I had a neighbor in Reno who built a national-level top fuel drag boat. It had a solid aluminum Keith Black block. When the boat was finished, he rolled it out into the parking lot and fired it up. Words cannot describe but it did feel like the world was coming to an end. I've always been curious about, and had the highest respect, Keith Black and Keith Black engines.
Back in the 70's when I pretty much lived at the strip it was either Keith Black or Ed Pink engines in the top teams cars. In those days Ed Pink was the only real compitition Keith had.
I wish they would get it right. The shop was in Hollydale, NOT SouthGate. I grew up about 1/2 mile from the shop, used to ride our bikes by it almost daily. SouthGate was on the *other* side of the river. The river bed was a kids dream playground. Being an inquisitive kid, I met most all of the guys there at one point or another.
Keith made his claim to fame on the Chrysler Hemi. The greatest most powerful engine in the world. The most sanctioned engine in all of racing history.
If anybody is interested I have the trailer once owned by Tommy Greer and Keith Black.They used the trailer for Boats and Dragsters. Its half open in the rear and enclosed in the front. I still use it to haul my 57 Chevy gasser around to Eagle Field and the Hot Rod reunion.. I will be at Donut Derelicts with the trailer tomorrow 8/26/17 then to the ADM All Gasser Show to round out my Saturday. Its a pretty cool trailer for its day in the early 1960s.
I worked there in 1987 amazing stuff Walker Evan’s small block Dodge was bad ass I built largest HEMI 636ci at the time for single engine tractor pull Offshore boats Big Willie 557 HEMI We did all kinds of cool stuff !!!
When I worked for Tom Hoover (Showtime) we had one of the small shops out back of the main building. We were a Keith Black car back in the 70's and would house there during the winter. I got to know Keith, Prudhomme, Roland a little bit, and they were very helpful to us. Wonderful times! Keith was brilliant at engines.
I was in a flat bottom boat in 1981 with my friends dad driving doing 90 mph and the boat disentegrated in front of the Edgewater Hotel (Just Built) in Laughlin NV. The boat was 1 1969 hull and the engine a 392 Keith Black Special. The driver and 5 kids in the 3 seater boat. No one died but 3 of the 5 kids including myself got hurt pretty bad. I was 13 and was happy my 9 yr old sister and my friends 11 yr old sister, (the 2 youngest) didn't get hurt. No life jackets.
Hey dragracing fans if you want more great moments in drag racing history check out...... Bill Pitts channel & start with his amazing story on... The Surfers drag team from California in the 60's.... once you get into all of that cool history told from the men that made it , video after video is just dripping with dragracing lore.... get comfortable, relax and soak up all of the history !
I’m from the other side of the pond,Santa Pods two miles from my yard,and the name Kieth Black is a name I heard all the time growing up around cars and particularly drag racing.Nice to be able to learn more about this top craftsman and to put a face to the name!Great viewing!If anybody can recommend any other footage or film with this great engine whisperer,please reply with the details of them,they’ll be great fully appreciated!
We see the backside of K.B's shop building going over Imperial hwy All the time, With nane boldly painted on it. Not till we got our Hot Wheels did we put this association together. Always wanted the T- shirt .back then.🏁
I was at Lion's drag strip before I was 5 years old. I have such great memories from that time. This was before Don Prudhomme was driving for Keith Black. Somewhere in my families pictures there are pictures of me standing up in the seat holding the wheel. I remember whenever I saw Don Prudhomme I was to call him Mr. Prudhomme. 60 years later when ever I see a picture it is never The Snake or Don Prudhomme, It is always Mr.Prudhomme to me. The last time I saw him in person was about 1974 at Irwindale.
IMSTOKEZ JUST FOUND A CHASSIS WITH Kieth’s name on it .lying in a barn .on an old drag strip that being demolished along with all the cars vans micro light that’s all been left .
Back in about 76 I was able to spend a couple of hours getting to know him, he was a very savvy guy, and had a great business sense, his idea was there were no secrets in his shop, if you told him something that he believed would help others out of his shop he would share all information he could...I was also friends with Wes Cerny his shop Foreman who built Engines for Cecil Florance in the Coors lite Blown Alcohol Hydro, I was engine builder and crew chief for the "Ofixco" Blown Alcohol Hydro #172 driven by Bill Hartman, I left boats in 83' Hartman was killed in 86'
When my 74 Malibu SS’s 454 finally gave up, it was a ‘saved’ kieth black 327 that went in. (Saved- meaning it’d been run at the strip for however many passes before being replaced. My old man got it off his buddy for me.) But like the interview said ; old thinking was bigger was better. So was my thinking. Right until I removed a tired 454 to replace it with an old 327.
@@dericksmith2137 , I grew up watching Don the snake Purdomme , I got two 66 Chevelle Super Sport cars , they both had big block 396 engines from the factory , They both have built small block 327 and one makes 450hp and the other 475hp , both have 4 speeds trans and 12 bolt posi , I can pull both front tires off the ground and they scream to the moon at 11,000rpm before the valves start to float , Forged steel Vette crank , Forged pistons 11.5 and 12.1 compression , Double hump heads , Lakewood Blow Proof bell housing on both
KB engines were run almost exclusively by top fuel teams in the early to mid 1980's. Too bad they couldn't keep pace with engine development beyond that period.
If Don Prudhomme only acknowledge his African American heritage as one of the greats in Drag Racing, he would understand and add so much to our historical journey and achievements in this world. Com'on Don Prudhomme, Black people take one look at you and KNOW YOU ARE ONE OF US !! BE PROUD and ACKNOWLEDGE IT Don Prudhomme!
