Lions Dragstrip....Who was there??

Lets here your stories and recollections of being at "The Beach" back in the day !!! Photos would be cool also.

Was anybody there in March, 1970 when Garlits dragster was cut in two and took half his foot off?

 

My best friend and I had just graduated high school near Chicago and took a camping trip to California in 1964. We went to Lion's on a Saturday night in Mid-June. This was when the lightweight, injected Chevy rails were kicking the Blown Hemi's asses. It was drag racing "overload" for us. One of many memories of that night was seeing a '29 highboy cruising the parking lot. We were watching it and the reactions of the girls in the stands nearby. They didn't give it a glance but when a Corvette approached in the distance they all were pointing and shouting - go figure?

First, you need to get this book and read Big Daddy's account of the incident you mention - unbelievable!

 

You should have seen the way they started a fuel burning Vincent motorcycle called "The Barn Job". The rider with his arm around the window post of a Willys station wagon until he got up enough speed to clutch start it. How about Henry Harrison through the lights, upside down or the famous stop action picture of the altered losing its innereds

 

Mert Littlefield ran a Vega funny car...... Next door Bays and Rupert's Vega

Mert ustta clean carpets as a day job and shoot spark plugs outta pipe in front of the shop

Richard had a very quick VW powered Fiat 600

My shop was at the end of the line $75.00 a month


That was Signal Hill.............

 

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First, you need to get this book and read Big Daddy's account of the incident you mention - unbelievable!

I have seen the video and read the book on this incident but as you said its unbelievable and I'd love to hear from a first hand witness !

[/quote]

 

I was at "The Last Drag Race" it was held on Dec 2, 1972 .. Seems like yesterday ... Carl Olson in Mike Kuhl's AA/TF beat Jeb Allen for Top Fuel and Tom McEwen over Don Prudhomme in AA/FC.

The late Flash Gordon Mineo blew up his Vega FC and remember some young kid with the side panel in his hand making a call from a phone booth in the pits ... need to find that pics !

Let me put my thinking cap back on for more ...

LIONS - THE GREATEST DRAGSTRIP?

 

Here is a poster featuring the Barn Job. No gloves, wearing what look like sneakers. Was a whole different world back then.

 

Where did the 37 Buick coupe go to? It mustta had a thousand miles of Lions

Even when I didn't go to the races I could hear em from the shop at night

The sign stood in front of our shops for ages.

Dr John will be here sooner or later

 

When I was in high school ('67-70) I got to crew on a little flathead dragster. Spent many Saturday nights at Lions. And, yeah, it seems like yesterday.

 

The documentary of Lions is a three part video. Part One is 1955-1962 and Part Two is 1963-1968. Part Three will be 1968-1972 and will be released at next years CHHR in Bakersfield. Part Three will have interviews with Don Garlits and footage of the crash.
Parts One and Two are almost 4 hours of footage and interviews with Pappy Hart, Ivo, Prudhomme, Iskenderian, Mickey Thompsons first wife, Art Christman, Garlits, ......much more.
www.LionsVideo.com

 

I had an uncle who worked at McDonnel Douglas as an engineer...also a real gearhead. He lived in Hermosa Beach. After high school ('65) I would visit him every so often and we would go to the "beach"; I think on Friday or Sat nites. For a rube kid from the PNW I was in heaven...couldn't get enough. Fond, fond memories of Lions and my uncle, making a difference in my young life. WOW! Actually brings tears to my eyes as I write this.

 

Lions..lets see your pictures

 

Went quite a few times. The bike drags were my favorite. Let's not forget Orange County International Raceway. I remember the Manufacturer's Funny Car meets.

 

Just found this link on Orange County.

http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/bonneville/218/ocir01/

 

Here's a link for Lions.

http://www.competitionplus.com/03_25_2004/lions_roar.html

 

This thread got me to dig out the program that I have from "The Last Drag Race" at Lions.



Then I noticed what I still had clipped to the first page:



Ticket stubs and a pit pass. Can you believe just $5.00 to get in?

Those were the days.

 

That poster shows somethin that would make you youngster crazy, Jazzy Nelson's flathead Fiat wearing out one of those new fangled Chrysler hemis. It happened lots of times too.

 

I see the price of the program was $1.00 - since it's used - I'll give you 50 cents for it? P.S. Lucky guy to have saved those!!

 

Start adding zeros to that number and we can talk.

Seriously, I save everything like that. Race programs, all my media credentials, ticket stubs, those windshield cards from car shows. I've got tons of that stuff!

 

I wasn't there, but my uncle was...

 

I was there and bought the jacket.
I was racing a '56 Ford Crown Vic, with a 312. I was running "M" stock class.
My ex wife took my jacket though.

 

It was 67'. I was working in a Mobil Station in a bad part of town. One of the guys I worked with just got a 67' GTX. Dyno tune, cut-outs and cheater slicks, it would run 14:50 at Lions. The following year, another friend got a 68' GTX. Dyno tune and cheaters, it ran 13:55.

These guys would do trophy runs on Saturdays. In 69', another friend got a 69' Nova with a 375hp 396, 400 turbo and 4:10's on wide ovals. The Nova blew both of them away with 13:20's.

At 12 midnight, we would go to the International House of Pancakes in Crenshaw Square for the street races. Big Wllie and the Brotherhood.

 

Had a buddy a Downey High that won his class a the beach one weekend in his 52 Ford stock 6 cylinder class. Got the big head untill a Frito truck beat him across Lakewood and Firstone with a hole shot.

 

Early 1969 after I got home from 'Nam, I rode a 250cc Suzuki E-modified bike there, ran 12.20s at 112, fun ride and many good memories.

 

anyone have pics of what lions looks like now?

 

I remember going to Lions a few times but my most memorable one was seeing Gas Ronda from Covina...That car was awesome to me.

 

Lions today is a truck terminal facility, you'd never know the strip was there.

I started going to Lions in '61 with my Dad. I continued to go until the late 60's. Being at sea level, the air was dense, horsepower was plentiful. There were refineries that burned off raw gas to the west of the strip. In the evening fog, it was pretty awesome. Kind of spooky to a kid, along with all the noise and the gun range in the distance with more noise. After I was about 12, my parents would drop me and a buddy off at the entrance about 2PM, then they would go into Hollywood to a movie and dinner and pick us up out at the street about 10:30 or so. I can't imagine doing that to a kid today, but this was the early 60's. Ed Roth had a booth by the concession stands and sold his shirts. There was a catwalk that went from the "specator" side (west) to the "tower" side, where we always sat. You, literally, were maybe 15 feet from the cars at the starting line. I remember when The Mongoose crashed the Hemi Cuda in the traps, the beginning of the A/FX cars, altered wheelbase cars of Dick Landy's Dodge Coronet, Gas Ronda's Fairlane and Mustang, Hayden Proffitt's Comet, the East Vs. West meets, Jack Chrismans blown Sachs & Sons Comet, the Valkarie Jet, Greer, Black and Prudhomme, Lefty Muttersbach, Gary Cagle, Garlits, Phil Bonner's Falcon, Shirley Shahan....(I could go on and on...but I'll spare you all)
Geez, I miss those AWB cars, the altereds, the smell of nitro, tire smoke and hot dogs...
There was something special about Lions.....

 

When I got out of the Navy I used to drive my '66 Ford Fairlane from Simi Valley to Long Beach, take the slicks out of my trunk, uncork the car and run all night. It was a 428 CJ with a top loader and 3.70 gears. I think I still have some mid 12 second time slips somewhere. That car was almost as fast as my Kawasaki 500 triple but alot more consistant. Those were truely "the good old days"

 

Mazooma1, Did you happen to be there in November of 65 When Gary Dyer ran an 8.63 in the Mr Norms A/FX car? If so do you have any details?

And PLEASE!! Don't spare us! GO, ON and ON!

 

I worked at Blair's in Pasadena and went to Lions quite a bit. Got to crew with Phil Lukens and Mel Marrs with the BB/GS Corvette and then with the Anglia.Wow------a 17 year old kid driving the push car and hangin' with the "guys" It didn't get any better than that!!