L. A. Street Racing Archive late 70's to ?

I got my license in the late 70's and of course wandered into the street racing scene. My first: 67 El-Co, 283 big hyd cam "too big" junk yard Edelbrock Tarantula intake from Colorado Salvage in Santa Monica, Powerglide w/shift kit, Vega torque convertor 'still wouldn't idle in gear with the "big cam", borrowed Holley carb & Tri-Y Headers...

The hot spots at the time: Bob's Big Boy on Jefferson in Westchester "racing on Perhsian" to the south of that Randys Donuts with racing on "The on Ramp" La Cienega 405 Fwy on ramp "first car to come out of the second bridge" won, good spot to watch and race if you had short gears, it was a short quarter.

Torrance: Sandy's now Denny's at Western and the 405 Fwy, Santa fe and Del Amo......

SFV: Van Nuys Blvd, Raymer St., Zanga, Roxford and the 5 Fwy, Woodman & Saticoy, Tuxford "sorry I can't remember all the cross streets.

Some of the legends of the day:

L.A. & Torrance: Steve in the "TARKUS Mustang & 4 Dr Chevelle" 7-Up Larry (from Inglewood) " Nova & (?), Gary (Bimbo) "Camaro", Dennis (fat jap) "68 Chevelle", The School Teacher "Camaro", Black Mark " 64 Nova & Luv truck", Dirty Ron " Vega or anything he drove", Nin'o " Red 68 Camaro w/white stripes and Center Lines" he still has it, Cheater George "?", The late Curt from Culver City '70 Z/28 white w/blk fenders and polished Center Lines, The kid from Tayco "blue Bug", Ron H from La Dera Heights "blk 64 B/BLK Chevelle, 64 Nova B/BLK, g/friends 70 SS Nova" all 4 speeds, Ron from Culver City "Chevelle, Bike", Heckle & Jeckle "Ford 4 dr Fairlane", Gary D. (from W.L.A.) " white 67 Chevelle later sold to the late Fat Jack, The Englishman "Blk Mopar" GTX ?, Peg Leg "?" Sammy "2 Brown Camaro's one B/BLK & one SM/BLK" Van "primer blue matching Camaro & 64 Impala tow car

Some cars can't remember the owners: Snoozen "Nova' and his crew from Torrance, The blk Cad powered Stude, "Keeps me Broke" orange Camaro, 60's Mopar wagon white w/Harwood scoop, The Coor's Lite Camaro etc. Can't remember them all

S.F.V.: The famous Groucho from these pages "several Bitchin cars", Volksmasters VW Club, Tim S. "57 oval bug w/blue peral w/flames, Sorry the Valley memory has faded will add more when I remember.

Remember we raced with safety and integrity: No stupid accidents, No fighting over money, No gangbangers "at least not acting with their bullshit",

Someone needs to archive the history, this Tuner Car Shit is Fucking Up the memeory of Street Racing, it was serious and fun, not partying and gang style bullshit

LET HEAR FROM ALL THAT REMEMBER !!!!!!!

 

RIVERSIDE DRIVE....... SOME FAST STUFF (FOR THE ERA) RAN DOWN THAT ROAD..

 

Harvey's.....Jane and the 401..............

Oh sorry, wrong town.....and a few years too late................

 

I lived in the Midwest, so the only thing I saw was the "Big Willie and the street racers" stuff, in the magazines. That was probably a little later, as he had a Pro Street Superbird or Daytona.

 

Speaking of which, I forgot Crenshaw on Tuesday nights, Big Willie was there and would come to Bob's also. When his Super Bird was on the street it was fast, when he prostreeted it I'don't think it ever ran as well, He was in Two Lane Black Top at the begining with the S/Bird, also the (fat jap) Dennis can be seen in that footage.

I forgot the tracks we had too. O.C.I.R. on Wed. nights, Big Willie's Terminal Island, and L.A.C.R.

 

Com-on all you Los Angeles, Inglewood, Van Nuys, Torrance, Lynwood, Reseda, West Valley, SunValley etc. Street Racers post your stories

 

Bank of America on Van Nuys Blvd,Darrell Youngs,In And Out On Foothill,Oiling Down Alley Between Vons Market On VN Blvd. Also On Driveway Between in and out and strip mall nextdoor.Driving backward on the 210 at Lowell to Race East.Waiting All Night to See A race On The 118 @topanga.Worked For Rex Carson At Western Performance.Bruce Hess,Mustang Bob ,Tony And Alex Roubiciak ,AMX with Smallblock Chevy,Camaro .Klunkie,Charlie,Stinky,Bruce ,Paula, Baby John,Fisher,Peter,And The Turning Point Gang From Glendale [pre mo]

 

Remember the biggest street race of the decade on Pershing ( not Persian) Dr. - The East vs. West Showdown? I do. It was circa 1981 or 82. Bobs Big Boy parking lot was filled with street racers, their girlfriends, and general spectators with all sorts of street rods. Word got around that “Black Mark” from Whittier was coming to race the blue 66 Mustang called “Tarkus” (named after the king of Mars from a sci fi book by Tolkien). The Mustang had 289 with a 650 Holley and all the hot cam, pistons, rods, heads, etc. Power went through a Thomson C4 trans with 8” converter to a Ford 9” rearend with 5.67 gears, connecting to the ground on a pair of Goodyear 28.5” x 10” slicks. The Nova had single carb 350” small block, Turbo400 and 8” slicks.

Everyone in the lot looked at Manchester Ave as the blue Nova arrived with a parade of 15-20 cars following him from Whittier (about 30 miles east of Westchester which is located by the beach). The race was agreed upon by the two drivers in the middle of the parking lot while they were surrounded by about 100 people, including most of those mentioned in the first entry on this forum. As $1,000s of dollars changed hands in side bets by all the spectators with one elected neutral young lady holding the money, the people started to empty the lot to go watch the race on Pershing Dr., about 1 mile. away Pershing Dr is a street, much like a freeway, built behind LAX and is seldom used at midnight on Saturday nights. No cross traffic and about a mile long of straight blacktop, with an island in the middle, perfect for street racing. As the two cars lined up, there were nothing but spectators on both sides of the street for a quarter mile and even some lined up on the overpass just beyond the finish line. It was a “heads up race” with the Mustang in the left lane, the agreed upon starter stood in the center lane and the Nova in the right lane. The starter puts up one hand, then the second and on the drop of both hands the two cars starter at exactly the same time. It was an even race through first gear, but as they grabbed second gear, the Mustang slowly started pulling away and continued to do so as they crossed the 1/8 mile line. At the end the little Ford won by two car lengths, and the locals were yelling and raising there hands in victory as the cars passed the finish line.

The fans returned to Bob’s in cars and the back up pickup trucks yelling and shouting, the West had won! Mark lost graciously, paid his money and left the parking lot with all his “henchmen” in tow. Mark went into hiding to redo his car and was never seen again. As word of the results spread across Southern Calif, people came from all around with trailered in cars to race Tarkus, which was the owner’s everyday driver and couldn’t get a fair race after that. So he said, “Forget it, I’m just going to build a Pro Gas Mustang” (since renamed Super Gas) and run at the tracks. And so it was.

Good times. It’s sad to hear it doesn’t work this way anymore. A lot of good friends and memories survive those days, too bad kids today can’t maintain the tradition. I wonder what ever happened to all those people...

Steve Banas
“Tarkus"

 

Hey Tark, thanks for the great story!!!

 

OMG! You too?

 

In the 80's it was hot at the harveys at Jane and the 401. In the 90's it was the Texas Pit, and the pair of Not Just Donuts, then the rice came and it was Woodbine and 16th, Kennedy Commons, and the infamous CT meets.

 

Well, I street raced in the late '70s but the street was curvy and called Mulholland Dr. Mainly ran the part between Laurel Cyn and Coldwater Cyn and sometimes west all the way to the 405. Mainly foreign stuff, Datsuns, Mazdas, Minis, Capris, but there was this guy named Charlie with the Corvette from hell. Nobody could touch him.

Kurt O.

 

does any one have pictures from this erea of street racing?

 

I've said it before and i'll say it again. Van Nuys Blvd. was the craziest shit i've ever seen. At the age of 13/14 and riding shotgun in my cousin's Vega with a built small block chevy was a rush. I remember vans,lowriders,T-buckets,Datsun pick up's with raised white letter tires,slotted dish mags and no rear bumpers on a rake, muscle cars,and vega's. If memory serves me right crusing/racing was done on Wednesday nights as well as weekends. Also, if memory serves me right it seems the lowriders were parked in one area and the hot rod/muscle cars/street racers hung out in another area.

Question, Does Burbank Blvd. intersect at Van Nuys ? If so thats near where my family lived.

These Tuners have no idea what it was like to cruise/race back in the 70's or 80's.

 

Someone could and should do a book or something, as suggested. I remember Houston had it's share of "spots", but nothing happening now can compare to Rankin Rd. back in the late 70's to mid 80's. Like SoCal, Detroit and parts of the northeast, some heavy hitters used to roll out after midnight. Like a secret dance that only a certain sector of the cruising crowd knew about. Some cars showed up on trailers and sometimes a guy could make or lose a months pay in a matter of seconds.

The area at the time was nothing. Just a blank road waiting for developers to start building the warehouses and business parks that are there now. It was safe. No cross traffic what so ever. At that hour of the night, if you were up there, you were racing or watching.

These tuners, ricers and posers doing the shit now are fucking stupid and don't have a clue as to some of the unwritten laws that governed these outlaw activities. I've seen these jerks racing on the damn 610 Loop at 11PM on a Friday, when traffic in Houston is hot and fairly heavy with civilians! For a while, these jerks were racing on Richmond Ave. in a heavy club and residential district! Now, they hang out at Westhiemer & the Belt. Stereos pumping, doing pointless burnouts and leaving the parking lot a mess. Thus, attracting the law.

It's NEVER gonna be like it was. Just like the hot rod era of the 40's, 50's and 60's will never return. Sad, but true, man. So, yea, someone do a book or maybe even a documentary about it. Cause it ain't never gonna be like it was, gang. Never.

 

Tarkus still lives. It is a 7 second '"street car" now. What is cool about it, the guys who run it, still have "Tarkus" painted on the back of the car. You can check it out and alot of the guys mentioned in this thread, running the Pacific Street Car Association on the West Coast and Vegas.

 

Back on top. This thread is too cool to just let it go.

 

Hey Tark !!

Glad to hear your still rolling, I don't want to blow your cover but your 4 dr 64 Malibu was the koolest SLEEPER !!

I remember the big block, tubs and steel wheels, If you remember I was at Dennis's Welding in W.L.A. when you were having some work done.

I will respond to your e/mail, I'am the Scott that had too many damm cars, 67 El Co, 56 Chev sedan Blue & white w/rallys, a few 69 Camaros Z/28's and SS, 67 Nova SS silver w/rallys, I had Ron Hendersons black 64 Mailbu for a while, a bunch of 70's Nova's, 68 GTO, Bugs, V8 Vega, and 2 Cougars, 1 67 XR7 bronze w/white top stocker, 68 white w/blk steel wheels built 289, 64 & 62 Impala's, and.................

GLAD TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU !!!!!

 

Thanks Scott! Yes, the old 64 4 door Chevelle was my street sleeper. I think your shop also put in the 4 point roll cage around the bench seats. That turned out to be a consistent low 11 second car, complete with stock front tires, hub caps and the factory steel hood, the only thing that gave it away was the rear view of the 14" slicks you guys put on the Ford 9" rearend with 4.57 gears, all within the body fenders. Under the hood was a 486" Rat, .125 over bore, 1/4" stroker, 11.5 TRWs, roller cam, rectangular heads, 1050 Dominator, all connected to a Turbo400. Nice ride, it picked up the left front wheel out of the gate on the street, cool stuff, nice work! I'd like to stop in and say hi sometime.

SoCalMerc - Is there a place to go to see the Mustang? Or have you got the guy's email address or anything? I'd love to see it and get a few pictures of it one more time! Thanks for the info, small world!

To all the contributors on this thread - this was a subculture of Americana that should be documented somehow. I know some movies and videos have been made, but they tend to inject too much Hollywood crap that never would have happened back then. it would be nice to see a real documentary of some type. I've got a few photos of street races, but not much. How about those Texas racers - you guys have anything?

 

Tark & S&S , Please thrill us with some more street racing stories.

A book on this subject would be a hot seller !

 

Don't forget the valleys own "Bottle Bob". Brown 68' Corvette roadster with a blk vinyl top. BBC with a 4 speed on nitrous.

 

Ya Tark, I rode shotgun in that blue Mustang a few times. Something like " no man yield who ride in this ship" or something like that. I remember alot of extra plumbing in that car. I cruise down Pershing at night now and then hoping to see something going on, but its just hope, nothings the same, no white lines, no Bobs Big Boy. It's like it never happened. I'll let the guys know your around.

 

Hey Tark,

I'am not the Scott form the welding shop, just one of the Bob's regulars who lived a few blocks away form the welding shop and hung out there. I sent you an e/mail.

Hey cornernfool, I remember that dash plaque too"NO MAN YIELDS WHO RIDES IN MY SHIP" Remember the finsh line painted on Pershing ?? The "On Ramp" who though it would end!

 

hi steve, been a long time. don't really read too much about the old days anymore, and don't really see anything about big block fords either.. while you had a small block ( with alittle help, and nobody caught on to the help part for a long, long time ) we all had big blocks. Bobby had his blue 70 Mustang with a 428, Jerry had 428 Fairlane as well, Joe had his black 69 Mustang with a big block.. you are right, miss those days !! actually went for a trip through memory lane awhile back with a friend of mine to Bob's and didn't even recognize the place ! we, I went down all the right streets, but it didn't look familar at all !! had alot of fun there thats for sure. feel kinda sorry for kids today, they took all the fun away from them.. I sure remember it.

 

I once had the pleasure of running against 'Bottle Bob', he was a short balding guy with a long pony tail. One of the first cars running nitrous that I had heard of at the time, his BBC engine was rumored to have had 500 cubes. I remember the body on that 'vette had stress cracks all over it from all the beating it was taking from the nitrous big block.

He was looking for a race to get a few bucks for an early morning breakfast, I was the willing victim.

At the time (on a Saturday night sometime in '78) I was driving a '66 bug with an 1835cc engine, it was a high 13-second daily driver and my only car at that time. I did a lot of street racing back in the late '70s, this was one of the times I was checking out the street racing action on Van Nuys Blvd behind the Bank of America.

We headed out to a pretty popular spot to race on Woodley Ave just south of Roscoe Blvd, right next to the Continental Can Company. Racing was done going south on Woodley.

Bob told me he wanted the inside lane close to the center of the street because his car was going to be all over the road and he needed the room.

He gave me 20 car lengths, he started 10 cars behind the line and I was 10 cars in front of it. He had a set of side-exit headers with sidepipes which were pretty much standard for a hot Corvette, he pulled off the sidepipes just before we ran.

We went for it and I spun the tires a bit which was unusual and didn't get a very good launch, but of course I stayed in it and gave it all 130 HP.

By the time I was in 4th gear going about 90 he went past me like I was pulled over at the side of the freeway changing a flat tire. He had to have been going 140+ MPH when he went by!

Just after he passed me and had the race won he let off. It looked like the sun came out of his driver's side header collector, damn was that backfire ever bright and loud!

The firemen at the fire station were cheering, I'm sure they saw quite a few races going down on Woodley Ave back in those days.

Best $20 I ever spent, I can remember that night 30 years ago like it was yesterday.

 

Tark,
I know there is a picture of it on the wall at Hot Rod Performance in Torrance. Last time I saw it run, it had a turboed small block Chevy in it. I will try to get some pictures and e-mail them to you.
Brian

 

Wow people are coming out of the woodwork on this post! Hey Guy- you still got your shop that "turbo Chuck" took me to that day? Good to hear you're still around.

Great story by Draggin GTO! Hate to say it, but I fell victim to Bottle Bob too! There's only a handfull of cars that I couldn't hang with. Remember Jag Rat? I hated when he showed up at Bob's, nice guy, but the Rat motored Jag was a little too much for the rest of us.

Thanks for the info and email from SoCalMerc. I finally got to see what my old car looks like today and I'll have to make a trip to Hot Rod Performance.

Cornerfool - Trying to figure out who this is. If you rode shotgun, and you're not a chick, you're one of only a few people that ever did that. Since you did get the motto about right ( Scott updated and got it right on ), then you must have been there. What were you driving at the time?

Nice thread! There's enough So Cal people on here with lots of contacts - can you say "Reunion night?". It would be cool to find somewhere to just hang out one Saturday night for old times with as many of us as we can track down, do a sort of 30 year high school reunion thing. Anyone up for that?

 

Yeah, that was a great time, back at Bob's in Westchester.
Alot of B.S., but no guns. You could banter back and forth, and have no problems.
Hell, even when we went over to Santa Fe and Del Amo, we never had trouble like they do today.
That night Tark speaks of was great. It was a zoo, so many people, so much money goin back and forth. I made a quick hundred that night.
There was Fast Ray of Lawndale, that would share tips and help build if ya needed it. The old man of the bunch Dirty Ed i think in his white nova??
And there was also an old Fairline called Headrush. One quick 427 ford.
Now we're all old farts and still dreamin of those good ole times.
And trying to get our kids involved so we can justify it to the wives....

 

Tark,
Your car is still local. I will get the guy's number and see if you two can get together.
Take Care,
Brian

 

Hey Tark. Thanks for the memories! Wow those we're the day's.
Let's not forget Vince with "Head Rush" 56 Ford Victoria, and the Dirty Ed in the Chevy. I'll write what I remember about that race and being arrested at the conclusion of it! Awwww Good times. LOL

Vince, aka Head Rush