Hey Rocky, that wouldn't be the Mill Creek Road outside Sheridan/Willamina by chance would it? Ran a few races on that road in my '70 Road Runner in the late '70's.
That Vega was far from being a POS. As for Groucho being a asshat,I don't think so. He is very opinionated,and speaks his mind. Everyone of his cars have been Top Quality,and FAST.
O.T. for this thread, but Bottle Bob took a Gold Medal last year in the Senior Games for push-ups. I believe he did 83 (yikes!).
And while we're OT, GassersGarage won a Pasadena Senior Games Gold Medal in this years Power Lifting event by bench pressing 245#. (Double Yikes!!) The Street Racing competitive spirit didn't die, it just morphed into a different area.
Not to hijack this thread, but I didn't know where else to post this... No joke, this thread lately, got my blood boiling and my thoughts racing (no pun) - and I started thinking about all of my moments at the races - specifically Kevin's. I really can't remember a time out there without seeing Carlos Bustamante. He gave me my first ride in a real car, helped me build my first engine along side my dad and it was him that I saw when I witnessed my first street race at 16. He was racing a red Duster with a small block on Old San Fernando under the bridge. I found out minutes ago from my Dad, and it is with great sadness to say that Carlos died yesterday of an apparent heart attack. He was at home in Peru with his family, and was still in his fire jacket after having raced at a major event this past weekend in his Barracuda, when this happened. I was really close to Carlos' family - his sons Erik and Steve and I were all pretty much the same age and we played soccer together and were fast family friends. My Dad and Carlos grew up as kids together and we spent a lot of time together in the 80's and 90's. I give Carlos a lot of credit for having endured the loss of his son shortly after Erik had turned 21 and more recently the loss of his oldest daughter due to illness. Carlos was a cool guy and although he always talked shit about my Camaro, he was like an uncle and I have very strong memories and a lot of love for him and his family. I am sure that he and his kids are somewhere better, and I sure as hell hope he can finally see Erik drive that Black Dart they built. Life isn't fair...and Carlos had his teeth kicked in more than I ever wish to experience... but he took it like a man - and i have a lot of respect for someone like that. I am glad that I was able to know him and that he helped frame my childhood and helped spark the love I have for this hobby. Rest in Peace Carlos... I'll see you again...
BottleBob---I just read your story ---the very beginning of this thread. It is an excellent story. I did my street racing in the mid 1960's around Belleville, Ontario. Your story captures the excitement so very well. God, what a rush. Great story and skillful writing.---Brian
A few years ago,a black guy that was from the west side of Chicago they called him Country,from what I was told by some of the guys that were there he was racing another guy out around 130th&Torrance on the far south side of Chicago,well during the race he lost control of the car hit a pole the car was cut in half,he was killed the front half of the car had the motor in it,someone pulled up and took the front half of the car with the engine in it before the ambulance could get there,and nobody seen nothing .
Brian: Thanks for the kind words, glad you were entertained by the story. This thread has been around for about a year and a half. Do you perhaps have a racing story of your own you'd wish to contribute?
wow... I am blown away to hear the news about Carlos, he was a cool guy.... condolences to his family
That would be him... He moved to Peru in '95 shortly after his son passed away. Here is the video of his Final race this last Sunday... pretty cool. This was the first 9 second final in this series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KBZjBZxRJdU#!
The year was around '78. A T-bucket pulled into the parking lot. My roommate was looking for a race so I figured I'd ask. I walked up to the owner of the T-bucket and asked him if he raced it. He asked against what. I told him my roommate had a big block corvette and the guy said sure. Now the Vette had an LS6 with ported heads and nitrous. We drove out to Clayborne behind Burbank Airport. The race was heads up. I figured the T-bucket was so short and light it would never hook up. Boy, was I wrong. The T-bucket hooked and was gone. At mid point, the bucket was 2 cars ahead and the Vette never caught it. Talking to the owner afterwards, the bucket ran 11:70's which was fast for a street car in those days.
Hey Enzo, You might remember me, I’m Shantal Bustamante. I’m so proud to say my dad is Carlos Bustamante and the person I admire the most! See I don’t really care about the story you made up but it does make me mad the way you portray my dad as someone so different from how he was. First of all my dad would never make fun of your Camaro because that wasn’t the kind of person he was. In fact, he was the kind of man that loved cars so much we was always willing to teach. That’s what he did, he THOUGHT YOU about cars. Especially because you were about the same age as Steve and Erick(my brothers). YOU KNOW that the only reason you are into cars now is because of my him. Your first ride in a muscle car was in my dad’s car, the reason you discovered the valley was because he had the fastest car. I guess there are some men with experience in the drag racing scene who will not “waste their time” with amateurs, but my dad NEVER DID THAT and that’s what made people appreciate him so much. I still receive messages on facebook of people I don't even know( from 17 up to 50 years old) telling me how thankfull they were to have met my dad and learned from him. So it doesn’t seem possible for a man like that to make fun of someone he considered a nephew. And that story about my dad telling you he would call your parents? Seriously? Came on, you knew the type of MAN my Dad was and such words would never come out of his mouth. See, for those who didn’t knew my Dad, he was a stong, cool and confident man who was born loving this sport. A man who many people looked up to. And you Enzo looked up to my dad and should be thankful that part of you is because of what my dad thought you. If not you might of been into racing Hondas lol So a while ago, a close friend told my Dad about this story you made up. We both read it and laughed. My dad told me the truth and then he responded to your post. What did you do? You got his post deleted(maybe this post will get deleted as well) Doesn’t seem an action someone would take if they were telling the truth. Didn’t’ you supposedly have a video to prove your story? LOL Even if Carlos Bustamante wasn’t my Dad and I didn’t know how you grew up watching him race, your story still doesn’t seem legit. It doesn't matter what car you're into, Can a student know more than his teacher? Can a “bunch of acne ridden teenagers” hustle THIS car?: So Enzo, stop portraying my Dad as someone he was not! He was a GREAT MAN who thought me the best values. All my efforts and achievements we're made thinking of how it would make him proud. I was blessed to always tell him how he was the coolest and best dad in this world! The way he lived his life is an example of how to leave your mark in this world. He even left this world as a True legend (for those who know) My racing story is that everytime I hear the sound of a muscle car engine I will always remember that GREAT MAN THAT I COULD CALL DAD Carlos Fernando Bustamante Larrucci Racing In Paradise http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJiIWrYhezc
My favorite street race account was one posted on the HAMB last year. It still makes me laugh my a$$ off every time I think about it. The car in question was an early altered wheelbase acid dipped race car that was taken street racing without the owners permission! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "And then there's this one. Mr Norm bought this from Butch Leal and Dyer hauled it back to Chicago. Shop mechanic Rich Moudry took it to the southside one night for some street racing. He lost control and went over the dike and landed in a tree next to the Calumet River. The cops jokingly told Norm "They must of dropped it from a plane as there was a parachute attached to it" Now thats a "Drag Car in Motion" Mr Norm said they stripped the car of the Hemi and any usable parts and scrapped the rest. Again, there's rumors that Gary Dyer still has the wrecked body shell." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also remember Branhams yellow Backhalfed 55 Chevy the ran 12.20's with a BBC on spray.., REALLY weak! TOFRICKENSHAE!
I just stumbled on to this forum a lot of very cool stories . I started going to the street races around 1987. My first hang out was Carl's jr on Venice and Supulveda. From there I started going to the valley hanging out at Arbys . I became good friends with Cripple Kevin around 1990 91 and we remained good friends until he passed away . I have some pictures and old videos ill have to post up here . I was also good friends with Jose and His brother Danny from hawthorn . Someone asked in the other thread what happened to Jose sadly Jose and Danny passed away as well . Here is one picture I found of Kevin when I packed up his apartment after he passed away .I remember he showed it to me before and asked him what he was doing to it he told me he was putting in a line lock .
Here is some old video from about 1988 or 89 of Kevin racing his Camaro . The video is kinda dark but you can still see whats going on .http://youtu.be/VcBoH1QMVuI
Kevin showed up in that Chevelle one night wanting to race me. He tried to lie about how slow it was til we went to look at it. The cold night's dew on the front glass revealed it'd run 11.70 earlier that day at the track. We both laughed like little girls
I remember you telling that story to him when I was with him. I think we ran into you at the drag races in Vegas. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here is a picture of Kevins Grand National, I took this picture one day as I was leaving the shop. This was about a week before he wrecked the car . This car was fun to work on and just a all around fun car . I finally talked him into taking the car to the track one day . He rented LACR and we went off to see how fast it was . He picked the hottest day of the year to do this of course lol . It was over 100 degrees that day with a cross wind blowing across the track . they did there best to keep the track clean but it was just to dusty . The first pass he made he took the timing lights out . They fixed them then the next pass it blew a inter cooler hose . It was to damn hot outside and even hotter under the hood . I told him fuck it lets get out of here and we never got a E.T. on the grand National . We did dyno the car a few times and the motor made over 700 Hp to the rear wheels It was something like 765 .
Yeah street Racing is nothing like it use to be. I know it is part of my past and I have seen it all. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here is a picture of Kevin with the Grand National. He loved racing and would race a lot of unfair races with that car. Even when it had the stock block motor in it that split down the cam journals from the boost. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here are a few pictures after he wrecked it. http://db.tt/uclH4TRA Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
