History Can someone explain turning racecars into street car?

As he does more often than than not, Gene Koning pretty well nailed it in post 83. Even though it is no longer a "race car" the car lives on as a street car. It wasn't famous enough to be in someone's collection but the gent who spotted it was more than happy that it was alive and well.
I passed on buying a Model A roadster a few years ago simply because it was painted with a mural that was too well known and probably quite revered by a group of local people that I didn't want to be the guy who sandblasted ________'s mural off his old roadster and risk getting bitched out for the rest of my life. Thinking back I was probably wise because the car may have been more bondo than body as it was.
If you are dragging an old car out of a fence line or out of the weeds behind someone's shop where it has sat in neglect for several years to turn it into a street car what exactly is the loss as far as the car is concerned just because it used to be a race car? Even if you are pulling a barn find race car out of a shed that has no great prominence as a race car what's the big deal? Maybe the car will have a bit of bragging rights when it sits next to a barn find that was just an old worn out original car left in a shed and lord it over that other car out in the park on a Saturday afternoon with the "I used to run __ /Gas at _____ did you ever take your humans out to watch me?

 

In many cases it is either street car or yard art. Ill take street car.

 

I am pretty sure a few years ago the Riddler Award Winner was an ex Willys gasser. I would have rather had the Gasser. At least it probably would have still been driven occasionally. Does a Riddler winner ever get driven?
One of these days I hope to put my 55 Ford Gasser on the street. It will still be a Gasser, but streetable. It has no real history and wasn't owned by anyone famous, but I plan on keeping it as "original" as possible. And as some others have said, it will probably get more attention than a 100 point restored 55 Ford. I would never restore it to the way it rolled off the assembly line.
I don't know how to do a link, but if you search for '55 Ford on a shelf ' it should pop up. That thread shows it the way I found it. Ron

 

It famous to you and that’s what counts!

 

Since I am NOT a collector of expensive things (like vintage/classic race cars)...because frankly I don't have that kind of "squish" I would drive that race car at least to car shows/cruise-ins.
IF for example I inherited Dyno Don's Maverick Pro stocker.....or even the Pro Mod Chevy (his last car)...Sorry guys, I would fire-that-puppy and drive it to the next cruise in!!
Granted...it would be hard!!
(But I would adjust the seat back a little so I could turn the steering wheel.)
I don't even own a truck big enough to pull a trailer I don't even own for the race car I don't even own!

 

My car--1963 belair on my avatar , I bought from a fellow that was going to turn it into a street car--car had been on the dragstrip since 1988, and a lot of history behind this car. We saved it and its back on the track

 

A good thread. I bought an old 32, 5 window local jalopy racer from the 50s-60s. I found it behand a buddy's fence and paid $750 for the body and a decrepit model A frame. My plan was to put a stock back window in it, straighten the body out and mount it on a aftermarket 32 frame.
My buddy [and neighbor] Ron......Dirt car here on the HAMB, ended up with it when I couldn't find a proper back window and the quarters were paper thin from being hit, knocked out and then the body was cut up and left in a field to rust away. His dad use to work with the local hero [Bud Burdic] who built/ran that car to many victories back in the 50s-60s and Ron was super happy to just bring the car back to race-car status again.
What I really wanted was a 33-34 coupe and again, I found a crashed, rusted jalopy racer but by now I was able to get re=pop quarters and other sheetmetal AND the original back window was still with the car! It took 8 years to get the body good enough to be street driven. I've checked into any provenance the body might have but nobody around here remembers ol' #72 racer. It's a "forever street car" now.

 

Would love to know story on the devil woman?

 

Hey, I don't like it when guys buy a Chris Craft and rip out the str8 6 to throw in a mercruiser v8, but I don't lose sleep over it either. Their boat.

What has made me laugh a few times is when one idles by and someone says "there's nothing like the sound of a vintage boat..."....

 

I hate the race owners that cut up future hot rods. That's the real cause of high prices.

 

From what I read, he raced this car in 1963 on Friday nights at High Rim Speedway. The car was built by Preacher Hamilton.

 

Marty Robbins was a real racing fan. He love dirt track racing almost as he liked Country Music, but he was better at Country Music.
Hot pink, 777 the number, and Devil Woman the trade marks of all of them. There are also pictures o0f an early 60s Dodge dirt track car that was his.
He was still dabbling in racing as recent as 1978 (the later years was blacktop circle track racing), but his record company put an end to that racing nonsense shortly after that.
Rumer has it that sometimes in the mid 60s Robbins contacted Petty Enterprises to have them build him a fast car. When they delivered it, he took it to the track and it scared him. He took it back to Petty and had then detune it a bit, then he raced the car whenever he could.

 

I never knew that about him!

 

My A coupe was a dirt car. Heavily boxed and Z'd frame. Hawkmeat if you will. Torched out rear wells ( little regard for the factory bead line ) Dash tank and cowl sides flame cut, six different ways. Welded spiders.

I found a good deal on replacement rear wells cut from a 32 roadster that was to be raced. A tank/cowl-firewall was bought from Mississippi. A nicely boxed frame from Florida with an early banjo rear. Yet to determine if I'll use buckets or a middle Caravan seat
Yes I am heading to drive it on as many roads, as I can find the time to ( 59 AB, haven't worked out the trans-a-mission yet ).
YAY for Me

 

seen at LA Roadster Show

 

Marty, Marty's first time in race care after his open heart surgery, was at our little race track In Huntsville AL. His son Ronnie also drove at Huntsville for a few races. He now has a dragster.
He always preformed last at the Grand Ole Opry so he would have time to run feature and make it down town.
You had opportunity to buy this car? I wonder if it still exist?

 

I agree, but we were dealing with a different mind-set

Hot rodders and drag racers were all about their CARS, making them better, faster, nicer...and many survived because of that.

Stock car racing was all about the DRIVERS, and the cars were just a usefull disposable tool...and they "disposed" a lot of them...leaving a lot of scrap for us today.

Certainly not the only reason for a scarcity (and high prices) of early coupe bodies...but definately a contributing factor.

 

I understand Roberts' original premise that these old dirt/asphalt cars should be restored to as they were in the day status but most went through multiple reincarnations throughout the years. I also know and I am sure many will agree that many of these cars when built were outright dangerous to a point of being "dangerous even when parked". I think the more important thought is that it is your car and you have a right to do what you want with it. I personally thought it was outright stupid for Elon Musk to send a Tesla Roadster into space but it was his car to do what he wants with it. I have owned, sold, traded more of these old race cars than I can remember and converted a couple to street use. They are still out there returning a fun time to the current owners. The only problem was with the early asphalt modifieds having a lack of good visibility to the right. The cars I had that had actual history of significance are now in a museum in Mooresville, NC. Chances are if another prospect rolled in the shop I'd build another one with license plates.

 

My neighbor took a Legends car and made it street legal. Registered, tagged and inspected. Ron

 

Some needs to ”splain” if that’s licensed in in California…how?

 

I know back in the 60's there were plenty of race cars driven on the street and the gas could provide the octane levels to support 12 or 13 to 1 compression! I got hooked on 62/63 mopars at the age of 16 back then and always wanted one, so fast forward 50/ 60 years and I got one. Even the max wedge cars came with a single exhaust system with dumps! That's our history. I drove a 12 to 1 compression car to school back then. This is a west coast car raced by a guy who worked for Chrysler Power Magazine, I saw it was for sale and I bought it. I drive it on the street and I will keep the car as is! An article after 25years in storage. on youtube.

 

I think these have been the most moving for me the past couple of years. Its giving continued life to two vehicles. Dated Nascar chassis that are out of spec and no longer competitive. They are cheap and plentiful. And then add the car of your choice, that is fully rotted out in the floor pans to these chassis. They aren't road trippers, but they definitely can be built reasonably, and built to rip!

 

The guy that built the car with the merc shell hammered the heck out of it. Then gave it away.

 

Buddy
saw this at Justice Bros Museum, note plate

 

Sam Priotts' City of Industry, a Cadillac powered street driven Kurtis drag winning roadster.
A street driven sports car, class winner.

 

I thought driving race cars on the street was traditional

 

IT IS!
Right up until people think race cars should always be kept as the original race cars, the customs should be kept as the original designer created it to be, and old hot rods should be kept as the most famous owner changed it to. They are in the same camp as the guys that think every car should be kept as it rolled off the assembly line. Those were the groups of people the original hoodlums' fought hard to be separated from, and are what the HAMB has pretty much become.

Build the car you bought the way you think it should be built, screw what ever the others think it should be done with it. Become a Hoodlum again. Gene

 

My avatar was a early drag car, notice the slicks. As my dad’s racing evolved, the engine came out and went into the rail, note the valve covers. Now I’m putting it together as a hot rod.

 

Cool, cool, and cool............