It's April 1957. You just worked all night installing your new Mcgurk and Strombergs. This weekend will go your way at the drags. You call your best buddy, Ace. Although it was just a couple of hours since he left your garage, You can't sleep. Ace is headed your way to bail in and head to the strip. The excitement you feel is the same for him. Doing car stuff with friends tops it all. He gets there and you both pull out in your '40 Chevy coupe, knowing full well that Corvette 235 is way meaner than it was last week. Ace agrees, the Flathead that has been winning, is toast this week. You move it through the gears, and it feels solid. Better, maybe even really good. The trophy is yours. Pulling into the track, its already overflowing with people. Good, you want them all to know who the man is this week. You find a good pit spot and unload your tools and gear. Ace heads for the concessions, he's already hungry. Again. You can't eat. The excitement is rolling in your stomach. A couple friends stop by, checking out the fresh intake and carbs. Your hand made linkage moves like butter. you're proud of it. Across the way, you catch a peak of that green '35 Ford. The Flathead. The Arch Enemy. He's headed up for a time trial. You can't move fast enough to get there too. You jerk the cutouts off the Fentons and rush towards the long line waiting to make trials. 10-15 minutes pass, but it seems like hours. Finally, its your turn. You bring it up to 3000 and snap the clutch. It dusts the tires off easily. Hell yes. Let's get it. Moving forward, the flagman stops you on the mark. You rev it once, man it sounds good. Holding steady at 3000, you stare directly at the flagman's knees. It's a trick you think only you know to get the jump. He twitches and you're gone. Oh yeah, it's moving good, you catch second gear perfectly, now it's really stretching out, and then 3rd. You're telling yourself already it needs more gear. Finish line comes and you push the clutch in. Nice. Very Nice! Now to catch that Flathead and send him home early. Later that day, after hoping and wishing all day, it happens. You and him. It's time. You don't like him, well, he just wins too much. Not today. You repeat the process that has been working all day. You're watching the flagman, you'll definitely leave on him. You're watching intently, you can't hear anything, no blinking, just watching. You see a twitch and your knee reacts. You're away clean and you don't see him. YES! 2nd gear falls in, and all that work on that shifter linkage pays off. Wuh, Wait.....WAIT. There's a damn green fender to your left. You stare at the tach. BANG. 3rd gear. And he moves up more. What the hell? Slowly, your heart starts sinking as more and more fender shows up and slowly, painfully slow, he nudges you out. This is impossible! He beats you the exact same amount. AGAIN. Ace can't beleive it either. He's headed to the bathroom. You told him about those track dogs. Thats it. "Maybe I need a Ford" you think to yourself. It's time to go be nosey. You have to. You walk up to "congratulate" Flathead as he's opening the hood. "I'll be damned". No wonder. That damn Flathead dude has been to the speed shop this week, too. Perched on top of that block sets a pair of Ardun's. Now what? Now WHAT? You don't know for sure, but you sure do hate green. My name is Wade Owens. I'm a car junkie just like all of you. I live it and breathe it. The above is just a story that played out in my head. I missed the heyday of hot rodding. Being born in '68, was in my opinion, a minimum of 16 years too late. Every uncle, older cousin or family friend knew I liked cars, and they feed my addiction with hot rod magazines. Muscle cars have always been where my interest was. I was never taught the street rod coolness. Now, as I get older, I'm working my way backwards to early iron. I've lurked here, off and on for years. So now, that's my introduction. And now, a '30 roadster pickup is in the works for TRoG, and I cant wait. Kudos and thank you to you all, forgive some of my upcoming ignorance. I'm a quick learner though. Stay tuned.......
An excellent introduction. Well done, very well done. Welcome from beautiful downtown Cleveland, Tennessee.
The Jalopy Journal
