Past Adventures, Street Racing, Crazy Stuff, Car Related

THIS IS AN OT THREAD I'm somewhat on a lock down, back problems, finally have a plan, we'll see what happens. At 78 memories from years ago are pretty clear, ask me about 2/3 weeks ago, not so much. 66/67 ? This was the most spectacular street race that I saw, hoping some Milwaukee area guys were there to see and comment on this event. Marc's Big boy on Capitol drive was the cruising hub and a meet up for organized street racing. 60's -70. I heard about it and showed up to watch and help. A local guy, Hemi drag car brought on a trailer, opponent same deal Hemi drag car on a trailer neither street cars, a Chicago owner. Very well organized, went off perfectly. Step 1 cars warming on trailer, all the traffic control people, me included ran to their spots as traffic on capitol drive was stopped/blocked both directions and all side streets blocked for race, several men with radios, cars off trailers and moved to the prearranged spot, I was about 2 blocks east of BigBoys , 6 blocks, side streets blocked 3 for race 3 for shut down entire event, 5 minutes maybe. WOW it was a Happening. Close race when they went by me too close to call. A $ 1000 dollar race was the story. The police showed in force after it was all over. Post your stories, I can't be the only one with wild adventures, stories, I have stated, I'm a very lucky man in so many ways.

 

1965 Plymouth 318 auto, Ac, nice car, my ride after street racing days. by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

I was involved in Sreet racing 64/70 My avatar, my first car started it all, the usual meet up was a Bank parking lot after the Saturday night cruise on Wisconsin ave. A different group than the BigBoy capital ave. group, though I raced with them also, all very organized with mostly good/great people. Saturday night Wisconsin Ave was a huge event, beat cop Police patrol for crowd control. it was maybe 8/10 blocks each way and lasted for hours. The girls with Mom's car would moon you, even the cops would be laughing. imagine 2 beautiful moons cruising next to you. I lived at the right time at the right place. To finish a story on my retirement from street racing, my last street race, police had this event covered, by 1970 they were very serious about shutting street racing down. 30+ cars all bets and races set, myself and a buddy lined up first as all went quickly, OK we launch AND the RED Llghts on, police with large force, everyone there got a ticket, myself and the friend haul ***, I go straight, he turns off to right, he got away, my 4:56 gear 110 mph maybe, I see the T road sign, Left or Right not an option, I get on the brakes start down shifting and made the decision I'm going straight off into the corn field. over the ditch, through the barb wire fence and mowing corn down, 64 Chevy Impala SS, X frame car, the hood and trunk popped, doors opened, engine shutoff. Sitting there and I'll never forget, Sheriff on the horn says, Lock Her Up Buddy, You are going to jail, the only hand cuff trip in my life. All night the men telling what a dumb *** I was, couldn't argue that point, asked a lot of questions about me I answered polity and went before the judge in the AM, I called my wife, showed up with our new baby, second child, other in preschool. The Judge paused and we went into his office and we had a long conversation. They had run a background check on me, reads it me to me, never in any trouble, except driving like an ***, home owner, married 2 children finishing my Tool & Die apprenticeship was aware I had 2 jobs, great credit score, talked with my wife alone, I took baby then and let us sit awhile alone in his office. Hour or so he comes in and says, thought this over, normally you go to jail, Huber law so you can work, But I'm having a contract drawn up between you and me stating this street racing is done and you are going to drive lawfully, NO violations of any type, going to send this to the 5 surrounding counties. 3 year deal, If you break this contract , Huber law is your future. We signed it, I thanked him, greatly appreciated the huge break and I grew up some that day. I paid a fine of $200 and I had to pay the flatbed charge. I did honor that contract, sold the Chevy instantly and purchased an adult car, 65 Plymouth sport fury, 318 auto, my first a/c car. beautiful car, slowest car I ever Owned. At this time I started racing in my Dad's Midget race car and went racing for 21 years, finishing up in wing sprint cars, that satisfied my need for speed.

 

1967/ 1960 Ford convert, 352 4 barrel, 3 speed, w/ Hurst, 4:70 Detoit Locker by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

pale purple w/ white top, custom black bucket seat interior by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

Ton of custom body work, nice car, traded for it, enjoyed it, sold for big cash at the time 67-68 by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

1962 bonneville convert, 389, 4barrel, auto. NICE car, 1969 or so by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

This Kustom 60 Ford rag top was one of my koolest cars in my youth. I did not build it, I traded the 62 Bonneville rag top for it, I with was enjoying cruising with and giving thought how to add some get up and go. HiPo 352, 3 speed manual, slow but looking good. One of my street racing friends had a Detroit locker read end 4:70 gear, traded some mag wheels and some cash for it, Ok now at least it made some noise and tire smoke, not fast, just fun. Enjoying the car and a fellow car crazy cruiser, wanted to buy it, I really didn't want to sell it, he kept upping his offer every time we talked. The offer was getting my attention so I started thinking, looking for my next ride, finally I found my next ride and sold it, I saw him all the time, he drove like a crazy man, trying to street race, car not fast and then he was gone for a while. He shows up at a cruise event with a cast and other injuries, he totaled the Ford. Dumb *** he was.

 

Speaking of Dumb ***, my avatar, my first car at 16, I have posted about it, my Kustom Ford rag top above post. I was having fun hanging out with the "car guys," cruising, street racing some, living the dream @ 16 years old. At a street race event a guy comes up and offers to trade his 56 Chevy rag top, beautiful car, mild Kustom, he mustered out of service in California, drove it home to Wi. I looked at it and thought he was joking and blew him off. Well he kept asking, still I did not take him seriously, OK now he shows me the clear ***le in his name and said I want your car, He follows me home, I get my ***le and we trade. It was a great deal for me, for him, he did not do well with the 57, he needed to switch to an auto trans, could not work clutch, shift gears, he gave up, sold to someone I knew, That guy totaled it within a month street racing. Lovin' my new ride, it was a really nice car, cruising, no street racing as it was a stock 265, w/powerglide, was thinking what I was going to do missing the excitement of street racing. In high school , taking 3 girls + my girlfriend + me in the car to Mickey D's supper club for lunch, now late fall, very light snow cover, so I'm showing off spinning donuts at intersections, ****ski, I got a little to wild and clipped a power pole hard. We got out of the car, nobody was hurt, one mild bumped head and some bruises I'm sure, we walked, all of us to the restaurant, use the pay phone to find a ride. I called a buddy that worked for a towing service and luckily he answered the phone, he was there in 25 minutes, loaded it, took it to my house, the police never showed up. NOW who's the Dumb ***.no insurance, The car was damaged way beyond my skill level, sold it for pretty good money, bought a 51 Ford coupe within a couple of days of crashing the 56 as a temporary ride while I looked for what I wanted. I had to have a car, 2 part time jobs and getting to school, now to cool to walk or bike it. LOL

 

Hope you heal up….. but in the meantime keep sending stories
Dan

 

Sharpone, Thanks for the reply, I was not sure if HAMB guys would be interested in my stories. Now I have this 51 Ford 2 door, V8 stick, flathead. Paid $50 for it, ran good, not rusted bad and had a the big windshield visor. JC Whitney was my friend, 4 baby moons, 4 narrow white walls, seat covers, fuzzy dice, $20 floor shift kit, then purchased 25 cans of flat black spray paint @ .99 per. and 2 red for the wheels. I washed it and scuffed it, Buddy's parents had a garage with heat, spray we did, thought my finger was dead, we were checking to make we were not getting over spray all over,had a fan pointed toward door, we had open door often as the paint fumes were Bad. Pretty good 30/30 paint job. Took a torch to the front springs to give the car some at***ude, muffler off and put 1 gl*** pack muffler, no tail pipe. Old School Cruiser with very little $ involved. I drive this over Winter adding to my car $ from the 56 Chevy. Then my land lord knowing I'm a carnut offers me his 57 or 58 ? De Sota as he purchased a new car. Nice car just rusting away, and it had the 2 4 barrel Hemi, , Jackpot ! Spring was here and Wisconsin Ave Cruise is on, the dealer told him it was worth nothing, he gave it to me. Sign in window first night, meet up with a guy interested at the parking where we all turned around for the cruise, later that became the meet up for street racing. $325 was my price for engine and push ****on torqueflight. Short conversion, I'll take it,when can you pull it, my answer was you get the whole car, had the ***le with me, we went to his home, gave me the cash and he gave me a ride home in the DeSota, Easy Peasy, The following Saturday night I took the 51 Ford with the sign in window and it was a bidding contest, 3 guys wanted it. I sold it for $350, guy picked up Sunday, another Easy Peasy deal. now I have some $$ from 56 Chevy, 51 Ford, DeSota+plus been saving for car fund But no car. I borrowed my sister's car for a week, the car I learned to drive in, my sister was great I miss her, she left this world too early. Thinking I bought my 58 Impala rag top with plenty of $$ left over.

 

1964 Impala SS, 327 reworked to about 350 Hp, 4-SPEED W/Hurst, 4:88 posi by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

68 I bought a beautiful 64 Impala SS, 300 HP 327, 4 speed, 4:88 posi, my fastest and last street race car. I met the owner street racing got to know him and when he had to sell, tickets/short Huber law motel time, arrested for street racing. insurance problems. He had bought it new and he did race it on the street. We talked, price was right, now mine. So........... put on my recap street slicks, installed a Lakewood ****ter shield, a lesson learned the hard way with a previous car, Very lucky to have my feet. Go out to play/race it some, Then I added a few improvements, GM 30/30 solid lifter cam and all that goes with, and a Holly 750 carb. aluminum intake, Headers/straight thru gl*** pack exhaust. The car/engine only had 30K miles. It was Better and good enough for me, same deal, pick and choose my races. most all of street racing was 1/8 mile stuff, some 1/4 mile, my car lost it's advantage. at 1/4 length stock suspension modified by previous owner. never touched that. I would Launch a 5000 rpm, shift at 6500, and it jumped out on the start pulling left front wheel off ground 6"-12" I was told. X frame car. Made some $$$ But Broke several parts, first thing trans, 4 speed was a 2:20 first gear, Replaced with 2: 56 first gear, broke rear end, ring/pinion 10 bolt, not a pumpkin like Ford rears, had to pay a shop for that, now a 4:56 gear then I ripped the center bearing support out, X frames, 2 piece drive shaft, a lot of damage.had to pay the shop again, someone I knew from street racing, reasonable but not cheap, then another trans failure, buy another with 2:56 first gear trans, I did a lot mechanical stuff, body and paint, paint was great on this one, it was maroon with white interior, a Very nice car. I was 22 with some knowledge and experience, It was fun, I was working 2 jobs, the cost of fun got way out of balance for me so I already was going to sell it and settle down, I was getting in my Dad's Midget race car for my thrills soon, Dam car, Dumb *** owner, LOL, I go to race that one more time, the police had a trap set for this event, 30 guys got tickets but myself and a friend lined first, we launched , red lights on and I went to jail (holding cell) see judge in AM. That was the end of my Street racing career,1970, I started a new hobby and went dirt track racing, 21 years

 

1966/ 58 Impala convert, 348 4barrel, 3 speed w/ Hurst, 4:11 posi. This the first car, I owned long enough to do alot of body work to completion and painted. I used to trade, buy and sell alot when I was young. by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:56 PM

1966, "KOOL" dude w/ hair, I miss the hair, more so, my mind!

My senior year 1966, spent a lot of time doing the body, to a mild Kustom, I painted it in my Parents driveway, then had to redo/repaint below side trim, I developed more skills with block sanding. I was proud of it, 20/20 or a little better. I put a new top on, changed the interior color from red to blue, painted the dash candy blue, it spiderweb cracked in winter, looked very Kool. I did nothing mechanical on this car it was all good as purchased. I did not street race this car much, not very quick, just hung out as a spectator, unless challenged by a sure win for me, a nice cruiser. my next car was the 64 Impala SS

 

Jk first car 57, 1964

This car was a BIG deal for me 16 years old, put me on the map as a"car guy" I purchased it from a local car guy without the engine/ trans. He found a cherry 57 BelAir swapped his motor trans into that. I went to the local junkyard to buy a V8 w/trans and my lucky star was with me. He just got in 59 rag top with a 348, tri-carb, 3 seed manual, I bought it, came back the next day with a buddy who used his Dad's pick up. Ok step one, got it to my sisters backyard, no garage, no access to my Dad's tools, garage, etc. Mom and I were living with my Sister at this time. I did have my mechanics tools. Get the car up on stacked cement blocks using a bumper jack, scary ****. step 2 how are going to get engine in car. Same buddy brought his Dad's chain fall, we take a old swing set frame, set that up on cement blocks, reinforce with wood, the swing set, scary, scary deal. I spray can rebuilt it on the ground and added chrome air cleaners, we set the swing set over the engine w/o trans, raised engine up and rolled the car under. really scary. We dropped it in, never putting ours hands near anywhere until down in on the front /rear mounts on bell housing, then buddy goes and gets his Dads floor jack we used that and got the bolts in front and rear in everything lined up no problem, except left header tight on steering box, stayed that way. When I think back,very lucky we pulled this off, I still exchange Xmas cards with this man. The rest was just bolting stuff in/on went to the junkyard and got a driveshaft. fired it up and Dam, It's like we knew what we were doing. The only problem was it did not have a resister for ignition, burned points until I added one. Great learning experience and now I'm cruising, living the dream, total freedom, what a rush.

 

I've (allegedly) been street racing since the mid 90's. We still (allegedly) attend late night "Cash Days" and other street events around Texas. Too many stories to count. The cars are stupid fast now compared to back when I first got into it at age 16.

 

The only street race I've seen for 50 years are the TV outlaw drags, those are race cars but it's a TV reality show. I do not count racing a fellow carnut, for bragging rites, the lunch tab and that does not happen anymore.

 

Reading this AM a thread about visions, more of a daydream here's one of mine, Not going to happen. When in Az. snowbirding I purchased an 01 Caddy Eldorado, mint car for cruising and car shows out there. I always like that body style, I'm into mint OT cars now. My crazy vision/ daydream. I found this red one on a caddy web site. No stuff sticking out of the hood, reasonable fat tires tires in the back, stance good, still have and love this car, shipped it home from Az. What a RestoMod, / Cruiser it would be. Guessing 30- 50K minimum to make the transition and a couple years in the garage, the hot rodder/racer is still in me but now 78 so comfort cruising is my deal, more daydreaming and talking than doing

 

Me and my 71 SS454 Chevelle. There was a street racing spot near the Everett WA. Boeing plant in front of an aptly named tavern, "The Checkered Flag Inn". First time out I'm pretty nervous line up against a female friend in a 69 Camaro that she and her father had built, stout 350 and a 4 speed. We get the go and I dump the clutch, ****!! I'm in reverse! In the never give up spirit I jam her into 1st and the chase is on, never caught her but I did close the gap pretty good. Another time on Highway 99/Evergreen way late in the night maybe early morning I pick up a guy in a GTX on a roll, it's on, the Chevelle had the 3:31 gears in it once it got rolling that 454 just kept pulling. Back then not many traffic lights and the lights that were there at the time, all green. I beat the GTX guy, but don't know if it was worth it, had a pretty wild girlfriend at the time that always had the long painted nails, once me and GTX guy got going she was raking my forearm with those nails and screaming, "you're going to kill us!", didn't draw blood but scratched the **** out of my arm. This would have been late 70's early 80's. Got rid of the Chevelle and bought my first Harley, wouldn't want that girl or the Harley back but I'd sure like to have that Chevelle. I heard it ended up in Alaska. The female friend still has her 69 Camaro in a nice dry garage, hasn't seen the light of day in 25 to 30 years.

 

Kool Story, Nice car Like the Crager wheels. the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 equipped with the LS6 engine package. It is considered the pinnacle of 1970 muscle cars, featuring a 454-cubic-inch V8 officially rated at 450 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. I actually knew a guy that had one, did a few modifications, unbeatable in our area for awhile. I missed the muscle car deal as my driving record was so bad, I had the Money to buy the car but the insurance was more than my house payment Hmmmm, my girlfriend ,then my first wife hated the street race part, never came along, only the cruising part.

 

Johnny 99 post brought up a few memories 66/67 I went to tech school as part of my apprenticeship and met 2 Mopar men, one had the Plymouth 440 GTX 4 speed, other a Dodge SuperBee 383 4 speed The Dodge owner asked me to drive his car, complaining trans problem, I did, it seemed fine, I did not miss any shifts, he could not figure it out I suggested, trade it in, get an auto trans car. The GTX guy, we stopped and had a few beers, I drank pop then he took me for a ride, Wow, fast car, he was nuts, Never rode with him again. I had my 58 rag top at this time, nice not fast, a cruiser. A friend, "Crazy Dave " memory, a car guy, zero common sense, an example, I have talked about the Saturday Night cruise Wisconsin Ave, Huge event, I rode with him, he had just bought a new Pontiac GTO 389,tri-carb, 4 speed car, so we go cruise the ave. Picture this, Crazy busy, beat cops walking street for crowd control, takes 40 minutes to make up and back lap, 20 blocks Sitting at the light, the crowd is chanting to all the cars, Light em up, I saw the look in his eyes, I told him, Don't do it. He waits to get a gap, one hell of a 60' burnout, slides to a stop nearly into the car in front of us. A beat cop walks and states, Are you really that F'n Stupid, gets Dave out, hand cuffs him and has me move car to a side street to get out of the traffic. Dave goes to jail, I drive his car home, knock on the door, Mom answers and yells, Henrey, Johns here with Dave's car, His Dad looks at me and asked, What now ? I explain, his response, Dam kid, his brain must have run down his Mother's legs and I got to listen to him *****ing all the way to my house giving me a ride home. The Kicker, this was the third time I drove his car home. Years later I met Henrey at a restaurant, I sat down and he recognized me, the guy that brought Dave's car home, Nice man, an old Hot Rodder, independent trucker.

 

Another car story, these stories all fit the time frame between 1964, I was 16 to 1970 then 22. I believe I had this car around the time frame of the 51 Ford, still in HS. A free car, 40 K miles, 58 Edsel,2 door hardtop, rust free car, a nice car, auto trans junk. I figured to fix, flip. I called the junkyard, my speed shop, they had one $100, got it , installed and drove it with for sale sign, painted wheels black, baby moons, already had the narrow whitewalls, polished it up, looked real good. The trans failed shortly, called my speed shop, Jim Gish (junkyard owner) he offered a swap to stick, had everything I needed to switch, complete, No charge., seemed like a good idea at the time.Switch it all out, no problems, I did buy a cheap floor shift kit. All was good, factory dual exhaust car, added gl*** packs, put a tach on dash and the 3 panel gauge set, a very nice driving car, common sense and some research, after instantly breaking the 3 speed trans, 4500 # car, 410 V8 345 Hp, 475 Torque, 2:90 rear gear. needed a 3:90 or 4:10 and a stronger manual trans. It was a cruiser, not in any form a street racer, rolling start and easy into it, it was a fun cruiser car with nice pipes. Screwing around I blow another trans, now bought 2 at a time. $50/ I've been cruising with it for sale sign in the window, a surprising amount of guys are interested and a guy bought it, $375, I warned him about any hole shot stuff, it will blow the trans. drive it easy, get on it on a roll. I put a spare trans in the trunk and Told him, don't call, I do not want to change it for him, 3 weeks, he calls and asked me and offered to pay me enough to make worth my time and bought the other spare I had. He never called me again and saw him cruising the Ave. Pretty much the only odd car I ever owned, At shows/cruises I appreciate the different odd/stuff. I believe that's 8 cars including the DeSoto flip in 6 years. I was a busy guy, Having Fun, worked my **** off, that lasted the next 30 years at 50 I backed off some. 70 -91, 21 years was into my racing hobby and running my Tool & Die shop I started in 1976 till 2010. Finally the weather is coming up to normal temps here, Been a terrible winter for my wife and I, back problems and too cold. The snowmobiling is the best it's been in 20 years they say. Have A great day !

 

When I was in high school, one of my best buds had a 63 Falcon Sprint. It was a 260 with a 4 speed and 3:70 nine inch. A fast little car for it's day and Buster drove it like he stole it. We were cruising the local drag one night when Buster decided to air out the Falcon. Just as we were p***ing under a railroad underp*** (at about 60 in a 30 mph zone) we cross paths with a cop going the opposite direction. Queue lights and siren. Since we had not been drinking, Buster decided to just pull over and wait for the cop.

We pulled into the first parking lot we came to and parked the car facing the street, not 20 feet from the road. A few minutes later, here comes the cop, lights on, siren blaring as he p***ed us by and continued down the road.

Buster says to me "He must have seen us, he'll be back." And we just continue to sit there, waiting. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, here comes the cop again and p***ed us by again. Buster looks at me and says "F- this! I'm getting the H- out of here. He had two chances!" We hit the side streets and un***ed the area and didn't go back the rest of the night.

 

I took a nap after lunch and this story popped in my head while having a cup of coffee. My 58 Impala rag top, I've talked about the car and my part time job working in grocery stores, part time 5 years. I worked around 25/30 hours total per week at grocery store, 55 hours at Tool & Die shop 2 nights a week the store truck comes around 10 PM. Usually 4 guys and a manager of some type. How it worked, trucker backs to back loading door, we set a roller type ramp into unloading area back of store, Semi Truck driver loads ramp with product and we had skids set for the isles, we pile the boxes on the skids to match the store Isle's for the restocking process. I would work from 9 PM till 5 or 6 am, go to school, later Tool & die shop. 0 sleep 2 nights a week. I did this for 4 years Here's the car part, I walk out to get my car and to go to George Webb's for breakfast, part of the routine, No Car, WTF, walked around the block, thinking a friend pulled a prank on me. No car, Call the police, showed up within an hour, took all the info, I filled out a form, I start describing car and officer, he states hold on and shows me 2, 8x10 print out sheets of cars stolen in the last 24 hours. He did offer me some hope, being a kids type car, probably kids stole it, they usually run it out of gas and abandon it. (Exactly what happened)A store coworker gave a a ride to work after his Tavern stop, Yes Milwaukee taverns open at 6 am, close at 2 am, again a shop coworker gives me a ride home, same coworker drove me for 4 days., I get the call at work, I take cab to where the car was abandoned, it was out of gas, the officer took me to station for a gas can and it started, no damage, we go back to gas station, I put $5 in, then I follow him to the main police station on 6th Street, it had a large under ground garage. More paperwork, I had to pay the 3 parking tickets where it was parked, Ok, I'm leaving the garage and a motorcycle cop walking in, the funny pants guys, stops me and writes me the 72 hour ticket, fix the exhaust, it did have cherry bombs. I was happy to get it back undamaged, tools in trunk, quite an F story. Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.

 

A shared memory 1974 racing pic, event. I learned the definition, Hero= risky move and get away with it/***hole= risky move, in or over the fence. I qualified 1 car out of feature, a 1/2 Mile dirt track that we ran once a year so I had to run semi, 5th row out, I ran real good in my heat, second with some the fast guys, I was feeling racy, so after the push off I hit the top line couple of times, I thought something was there so in my infinite wisdom I had a plan. Green comes out everybody heads to the pole, that's the way it was back then, I went high, I p***ed 1/2 the field + and knew I was in trouble, lost the car, backed into wall and tipped over= ***hole move. I was OK, my Dad stepped in a hole, broke his foot running to see if I was OK and had a cast for a while. All he said 1X, you crash, I have a cast, what's wrong with this picture

 

Another 1974 memory, a good night for us, happy times and memories.

 

Wicarnut, I was pretty much the opposite of you.
When I was 16, my parents lived in a subdivision at the outer edge of town. Mom & dad had a 1/2 archer lot with a house, and a 3 stall heated garage with cement floors and electric. The drive way was crushed rock, 18' wide and probably 60' long. Dad would not allow me to work on any auto project on any of his property. The car I drove until I reached 18 was his 3rd car, and its parking space was on the driveway. Dad owned and ran a jack hammer business, he had 2 trucks, one with an air compressor mounted on the back, and the other to make bids and pull the air compressor behind it, all that, and the car mom drove occupied the garage space.

While I was a very young, my dad's buddy ran a car at the local dirt track, he lived at the bottom of the hill from us. Dad started taking me to his buddy's shop before I was a teen. We spent many Saturday afternoons there. The local dirt track (about a 1/2 mile away) raced on Sunday nights, but dad's buddy also raced Friday nights and Saturday nights. When I was around 10, the local track went from the old coupes into late models. Dad's friend quit racing when that happened, but fortunately for me, he oldest son had taken up late model racing and the son's race car ended up at his dad's garage. I continued to spend most Saturday afternoons there. By the time I was 13, I was useful at the race car garage, and was actually learning things. By the time I was 14 and could ride my bicycle farther, I spent my Saturdays hanging around most of the other local racers that may have crashed the week before. Most of those guys were pretty thankful for a free helper that could actually do things correctly. By the time I was 15, most of the local racers were asking if I was available to help them the next Sat, when they crashed. I was the traveling, free, useful help, when they needed it.
By 16, dad was very vocal there would be no race cars, or any car work taking place at his house. By then I was already working at the gas station, I didn't need his garage, my boss would allow me to work ion stuff at the station as long as it didn't effect the station's work.
After I turned 19 (in 1974), I got married and my new wife and I rented an apartment that had a garage. We were married in May, by June, three of my buddies and myself built our first dirt track car for the hobby stock cl***. On our first night at the track, the track decided to eliminate the Hobby Cl***! We convinced the track to let us run with the late models for that night, but we had to promise we would "take it easy"! For the record, at that time, the hobby cl*** ran on the same track as the late models, just under stricter rules. In the hobby cl*** we could run as hard as the car would go, but when we ran with the late models, we were suppose to "take it easy"?

With the 8 cars from the hobby cl*** included, the late model car count was 40. The fast 1/2 in the Feature, the slow 1/2 in the semi feature. All the hobby cars (+2 late models 3 of us hobby cars had timed in faster then) were in the same heat race, and all the hobby cars were in semi feature. That night, the track was tacky, by the end of the night, it was fast. The fastest late model was in the upper 25 second lap time. our car did a 27.57 time. The split was right round 26.20.

The track at Freeport IL was a 1/2 mile clay track, measured on the inside of the track (making it a "long 1/2 mile"). Freeport had a pair of 1,000 ' straights with a couple of sweeping, banked U turns on each end. It was a HP track, but if the set up was correct, handling through the corners made you compe***ive.
Our car was a 69 Road Runner that had a 383, 4 speed and a 3:23 gear welded Mopar 8 3/4" rear end. We probably had more HP then any of the other Hobby cars, and when the other racers I had been helping for years found out I was involved with a car, lots of good advice rolled our way.
At the end of the night, our Road Runner placed 4th in the heat (we started on the back row) 8th in the semi out of a 2 car starting field (8 of which were hobby cars). We were the highest placing car from the hobby cl*** cars. The hobby car that had won every hobby cl*** feature up to that night was over a 1/2 lap behind us.
The next week we were mostly in late model trim (bigger tires, wider wheels, racing shocks, but pretty much the same drive train). We bumped along the rest of the season placing in the 8th-12th position. The pictures are from our first day at the dirt track.

I did my street racing in the early - mid 1980s.

 

More thoughts...
Towards the end of that 1st year on the dirt track, two of the other guys bailed, leaving me, and the guy that drove as the "team".
During that 1st year, one of our closest compe***ors was pretty upset that these kids with the hobby car could run with his car. He had money, and pretty high quality equipment, it just didn't handle very well, and the driver was not pushing the car very hard. We could catch him, and p*** him through the corners, but his HP could pull us on the straights. We often would finish right behind him, every week made him a bit madder. We thought it was pretty funny, and several of the other local racers were giving him a hard time as well.

We were a couple of weeks from the end of the season when the poor clutch was starting to slip (it was the one in the car when I bought the car for $150, before we converted it into a race car on a tight budget). When the clutch started slipping bad, we were pretty much out of money.
The next Monday, the compe***or showed up at my job with a proposal. He knew we were out of money. He offered my driver a paid driving position (20% of the winnings) and he offered me the chance to come to his place and help him run better. That offer included the cost of my pit p*** and a few other perks. To a couple of 19 year old guys that didn't have the money to buy a clutch, that deal sounded pretty good. A few days later, we were on his team!
The next day, my brother in law approached me about what the car needed. I told him it needed a clutch. He told me he always wanted to try dirt track racing, and wondered if he bought what ever part we could get by with, if I would let him run the car the last couple weeks of the season. since the car driver and myself were now the "car owners" we agreed to let him have his shot.we pulled it apart and decided we could probably get by with just a clutch disc, so that was what he bought, and what i installed (with his help). The next week, my brother in law had his first ever dirt track racing experience. Lets say he didn't like it very well. I had to talk hard for him to at least start the semi and make a few laps before he parked the car. the Semi paid back 20 places, there were only 18 cars that started, 18th place paid $15. I collected that. The next week, my driver's brother wanted to try dirt track racing. I told him he had to make a deal with my brother in law concerning the clutch disc, then it was OK with me. I don't know what the deal was, but the next week, my brother in law helped my driver's brother at the track. That boy was running hard! With about 2 laps left, coming off the #4 turn, the clutch slipped big time and the motor blew. He was really sorry he blew up our motor, I told him not to let that bother him, none of us needed it anymore anyway.
We ran that car 1/2 the racing season with the transmission in 3rd gear because we couldn't afford the rear gear ratio we needed. After the first ever race, my buddy came in from the first heat race and asked me what the red line on our 383 was. I told him "somewhere around 6,000 rpm, why?" he said we were spinning it almost 6500, and wanted to know what we were going to do? I got the wire cutters and cut the wires to the tack and told him "Drive the car and quit looking at the tack.
We finished those last two weeks of the season in the compe***ors car, much closer to the front of the pack. The car ran so much better then it had been doing, even the track officials were making comments about how the car was running. I parked the Road Runner at my friends farm.
We started the next season very optimistically. That guy had some very nice equipment, and he and I became pretty good friends, something he didn't let too many people do.

 

My parents were both depression era people, my Dad was going to races crewing for someone before WWII, he served in the Navy. He built the car pictured, parts from Tomshe,/car builder, Otto Hamburger/machinist, KurtisKraft body, misc parts. See my albums, I'm sitting on his lap in 1948. The car ran till 74, various drivers including my uncle Chet. I started driving in 1970, not much success at first, We were a very low budget team, I did learn,we improved/updated that car and some success was happening. The pic of me backing in the fence, I just missed winning a feature the night before, led 22 of 25 laps, 1 slip/mistake ended up third, my best feature finish in that car. I have fond memories of racing with my Dad. He was in it for the fun part, at times through the years I got a little too serious and the fun went away.

 

, by wicarnut posted Jan 16, 2014 at 3:15 PM

1975, Kickin *** and takin names was my game plan. We purchased an Edmunds ch***is, I purchased a new Sesco Chevy race engine. My first night was WOW Exciting, I ran faster than ever, put in the trophy dash, my first one, ran good all night, very rewarding. Now I'm back to learning, improving my driving skills, the car setup was good, engine outstanding, me/driver the weak link. I was rapidly improving, my desire and enthusiasm sometimes surp***ed my skill level, no big F ups, till the end of season, some minor ones. Our friend and my mentor Mel Cornett ( accomplished Midget and Sprint car driver) helped me out on how to race, the moves as necessary to gain their respect and my piece of the race track, the fast men, now I was getting in their way. All was going well till the end of the season, Lapping a car, I drove over a RR wheel and flipped out of the track, rang my bell Big time, surprisingly it didn't hurt the car much, frame ok, just the bolt on stuff, Dad had it fixed by the following week and I ran it, After the heat race I /we parked it, told Dad I'm not right yet. The next week I did run all day, 7th the feature and We/I parked it for the few races left in the season. Following week, I went to a Dr, he sent me to a hospital for some tests, I had a fractured neck. I made the choice to sit out 76. I started my Tool & Die Shop and ran that till 2010 when I retired. Dad ran that car with various drivers, including me me occasionally, I sponsored him through 86, he p***ed in 87 watching the Daytona 500 on TV ln a Ho****e surrounded by his family. I ran my Midgets/wing Sprint cars 79 through 91. So far I've touched lightly on 6 years of a 21 year adventure/memories, Priceless.

 

Thanks for the stories, guys Great reading!!

 

gene-koning, From reading your thoughts, IMO we are not that different, My Dad was a factory mechanic, Mom, a part time nurse, always a place to live, chothes /food to eat, my chidhood was good. We both like cars, racing, my path in racing was different as from little on I knew I was going to be a driver, that goal I achieved and like many local racers, I never got past the hobby "local racer" level. I started in 1970, when I got going 74/75, I'm thinking, look out AJ, I'm coming, Well............. that never happened, reality, my goals came down to be a good hobby local racer. I worked hard to be successful in my business 34 years #1 priority, tried to be a good family man, between business, racing hobby 21 years, I was a busy man, a blessing or a curse, I've never slept more than 4-5 hours to this day, had endless drive/ambition, not so much anymore at 78 LOL. I have many memories from racing, I've skimmed over the first 6 years, 21 years total. I'm enjoying the HAMB more than ever as back problems have me in a "down time"

 

Let me pick up my story from where I left off.
My driver and myself started the new season with the late model owner off very optimistically, the guy seemed to be really ready to do some great stuff. About a month in, we were somewhat less optimistic.
My driver, that really only had one season driving got caught up in the learning curve that caused a few mishaps, one should expect from a new driver in a much more powerful car. Nothing was serious, just a little bent up sheet metal, nothing that disabled the car. Unfortunately, the car itself was probably 5 or 6 years old, and up to that point, it never had any sheet metal damage. Stuff doesn't get damaged cruising along at the back of the slower pack of racers. Every little new dent upset the car owner a bit more, and the car was gaining a few more dents every race. The owner was getting upset with the driver, the driver was getting upset with the owner sweeping the car after each race complaining about a new dent someplace.
While I was watching that happen, I was also getting a bit disturbed about my end of the deal. I kept finding little things that I was sure would improve the car, but the owner wouldn't let me even try any of them, not a single one. By 3 weeks in, I was really wondering why I was even there. The 4th week was the turning point for all of us.
We were about 3 or 4 laps into our heat race, moving forward through traffic from our back row starting point. Ahead of us a couple cars got tangled up and pretty much blocked the entire track. As expected, everyone headed for any open hole they thought was going to be there. The my driver was following one of the guys through one of those holes, but suddenly the hole closed up, and as expected, the chain reaction started. My driver smacked the rear end of the car in front of him, pushing him a bit harder into the crash. Just one of those racing crashes that involves 3-4 cars, and most of them, though damaged, would probably be patched up enough to run in the semi feature.
The front of our car had one of those "pretty" mud catchers that was built out of ready rod, and covered with 1/4" wire mesh and then covered with screen. It didn't survive being crushed between the two reinforced bumpers, which didn't surprise me much. What did surprise me was how badly it had broken apart, the now exposed welds were really bad, and I couldn't find one of the pieces! We had a flat tire, so that heat race was done for us. the owner was really mad, he made the driver go apologize for hitting him in the rear (like there was anything else he could have done?). Once the car was in the pits, I found the lost mud catcher bar, it had been forced completely through the fuel cell, and in the front, and out the back, and wedged into the rear bumper bracing! Fortunately, the holes in the fuel cell were above the fuel level line. This was actually an Acell NASCAR approved fuel cell with the foam inserts. We came to the conclusion we could wire the bar into position so it would not twist or move, and we would run the semi feature. The owner relieved the driver of his driving position that night, neither of them were sorry about that.
The next Monday we pulled the cell and send it back to Acell to be patched, the turn around was going to be about a week, we would be missing the next weeks racing.

Rummer was the track was starting up the hobby cl*** again. One of the guys I worked with approached me that same Monday about joining up with me to drive my car. He was willing to shell out the money for a different motor and a new clutch for my car so he could race in the new Hobby cl***. Having been burned on that deal before I made some connections and found out it was true, there were 6 more cars that would be ready to race in the new hobby cl***, starting the following week.

While I was helping the late model owner remove the fuel cell, we had a heart to heart conversation. I told him about the Hobby cl*** starting up again and that I was thinking about going back to running my own car. I told him it wasn't about being against him, but rather for my own growth, and that I had hopped it wouldn't end our friendship. I left his shop shortly after we got the fuel cell out of the car, but I told him to let me know when the fuel cell came back and I would help him put it back in the car. The departure was pretty quiet.
The next day I talked with my boss and asked him if I could still work on my race car at the station. he told me I could, after 5pm, and that he wanted me to take the station advertising off the side of the car. I called my buddy that owned the farm the car was sitting at and asked him if he could bring my car back to station the next afternoon. He sounded excited!
The car was at the station at about 4:30. A few minutes after 5, the guy that owned the late model showed up. The 3 of us pulled the motor & trans out of the Road Runner. The late model guy was really wanting to tear the motor apart "to see what broke", but I suspect he expected to find some trick parts inside. I really had no idea what was inside, that motor came with the $150 car when I bought the car. I drug out the air hoses and the impact gun and we pulled the heads and intake. We were all really surprised to find the pistons in the motor were dished down from the outside edges. That meant the motor was even a low performance, low compression, 383 motor! The actual condition of the top 1/2 of the motor was actually in decent condition considering what we had done to it for around 8 weeks. The cause of the failure was spun rod bearings. I had connections with a local junk yard, he sold me a "good running" 383 Dodge motor for $25, the clutch was $150. By the end of the week, the local racers were all behind me again, including a certain late model owner that was finally grasping how well the low compression 383 actually ran.

When the late model fuel cell came back from Acell, I helped him put it back in the car. He had brought a driver from a few seasons before back, I helped him occasionally at his shop, or at the track if he needed it. Every once an a while if we needed a part it, would mysteriously show up, though he (and everyone else) would deny having anything to do with it.
That 1st full hobby stock season was a ball of fun, we had 6 cars that were really compe***ive. By the end of the season, we had around 15 cars showing up every week.
At the end of the season, the guy that was driving my car told me he wanted to race his own car, I was OK with that. The next season, another guy asked my if I would help him learn how to race.

 

A good friend for years all the way back to High school, we still talk weekly, came up with, their 2 car garage wall (Earned Championships)"Racing is Fun, Relaxing and Economical, NOT ! " Another friend had on his 4 car garage, then 8+ car shop wall (Earned Many Championships) "Speed Cost Money, How Fast Do You Want To Go " On my garage door to my race shop, my 2 car garage (Earned Championships) "Through This Door Lies An Addiction That There is No Cure" I grew up in racing, spent many adult years 21 and I took the cure at the end of 91. I Chose the Cure For Me. I did not go to or watch any Midget racing anywhere for 5 years, Guys would ask my Son at the races, he hung out with his stepdad, a successful racing family, What happened to your Dad ? Still Alive ? I found other Hobbies, came back to Hot Rods, Car Hobby, Boats, Snowmobiles, had time to ride my motorcycle, and started on our retirement property that we're living in today. Running just my business, I had TIME and Money for so many things. One of my take away's from racing was, Everything you do or buy seems So reasonable. LOL, But the MEMORIES, PRICELESS !

 

GREAT Stories
Thanks
Dan

 

This AM with my coffee, I following up on my racing stories, time frame starting 1976. I crashed hard at the end of 75 and had my plans to start my Tool & Die shop in 76 so I just went racing with my Dad with another driver, a former champion and nice guy, we had some success and fun. I did not want to take the chance of getting hurt, screwing up my shop adventure. Now It's 1977 still working 75+ hours a week, things going well with my shop. The same deal I went racing with Dad, now with Mel Cornett in the car, a very good driver, turned out to be the end of his driving career, he retired at season end. 1978 Again I went racing with Dad, another good shoe lined up, again some success and fun. My business was going very well and had a few bucks so I started to build a new state of art car for my comeback in 79. Nearing the end of 78 season a good friend asked me to run a good friend of his, a car just purchased, a very successful race car, I knew the car. OK I warm it up and spun it, a snap spin, I was not even going fast, I get out and tell them something is really screwed up, They get the former owner and his crew chief to check it out, they find a major problem, fix it and come and find me as I was with my Dad at the other end of the pits. They stroked my ego and talked me into giving it another try, So........... I run the first lap of qualifying pretty easy, it felt ok, the second lap I pick up the pace some and go for a ride, higher than the beer stand I was told, pretty much junked the car, I was ok, some bruises etc, and another big time concussion. This taught me a valuable lesson. Never get in any race car that I'm not in complete control of, this fun is too dangerous to be not in control of what you can control. Thanks for reading and everyone have a great day !