History 1960 San Diego Drag/Street Riots

This is an awesome thread. Thanks guys. I'm into local San Diego history but surprisingly, I had never heard of this. The first hand accounts are amazing. Keep it going.

 

That's insane Sam! My dad's parents lived at 4940 Twain, Robert and LaVon Hibbs. My dad was also Robert, known as Bob (or Bobby when he was real young), younger sister Susan (Suzie) Hibbs.

My grandpa p***ed in 1977, and until a week and a half ago my grandma still owned that house. We stopped by two weeks ago while at Goodguys Del Mar. She's up here in Utah with to us now, at a young and capable 92.

I have a few pics of my dad's cars in front of that house (usually shoebox Fords) and there was always a big oil stain in front of that house too.

My dad (Bob Hibbs) was born in 1943 and always hung out with my uncle, Ed Speed. My mom (Nancy Norman Hibbs) was born in 1945 and grew up about a mile away on the big bend on Waring Road. They attended Grossmont High, graduating in 1961 I believe. (Dad was held back a year in elementary, mom skipped a grade in Jr. High.)

 

Somewhere I have another (different) article of that night. I'll see if I can find it and post it. We had it on display at my dad's funeral 4 month ago, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

Thanks for the memories.

I musta been asleep back then. I don't remember the riots but then I don't remember what I had for dinner last night. I was living in La Mesa and spending all my time when not in school (Helix) working to pay for my 1st car. It was a 1/2 ton 1936 Ford that had been a push car at Balboa Stadium when they had "Jalopy" races so was hopped up with a 48 Merc and 39 Ford gearbox and rear end. My uncle rebuilt everything and added hydraulic brakes and painted it red oxide primer. He sold it to me for $250 which amazingly was the amount I had saved. I immediately started unbolting everything I could and carrying it to the Chrome shop in Lemon Grove. Can't remember the name.

Went in the AF in late 63 so only got to cruise El Cajon blvd for about a year and a half. Came home on leave before an overseas ***ignment and my Uncle and Dad had painted the truck metallic green; a Buick color. It looked great except for the stock 1936 wheels that I hated. Wanted chrome reversed.

Unfortunately decided to sell it so a Deputy Sheriff got it for $750. Would be fun to find it again.

 

Correction, my parents went to Hoover and graduated in '62. My uncle Ed Speed went to Grossmont, graduated the same year.

 

great story to read about from home, though my time was long after that event took place.

 

Maybe that chrome shop you're trying to recall the name of was "Lemon Grove Plating" which eventually ended up in National City. They operated for quite a few decades. They did some really outstanding chrome work for many, many years....

 

Ah, the good ole days.....

 

GREAT STUFF GUYS! Hey rramjet you were just a little ahead of me. I graduated from Helix in 74. The only kid in school with a Model A... 53 flathead and 39 crash box. Tim Young had a nice little 36 Ford truck but we were it as far as old school rods in the early 70's. I still have it LOL The Air Force soon followed and the rest is history! Great thread and small world, thanks for the posts!

 

Jacks muffler shop was on University ave east of Park blvd just past the bridge. As I remember the chief of San Diego police was paranoid of communists. He was sure that the hot rodders were "communists dupes" who were being used to ruin America, that's why the cops went to such lengths finger printing and trying to identify the "ringleaders". I ran faster than the cops that time .

 

Interesting story. Thanks for the account. You say your Dad had a 37 Chevy humpback which I'm guessing was a 2door sedan or 4door sedan?

 

Here's the thread on Boynton, pretty interesting stuff http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=573152
**** Boynton and Happy Hare were two different people though. Both worked for KDEO and KCBO at times, sometimes at the same time. I used to go to the studios (KCBQ) in Santee about this time, friends lived next door, and Happy Hare would pay for a root beer float for us to walk down to A&W and grab him some lunch. Sadly he recently p***ed, Boynton is still kicking though I think.


PasedenaHotRods ... I am pretty sure it was a two door. Appliance white and I think blue scallops.

DISCLAIMER * Sorry I havent mastered "multible posts" yet.

 

Really is small world. Seems like there were some customs at school but can't recall any hot rods. Remember Jack Orrs body shop on University? Used to walk by it often and stop and watch the metal magic they did with lead. Jack still has his cool green Willys pickup

 

Yep, Hoover. Few years difference. I looked at Google maps, knew his neighbors. The guy on the corner was the neighborhood mailman and his sons were my age. And a few doors down I helped a guy (alittle) put togther a 63 (?) Comet g***er, he called it "The Little Black Box". I was 2 blocks up on Winona.

 

rramjet you were probably right around the time of Bill Walton at Helix? Jacks kid Brian went to elemntary school with me and when his dad picked him u[p in the Willys all the kids turned their heads ... it was cool. I worked for jack in the eighties, he still had it then.

 

I remember racing on El Cajon blvd and on Saturday nights out at miramar. The strip at Miramar was the clear place between the two rows of beer cans.

 

Whoa... Happy Hare on 1170 KCBQ... now THAT, for me, was a trip down Memory Lane!!

KGB was.... 1360, I think?

 

That is just a wonderful picture. LOVE THAT!!!!

 

QUOTE
Originally Posted by SAM123 View Post
Ramona ... Im guessing about 65..... I forgot where Jacks Mufflers was located .... anyone? I remember he kept his car stabled at his shop.


Was he in El Cajon on the corner of Magnolia and East park ave. I didnt know him but there was a muffler shop on that corner and I'm sure that car sat outside the shop for years? Think it turned into a tire shop peddling race and off road tires. The car sat there for years after it changed as well.

 

I think that shop was Valley Mufflers owned by a family named Youngblood somehow related to Jack Youngblood that played for LA Rams .... the tire shop was **** Cepek's.

I think someone earlier hit it, Jacks Mufflers was on University and Mississipi (had to sing the song to spell that! LOL). I took a College AutoShop cl*** while still in high school and recall driving that route every day... pretty sure now thats the car

 

WOW!!! I lived in SD for years after the Navy. 81/96. All the memories coming back.
It was many years later, early eighties, but I worked at Unlimited Auto Parts on University and 28th. Formerly 10,000 Auto Parts. There was alot of rodders coming in there. Real good old fashioned parts store.

 

City leaders were loathe to concede the spontaneous and local context of teenage protest. Councilman Chester Schnieder was scoffed at by colleagues and county supervisors when he suggested that officials should work with car clubs and the Junior Chamber of Commerce to restore the safety valve of a legal drag strip in 1960.

With it's grand opening in 1963 and operating until 1966, Ramona Drag Strip was the place to race in San Diego. It was called San Diego Raceway and drew nationally known drag racers to run the strip. The venture was put together by Paul and Bob Darrough who leased the land next to the Ramona Airport, Lou Castenagna and Ray Richards also came in as managing partners. This was an effort to get kids racing on the streets like El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego to take it to a track.

The effort was successful as attendance varied into the thousands as kids came to watch or take part in the racing with special events, such as match racing with well know drivers or jet-engined cars drawing as many as 7,000 spectators. A new track in Carlsbad, called Carlsbad Raceway basically closed the doors on Ramona's strip.

This was nostalgia racing at it's best, no line-locks or computers doing the work. If you ran an automatic, belly up to the line, plant one foot on the brakes, the other on the accelerator, watch the count down on the Christmas tree and let her rip.


A fan favorite was the Willie's Pie Wagon running a flathead.


Two Hemi Rails. Image via Schneider Cams


San Diego Raceway. Image via Schneider Cams


San Diego Raceway. Image via Schneider Cams


In the later years the name was changed to San Diego Dragway. Notice the Drew Ford sign from La Mesa, CA.


San Diego Raceway. Image via Schneider Cams

via: http://johnstraub.blogspot.com
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The San Diego, CA based Croshier-Baltes-Lavato AA/FD was originally built in early 1963 and campaigned through the 1964 season.The team called San Diego Raceway (Ramona) their home track. The ch***is was built by "TV Tommy" Ivo and Rod Peppmuller. Bob Sorrell sculpted the aluminum body. In the two years it ran the car had 3 different paint schemes.





Jerry Baltes leaves on Tom Hanna at Ramona 1964.



Later in 1964, near the end of its career, the car sported the new "zoomie" headers and a Tom Hanna front wing.
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Untouchable IV; San Diego Raceway (Ramona) Romeo Palamides driving.
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I think Herbie (Herbert Sturdyvin) is now living in Lake Havasu, AZ after he retired a couple years ago here in San Diego. I can't wait to ask him about this if he comes over for the annual Streak at Campland on Mom's day weekend.

 

You'll be at the Streak? Stop by H-6 and say hello. I'm in the same spot every year. I'll buy you a cold one, or two...

 

man this thred has brought up a lot of memories. I graduated from Helix hi school in 1961, daddio211 you mentioned your uncle Ed Speed and him graduating from Grossmont in 62, I thought he was in the same year as I and I do remember his name as I believe he played football against our team, he was a fullback I think, and tough to bring down. When at hi school there were a number of hot rods at Helix, mostly shoebox's a couple model A's, a guy named Ken Nasif drove a 27T that was show quality for awhile, then switched to a customised 58 Impala. Bob F you mentioned the name Herb Sturdyvin and that seems to ring a bell as some one my older brother ran with, if you get a chance ask him if he was in the Globe Pacers car club or ran with any of those guys, my brothers name is Ken Campbell see if it rings Herbs bell. RRamjet you mentioned going by Jack Orr's body shop, my brother worked there for a short time in 56 before he went in the Air Force, another guy that worked there was Merle Rhoads who had a full custom 56 Ford Pickup painted mettalic blue with pearlescent white upholstery,full tonneau cover, mucollough blown T-Bird y block,Mr.Magoo shifter knob and Bob McCoy graphic cartoon on the side of the bed that said "Have bed will travel", Merle moved away from cal for a number of years and returned in the mid to late eighties and opened a hot rod fab shop in El Cajon, don't know if he is still there as I moved to the Inland Empire area of the greater LA basin in the mid 90's. As I said in my earlier post I didn't see racing at Romona because I worked full time my last year of school and then went into the Air Force in late 1961. I remember the favorite cruise for those of us from the La Mesa area was from our local hang out Dobbs drive in east to the Oscars drive in in El Cajon then west down to the Oscars by Hoover high then farther west to the Oscars in Pacific Beach and then reverse the ride back home ending up at Dobbs. We were able to cruise a lot of miles back then when 110 octane gas was $1.25 a gallon. It was a great time to be a teen and into cars, cruizen and girls!

 

Hey Malcom, thanks for that. Wow on Bob Mc Coy, he must have put his work on everything in San Diego area. He had a paint shop (lettering, etc) out in El Cajon when I was a teen, next to Geo Esau's business. George was a roundy driver at Balboa and later EC Speedway (the fastest 3/8th mile) ... one of George's sons went on to nascar driving. I think Bob has a website selling his artwork currently.