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.
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’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!
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 !!!
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.
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.🏁
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 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 .
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.
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.
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'
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.
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
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 !
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!
Авто/Мото
Keiths son gave us a guided tour around this shop..real sound guy and all the staff..many thanks
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.
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.
EVERY one I build, I try to make Uncle Keith proud . . . thanks for the teachings !
Jersey Danny you COULD’NT have had a BETTER teacher!! KB HEMI’S are second to NONE!!☝️☝️
Those old sling shots are real works of art. Carbon and Kevlar are awesome, but airplane metal bodies are masterpieces.
I'm so happy my dad got to work for him for 25 years
Does your dad know Paul Gommi...?
Loved stopping by Keith's in the afternoon. Our daycare was just across the river and my wife wondered why I always wanted to pick up the kids. Lol
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!
There were a lot of famous faces at his funeral. We ran stage-6 KB's at Bonneville for 16yrs & my new streamliner has a KB-600 Chevy.
I could listen to that man talk For days on end
dont understand down voting on historical masterpieces like this.don prudome the snake,the mongoose are part of my childhood
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 !!!
Robinson?
@@toiletpaper5770
Yes 557ci w/tunnel ram
@@larewardrop282 cool! Love those stories
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.
South Gate Ca. My home town! Living legend
Last Drag Race LIONS Drag Strip The Beach I was There 🎉😢😊👀: Lenny G. LBC. 562/420 area 🍀🍀🍀 5:26
seen him race at Fremont drag strip, got a pic of him wrenching on his funny car, no pit pass needed, cars weren't roped off like these days!
I've always ran Keith black superchargers. I'm out now, but I still enjoy top fuel dragsters.
Can't beat a Keith Black HEMI!
We ran a Keith Black in our alcohol dragster back in the day. Top notch gear even though we sucked as a team. : )
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.🏁
It’s 2022 and I’m still runny Keith Black pistons in my nova
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.
denny thomas - the Donovan 417 shocked the world, even KB knew it would put him out of bus. unless he copied it....
Think Pink
Yeah it's sad what California is doing to Ed Pink now
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 .
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.
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.
Realy bloody lucky mate,👍
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'
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.
a very bright gentlemen
Keith Black built the 427 in my 1967 Corvette in 1968. I’m still driving it with that same engine and it’s awesome.
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
I think Keith looks similar to Kelly Johnson and then I realized that they were both geniuses in the field.
i have a peice of a KB plocck from englishtown nj from the 80s
The golden era of top fuel.
Back in the day worked on Keith black engines thru Reliable engine Gary Beck won the nations.
plenty of K.Black parts out there...........blocks can be sleeved, and those cylinder heads, oh my.
I heard they used to leave engines running wide open and go to lunch
Keith Black had the horsepower , Prudhomme had the heavy right foot and Greer had the wallet , great combination
Could have used the casino for rehab hospitals.a plaque right.
Kieth Black or Ed Pink for 426” Hemi’s late 60’s and 70’s
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 !
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.
What took over in terms of engine development? Who makes the TF engines now?
@@orsoncart9441 TFX, BAE. Blocks moved to forged as a result of mandated rules in the early '90's. Keith Black passed away in 1991.
No replacement for displacement!!
“They’re”, not “there”
Funny thing is the Surfers ran faster working out of a motel
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!
What are YOU smokin', Jack??
Alex Levy hey meathead he's not black he's an American!!!
Never met a drag racer who cared what you look like,your car another story.You're not a racer you're racist.
Pretty sure prudhomme is german
Your talking that shit to a man you don't know you have ball's no sense unless you were there when when the wild thing was going on.