Art & Inspiration Street Racer Info 60s -70s Wanted

Now Id like to state up front I was never any street racer of any renown in my small town of Canton Ohio . One of the smaller fish in the pond perhaps . But it was more a lack of finances and cir***stance than lack of desire and p***ion . I knew the right folks . I was a nightly regular during the years of 72 -76 but by the time I got to where I had the finances to play , the era was over in my town . By 78 youd never had known the cruisin and street racing went on . But ive never lost the p***ion of those days , and even now , after 40 years or more , theres a part deep inside that hope it could all come back ... which it cant of course .. its a different world now . . But I have recently started a small group page on FB that I hope I can get some detailed local history of my small town do***ented at least . I would urge you all to do the same ... its a history that should not to fade into obscurity . But strangely enuff , the folks from my hometown it would seem , would rather go have a rectal exam than talk about those times !!! With a few exceptions its tuff getting so much as paragraph out of them ... and yet you big city boys seem willing to talk endlessly about your days and I love reading about it . Ive learned so much about what was really going on all across the country ... I mean food vendors showing up on Connecting Road to feed the spectators and racers ?? Thats what ive read .. But I am the persistent type and I will keep beating the bushes . They are either gonna give it up or get pissed and tell me to F*** off . I got some good advice recently ... I was told you got to think like a reporter ... if you really want the damn story , you gotta dig for it , dont give up . Perhaps if enuff folks would start doing the same in their small town , at some point some one will gather what we collect and make a central site ... Id love to volunteer for that job , but to coin a phrase from Clint Eastwood " a mans got to know his limitations ... " im not qualified nor have the skills for something this big .... but some one out there does ... and I ask ... where are you ??? I beseech you .... Dont let this great history from the Greatest Era in American Performance go to the graves with all who lived it ... !!! Stude .. you up to it ... you got the skills .. LOL

 

aagasdragster...I'm in total agreement with Rex_A_Lott's comments. I'm 73 years old and blessed to have made it this far...there are lots of guys in my graduating cl*** of 1961 that have not survived the years. The stories they knew and the illegal racing they participated in died with them while those others still living won't ever admit they were street racers altho, as you said, there were thousands of us that did. Some still believe that the statue of limitations are still in effect and won't say anything to anyone about their transgressions.

Actually, I've written six books in my writing career, so far. One of those books is ***led "Recollections, Regrets & Random Acts"...that one has a bunch of stories from the guys you talk about -stories from some of my friends from all over the United States about their (sometimes illegal) activities and transgressions. You should probably read that one too.

So, aagasdragster, instead of a book, why don't you put together that website you are talking about...perhaps you can get those still alive to come out of the closet and tell you a story...!!!

R-

 

Good reading here.
Diehard pre 66 guys might want to go have a sandwich.

http://www.connectinghighway.com

If there ever was a more intense street racing scene than the NYC area in the 70's I've not heard of it. Notice they even had a dedicated "pit area".
These guys were serious!

 

Mmmmm boy, the memories...
I'm 74 (B'day Today!) and graduated in 1960. Abraham Lincoln High School grad, (was expelled from Santa Clara High in soph. year for building a hot rod in Auto Shop during the absence of vacationing Auto Shop teacher Mr. Gillespie. Student teacher enjoyed the project, had NO idea of Gillespie's hatred of all things Hot Rod!)

My buddy Ramsay and I had built a channeled 'A' Coupe for him when we were 14. Nice '30 Coupe, '38 Ford X member, 21 stud flattie and '38 box. Mor Drop axle, ($10.95 exchange at American Auto Supply) and juice brakes, Atlas Auto wrecking had a '46 sedan that was the donor for all that. Got it running 14 months after we started, he sold it, got it back, and sold it again. I bought it for a dollar from my sailor bud Al 2 years later...
But I drove it all the time. (my roadster was running, then apart, running again...) so I drove the Coupe to school.
Stu Gates bought a stock '30 'A' coupe from me, wanted to channel it like Ramsay's. I suggested we do it at school, Gillespie was going on vacation...Stu brought the car to school, (still stock) and told Gillespie he wanted to 'overhaul' the car, front suspension thru eng., trans, rear...he could have some of the other students do certain parts. Gillespie thought that sounded great.
We started on a Wednesday, I think...Fenders came off, engine/****** came out, then Gillespie left, after introducing us to a young student teacher.
We had quite a staff. I elected (drafted) Joe Esperanca and Eddie Souza to do the '41 Ford flathead V8 as soon as it arrived, general overhaul, Weber F2 cam, adjustable tappets, they did a ring-and-valve job, sent rods out to be resized, Mel Urich did the transmission ('39 box) while I cut the flooring out to channel a whole 7" over the frame.
Everybody was busy, including 3 guys I forget, Barry Little was the 'leader' (we called 'em the "3 Stooges")
Barry was a good welder, and the metal & machine shop adjoined Auto shop.
We had the car channeled, Dago axle, juice brakes (the Stooges did the brakes and suspension, split 'bones)
'A' steering was used, just 'clocked' at the frame with the stock 'A' steering drop. Stock 'A' tank. All this in 10 days.
Clutch linkage was unfinished, had to get the car running and out of there, Gillespie was due back...
Stu clamped a vise grip onto the division bar, throttle linkage was done, no master cyl. as yet.
We pushed the car out of the shop, Stu stepped on the Vise Grip 'clutch', and we pushed him in 2nd gear.
The engine came alive, Stu took off fast, and I spied something on the ground...a VISE GRIP!
The channeled coupe was a block away now, through all the traffic on the street (school just got out, a mess of cars, buses, and pedestrians!)
Make matters worse, Stu p***ed up Rich Starret's '49 Chevy Coupe (303 Olds/Hydro power) and Starret stepped on it, no traffic up there, Stu put his foot in it (no clutch or brakes!) the race was all important.
3 cross streets, no stop signs either way...Top end of second gear, Starret p***ed Stu's hot rod like a freight train p***ing a tramp.
We jumped into Mel's '51 Chevy Tudor, and gave chase. Starret was long gone, and Stu was up about 6 blocks.
He had shut the engine off, and was slowing under compression. Finally stopped.
I asked what the hell he was thinkin'! Stu said, "Never chicken out of a good race!" Ha.

Monday morning, Gillespie found out in graphic detail about a hot rod that had been built in his own shop!
All hell broke loose, but the student teacher went to bat for us, naming me as the orchestrator who had kept everyone in the shop busy, while 'building a hybrid automobile'.
I ended up in the Vice Principal's office, this fat V.P. Bordenave reprimanded me loudly...some students stopped to 'overhear', when I came out they were snickering, some patted me on the back... I had been warned, sternly.
My 'hot rodding' would be 'curtailed', I was told. "Keep your nose clean," I shrugged 'real cool like', "Yeah, O.K."

Either that day or the next, right after school I walked out of the auto shop to Al's coupe, which I was driving daily. I had been practicing this trick I saw Joey Chitwood do...I could go 35 MPH, (second gear) and run up on the curb of a driveway, (like a 'ramp') violently g***ing it, slightly turn back out into the street, by this time I'm up on 2 wheels. Not very far, maybe 30 feet, not up at a 45 degree angle, either...but QUITE notably on TWO WHEELS!
Right past the Auto Shop, students waiting for the bus...SO Cool! Then I spied this real wide fellow, in a near panic...his arms were waving, he was yelling "STOP!" I decelled, on 4 wheels now, ****! That was the fat Vice Principal! Bordenave.
He called my Mom at home. It was perfectly clear, I was to report to the Registrar's office at 9 A.M., for my 'walking papers'. She was wild. Never saw her that mad.

I started Lincoln High less than a week later. Gave them my Mom's hair dresser's address as she was in the district. My first day of school I tooled up to the stop sign on Dana Avenue, (right at the Rose Gardens) the school was I real long block away, and I was alongside of a ratty '32 sedan (red primer, full fendered, red-and-white checkered firewall, small block Chevy, with a 2 barrel Rochester. I laughed, and started to go. He revved up that little Chevy and I clutched the flattie and floorboarded it...Grabbed second, I torqued him 2 car lengths...he missed his shift, I was at the top of second, let off, braked, and turned into the parking lot. Grabbed the end space (empty!??) and slid to a stop.
The Deuce guy pulled up behind me and got out...Two of my buds (former Santa Clara High guys, both kicked out for hot rodding, now Lincoln High guys!) walked up, the Deuce guy (Mike Montevaldo) said I was in his space.
My 2 buds (Don Serventi and 'Sneaky' Johnson) said loudly..."That's Mike's space now, he won it. We seen it."
Mike Montevaldo was a cool head. He said, "We'll race again. That's my space..."
Well, yeah, it was his space...and the next time we raced, I had his *** outa the gate...(4" stroke!) Perfect shift to second... Then he flew by me like the cops were chasin' him!
Next day, I found another parking space, just 3 down...LOL

 

Gotta love this stuff, cool story Mike!
And Happy Birthday!

 

All good points you brought up Rex ... while street racing was illegal .. we did it anyway , millions of us in fact , and in towns all over America ... and I dont understand the rational of being embarr***ed or feeling guilty about it ... but I have seen what you stated many times while looking for info and stories ... for me personally ... was it a good idea , perhaps not ... am I proud of it ... not exactly ... am I glad I did .. .you bet your bippy I am ... I lived and experienced a national phenomenon of which the likes that will most likely never be seen again , not as we knew it at least . And I could say , most of us did it with some thought to it ... we sure as hell didnt want to get caught nor have accidents , injuring innocent folks would have been disastrous and we knew that well . Now on the typing , I cut no slack here . Im 65 years old and its true , they didnt teach typing to dudes back then and most of us werent interested to boot . But if I can type over 100k words in just the last three years alone with 2 FINGERS , certainly they can type a short paragraph , and for a good cause . The preservation of our times , our era . And I wonder if perhaps that isnt a part of the problem here . They just dont realize the significance of the part we played . Our lust for speed fueled the performance industry , still does . Millions of us , and yet we get no ink . no do***entation ... Now I dont want to be famous ... what I want is for future generations of motorheads to be able to read how it really was in our days , the golden age if you will and I want to read about those before me , where I came from so to speak . .. and thats what got me started ... a second gen motorhead who has a p***ion for our times , emailed me and told me he couldnt find any info and after looking myself , determined he was right . And not only in my town , in any but the Largest cities and then no abundance or organized effort to compile a comprehensive timeline of history Im not the guy whos qualified for this ... but better a feeble attempt than none at all . At the least in my town .So I collect stories , photos , whatever I can find on anything cruisn or street racing anywhere , and for a yet unrealized purpose . I would hope there are others ...

 

No disrespect here DDD but ... Hey you pre 66 guys .... DONT LEAVE !!! ... your stories are perhaps the most precious of them all .... the view thru my eyes is these just before muscle car guys were the last of the true hot rodders and street racers ... they couldnt buy performance , they had to build it , and it wasnt just a trip down to the local speed shop or parts store to get it . The stories they folks have are pure Gold Dust to me . With out them , we would never have been most likely .... so you pre 66ers , go get your sandwich and cup of Joe , then get back here and start writing .... your info is perhaps the most valuable .... and time runs short ...

 

None taken @aagasdragster.
It's just that I am keenly aware of our HAMB guidelines and know how sacred the pre 66 time frame is to many members here, I am quite fond of it also.
I'm only 62 so the 70's scene is what I have the most direct involvement with. I also know that submitting photos of Pinto's, Vega's, and the like will surely cause thread closures.
I only delete my entries when the OP (you in this case) request it, it's your call.
If you would like, I'm more than happy to PM to you anything I run across deemed OT.

 

Thanks for the reply DD .... first off , I personally dont have much use for cutoff dates and if had to pick one , it wouldnt be any of the popular ones ... I view it more as tradition issue than a year issue , but this is a complicated issue subject to interpetation of history at the least and I dont want to debate that here and stray too far off topic .
Next id like to thank the HAMB for letting this thread continue even tho my subject ***le has a 70s reference . Tho I dont know the exact reason , id like to think they have allowed it due to the subject matter in this case . In this case , traditional street racing as most of us knew it . At its core , and I think most could agree that it stayed mostly the same from the 50s- thru about 74-5 at the least . The basic platforms the racers started with changed somewhat , but the way we cruised and street raced was pretty much the same ... in the end , for me personally , I like to learn about it all . I do think the cutoff year issue would make for an interesting thread if not covered already . I and many other regular readers debated it with the Hot Rod Deluxe staff a couple years back and I would enjoy doing it here as well .... if one starts , someone let me know .... I want in on that one .. :-0
The bottom line ... if the HAMB is gracious enuff to allow it ... I would like to see all stories that pertain to traditional cruising and street racing ... but I could add that my personal view from what I experienced myself and what ive read to date , traditional street racing started to change in the mid 70s . Again for me personally , it started with the towing or trailering in of cars to street race . A big departure for our small town ....

 

A good argument Stude , but geez .. .every race they ran couldnt have had that dire of consequences ... We arent discussing murder or robbery here , we are talking about street racing ... now we probably all did some things we arent proud of back then , but it didnt happen on every race we ever ran . If I could guess , id say that maybe one in ten at best perhaps had something happen we woudnt want to tell . I can see not telling those , I wouldnt either , but that leaves nine that could be told with a clear conscious . And I wouldnt dream of asking someone who feels that strongly about what they did , to tell something they arent comfortable with . in the end , its a personal choice , just one I dont understand other than we are all different .
On writing .... im truly glad you came to the thread . I have searched Amazon numerous times looking for books on street racing and the only one that came up in my search was a book by Oldham on the Woodward scene . I wanted something less localized and for the 50 bucks they asked , for just one area , pushes my budget ****ons here . But Id like to own them all :-0 . I will be looking for your books !!! Just the ***les alone get me excited !!
Perhaps I have mistakenly implied id like to write a book or two about this subject . Far from it . I dont have the skills to tackle something like that with any professionalism . In this day and age , something as big as this subject is , i think some type of blog/site is much better suited than books . And I say that with a somewhat heavy heart . It is well known that print is on the decline and may become all but extinct in not so distant future . And that bothers me a lot of course because I grew up on print and to this day I do enjoy , in the winter months , to hit the music room, put some blues or rock on my vintage stereo and read car mags ...
On the web site ... again , I dont have the skills , both research or technical , nor do I the financial resources to do it effectively and professionaly . But ... I have toyed with the idea of at least starting a companion page on FB in addition to the local one I started . I got about 150 -200 stories from various sites , some with photos and other articles id like to share with all those who enjoy this type of thing .
Lastly , Im gonna give you ,and perhaps all who visit here , your chuckle of the day . After becoming a fan of Automotive fiction since I first read Hot Rod by Felson in the school library in about 1962 , ive collected all I have come across , so maybe 12-15 books total , the latest copyrighted in 1976 . And about 25 years ago I told myself someday I was gonna write my own , geared to a more adult audience tho there arent any really ..and I have , two in fact . Started the first winter I retired . No .... no plans to publish of course . Im not NEAR that good . These were done to please myself and to see if I could actually do it . The second was a sequel to the first and about street racing of course . The first dealt with the death of street racing in my town and the second a rebirth by third gen gearheads or the Treys as they call themselves ... But it was what I learned that was most interesting ... I couldnt believe the amount of research it took to write a book of fiction ... endless trips online and many phone calls trying to get details in the era correct etc . And nights I would be "on a roll " and write till the sun came up . Stude , I cant imagne what it took to write what you have done ... my hats off to you fella ... by the way , do you have a particular fav of all youve written ????

 

id agree .... if there is a term " professional street racer ' it applies to these guys ... some of the most interesting and entertaining reading ive done on the subject ...

 

Mike you had me laughing here ... these are the gold dust stories I referred to earlier .... every time I think my age group were wild and crazy , I read stories as yours and realize we were pikers compared to you guys ... !! the shop stories really hit home as I took auto shop as well ... and perhaps a few shop stories here about those days ... our Jr shop teacher was a short German guy and he owned a 63 T-bird , stock but beautiful . A 390 car if memory serves .We had the same deal as you . No hot roddding work done in the shop ... you needed brakes , you could bring it in and repair it ... you wanted to put on any type of performance stuff . it wasnt gonna happen there . Now we were a rowdy bunch I guess , and as in every cl*** , a few rowdier than the others . And the teacher had a unique way of handling that . If anyone started giving him **** about this or that , challenging him , hed make the same offer . " if you dont see it my way , tell ya what . Lets go settle this down in the ba*****t . You come back to cl*** first , we do your way . I come back first we do it my way ... deal ??? " and hed put out his hand to shake on it . No one took him up on it ... he was very strong and he just had that something that told you not to mix it up with him . Another punishment hed dish out was if you got too mouthy in cl*** . Hed take you over to a magneto type device mounted to a bench , grab your hand and start hand cranking it and you being the end of the circuit , was getting the **** shocked out ya . If ya let go before he stopped cranking .. you got to start all over ... we had this little squirt and was always mouthing off and he spent a lot of time "on the mag ' as we called it ... this kid would just be jerking and spazzin , both feet coming off the floor at times ... looked a marionette on strings . One time me and a cl***mate , the strongest in our cl*** was working on car and we had a bolt we couldnt get loose . we got a half inch breaker bar and we are both hanging on it and about this time the teacher is walkin by , spots us and walked over and said ' what the hell are you two jokers doing " . We told him and he said give me that , took the breaker bar and socket , put it on the bolt and gave a grunt as he gave a quick tug and you could hear the bolt snap loose . Handed the breaker to me , looked at us both and said ... what a coupla F***ing pussies and walked away . I got caught smoking on the boys room and when they couldnt get me to admit it , I didnt think he had me dead to rights so I stuck to my story ... it ended up got sent back to cl*** , no punishment . But after that if i asked to go use the restroom between period breaks , and we all did that ...hed say , Cannon cant you just wait till break time to smoke like everyone else or ... dont get caught today Cannon , im not in the mood for the paperwork ... the craziest thing might have been the day the teacher was out of the shop , we had a car in for a carb rebuild and one of the team on this was a real JD type kid . He decides he gonna put the fuel line over the intake where the carb sits and try to start it . He cranks it over and surprisingly it ran a few seconds , then it gave a big backfire spraying burning fuel everywhere . We were all standing there in total shock and about then the teacher comes in and the flames are about 2 feet high by now and the teacher grabs an extinguisher and puts it out . He asks who was responsible and the kid admitted he was and the teacher asked him if he had the money to pay for the damage and the kid said he didnt . The teacher told him starting tomorrow , every day you come in and dont have any money , you got to spend twenty minutes with me in the ba*****t , at a dollar a day , till you pay for the damages ... the kid never came back ... never heard what happened to him . Crazy times ... great memories these days ...

 

oh damn . I forgot .... Happy Birthday Mike !!! and please post as many stories as you feel like ... I dont see enuff of your eras stories to suit me . what I also found interesting is in 1960 you guys were hot rodding 30s and 40s cars.... by my time in 66-67 it was late 50s-early 60s Chevy , Fords and Mopars . While we liked the old stuff , I dont remember any of us owning them . I myself had a somewhat ragged 54 Chevy with the 6 hole of course , its redeeming quality was some one had installed a floor shifter . Now me and most of my cl***mates were too poor to pay attention as they say , and none of us could do much to our cars . I had a guy take a torch and cut the bumpers off my 54 . I managed to buy a set of white wall recapped tires and a set of baby moons and of course a pair of foam dice hanging off the rear view mirror . While I wanted much more , I still thought I was livin large ... I had wheels !!!

 

Back in the 60's street racing was very popular in many parts of the country.
Here are a few samples of what you received for winning on the streets.
Jimbo

 

I wasnt around in the 50's but I heard the stories a lot when I was a kid. They mostly raced on 101 and 290. From what I gathered these were chosen because they were state highways and had good pavement, and not a lot of traffic on them. They were both still 2 lane roads back then. All the county roads back then were tar and gravel or dirt.
They didnt do too much drag racing, per se, but preferred to run on top end, from here to there. Mostly from a dead stop, but sometimes kicked em off at 30 at the beep of a horn or blink of the lights.
On 101 they would all gang up at Jack Snows barber shop, across from what is today the Barnyard flea market. The two racers would go up the road and turn around at P.F Coggins' old store, across the street from where the present day Waffle House is, and run back toward the crowd at the barber shop, about 3/4 of a mile. Most of the time by the time they got to Harrison's store in Sugar ***, it was obvious who was faster and they would turn around and go back. Sometimes if it was close they would turn would turn around, line up again and race back.
On 290, they called it the Moore and Duncan highway, they would start at the beginning of the government pines in Duncan and race toward Johnny ***ton's old store. Sometimes they would line up two sets of two, and the second set would take off right after the first set got out of the way. The funny part about that one was in the late 70's and early 80's the high school kids would still race up and down that same road, going and coming to the vocational school, ( R.D. Anderson). They called it the RD 500. They couldnt run WFO all the way , of course, but it was still a contest to see who got there first. The people that lived down through there finally complained enough that the Highway patrol was out there almost every day and it gradually just died off.

 

let me start with,
Once upon a time, back in 1969, a picture of my car was posted on the bulletin board
of the SDPD (yes the san diego police department) in there ROLL CALL room.
ya... with a long paragraph describing things like, do not stop without backup or a ranking
additional officer (you know sergeant / lieutenant ) unless you were already in a two man car,
with an explanation of which i will not go into detail here.
and how do i know that it was there, well i was on the fence of becoming a full fledged
surfer, car nut (way to much STREET racing) or going to the RIGHT side of the LAW.
And so I signed up for their RIDE along program, and while in the midst of the initial grand tour of the place, low and behold i spotted a picture of MY car with a paragraph description under it.
One thing it did say(that i'm willing to share) is that the paragraph said he is fully aware of the traffic codes and carries a CURRENT code book with him at all times.
well now while i've never grown up i have CURBED the tire burning and wheel stands on the STREET.(ya right)!!!
---> insert princess bride quote here...
Inigo Montoya: Let me explain.

[pause]

Inigo Montoya: No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
LIFE is GOOD enjoy the time we have while were here.
nickname ----> RACER, -n- sometimes rickyracer ...lol

 

YOU should work on your books...IF you've tried once or twice and have a half way decent m****cript-FINISH it... Doesn't make any difference how good you are, there are editors out there that will make you look like a professional...!!! WRITE it...get after it...Work on it for an hour or two EVERY day...put words on paper (or computer screen)...save it, compile it later. NOTHING ever gets done without the first step of the journey.

I work on my stuff every day, two-three hours a day, seven days a week...no one says you have to sit in front of the computer 10-12 hours a day writing...the whole time you've spent here you could have been writing...WRITE YOUR book...!!!

R-

 

South Seattle, WA 1960-1966 memory brings up names like Rainer Ave. in Renton, Golden Gardens, The Lake Washington Floating Bridge Tubes (probably one of the most unique places to race anywhere), Duwamish Junction, River Road in Puyallup and the Crain-Wabash Road east of Auburn. There was also a lot of impromptu stoplight to stoplight throughout the Green River Valley from south Seattle to Tacoma. A different time for sure, simpler and more fun.

 

Maybe the reason a lot of older guys won't admit to street racing, has to do with all the press the activity has gotten in the last 10-15 years, or so. Sadly, this new breed of street racer is a lot more reckless. Bad **** sells and the media loves to hit on the kid who killed someone with his honda Civic.

While I never raced in our areas of Houston (Greens Rd. and also Rankin Rd.) back in the late 70's, I was a spectator and things for the most part were controlled and kinda organized. Doesn't seem to be the case any more.
Just a thought. Those were some good times, but you can't go back.

 

I've posted this before in similar threads over the years. Late 60's through the mid 70's, cruising Colby Ave, AKA "The Gut", in Everett, Washington State, and racing on Hwy 529, AKA, "The Marysville Flats. There is a series of draw bridges there, and no real place for the police to hide. There was also racing on Hwy 526, AKA, "The Boeing Freeway"; at one time there was even a quarter mile marked out on the road way, and the start said, "Pacific Speed Raceways". The was also racing on Airport Road that was finally shut down by a stealth operation by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, and the Everett Police Dept. NO radio communication by the police, and they "pounced" all at once, even grabbing up the guy who was doing the starting. A big club at the time in Everett was the 1320 Express Co. If you had one of their stickers on your back window, they nailed you for anything they could. There was also street racing in Seattle at Golden Gardens Park, and on Harbor Island. There were even stickers that said, "Golden Gardens Raceway". There was the "Renton Loop" that was a huge "square" of streets that cruising happened on; it took a long time to make the full loop. On Colby one weekend, there were a couple guys with a portable P.A. setup "announcing" cars paired at a light. The had jackets on that said "Bremerton Raceways".One night in Everett, on Colby Ave, I raced a 57 Chevy off a traffic light in my 70 340 Dart. We no sooner cleared the intersection, and the police car lights came on. The 57 Chevy kept going, and they tagged him, down the road a ways. I pulled over, and got the, "both you and I know what this car can do, don't do it in town!!!" speech. The friend with me could't believe that's all they said/did, and let us go. My Father was a Washington State Drivers License Examiner at the time, after retiring from the USAF out of Paine Field. If he only knew how much street racing I was doing He drove my car to work one day; my Father in a 70 340 Dart *******, Go Mango Orange, blacked out hood with twin scoops, lifted up, Cragar S/S wheels, Sun Super tach hanging from the drivers side visor hinge (no other place it would go), headers with 16 inch Cherry Bombs where the stock mufflers had been. He got a ribbing from the other examiners, and he told them the color was GO MAN GO! I did't make it to the dragstrip, Seattle International Raceways at the time, until a little later on. It was shorty afterwards I got an invitation from my uncle to come play war with him. Damn draft lottery!!!!! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

thought id send this along since I just received it ... ... this was a car that cruised our avenue when I was a kid ....so about 63-65 .... took me over 40 years to get a photo of it ... was a SBC with quads , four speed ... Econoline Front axle and an Olds rear ... a hero car for me back then ... still is ... it was one of the most famous cars to cruise in our town of Canton , Ohio

 

Jimbo . perhaps you might give some details on these ... who made em up ... how did you get one .. etc ... fascinating ... you New York boys did it up right !!

 

so this took place in Reidville SC Rex ... ??? a unique racing deal you guys did , never heard anything quite like youve indicated to date ... thanks for the story ...

 

well it sounds like ya were well schooled on the law Henry, a**** your other talents ... also it would appear your still a street racer perhaps ... wheel stands in the street in the 21st Century ... whod a thunk it ... LOL

 

While reading your story I noticed something I see in many stories I read , that while the cops could be real hard ***es , they also let more than a few us let go . Much the same as my personal experiences as well ... and it always makes me wonder what the critera for tickets and the agenda was for cops . Anyone ever talk to one about those days and what it was like from their point of view .... might be interesting ... ???

 

Early spring 1972 I'm working at a Pontiac dealership at Seven Mile and Livernois in Detroit, Packer Pontiac.

My O/T daily driver 1966 Pontiac 2+2 developed a miss. 69 Ram Air III engine with a four speed. So it went into the shop, diagnosis a bad plug wire. Replaced the set, tech told me to take it out and test it. Up Livernois and back down to work. On return trip I stood on it pretty hard from the light at Outer Drive. Miss was gone, headed back to dealership.

At Seven Mile, sitting at the light. Not thinking about much else I looked over at the car to the right of me. 65 Plymouth Belvedere Beige two door, noticed it had "X" plates on it, two guys in it wearing suits. Again didn't think much of it. Light changed, hammered it hard from the light.

Powershifted into second, cleared the first block south hammered it into third, started braking for the traffic light at Margareta Street, the second block south of Seven. I'm in the left turn lane on a green light waiting for traffic to clear. I hear a horn, look to the right. See Beige Plymouth stopped on green from the corner of my eye. Think "why is he stopped on a green?" and look again. Gentleman driving with suit has a very nice GOLD badge in his hand and points to curb and I can lip read "PULL OVER". Well now he can read my lips as I exclaim "Oh ****!" Yep, two Detroit Police Detectives with a pissed off look on their faces.

I pull over after making my turn with him now blocking the street as there is no place to curb park. First thing he said when he got out was "What the Hell were you doing back there?" So quickly I hand him the service order on the car that was still inside. pull out my license and explain the work done on it, and that I worked at Packer. The last part was important as Bill Packer was the President of the Hundred Club, a club of business owners and money people that donated money to the families of police and fire department members injured or killed in the line of duty. I was told when I first started there to be sure and say where I worked, it might help me out in times like this.

Well, he takes my license and the repair order, the other cop is on the radio at that time. The driver tells me "We could call in a Precinct car and have you written for Reckless Driving you know" which I said "yes sir" to.

He said "you got your free one, don't pull that **** on this street again" to my "yes sir"

He parted with "nice shift there too"

 

I noticed you used the term " the gut " in your post . The locals tell me it was also used down here in Vancouver Wa as a term for cruisn the downtown area . Ive asked numerous folks here how that term came to be , but no one seems to have a good answer ... they still " cruise the gut" here once a year in July ... its quite the spectacle and id guess more cars and people than they had back in the day .

 

I gotta tell ya ... you guys from NYC and Detroit have the best damn stories ... when I was a young man it was common thought that LA had the best of everything , including street racing . But when I haunt sites like this im finding out you guys had it going on !! At a level my small town could have never imagined . The guy who sent me the Falcon photo I posted wrote me they arrived in LA in late 69 -early 70s . It was his opinion that we had it pretty good in our small town . He told me street racing was going on all over LA , but it was spread out over such a large area , no one area they managed to find had an over abundance of cars at any one place . Said they were both surprised and dissapointed ..

 

Look up this thread, Street Race Stories. It was started by HAMB member Bootlebob. There are a lot of San Fernando Valley California stories on that one, including a few of mine.!