Hot Rods What did ya do back in your day,local car hop hangout?

Not the Arf 'n' Barf anything but that.

When I was in high school on Oregon we used to hang at a place called Scotties drive-in, its still there and they actually have one of my hubcaps hanging on the wall. I lost it peeling out of the driveway one Saturday night.

Sometimes we would cruise one town over and harass the locals at the Artic Circle.

 

I never spent much time cruising for pelt...Not that I didn't want any, just never seemed to be much point, with the ATF stained "General Kinetics" shirt and the "Eau du 90 weight" in my hair... I just couldn't understand it, I figgered they'd think that was "hot"...

 

My very first camshaft purchase was a GK, 1974 (ish), 20 year old newbie.
First engine I ever built, a 350 sbc plus .030, 12.5 compression.

 

I was in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late '50's .... cruisin' around East Cleveland, Euclid, Willoughby, Ohio.
Friday nights were nights to cruise and race, while Saturday nights were date nights.
Our drive in restaurant was "Manners" ..... other areas knew Manners as "Bob's Big Boys".
First thing was to stop at Sunoco gas station, pump in 3 bucks of Sunoco 260 at .29 cents per gallon.
Next was the uncapping of the short lake pipes ... now we had open exhaust.
After fueling up and uncapping, we would 1st cruise through"Lakeshore Manners", checking out the car hops on skates, looking for someone to race, then cruise around another block, down to Neff Road .... to the DARK lakefront parking lot, where everyone would park and "make out".
An "A pillar spotlight" always got the attention of those making out, for they thought it was the police "busting them"
We did this to see who was "making out", while we drove around with a "shifter" in our hand. DUH !
We then cruised to Euclid Avenue Manners, checking out the cars, the car hops, still looking for a race.
If that failed to find a race, we went to Willoughby Manners, the # 3 stop on our list, went through the same scenario there.
If and when we did find a drag race, we went back to East 72 Street, by the Aquarium, where the drags were going on, like a NHRA event.
Truth is, the Cleveland Cops were co-operative, regarding the races.
They had part of 72nd Street blocked off ..... I think the Cops somehow felt blocking the road confined the majority of the street racers, to one area, with their street blocking idea.
Ever watch American Graffiti ?
That was the way we lived, an amazing time in my life.
Back then though, it's just the way it was., each and every week, during "the cruise season".
Ah yes, the good ole days !

 

A friend worked at G-K a few years before that. Another friend had a poster in his shop probably dating back to about 71-72. Nude blonde holding a camshaft. Probably about 08-09 we were in his shop and I looked up at the poster and said "Can you imagine what she looks like today?"

 

We cruised the west side suburbs of Detroit. Telegraph was our normal road. 68-69 There was a Taco stand at Joy and Telegraph, Paco's and later Pico's Tacos. That was our hang out spot. West side of Detroit, Big Boy, Grand River and Greenfield and a Daly's at Joy and Greenfield were hot too. On Grand River near Telegraph was Geiger's Hi-Burger, later it was sold,closed and made into a used car lot for Klett Cadillac.

West suburbs, Farmington not much cruising activity. Local A&W was pretty much a non cruise place due to the owner. In Northville the A&W was open to cruising. We pretty much kept things under control there, enough of us enmasse kept it pretty much in order if any "outsider" tried to start something. Something about a few good old boys, a few clean cut guys and a few of us hippies in a group approaching said it all.....hey, we were cheap security guards, the owner recognized that and appreciated it as he told us.

 

Hey Brett - I'm 99% sure you and I went to high school together at Page High School. I drove a T-bucket to school my junior year and a 1968 Camaro my senior year. I remember your truck well - and your brother's panel.





I cruised the same strips you did back then. In fact, I sold my T-bucket in the parking lot of Bob Petty's Drive-In during a Wednesday night cruise in the summer of 1982. A guy called me and said he wanted to look at the car, and I told him I'd be at the drive-in. He and a friend were in NC from Michigan and he saw my ad for the car. He met me there, drove the car and then pulled out a large binder clip with $2105 in it - all in $50 bills. That's all he had, so that is what he offered. He picked up the car and left for Michigan (driving) the next morning. That's the last I ever saw of the car. I started a thread here on the HAMB a few years ago trying to locate the car, but had no luck.

I know the Camaro is not HAMB-friendly, but it was a fun car too. I bought it for $300 and (barely) drove it home. It was wrecked and the transmission was slipping badly. I was helping a friend who owned a shop at the time, and he painted the car in exchange for a summer's work at the shop. That was a great experience.

Did you ever go to the Boar and Castle on West Market Street before they tore it down? I used to ride my bicycle to the cruise nights there before I got my license.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=968574a8b593fcc594118228f62927e9&oe=58C8E0FA

Those were fun times. I hope all is well for you these days.

Take care,
Todd

 

Late 80's I had a t bucket with SBC and cruised every weekend around neighborhoods. Turned a corner one time and a guy had his garage door open with a t bucket inside. Had to stop...we went cruising a few times after that to A & W in Homestead.
Early 90's I was in the South Dade Street Rods club. We put on a monthly cruise in at Fuddruckers on US1 at 104 St. Had a 57 Ford then a 31 roadster around that time. Pat Riley came to the cruise one night in his custom 50 Merc.

 

Probably gonna date me, but living in a small town, we had to go to the county seat of Fayette or over into Columbus MS to do anything. Same destination both places----Sonic Drive in. The one in MS the girls wore short short shorts {before Daisy Duke made them famous} and roller skates. In Fayette, we'd park at Sonic a while, then go cruise Main St, which was 4 lane back then, and race red light to red light. If somebody wanted a serious race, we'd head out to the river bottoms straightaway, about a mile of smooth flat two lane with two bridges exactly 1/4 apart. Just past the bridges is a crossroads, if the law showed up, one went one way, the other went the other, so both wouldn't get caught. Usually they wouldn't chase anybody up the side road, but every once in a while they did. Had a 67 Mustang 289, won a few, lost a few. Had a lot of fun.

Now, Main St is a two lane with a turn lane, nobody cruises it or Sonic anymore. I don't know what kids do now except go to a mall and be asses or go to movies. Almost no kids with any kind of hot rods, not even fixed up rice burners. Four door econoboxes or pickups now. Most boys want jacked up 4x4's around here, if it's a diesel, that's a plus. I figure most of them would crap in their pants riding in a hot car with a 4 speed with somebody that knows how to shift it, foot deep into the four barrel, engine screaming at top RPM while the trees go by looking like a picket fence!

Like Archie Bunker sang, Those were the days!

 

Not a whole lot of area to cruise in Vero Beach Fl back then.However,we had the beach parks to check out and the local A&W for munchies and the car hops on skates..After that we would sometimes head down to Ft Pierce to
Bills Burger for some REAL GOOD burgers and fries.AND check out the car hops.IIRC,Bills burger basket was 1.25 including a soda of your choice.Sorta had to mind your p`s and q`s there though.For you see,Bill was a cop in Vero Beach hehehe.Maybe Dana got up that way once in a while?Those were the days for sure.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Today was "Road Trip" my nephie and I drove down to a fellow restorer to help him fix his electric furnace in his shop. He is restoring a 1911 Cadillac Demi-Tonneau. Getting cold around here and he needs the heat to keep making progress. His goal is to be driving the Cadillac when he turns 80 in 2 years.

He then took us to a local greasy spoon, for a incredible "all fried" breakfast, hash browns, eggs over medium, extra crisp bacon plus sausage and to finish it all off a stack of buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup. It don't get no better than that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Got to play cars and clog our arteries all in the same day, it just don't get no better than that.....................

just sayin,

brasscarguy.

 

Got up there to race the 1/3 mile oval track"Vero Beach Speedway"but it was actully north of Vero a little,in{Fellsmore} a few sat.nites. Won 2 there. Funny part going to that track was the grandstands were built on the wrong side of the oval= early fans had a seat looking west into the setting sun. Fans drove in to parking lot off US 1 by going over really ruff RR tracks west of highway,but racers went around by side road that went through a cematery to get to the pits{spooky. It's gone now an just two big rockpits,the land was used as fill for new housing some were down US 1.

 

Acton, Mass in the mid-late 60's. Small town of 4,oooish back then, never much going on. We use to just park in the Actonian restaurant (now a McDonalds) parking lot or the Bowladrome (still there!) across the street. Most of my money was spent on gas and we just drove to neighboring towns, never looking for a race, always looking for girls. Once of twice a month we'd drive in to Cambridge or Boston and drag the streets there. Not racing. As someone mentioned earlier we use to call cruising, dragging the streets, or just "going for a ride". We called racing, racing, lol.
One of our favorite things to do on a Saturday night was hit Harvard Square in Cambridge and watch the Beatnics...when's the last time you heard that term? We loved to park near the square and watch the Harvard girls walking the sidewalks between the coffee houses flaunting their new fashions...mini skirts and braless lightweight tops. The girls in our small town hadn't yet adopted that trend.
Always when we went into Boston, on Route2, we'd stop or drive thru the car-hops in Cambridge. One was called Richard's drive in, on Storrow or Memorial DR. ...the Cambrige side of the Charles River. Can't remember the name of the other one across from Arthur D Little near the rotary at the end of rt 2

 

Maynard G. Krebs, a long time ago. Harvard Square is a pretty cool happening spot.

 

Like Dana, early years in Miami spent at Pizza Palice and The Big Wheel. Hot rod at the time 48 ply with chry 6

 

That would have been Big Burger Ranch. Many nights we would go to Richards Drive In [That was Memorial Drive] then take the ride to Big Burger Ranch .Great times!

 

Yep, Hide = girls. bobg1951chevy has it right. AG was no myth. Thats the way it was.

Gary

 

Graduated in 69, Grove City,Ohio. We always made a loop from GreenGables at Mound & Central on the west side of Columbus over to West Broad to the Big Boy and raced red light to red light. GreenGables was the hot spot for lots of street action, big money won and lost at times. Kind of like that hokey assed TV show so popular now only real.
We would cruise over to the east side to a couple of hangouts once in a while, soon found out that was no place to be if you were not a local.
That had to be one of the best periods of time to be a gearhead kid, you could buy a thrashed out three or four year old GTO, 396 Chevelle etc. for $1,000 to $1,500 bucks, rebuild the engine in auto shop and tear up the wide ovals on the weekends. Life was good!!

 

"Like Dana, early years in Miami spent at Pizza Palice and The Big Wheel. Hot rod at the time 48 ply with chry 6[/QUOTE]
Hy Gene,jog a old thought or two;From your house west a few blocks to Big Wheel or east to Golden Point,south to make a run around around Jimmy's or Hot Shoppies ,the Pizza Palace was the hottist spot on 8th st. The odd giant big ball it was made from looked more like a OJ fruit then pizza,they did add 2 more Pizza Place's out lets by 62, on Bird Road an one in Hialeah,making a fairly long loop to hit all 3 The flag pole was just out of this Hotshoppie pic to the right about 10foot over,an car hop parking spots ,was out back. US 1 an Bird Road south east corner/it's now a US post office

 

grew up in New Orleans in the 60's raced on east bank and west bank, we would hang out at the Steer Inn on Elysian Field Ave out by Pontchartrain Beach and race there and on west Bank at the Dairy Queen on General Meyers Buy my parts At Jakes Speed Equiptment Think His son Johnny still around Had 64 Falcon Sprint 4 speed later a 67 Chevelle 4 speed Big block 69 Camaro Small Block 4 speed

 

Hi Dana.Yep good old Fellsmere.Had a bunch of buddies out there.We were all into cars,fishing,hunting and just roaming the swamp.Fellsmere was the original county seat for Indian River county.All kinds of back road racing going on back then.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

A&W was in Hawthorne. The only reason to go thru Inglewood was to get to the Wich Stand on Overhill and Slauson. Probably wasted a thousand gallons of gas from 1960-64 on that run.

 

Both of these are beyond kool, especially the first one. Man, they just don't make 'em like that anymore. They bulldoze them instead....

 

I hung out at the A&W root beer place. There was also a diner 7 miles away. Cars and gas were cheap then (1966) I had a 55 Chevy 327 4 speed. We used to race behind the Airport. I have many fond memories of that time. We lost a few buddies in Vietnam who I still think about today. Their cars never got finished. Nobody wanted to buy them as everyone felt that was Johns car or Roberts car. Kids today will never experience the times we had.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

"
Jimmy's long before with out the big carhop parking cover Jimmy added ,had been a failed Howard Johnsons @ Bird Road an SW 32ave. It was bulldozed around 1990 an became a Shell Gas,but now that got bulldozed an its open lot with a fence around it to save the weeds from running away.

 

I stand corrected.....yes, Hawthorne.......been awhile.
Forgot about the Wich Stand!

 

Yup, Allen's, NuWay, Winstead's down on the Country Club Plaza (which is still there), Griff's Burger Bar at 64th and Prospect, Fairyland Drive-in and the A&W across the street from it at 75th and Prospect, all familiar to Southeast and Southwest High rodders. If you were from Southwest, you raced down Ward Parkway. If you were from Southeast, you raced Meyer Boulevard from Agnes to Indiana. If you were stupid, you raced just before or after school when the cops were hanging out on those strips. Winstead's and A&W usually had the cutest carhops.

 

The Big Burger Ranch was where I got into my first confrontational incident with a kid.
I pushed a guys face into the sundae he was gorging on. He was mad but we became the best of friends shortly afterward. Good thing he was smaller than me too.
Later I discovered Revere Beach ( a wild place on weekends ) Brighams in Arlington,, Mr. Donuts, Richards at Wellington Circle, Carroll's in Stoneham, Kellys in Woburn that later became Bill and Bobs. Also visited some haunts in the Natick and Framingham area, Nicks, and Riley's most often. Did Orange, Sanford and NED on and off either with a Fuelie 57 Bel Air or my 32 and 36 Roadster for giggles. My Chevelle did well there when I tired of the show car drill and decided to use it as was originally manufactured for. Richards in Medford was my all time favorite but local law enforcement forced us from the competition acceleration time trials eventually there.
My wife ran out of Wellington Circle with her GTO and her 327 Corvette but she constantly destroyed valve train components. She shifted gears like lightning.
I've backed off of many cruise nights the past 3 years but look forward to stepping it up again come spring.
Originally viewed it as Wednesday and Fridays were race night then Saturday was date night.
I wasn't a huge time street racer but I did my part. A few wins some losses and a lot of component failures.
My best action was out of Richards where you could always find a challenger and then run later up old route 2.
You where real hard core if you carried a membership card in your wallet.
RTTA *
That gained you instant respect no mater how tough the other racer appeared.

* Route two timing association. View attachment 3392311 View attachment 3392311

 

First cool carhop drive-in I ever saw was Mab's in Santa Clara, on El Camino Real, 1950...right off the 'curve', between Santa Clara University and Al Baggot's Used Car lot, where the V860 Midget parked in front. Al drove the Midget on the street, licensed with head-and-taillights. TOO cool!
My first visits to Mab's were in 1955, as a 'guest' in some older guy's car; at 13, I was confined to a much modified '49 Hawthorne 26" balloon-tired bike.
Mab's was in a large gravel lot, entrance on the East end, exit on the West. Nobody paid attention, 'cuz these guys could enter at the exit, spin a big donut (or at least a 'hooker') and leave by the entrance.
Santa Clara cops hated Mab's, all the hot rod guys hung out there, parking all around the circular coffee shop, drinking coffee inside...
Then someone would say, "Central?" ...and they'd all run to the cars, (me included, when 'Eggy' or 'Boof' or Cliff Ambrose were there. Always a ride for 'Mikey'.)

Procession of cars ('Stinky' in his fendered 'A' roadster, fast 4; Boof in his black '32 Hiboy; Tebash Bros., '32 Hiboy Five window and '31 roadster and there were more. Hank Silva's '40 Coupe, first Chrysler Hemi I ever saw in the flesh! Eric Bracher's raked-and-flamed '40 Merc, big flathead.
Anyway, "Central" was their secret name for De La Cruz Blvd., just past Food, Machinery and Chemical Corp.
A nifty 1/4 mile was marked, and drag racing commenced without warning...

I was graced with a 'ride' the first time I went. My friend 'Boof' ('Pal' in Portuguese) took me with him, '32 Hiboy, 5/16" X 1/4 flattie. He was pitted against Cliff Ambrose's '32 fiver, full fendered, 296" (3/8 X 3/8) Evans heads, Potvin Eliminator cam, 4 Strombergs...
Crap! Boof only had 274", and two Strombergs. I had been driven home from Cliff's house once in the Five window, after helping him adjust valves. (back breaker, even with the drilled tappet bosses...just horrible over those dark rose red fenders!!! Back on went the intake, and adjust the straight linkage... )
Fired it up, adjusted linkage again, then "Road test you home, Mikey?" OH YEAH!!!
Still remember him backing out onto Monroe St., a new Corvette went by, then Cliff backed out, selected low gear, then mashing the spoon pedal, throwing me back in the seat...WOW! Bang second, Passed that 'Vette like a freight train passing a tramp! Zoom! Then: Hard on the binders, stopped at the sign on Bellomy...
Must have topped 70 in a long block, then stopped! "Hydraulic brakes," Cliff said. (!)

So, here we are, lined up with Cliff's FAST '32. Boof's little 2-carbed 274, man he's gonna lose this one...
But I had miles to learn.
Flag man Little Paul dropped the white, and we shot out of there...I saw Cliff's hood, then I didn't. Second gear jerked my head like a hangman's noose! I turned around, looked back...Cliff's headlights were back there, Boof shifted into high...Stewart Warner speedo said 90, and climbing...we were now past the end of San Jose Municipal's runway, if we had wings we'd be airborne... We slowed, Cliff came up behind, and Boof pulled over. "Wanna go again?" Cliff said "No thanks, I gotta fix something..."
Boof laughed, and we headed back to Mab's.
"How'd you beat Cliff, Boof?" He laughed. "More carburetors aren't the only way to tune," he said.
Never forgot that.

Mab's Drive In was sold, now 'Hal's Drive In'. Rules and regs changed, "No driving faster than 10 MPH in the lot" was one of them. Tony Shoes resented any 'rules', and demonstrated that when he careened into the lot with his old junker '47 Dodge 4 door, 50+MPH, slammed into Hal's garbage cans and sent 2 of them thru the coffee shop front windows!
Nobody hurt, Tony was arrested for drunk. Hal was now called "Happy Hal", (he hated everybody now, thought that Tony Shoes was one of the hot rod crowd) so everybody moved the meeting place west 1/2 mile, to El Camino and Scott Lane (now 'blvd') settling into Johnny Freitas's Giant Standard Station.
These were my 'foundling years', as these fellows were to teach me lots. About respect. And learning. And being 'cool'. And acting it.
Three long years later, I would be driving. (legally)