dry when we entered,  there were sprinkles on the lap.     Afterwards, we took our place in the infield and waited for the race.   Man was it muddy.  And then more rains came.   At the time, I was collecting beer cans and spent time splashing around getting some new ones.   The Alabama red clay never came out of my socks.    We saw that the race would likely be called and decided to leave.   We got a few miles down the road and the sun came out.     So back we went to the track, where it rained a bunch more.   This time, we gave up and headed back to the motel in Huntsville.     The race was called and rescheduled for the following weekend.    Needless to say, having never seen a NASCAR race, I was very disappointed.       The race as run the following weekend but of course we were back home.  Buddy Baker won in Bud Moore's Torino.   Tiny Lund was killed when his Charger was T-boned. 

On the way home, we had our tire fixed and the trip was uneventful.      We stopped at the Indy Speedway Museum which softened the blow of missing the race.      Overall, there were 22 cars that attended that first event, and it laid the stage for all the events to come.   

I am sure just about all those cars are still around.   If they made it to 1975 barring fire or accident they were in the clear.   I don't know that anyone was using the cars as daily drivers, even then.   Our Limelight car and the yellow Sosinski car are the only ones still under the same ownership.    Joe Machado sold his car some years later and after an extended period away, his son has bought it it back now. 


There are a few more photos here on the DSAC website:
http://www.superbirdclub.com/75meet.html

[SgtSearcy]

I love stories like that.

[tan top]

good picture    love seeing & reading back in the day stuff like this 

[Magnumcharger]

Wow! I was definitely born too late!! Although I remember having the opportunity to purchase a beautiful Daytona Charger at the 1983 Mopar Nationals for only $10K.
And then there was the fixer up Superbird I could have had for $1500 back in 1981.

[nascarxx29]

I love those stories and retro pictures thanks for sharing .Of then till know with the cars owner historys.Didnt the Ken langford superbird get stolen.and whereabouts still unknown.Also the Gilbert tar daytona owner history Holly Hedrich .Then onto the Downings car known as the LA dodge.Also there a 1/18 version diecast Keith black daytona of it

[oldcarnut]

Thanks for the photos.  Ok how many of ya'll would sit on your wings for a similar photo today?  Is there something different about Mike's in the front row or is that an effect from the picture splicing?

[pettybird]

Thanks for the photos.  Ok how many of ya'll would sit on your wings for a similar photo today?  Is there something different about Mike's in the front row or is that an effect from the picture splicing?

I have pics from about 5 years ago with me on mine.

i put kids up there if I can lift 'em.  if not they stay on the ground 

[moparstuart]

Thanks for the photos.  Ok how many of ya'll would sit on your wings for a similar photo today?  Is there something different about Mike's in the front row or is that an effect from the picture splicing?

I have pics from about 5 years ago with me on mine.

i put kids up there if I can lift 'em.  if not they stay on the ground 

I dont think my fat ass will ever be sitting on mine .

[FJMG]

  No problem Stuart, just do what we do to lower the tailgate height of 97 ram 2500; back car into ditch against opp. bank so that wing is only a couple feet off ground.

[moparstuart]

  No problem Stuart, just do what we do to lower the tailgate height of 97 ram 2500; back car into ditch against opp. bank so that wing is only a couple feet off ground.

I was worried more about the condition of wing and the car once i get up there , then me getting up there     

[Aero426]

Thanks for the photos.  Ok how many of ya'll would sit on your wings for a similar photo today?  Is there something different about Mike's in the front row or is that an effect from the picture splicing?

It's just the photo splicing.  I don't have any sophisticated editing software. 

[nascarxx29]

A much later meet .Notice you dont see any wing sitters
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,30323.0.html

[nascarxx29]

  Anyone recognize the cars or owners

[hotrod98]

  No problem Stuart, just do what we do to lower the tailgate height of 97 ram 2500; back car into ditch against opp. bank so that wing is only a couple feet off ground.

I was worried more about the condition of wing and the car once i get up there , then me getting up there     

People sit on the wings all of the time. Even people with big...egos. 

[pettybird]

Anyone recognize the cars or owners

we're in there somewhere...

[68beepbeep]

Thanks for the photos.  Ok how many of ya'll would sit on your wings for a similar photo today?  Is there something different about Mike's in the front row or is that an effect from the picture splicing?

I have pics from about 5 years ago with me on mine.

i put kids up there if I can lift 'em.  if not they stay on the ground 

  I dont think my fat ass will ever be sitting on mine .    

When I had my Bird, nobody would ever try to get or hang on my wing but, when I was young that was a different story, growing up in Stamford CT wing cars were everywere to me.  Mohawk Chrysler/Plymouth was up the street and on the floor was an orange Hemi Superbird and a couple of miles down the road was a B-7 Daytona with a B-7 int. and white tail and at the end of my street was a white six pack 4-spd bird. The end of our street always flooded in the summer with a heavy rain, and in '71 it flooded. Me and a friend walked threw the water and decided to sit on the trunk of the Bird, using the wing as a handle to pull us up onto the trunk, the woman (yes a woman) that owned the car yelled out the window, telling us to get off the car, even thow the car was siting in two feet of water?  My dad didn't like her because she would blast down our street.  To me it was like a sharks fin going past all the parked cars.  That car ended up getting junked. Pete Veight (wingnut426) tryed to buy the car in the late '70s with no success.  When I had my Bird she saw it and said "that's my old car" until she saw that mine was an auto on the colulm.  Her car came from Greenwich Chrysler/Plymouth new.

[nascarxx29]

Thanks for sharing thats a cool retro memory.I had a wingcar 2 houses away at age 13 and seen them displayed at local area dealers..I have to guess and say that B7 daytona with the white stripe maybe is the 6000 mile dealer installed vinyl top daytona
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,15039.0.html

[Aero426]

I have updated the 1975 meet web page with more photos and the newspaper article that appeared back then.

http://www.superbirdclub.com/75meet.html

[68beepbeep]

Thanks for sharing thats a cool retro memory.I had a wingcar 2 houses away at age 13 and seen them displayed at local area dealers..I have to guess and say that B7 daytona with the white stripe maybe is the 6000 mile dealer installed vinyl top daytona
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,15039.0.html

   No, that's not the car, car is still in CT.  A new owner is presently restoring it.  I have not seen the car in quit some time.  After looking at your picture, it might be possible that the Daytona that I new was B-9 but somehow I think that it is B-7.  Never had a white top though. ~Steve~

[CornDogsCharger]

I have updated the 1975 meet web page with more photos and the newspaper article that appeared back then.

http://www.superbirdclub.com/75meet.html

Wow Doug! Thanks for all of the "new" (old) photos and info!  I just love seeing old photos and hearing the stories from when only a small group of people loved these cars and appreciated them for being more than just a collectible car. 

Justin
"CornDog"

[jdiesel33]

The stories and pics are so awesome. I wish I had a bird.

[ae8i]

Short video here:

http://aerowarriors.com/mpgs/vftjmc1wingsit1sml.mpg

[notabird]

We let Santa sit on our wing at a Christmas in July show. He was about 250lbs.