Conlon Bros. Competition- From Boston, To Moroso And Back!!

Paul & Frank Conlon (from Braintree & Weymouth, MA. respectively) had formed Conlon Bros. Competition on Saturday Oct. 15, 1983 with the signing of a sales agreement for the purchase of a 1969 Front Engine Dragster from Mike Cassella of Rockland, MA. The agreement was for a $400. down payment with monthly payments of $300. until a total of $2500. was reached and then the Conlon Bros. were on their way to long sought after drag racing fame and misfortune. Soon after the purchase of the dragster, the Conlon Bros. had moved from New England to South Florida to begin employment at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft as mechanics assembling experimental military jet engines for use by the U.S. Air Force. Moroso Motorsports Park just happened to be located directly accross the Beeline Highway from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft so the brothers had easily found a second home at the 1/4 mile strip. The two had started working as tech officals on Saturday nights at Moroso while still working on completing the assembly of the dragster. The front engine dragster eventually was named "Beg, Borrow or Steal" because thats what it seems like it took to complete it and to keep it on the track. What follows is a look back, in pictures, of their drag racing effort which was proceeded by numerous street cars (and trucks too) that were run on the streets of the South Shore of Boston. Those earlier pictures will be for another story! The 1969 front engine dragster made it's 1985 on track debut with a 454 cu. in. Big Block Chevy, single 4 barrel Holley carburetor on gasoline, Vertex mag, McCloud single disc clutch, 3-speed B&M Clutch-Flite transmission and a 8-3/4 Mopar rear end with 4.10:1 gears. (July 1985) A set of Hilborn fuel injectors (on alcohol) were soon added. The 3-point roll cage would soon be replaced with a 6-point roll cage which was fabricated and installed by John's Cages of FT. Lauderdale, FL. The dragster as it was just recieved back from ECD Race Cars in Stuart, FL. where Frank Castellano had built all new aluminum sheet metal body panels and mid-mount. Also included were several chassis uprights & diagonals as well as removing the front torsion bar and welding the front suspension up solid. All of this chassis work proved to be an excellent choice to help improve the handling characteristics of the dragster. Before the dragster would return to competition, the chassis was sandblasted & painted Chevy Orange by Jimmy "The Thrill" Aliseo of Stuart, FL. The reassembly of the dragster was completed in time for Moroso's Citrus Nationals held annually on Thanksgiving weekend. Paul Conlon qualified #1 and went 3 rounds in the heads-up 8.90 Super Comp class at the event! (November) One week after the Thanksgiving weekend was the Snowbird Nationals at Bradenton Dragway. Paul Conlon went 3 rounds in Super Comp at this race as well. After the 3rd round loss, the Conlon Bros. were at the far end of the track getting ready to tow the dragster back to the pit area when the top fuel dragster finals were being run. It was a match between Darrell Gwynn and Paul Smith, both life long Florida residents. Well, Gwynn beats Smith, and as the Conlon Bros. front engine dragster is being towed back on the return road they are sandwiched between the two top fuelers with Gwynn in the rear and Smith in the front. No camera to capture the moment, just the memories of the moment. Very cool experience indeed. (December) Nice burnout shot taken from up in the Moroso tower with crew chief Frank Conlon looking on. Frank Conlon (left) and Chuck Horan (right) are pictured thanking Paul Conlon for dragging them on up to a soggy Gatornationals. We never did get that run in on that afternoon, even though Paul got suited up on three different occasions between rain showers while located just behind the burnout box. It sure beat being stuck way back in the staging lanes! (March) Wheels-up lauch during the 1st round of Super Comp at the Gatornationals. It was always a real treat to run at Gainesville Raceway, whether it was during the Gatornationals or a NHRA Southeast Div. 2 series event. The track would always be in great shape. (March) Quick 16 drag racing at Moroso, the "Beg, Borrow or Steal" front engine dragster was right at home running in this series. We would normally qualify in the #16 spot and when towing through the pits on the way up to the staging lanes for the 1st round we would pass by several new rear engine dragsters that were still pitted at their trailer because they had failed to make the field. The Simpson Race Products face mask, goggles & open face helmet, along with a Deist Safety SFI 3-2A/20 funny car firesuit (jacket & pants, boots & gloves) was the choice of safety equipment while driving the front engine dragster. The safety equipment that we used really seemed overboard when compared with the typical SFI 3-2A/5 firesuits that all of the rear engine dragster drivers were wearing while competing in Super Comp. Having the transmission located in the driver's compartment is really the determing factor in your firesuit requirements, as well as the dragster being front engine and fuel injected on alcohol as well. (June) The "Beg, Borrow or Steal" sits behind the bleachers at Moroso following the annual 5-Day bracket race. This is the version which was run towards the end of the ownership by Conlon Bros. Competition. This had produced a best of 7.73 @ 169 MPH. An interesting arrangement of equipment is visable in this picture begining, from the front, a battery box, a 10-pound Nitrous Oxide bottle, a 5-gallon alcohol fuel tank and a 2-gallon gasoline fuel tank. Racing gasoline was the choice for the additional fuel requirements while using the nitrous oxide because the gasoline would help to build some much needed heat inside the combustion chamber. The combination of alcohol and then the additional nitrous oxide/ alcohol charge would have been just too cool of a charge to build suffiecent horsepower. The NOS Fogger system worked great with no damage to any engine parts. The 200 horsepower jets were as high as we went with this set up. (November 1991) Paul Conlon had sold the "Beg, Borrow or Steal" front engine dragster to long time friend Chuck Horan in 1993. Chuck ran the original cast iron 454 Big Block Chevy for one season of Quick 16 competition. He eventually had Scott Sharfroff build him a 555 Big Block Chevy with Brodix aluminum cylinder heads and tunnel ram injected on alcohol. Chuck is seen smokin' the hell out of a brand new set of Firestone slicks. The dragster was very impressive in this version pictured here which had produced a best of 7.46 @ 176 MPH! (October 1996) Paul Conlon had upgraded to a Top Alcohol Funny Car license at Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. The 3-day course was held at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, FL. The Dodge Daytona funny car was powered by a blown alcohol aluminum Keith Black Oldsmobile engine and was equiped with a 3-speed Lenco transmission. A total of six runs were made which included two full 1/4 mile runs that resulted in a 6.66 @ 206 mph best. (November 1996) The "Gold Coast Warrior" TA/FC owned and driven by Jimmy "The Thrill" Aliseo of Stuart, FL. "The Thrill" competed in NHRA Southeast Div. 2 TA/FC class with this car. This would become the funny car chassis that is curently in use by the Boston Monkey. The "Solar Force" was a local sponsorship effort by Howard Bros. Plumbing of Stuart, FL. and it was the 2nd and final version of "The Thrill's" TA/FC. It is pictured at the time slip booth after running over the finish line cones at Moroso. Note the front end damage to the 1987 Chevrolet Camaro body. Jimmy "The Thrill" Aliseo (left) and crewman/ supporter Tracy Howard (right) check out the damage to the front end of the Solar Force TA/FC after he ran over the finsh line cones at Moroso. This was the 1st run after a brand new paint job on the funny car body. Note the Conlon Bros. Competition T-shirt that "the Thrill" was wearing that day. The 1981 S&W chassis is pictured several years later after being purchased from "The Thrill". The engine is a 526 cu. in. TFX-92 Hemi cast aluminum block, Veney/Newberry billet aluminum cylinder heads, a Mooneyham 14-71 Hi Helix blower and a Mallory Super Mag 3 magneto. (November 1999) This is the TA/FC version just prior to becoming the Boston Monkey. This 1987 Chevrolet Camaro body had ultimately found it's demise at the hands of a fallen tree branch behind the Monkey Den. (November 1999) The birth of the Boston Monkey, a brand new 1937 Fiat Topolino fiberglass body was purchased from Rod-N-Race Fiberglass of Maryland. The nose and the main body are pictured being fiberglassed to each other with the seem line visable just in front of the windshield. This work was performed while the monkey was a resident at Spindles Auto Club in Weymouth, MA. (January 2001) The funny car after being dropped off at John Sandall's Tube Chassis Designs shop in Hansen, MA. to have the new Fiat Topolino body mounted and inside aluminum body sheet metal installed. (February 2001) The funny car after having the body mounted by Tube Chassis Designs shop. (March 2001) Nice side shot of the newly mounted funny car body. Pictured outside of Spindles Auto Club in Weymouth, MA. (March 2001) This is the debut of the Boston Monkey at New England Dragway by the Conlon Bros. Competition crew. Pictured (left to right) Paul Conlon, Bobby Kivior, Steve Frazier, Frank Conlon and Michael Conlon. It took almost 10 years from purchasing the funny car in 1992 until it finally reached the burnout box at Epping. (October 2001) The Fiat Topolino body sits in the spray booth just prior to be painted (1970 Chevrolet Camaro Hugger Orange) at Ash's Auto Body in Weymouth, MA. (November 2001) The monkey getting ready to be loaded up for the World Of Wheels car show in Boston. The new paint was sprayed just about one month earlier. Pictured outside of Spindles Auto Club. (January 2002) This is rare picture of Frank Conlon's 1957 Chevy Pro Street and Paul Conlon's 1969 Front Engine Dragster parked out in front of our sponsor's resturant, the "Hot Rod Cafe" located in Jupiter, FL. The Conlon Bros. would often show up unannounced on a Friday night and for several hours display the dragster, and occasionally the '57 Chevy, much to the delight of the Hot Rod Cafe patrons but much to the dismay of the patrons of the Albertsons grocery store that had to share the same parking lot. The Jupiter Police dept. were called into service only once. By then the dragster was already back at the trailer ready to be loaded up for the night The dragster burnout marks left in front of the restaurant tell the real story! Frank Conlon's 1957 Chevy Pro Street. This beast is powered by a 454 Big Block Chevy equipped with dual quads and a 4-speed Muncie transmission. The '57 Chevy was painted 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Hugger Orange by Ash's Auto Body in Weymouth, MA. Frank Conlon (left) and Michael Conlon are pictured with Frank's '57 Chevy outside of Spindles Auto Club in Weymouth, MA. Note the one-piece tilt fiberglass front end. The Crower Fuel Injectors (on gasoline) do the inhailing while the fender well headers do the exhailing. A Weymouth Policeman's nightmare (or dream if quotas are low) when the '57 hits the streets!