A different kind of burnout

Back in the mid '60s when I was about ten years old, a buddy and I were damming up water in the gutter near the bottom of a very steep street. A guy in a '55-'57 T-bird roared past going up the hill. Soon we saw the car rolling backwards down the hill. When it was a couple of car lengths away the driver revved the engine and dropped the clutch. With tire smoke billowing out, the car continued moving backward until it stopped about even with us then began inching up the hill. Eventually it got enough traction and he went zooming away up the hill.

Anybody else have any oddball experiences like that?

 

Called laying "J" strips. 40 years ago it didn't seem so odd ball?

 

Called it candy canes around here. Lots of broken parts in those days!!!

 

I see occasional evidence of such behavior in the back roads of Cheeseland to this day.

 

In Northwestern Wisconsin those were know as "reverse drops". As previously mentioned they were very rough on parts. The other technique used for this was to do a reverse burnout and then shift into drive. This was even harder on parts.

 

Talk about hard on parts. My friend just out of high school back in 51 bought a 49 buick roadmaster convert. We would take girls for a ride & with them in the back seat(for safety,theirs not ours) while cruising 60 he would slip it into reverse. They would just about pee their panties. One night while heading home out of town, we both lived on farms in the country, a 48 chrysler town & country pulls out of a side road directly in front of us while we are cruising pretty good soo ol John just pulled it into reverse & left it there while applying the binders. Needless to say that saved our skin that night. Not very long after he had to replace the dynaflo as it was toast.

 

I had a old worn out Model A in high school & to do a burnout I would back up & while going rearwards slip it into 2nd then 1fst then pop the clutch. As was posted made some nice Js.

 

So do I, Mike.
Tom

 

we called them teardrops.

 

There's a youtube video of a guy in a newer Corvette doing a "burnout", smoke pouring out! But the tires were not spinning

That was a pretty odd and funny one.

 

I used to do this in my Pinto in high school...lmao!!

 

Same here in the Twin Cities.

I fried more than one tranny doing the reverse to low burnouts.
Or do figure 8's. Had a cop stop me in the wee hours one night when I was 17.
Dale, he said. You must own stock in Goodyear or Firestone the way you burn through tires. Now go home!
Ahh the 70's.

 

Yes! forklift on a loading dock used to do the same thing at one of my name badge jobs in High school

 

Never heard of it!
Would love to see someone else do it!

 

i once saw a lady in a left turn lane with her left blinker on, but she turned right. it really surprised me. that sort of thing?

 

Back in the early 60s we would cruise up behind someone riding a bicycle, turn the key off, floor the gas pedal and turn the key back on. The resulting backfire was guaranteed to scare the crap out of said cyclist....

 

Hahahaha i thought that was what kill sitches on motorbikes were for

 

The locals still do that on "school house hill" in Buana, Wa and probably are the third or fourth generation of guys from that area that have done it. More than one broke and rolled down the hill backwards over the years. In the 60's I was working on a house at the bottom of the hill and someone was spinning the tires up the hill about every hour.

 

I think I caused a guy to crap his pants in the parking lot at the mini mart the other day when my truck backfired when I started it. It wasn't intentional either.

 

Blew the muffler off my dad's new 59 Ford station wagon doing that.
He was not happy.

 

interesting, my buddy used to yell "watch out" or "watch out for that dog". People can really jump when they need to.

 

Do not...I repeat...do not.... buy a used car from Hertz rental cars....Those big Lincolns they rent, really do nice tear drops, or J's which ever way you did them as a kid.
Ummmm. or at least those that were based in Lost Wages!!!!!

The transmission was making noises as we turned it back in.


HellRaiser

 

Back in the Great Middle West around '66, my buddies pooled our money to buy a '57 Ford more door with a 292 and three on the tree just to go drinking in on country roads. I think it cost $25. We'd get a heat on and try and do a burn out, motor revving like crazy, smoke filling up the interior through the rusted floors. Thing is the car didn't move, no rubber marks, all clutch.

 

I used to do this in my Pinto in high school...lmao!!

ME TOO!!! I thrashed that poor little 2.3L engine like a rented mule, but it never blew up. I did completely burn up the clutch, tho, and my Dad's mechanic ratted me out.

Was 16 at the time...had a lot of fun with that car...ended up junking it.

Chris

 

My first car,225 slant 6 dodge was too weak to spin the tires. Used to pull the front up on the sidewalk with the rears on the curb at high school to spin the tires. Parents couldnt figure out why I was breaking rear ends.