Frozen In Time
By Dave Wallace

Its S/S Cragars and green-and-white colors make this '55 look just like it did in the old days. In fact, it's been this way since the Sixties. Wayne Simpson purchased a cherry, 10-year-old "post" with only 57,000 miles from the first owner, then drove it to work every day for nine years with the stock 265-PG combo.

In '74, Simpson swapped in a pile of parts from the '41 Willys he'd run at the Kingdon (Lodi, Calif.) Drags. Vintage goodies include an Edelbrock Tunnel Ram with 660 Holleys, Vertex mag, Muncie trans and 5.57:1 Olds rear. Stout enough to run 11.70s 10 years ago, the shoebox still strikes fear through California's Gold Country on sunny weekends.

It also appears on the official T-shirt of Mel's & Faye's Diner (Jackson, Calif.), which Simpson has patronized since opening day in 1956. That's Wayne on the left, accompanied by lifelong partners-in-crime Rodger Faddis (center) and Jack Brusatori.

Hardcore, Not Handicapped