History What us trad rodders were doing in the 70's...

They were still doing that in the small towns in South Central Missouri in the '80s. You couldn't roll up on anyone and say, "hey ya wanna hook 'em up?", they would flap out a chain and think you wanted to tie 'em together. Hell I saw a pinto and a vega tied together in the Gerb's parking lot in Camdenton in '82.

 

Heck, once chained up, all the Vega had to do was throw it in reverse and hit the Pinto's tail. Then the Vega can do a victory lap around the parking lot with the burned up Pinto carcass.

 

Here's something I have never understood.....Remember buying a new truck, no matter how nice or expensive, they came with-out rear bumpers! NEVER did figure that one out. I seen every thing from 2X4's to railroad T-rails used !

 

its about money, they sell you a truck for whatever price and the bumper is optional and a dealer item. Hell ash trays were optional in the '70s and '80s in a truck. I think it was an 8 dollar option on an F-150.

 

Optional at the dealership yes, but I wonder if anybody ever got a ticket for going bumper delete?

 

I bought the bumper for my 80's ford out of the Sears catalogue

 

I made a rear bumper for my brand new Ford F-150 4 x 4. Two plates and a cut down drive shaft. Man, I loved that truck. And yep, we'd go wheelin' every weekend. But mostly is was a big bon fire out on a sandbar somewhere. Good times.

 

Went to see this cat jump 13 buses at Baylands (I think). I was with one of my "uncles" (mom was a divorcee) and saw Evel (from atop shoulders) come out from his rig and address his fans. There was a free blue Evel iron-on transfer involved that immediately found it's way onto a faded red sweatshirt (read pink) when I got home. A board, cinder block, and bicycle soon came into play (I know I'm not alone). I immediately put away the Pong game and replaced it with a Stunt Cycle.



Not me. Adult supervision, no helmet and FIRE! Great time to be a kid!





At those drags I mentioned, there were match races with two Bay Area deejays and Evel was supposed to jump the buses with what I believe was a "rocket bike" or something? Couldn't get it operating right so he jumped with one of his regular bikes. I've Googled and have found no such thing besides his Snake River Canyon rocket. I was a kid but I know I'm not crazy. Wasn't that long of a drive so I'm assuming it was at Fremont Raceway. Sound familiar to anyone?

 

Steamrollers. And I don't mean the kind used in paving.

Heck, I've got a couple hanging in my daily driver right now!

 

I was going to say the same thing. I always have a tree in my car. it is just a way of life.

 

I went to Snake River to see Evel make a attempt. Still have my gate pass, bought the ticket from the local Harley shop, it was in the shape of a big numer one ... Harley being number one and such. Hella fun week of drunken debauchery and riots taking over the beer trucks.

I think the population of Twin Falls tripled that week.

 

A buddy of mine had a jacked up F250 with a honkin' 390 and a stick and 4.57s front & rear. Man, that thing used to tear up drivetrain parts like it was going out of style. Might had something to do with his "flashy" driving style too. Lighting up all four across the intersection and all...

 

Now that reminds me, before I decided to leave on my pilgrimage I was living in the ozarks close to my brother and mom. My little brother and I both had scooters, his was a late model. We got into this thing about doing bleach burnouts in the town square. He would roll up and I would soak him down and he would light it up, then the next time I would roll up and he would soak me down, etc.

One night about 1:00 Am we were going to last call at the local pub and he decides that it is a good idea to do a bleach burnout so he reashes in his coat and throws me the squirt bottle and I jump off and begin soaking him down. There was a lot of people sitting on the town square, they called it "square sittin' and whore honkin". Well he lays into it like there is no tomorrow and it manages to scoot out from under him. As he is picking himself up a deputy walks out of the county courthouse and hands him a ticket, then turns and hands me one too. I said, '"hey wait a minute I didn't do anything." he just smiled and said but you have in the past.

 

Are you talking about fatties? At least that's what we call em now, errr, uh..
Hey, about those li'l tree fresheners- turns out they came out in 1952 to combat spilled stink in milk trucks. First air freshener for cars. The trees, that is, not the milk.

http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/SaratogaAutoMuseum/blogs/8782

 

No "Mad Dog" 20/20???

 

Yep! Fatties!!... Man it's been a while... Goin' on 8 years since I last burned one...

 

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1973..
Me and my buddy (both 18) have a 6 pack of Colt 45 in the back seat wtih 2 open containers in the front. Also 7 cases of Blitz beer in the trunk after waiting in front of a store and paying somebody $10 to buy it for us. Get pulled over for a little burnout in the GTO. Cop sees the back seat beer and asks "you boys been drinkin?"

Me: yes sir, we both just popped one, then I saw you and stuck it under the seat
Cop: do you have more?
Me: yea, it's in the back seat
Cop: besides what I've already seen
Me: *silent*
Cop: open the trunk
Me: No sir
Cop: do you want to go to jail for reckless driving and minor in possesion?
Me: No
Cop: well then, open the trunk

I open the trunk. Cop opens his trunk.

Cop: You boys put that beer in the squad car and don't let me see you again tonight.



that was $60 worth of beer....... but he 'forgot' the other 4 Schlitz in the back seat

 

Seems like everyone used long shackles, but around here a lot of guys had the clamp on helper springs too. Any one else remember them?

 

I bet him (the cop) and his buddies tied one on at your expense...LOL..

 

The 70's.....It was the golden era for snowmobiling...............!!

 

My brother and his buddies got busted like that and the cop made them pour it out on the ground - but his friend says to the Cop "Can I have one more before we pour it out?" Cop says "Yah, why not". "Can I grab the opener from in the car?" "No". So he opened it with his teeth! (This was the days of Stubbies - no twist offs).

A friend of mine got busted with a full ounce of pot, but magically when it came up in court it was less than a quarter - What was he going to do complain that 3/4s of the dope was gone? Good scam for the cops eh?

 

Two of my rides back in the 70's.............

 

^^^^^Your '40 looked SINISTER then!

 

OL55: Saw your `40 at Timmie about `74-`75 liked it then, like it now!

 

Wind it up, put it in your Bathroom,... and it parachutes into your toilet !

 

Around 1978 or '79. Wasn't even legal age to drink yet.
Me and my buddies are driving around having a car party. It was just after dusk, and I rolled a stop sign.

Cop pulls me over. He knew me by name.

Cop: "Have you boys been drinking?"
Me: "Yeah."
Cop: " Are you drunk?"
All of us in unison: "Not yet! LOL!"
Cop: "Been smokin any funny stuff?"
Me: "What? No!" (Friend in back seat says we can't find any. )
Cop: "Well, put the beer in the trunk, turn your lights on and watch those stop signs!"
Me: "Yes sir!"

The things the cops would let slide back then that would never happen today!
Had many instances like this.

This is what we called a steamroller. Same thing?

 

We used to get the front coils out of a whatever and weld then to a plate then bolt then on top of the housing with a couple of U bolts, or even a bent piece of all thread.

The wife and i had a '66 Fury for awhile with front coils out of a wrecked 442. Man that thing had a serious stink bug stance, and it road like a lumber wagon, but it would corner flat as could be. Cornering being a nominal word here.

 

We called those a carburetor. Hold your finger over the end, take a big hit and then pull your finger off for a shotgun effect.

I was a volunteer firefighter in 1974 and worked at a Mobil station. A bunch of the guys were going up into the Adirondack mountains in upstate NY for a hunting and drinking weekend.

After work, around 10PM my buddy picked me up in his '66 Wildcat with a case of beer and a couple of 12 ga shotguns in the back seat. He also had a fresh lid and we sparked one up. He took the lid and stuck it under the dashboard lip by the glovebox.

After a couple hours of driving we were in the middle of nowhere and my buddy wants a smoke. He had a pack in the glove box but the door latch was broken so he had to pound on the glovebox door to get in open. It wouldn't open so he just stops in the middle of the road, leans over to try to get the door open.

As he's messing with it a car comes up behind us. I tell him but he says, "they can just drive around us, no biggy". Well the car pulls up right behind us and sure as shiat, it's a cop! He officer comes up and shines his flashlight in the window and asks us WTF are we doing? As my buddy explains the cop shines the light in the back seat and sees the beer and guns. While he asks us what we are doing with all that I notice that the lid has fallen on the floor and is laying between my feet!

I'm freaking out but blurt out that we're firefighters and on our way to a department training session for forest fires and we're going to do some hunting (and drinking) while we are up there.

He let's us go but tell us to get the F out of the middle of the road!

Yes, they let us get away with a lot more back then.

 

I rode Harleys back then too. Thats when it was not acceptable and wearing a Harley T-shirt was not allowed in certain bars. If you traveled and saw another guy on a Harley you actually had something in common. Anyone else remember sleeping in city park in Sturgis on the ground.