Anybody here from Nashville, TN area?

In the Mid 60's to late 70's?? If you are, you might have met my pop (We'll call him Tommy), or some of his ol runnin' buddies.
My Pop was kinda unsocial. Kinda anal about his cars, and tuned some for a guy named Wendell Sullivan from Fairview TN. Wendell had a big record at Beech Bend raceway in a car that my pop tuned and set up for him. The WEEZ gave him the certificate to keep. He still has it.

Pop used to work at the Gardner's machine shop out on Trinity lane back in '75, '76. I'd like to help him meet up with some of his old pals.

Maybe even more specifically, anyone here ever run to the digs at the Fairview/Dickson, TN drag strip? I have been looking for anyone around who has pictures from that place. Its tore down now. If anyone here has any information or pics from this era, feel free to drop me a personal message.

If not,
put your 2¢ in anyway! You can't be Bashful in Nashvul!!
I like to hear nostalgic stories from the days I missed.
Its cool even if ya'll didnt know what the heck I was talking about above...
We can still BS.
YL

 

Hey low,Yeah-Low! I've only been in TN for about 10 years, so I don't know about the old days stuff. I live in spring Hill, and build cars(can you guess which one?) Anyway there are a lot of Hamber's 'round nashvill, and K-town. I am a Poor Boy(car club),and I'm sure the other members will speak up soon also. Good to have you aboard! Sparky

 

old man Gardner finally closed down last year

his boy Jimmy or noone wanted to take it over and all the suppliers were drilling him for almost retail

so he sold off two tractor trailers of stuff and retired

the machine shop ran until they closed the door and Richard got hired elsewhere

ask your pop if he knows Cajun....hes workin at Oreillys on gallatin pk in madison

he could maybe tell you a lot more about where they all went

i miss goin to gardners ...dude knew more than i ever will

and was willin to share

 

I am from Smyrna and also a 'Poor Boy' like Jalopy43. Dont know anything about what you asked but wish i did. Just adding my 2 cents.

 

Great stuff Guys great stuff... Hey johnnygringo, my pop DID know Cajun says he was close to the same age. Can't remember his proper name though. Can you message that to me to preserve his anonymity? Thanks. Ill message you just in case. Pop was kinda interested when I told him about that.

This is awesome stuff. Ya'll gotta understand. Pop has since washed his hands of Popular hot rodding, and HOT ROD magazines, and has picked up the weekly farm journal. He just grows hay... He isnt a farmer, he's a rodder, that is hiding from something. I need a little help reminding him of who he is. He loves ol cars. He just don't admit it.

Ill talk to him about 350 Chevrolet, and he'll quickly change over to a 1308 Catepillar. WTF??? Anyone know what happened to him? Did the warrior in him die?

AAANNYYYY way, yall keep this Nashville stuff hoppin. Put your nostalgia in there! My appetite is BIG! How about stories from Union hill, or Lawrenceburg?
Some last names Imma ask about are, Sullivan, Buttrey, Stinson, Nave... You know of any ohters?

Come on Nash-vul!! Yall quit holdin out.
YL

EDIT: Jstorm thank you too. You got any Nashville Nostalgia? It don't have to be a personal racing story, it can be about someone you knew or something you heard about...Id like to stick to the automotive subjects though.

 

I guess Ill start a little somehting different here too. My pop and PawPaw have shared so many stories with me over the years. Its kinda hard to pick one...

Ok, I got one.

This fella came around to a shop where my pops was working years and years ago, pushing this brand new formula, that has been scientifically proven to preserve engines, and help them run better with more gas mileage. Pop was a skeptic like the rest of the mechs/machinists there. So the guy 'gave' him a few samples. Daddy, was unsure, but decided to use it in a stroker motor he just finished anyway. After tremendous mileage, and a few passes at the dragstrip, (not to mention the abuse of Nashville stop and go driving), he dropped a valve (I think they were sodium filled HD Truck valves for lightness).
He pulled the head off to inspect the damage. He happened to look in the cylinder where the head of the valve was, and noticed that after nearly 2 years of daily driving THERE WERE STILL HONE MARKS IN THE CYLINDER WALLS!! The valve dropping and busting didn't seem to damage the cylinder wall that much, though it DID take its toll on the crown of the piston. He credited the reasons to that mysterious formula.

What was that mysterious formula?













Slick50.


(The story you just read is for the most part true. The BS was added to cover for facts or places or events that I have lost in memory transit. Anyone posting here may feel free to use the same technique, as long as it has a 3:1 truth ratio and a nice 3/4 cam.)

YL

 

My stepdad is the same way....
He used to drive a cool roadster. Still has it even.....for the last 3 or 4 years he's been messing around with a 1957 John Deere bulldozer. Its cool...but it ain't a roadster.

I'm from Monterey Tn. I've only lived here about 5 years though, so I don't know any TN history at all...

I'm a part of the Greazy Hubcapz C.C. We're mostly East Tennessee....down around Maryville and Kingston...etc. I'm the closest to Nashville at 1 1/2 hrs away...

Here's a pic of some of our cars lined up at last year's "Greazy Getdown".

Welcome to the HAMB...
Later, Tingler

 

DOnt know much about nashville nostalgia, only lived hereabout 15 years and moved here when i was 13. If i here any stories i will be sure to pass them on to you. Oh yeah, them greazy guys are pretty cool but they never show up to any greazy/poor boy rumbles. I guess we will keep winning by default.

 

Not sure if we're talkin about the same track, but since my family is from White Bluff we may be...
Timely question, as I was remembering just the other day that ONE time I got to visit the "Super" when I was about 9-10--that woulda been about 66-7...anyway, of the few things I remember, there was (now as I recall with my feeble memory) a 66 or 67 Chevelle, orange in color with 'Semi-Hemi' lettered on the side(ask yer dad about THAT one) As a pre-teen obsessed with drag racing/model cars/magazines, that visit make an indelible impression

Visited NMR(the fairgrounds) a lot those days for the Sat night figure eights and late-model stock car races. Used to remember rooting for a blue 62 Impala, number 07, I think the guy's name was Mangrum(Jimmy maybe?)

Damn, these local memories sure make me smile


mid-tenn mike
Poor Boys CC TN

 

Some old stuff like this would be neat...



.....if only somebody had old pictures like that!


Yeah Corey, those Greazies are a bunch of no-shows......I think they're skeered!

 

One like this would be cool too......




......yeah I wish somebody had some old pictures......

 

anybody????


bttt

 

i wish i did, but i dont

 

Maybe a couple of pics like this......

 

You Got The PIX.....Thats why we Love ya!

 

You know, it HAS to be the same track. It used to be right there next to the I-40, behind the eye 40 motel. There is a Phantom 309 tee tee bar these days. Glad to know you. Send me a PM... We might turn out to know one another. I be willing to bet $50 you know SOMEONE I am kin ta.
I know a HEAP of Mangrums. One of them used to cut hair and drove my ma's skool bus. You are prolly the closest to my hometown anyway.
YL

 

oh, and By the way, this stuff is PRIME!!! Keep them coming!!!

Yes!!! Good work fellas!
I'm loving this!

YL

 

I am from Huntsville alabama 100 miles so of nville. We raced figure 8 on tues at the fairgrounds and sat at smyrna. I even raced at a track built at a ball field named Suferdell some country music stars opened it after Mr Donnahoo {nashville promotor} pissed them off. The fuel attitive was more than likely a oxidizer called probley misspelled Propoline Oxide.works like nitrous but mixes with gas.Mr Adams in Mburo has used it.Its dangerous shit. I have not been through smyrna in 30 years because mayor Ridley said he would put me under the jail. You need to tell more about yourself and not so much about your dad.The reason he likes tractors is everything is bigger so its easier to see. Plus you can use bigger hammers.

 

Haa-ha-ha! Hey Bobby, Mayor Ridley ain't mayor anymore---guess it's safe for you to take a shortcut

...... and that "thing" we talked about......it's weighing heavy on my mind and has been since we talked at the swap meet. I really need to call you, and intend to next week

 

The mans name driving the impala was joe mangrnum. we called him little joe.Orignally the fairgrounds was a one mile dirt track after After Frank Reed was killed at the fairgrounds it was shortened to 1/2 mile with very high banks and paved. it was a club track and you had to be accepted by the members to race. I hope this helps you..

 

The truth of the matter is, Bobby's not allowed to step foot into Rutherford County while the sun's up. That's why we accepted him into the Poor Boys so quick. We all need an outlaw!!!

Hey K9 you should run for Mayor of Smyrnasakee !!! That'd teach them Ridley boys a thing or two.

 

HA HAHAHAHA! Nawww....we're just waiting for the right moment. My nunchucks were in the shop during the swap meet....or I woulda been there like miss piggy....HEEEEEE YAAAAAAAH!

 

Thats OK, i wore my good socks to the swap meet and wouldnt of wanted to get blood on them.

 

Are those the Same socks that You REFUSE to wash???

 

No the socks are clean, its the underwear i REFUSE to wash.

 

Guys, this is entirely too much. My ribs hurt.

Ya'll are too hard on me. Ya'll probly right about Pop, the tractors ARE bigger. He can't see the fraction on the side of his sockets no more neither. He just test-fits, and then goes back for the next size...

Oh man. My wife, thinks I need a weekend at Clover Bottom.

Ya'll take it easy.

Yeah.

 

OK,OK.....I couldn't resist.......one more.....


The year was 1969. The Winston Cup cars were at the Fairgrounds and my Dad had his camera. You know what happens next......

 

Maybe this should be another topic,but here's my mom, dad(kneeling),and the long haired scrawny kid in black is me,14, parting out a '50 ford,for my '50. Look at all the other cars in this yard!! Sparky

 

This is great guys. Im loving all these pictures.

Im totally loving al this stuff. I really dig the old pictures. I might try to scam pops into bringin his scrap bppk over and scanning a few. He has a PC but no scanner.

LOL

Yeah-low

 

Glad to see you pop up ya low so your in nashville TN i had a friend from there that played Motor city online (car racing game) he had a couple of late 60s Stangs & was looking for a rustfree 70-72 lemans for me sence i got GTO parts for that year glad to see you on here people are less jackasss here then over at LIL unless you sell before you do intro