History Real Blood Sport: Old-Time Demolition Derby

WagonKiller said, "There's nothing like it." There REALLY isn't. In American sports, it's the closest thing to gladiatorial combat-to-the-death in the old Roman Colliseum. The gladiators don't die (normally), but their "steeds" certainly do.

As in the Colliseum, what attracts & enthralls the audience is the unparalelled SPECTACLE unfolding out there on a field of head-to-head (tail-to-head?) COMBAT!

 

NO,NO,NO...You have it all wrong. "Banger Racing" is something they only do on the foggy island (ENGLAND). I doubt You wanna see what comes up if You google that...
Thankfully, the only kind of "derby" they do in Finland is done with a bunch of leftover rice-burners...

 

LMAO...Sounds like a guy I know from the next back woods over... We have reindeer-jerky and wine with him most every weekend...You know, the extreme dry kind, AKA Vodka...There are some customs and hot rods over here, competent craftsmen abound, and what they might have lacked in ready-made materials available they sure made up for in ingenuity. You should see the silk purses some of them made out of rusty more-door sow´s ears over the years...

 

You know I get a kick out of the demolition derbys at our local track. But you know the times are changing. Now they have small car derbys.... I guess all the caprices are being used as Donks......

 

1959 Mercury Park Lane
SBC power with 9" rear


Footage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UTLHNdFuUo

We were only able to get 1 run out of this car. The 9" bit the dust and that's what took us out. Car was tough as hell!!! We did have plans to fix the sheetmetal and replace the rear with a 8 3/4" but the city told us to clean up the yard so we had to s**** it. Damn shame!

Before:




After:

 

Well said wagon killer, I have a 10 second 55 chevy, jumped my bicycle over 4 garbage cans and a wheelbarrow, drove my 33 chevy sedan over 90mph on the golden gate bridge (I have the ticket to prove it!) and have had a tractor tire blow me and my buddy up and knocked us completely unconcious for a few seconds and I tell you what........when that crowd starts counting down 5...4...3...2...1 and they drop the green on an arena full of 20-30 cars and your first hit knocks a guys leaf spring shackles off and you end up getting down to the last few cars after beating your body up for 1/2 an hour.........theres nothing like it!!!!! Just my opinion but the feeling I get from doing derbies is way different from anything else I have done thus far!!!! HAPPY MOTORING JOKER JASON.

 

early 60s Imperial

 

I have to say -- again -- this has been one fun thread. We've had guys from all over the U.S. AND other countries talking about how the "sport" has evolved (when I thought it was damned-nead DEAD! LOL). ALL of you guys obviously still get a big charge out of what I got juiced about back in the late-'60s and into the '70s.

I say, MoPar to ya!!! (Yeah, a joke. LOTS of other makes compete!)

 

Costa Rica demo derby...inside a freakin' bull ring!

 

Sheesh, they take their entertaining spectacles SEIOUSLY in Costa Rica! LOL

 

Hey heres a cool shot of My buddy Ken Cornwell trying to Jump over Tim Lapoint, this was at Red Bluff 2 years ago, 47 cars were in the main, good hard hitting show and huge arena. I love that red Imperial, too bad they outlawed all the full framers out here!! JOKER JASON.

 

There's a few places here in NC that will still let the Imperials in. Most of them are at county fairs where the local fair board sets the rules. So basically, it's a safety check and run what you brung!

We'll be taking a 1964 Imperial to such a show this weekend.


Quick "before" pic of the rear:

 

Jason, COOOOOOOOL action shots, man! Back in the day, I didn't
often see a car go AIRBORNE!!! LOL

 

X100, you must have justed posted when i was typing, bro. Great that they still let Imps in somewhere! Looks like you have the rearend of that '64 "prepped" well, so it won't turn into a PLOW or BLOCK yer back view!!! LOL

 

That Imperial will destroy a hundred non-Imperials back to back before the bumper is even wrinkled. Cordobas(M80) rule.

 

Yaaaah-ha. Ain't it the truth? LOL

 

Did someone say Cordoba?

 

Whoa! And an on-purpose frontal attack, too!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m67QARssg&feature=player_profilepage


Go to 5:15 to see the actual hit. My buddy Zack is in the black #43 Cordoba and I'm in the green X-100 Buick Century. Our friend Cliff is in the blue Monte Carlo and we're all aiming for that pink GM box.

 

Are you ready for some derby?!!!

Some more pics of the wedged '64 Imperial from above. Will have "after" pics on Monday.

 

DerbyX100, awesome video on Post #259. And the ol' '64 Imp (Post #260) is barely recognizable as a MOPAR! LOL BUT, she's just getting broken-in, right!!! LOL again.

Have fun out there, but be as safe as you can, 'k?

 

Hardly any damage other than a broken driveshaft. Gotta love "hard nosing" an Imp.

After pics:







Some other HAMB approved "cl***ics" that were at the derby:


Fresh Starliner:





Pre-run, early 60's Galaxie...nice scorpion tail!!!!

 

I know of a Cadillac that will destroy a 100 cordobas before the bumper wrinkles on the front or the back.

 

Yeah, but it's probably not legal in any derby anywhere and has 2-ton springs to keep it off the ground for all the concrete in it.

 

Cordobas kick ***, alot of guys run them out here but they are getting harder to find. The screwed thing about this derby was that M80 won fair and square and at the end of the night they DQ'ed him for have 2- 3 inch long pieces of flat bar holding his radiator support in!!!

 

Heres a shot from Ukiah this year, it got down to me and Tim Lapoint and of course the Imperial ended up taking my front end off but I gave it hell untill it was over!!! Cordobas are cool!! I wish I had a few more. JOKER JASON.

 

How is it running a derby on black top?

 

Blacktop?

 

I guess I meant: Demo Derby is always run on dirt or mud, or am I out there?

 

Yo, Happy ******, take a mallet to the side of that Caddy and listen to what that sounds like. If the judged are letting some guy in a caddy who's not playing by some sense of the rules, then they rae asleep at the wheel.

BOTTOM line: ANY GD car is gonna crunch a little EVERY time it batters another opponent. Sorry, Caddys are strong, but they are not THAT muhc better than other cars -- Cordobas included.