The Days of Nitro and Hydrazine!

by Carl Parrish, Sr. and Jr.

Charlie Willis puts the Ronald Swann Ford up in the air. Photo by Carl Parrish, Sr.

My dad and his buddies were the first to experiment with hydrazine. Just ask Gene Snow; they use to run against him before he became big. The picture was taken in 1966 or 1967 by my father, Carl Parrish, Sr. The driver at the time was Charlie Willis and the car was owned by Ronald Swann and sometimes driven by Leonard Abramcik, who is no longer with us. My dad was chief wrench and tuner on the car.

The engine was a 427 stroked to 488 cubic inches that ran on nitro and hydrazine with, believe it or not, a 4-speed Ford Top Loader with a 5.10 rear gears! The guys and my dad used to run Gene Snow all the time -- they were big rivals. If any of dad's old buddies see this, he would love to hear from them or anyone else who remembers the car.

Thank you, 

Carl Parrish, Jr.
parrishcarl@aol.com