I just finished watching American Graffiti and wondering if it was actually like that in the late 50's and early 60's as far as the hotrods go. I am only 18 so that was way before my time and my dad grew up in the musclecar era. If the movie was somewha real life that sure would have been a cool time to grow up
Hollywood has been known to exagerate things... Although, I really believe a Vespa can be a chick magnet.
Yes, it was just like that American Graffiti was right on in every detail. George Lucas lived in that era and put most of his memories into the smash hit in '62. IT was truly a very speciality time. "Where were you in '62" CRUISER
yep my dad said it used to take an hour to just make one circuit haha something like that but it was actually a lot of cars that cruised
Yup. A lot of cruising. Hitting the bowling alley, A&W, running stop light to stop light. For more serious racing we had a 1/4 marked out on slaughter house road. It was called slaughter house road because there was a slaughter house at the end of it. The cops would sit on top of the levee and watch the races. They were pretty cool back then. This was in 1964 up in the little town of Marysville, Ca. There was also the 10th street bridge that had two lanes each way that ran over to Yuba City. Used to race over that too. Yes, good days. Innocent and fun days.
Lots of cruising Main Street like that in my town, all the way into the early '80s. Same attitudes, too. Lots of fun! Nowadays, the ricers go to the northwest part of the city and race on the highway. Definitely not the same, though.
Ya, almost the way it happened start out in Boyertown do the circuit to Pottstown check out who the girls were in other rods run a couple cars at lights get out town. Go to local drive in with case of beer, get thrown out, go to next town see whats hot. Get surrounded by cops at Tropical Treat cause we had about a hundred cars from area running up on the bypass. Cops took all off in a bus to post bail while I crawled under my rod to avoid arrest and it worked! Soon as lot was empty I got outta there. Thats the way it was in da good ol days of 1957.
My Dad was there, and hotrodding was there too..... Some of the local beauties sittin' on his Merc...... I didn't make the scene till' 61', but my Pop had me on wheels as soon as possible! That coupe from Graffiti just hit me like a ton of bricks when I first saw that movie. I just couldn't imagine anything being any cooler to drive. Still one of my favorite all-time car flicks, along with Hollywood Knights!
your dad grew up in the best era. barett jackson muscle cars were 500 dollars, pot was decriminalized, kids could suck down 3.2 beer at age 18 , vietnam ended
Although I was 6 in '62, my dad and older friends all say it was damn close to the real thing here in So Cal. Kinda why it's one of the best movies of all time!
We cruised E street in San Bernardino in the early 70s.It was similar but not really as cool as the movie. AG came out when I was in 11th grade and we saw it 10 or 15 times that year. Made us nostaligic for the early 60s. I have a friend that grew up in LA area in the 50s and he says it was every bit as fun and cool as you think it was.
Well----------It was ALMOST like the movie, of course the best scene was opening the glove box to toss in an additional ticket!!!----Even before your dad, in the late forties, if the "fuzz" spotted 2 exhaust pipes coming out under the rear bumper----It was automatic ticket time!! We were cool, we sawed off 10 inches, so they couldn't see anything!!!!!!!-----------------Don
My dad ran a speed shop back in that era thinly disguised as a Texaco station. I learned to drive in Artie Feceras '57 hardtop with a 283 four gear. I was 12 at the time. We used to go to a car hop hang out called Tropical Treat, I still have a picture of the place on my shop wall, in pop's mega straight '34 Tudor with red wheels and wide whites, turquoise with a white tuck and roll. That car would stun people today! The place looked like Mel's and on weekends and many weeknights and was a rod and sled magnet. Occasionally they would put the local rock and roll bands up on the roof to play on Saturday nights, (The Stingrays did a mean "Wooley Bully"). There were cars back then that would out cool 90% of the junk I see these days. To mind comes Bobby Cobbs full fender '29 Tudor, candy apple red with white T&R and chrome reverses with the baddest set of cheater slicks I ever saw. Got busted for being towed on a rope on a skateboard behind that thing, (cruising on a public street). I wasn't even going that fast. Also a very bad candy blue '28 roadster on deuce rails with a 2 four 409. Can't remember who owed it. Ronny Wicklaks '50 Olds with a big ass Olds. super straight and and super black. One of the few automatics back then. That place is at least partly responsible for my advanced juvenile state today, along with my dads shop. Back in the day my parents took me to see about everybody in the rock and roll and doo wop show circuit. I could go on with the stories for hours. Everybody cruised High Street and when the cops got tough we'd slide up to cruise Penn Street in the next town. I remember the Chief of Police was actually named Dick Tracy and he was a major Holstein! In summary it wasn't like American Graffitti, it was better.
Hey did'nt even realize Hank 37 was talking about the same place! Duh! Hank, do you remember when they used to drive the cars that ran at Sanatoga Speedway through town to the races? No trailered stuff then. Remember Snuffys Garage, my dads shop, Rt 724 Seifert, near Gibralter Joe's junk yard. I used to hang out in that '40 coupe under the willow trees when my pop would go to scavenge parts. The thing was mint! You have any idea who owned the light blue '34 pickup with the polished aluminum stocker heads and thicksun intake that was always there?
On more post then I'll shut up! In about "58 pop painted Tedo Bliesnaks "55 F-100 powder blue with burgundy scallops striped and outlined in gold, stunning. Also I remember him painting Shovey Showalters 57 Caddy pink! Hey it paid the bills. Pop made a lot of cash putting '57 parking lights up in the hood. Seems like he did a couple a week forever. Then the state started busting everybody and he got paid to put them back. He did the first 409 in a '55 I ever saw. As I remember it took some fiddling, no kits back then. For my 13th birthday he gave me a '39 Ford tudor standard. Wish I had it now.
Heck, cruising in the San Fernando Valley in the 70's was like that. Van Nuys had 6 lanes of traffic, bumper to bumper. Extremely wide painted center divider. The cops use to park in the center divider and do vehicle inspections. My crowd hung at the Jack in the Box looking for street races.
My dad grew up in Walnut Creek, California- graduated in '58. He had the fastest car in the valley Said that Grafitti NAILED it, having grown up in Northern California during this general era. As a side, a racing buddy of his (Bill Hoge) was involved in Grafitti 2, worked on a bunch of the drag racing scenes. Dve Bloching
My old man was 18 in 58 and he told me that Graffiti was as he rembered those days as well in the late 50's early 60's .He couldnt tell you what he had for dinner last night but he could remember what the color of the interior was in cars he had in the mid 50's or what brand of plugs were in it.He also told me he new a guy in 1961 that had a 55 that was the spitin image of Falfa's 55 .Same paint ,scoop,radiused fenders,chrome reverse,insert removed from the trim on the trunklid ,even had the white tarp over the back seat area .The only diff was it had a radical 301 in it and a 6 duece setup.Always made me wonder if someone didnt see that car and clone the Two lane car after it for Graffiti .My dad told me that his freinds 55 was a bit more unstreetable though.He said he raced it mostly and would idle it down to the drive inn theater on Friday night to show it off ,but it wouldnt idle under about 1200 rpm ...
That movie was a big influence in my life as I missed that era too. It came out when I was 12 and I could not get to the theatre so I bought and read the book. I also bought both 2 record sets of the sound track too, still have 'em. The CD versions do not have all the songs and Wolfman dubs for some reason. To this day, really like the music of the late 50s and early 60s and that entire time frame for that matter. When I later say the movie and got my own copy, I was glad I had read the book first, I enjoyed the movie that much better. If you like to read, pick up a copy. It is truely one of the best movies of all time. Another good car movie is "The lively set" Cruising Central ave in Phoenix was a lot of fun. I was down there most every night with my GTO. Steve Barcak
It was the same up here in BC, except the beer was 6%. The late 50's was the most fun for me, because it was all about rods and customs and there were very few Detroit built muscle cars. My wife won't let me watch the show anymore, because she can't stand it when I am enjoying myself. Bob
i cant get mine to idle under 1800 AG got to me when i was 5 and it really made me go after anything to do with cool old cars. it also gave me a taste in music that sticks with me today. i dont listen to new stuff.
In the late 70's to early 80's in Houston, TX, it was Westhiemer. We used to hang around Westheimer and Hillcroft. Nice parking lot, cool cars and good times. Each year the cops moved us further down the strip. Today in Houston, it's a bunch of ricers and wanna be street racers and the LAW always shows up. Damn, I miss the good old days.
Grew up in Long Beach, California and graduated from High School in 1959. That movies was the most authentic flic from that era that was ever made. I had a Deuce 3 Window with a falttie and used to go crusing or racing almost every night. Remember, gas was only twenty-four cents a gallon with occasional gas wars that would drop it to twenty-two. Those were some great times.
I am in the middle of watching "hometown usa", its not quite as acurate as AG , its kind of a rip off of AG, it is a little more humourous, most of the movie is cruising main. I guess george went to a lot of trouble to give AG the real feel of the peak of the cruising era. We used to cruise the main street in newcastle, there was a song about cruising this strip in the mid 70's, the new cars but were cruising in the early 90's in a different area (nobbys beach) so sometimes we would get a bunch of old cars and cruise main like in the movie, the lighting and shop fronts gave a feel like ag but in australia.
What a effin' great thread!Those pics are pretty cool.Grew up in small town here in B.C. and cruisin was our thing to do.American Graffiti started a whole craze back then and it went on for several years.That flick has always been one of my faves.When I started buying DVDs it was the first one I got,and the collectors edition to boot!
Funny thing it was the same west coast or the east coast. Cruisin and drag racing. We had a road with the quarter mile marked off. Today 40+ years it is still called the strip.
Yes it was like that, that's why we old farts love that movie, and why some of us seem like bitter old men to you younger guys. We know how good it used to be, and wish it could still be for our kids and grandkids, although, we'd probably be bitchin' about all those damn kids in their hot rods cloggin' up mainstreet, and not bein' able to find a space at the Eat n Park. There's no goin' back, but we've got our memories and a great movie like AG to help jog them, thanks George.
My partner and I would road trip it out to E street on Saturday nights. I had a girl I used to visit in Pedley, so it made the drive from Anaheim worth it. The first time we did E St we were amazed. Not because of the cars (we had that in Orange and on Whittier BL), but that we had a cop that wanted to run us. Didn't do it.... too paranoid it was a set up. Driving a built '70 Challenger 440 six pack out there with slicks and uncorked was a bit unnerving, but once we got out there, it was cool. It's a damn shame nobody can cruise anymore without getting cited.....
The Jalopy Journal
