History Where were you in '62???

Life in Ohio back in 1962 was probably the same as Anytown USA with it's fast cars & pointey bloused women, drive-in movies and the local amusement park. In our city it was Geauga Lake Park, a place where a kid could spend all summer picking up chixs and acting like a BMOC. We would also "cruise the gate" which ment driving around aimlessly for hours on end at the shopping center known as Southgate revving up our street machines and making complete fools of ourselves. Life was good growing up in the 50's and early 60's. Rock & roll was at it hightest point of popularity,the peverbial car in every drive and a chicken in every pot was experienced by just everyone in our town. After 1965 life changed dramatically with the onslot of the Vietnam war,the heavy use of drugs and the Hippy movement, British music, womens lib and the never ending racial strife endured by the minorities in the south just to name a few. Ah give me back the good old days of the "American Graffitti" life style; what a way to enjoy life at its fullest.

 

hey Cool was President Obama at the museum boning up for his Leno interveiw?

 

In Jan 62 my family had just moved from Hawaii to Indianapolis. BIG adjustment. Shoes and snow! Started high school in the fall of 62 - mostly worried about zits and if anyone thought building models of modified oval coupes or dragsters was cool or not. Planning on getting a car. Gary

 

<=In Mrs. Thompsons second grade class learning "duck and cover".

 

Dean, you must be the 1000 year old man of hot rodding! Gary

 

In a nice warm comfy womb in West Virginia - ahhh niiiiccccceeee

 

Wow..........1962
I was 14 and building Model cars
I entered some Model car shows at the local Hobby Shops
I also was learning how to Fly U-Control model airplanes (Doing Combat the next year)

I'll never forget an "Older Guy" down the street asking me if I wanted to help him take a Transmission out of his 49 Chevy
WOW!!! YES! I said
As he and another guy sit and drinked Beer, I pulled the tranny out (from the inside of the car)
But Hey!..............REAL GREASE on my hands and working on a REAL CAR!
No Glue on my hands here
I was so excited.........................Boy,was I a dummy
A couple of years later when I turned 16 I bought my 1st car
a 1949 Chevy Coupe just like the first car I ever worked on

 

I was 19 had a 35 ford 5 window. With a 56 olds try power. and lost my license don't figure
Frogot to add it had a Racer Brown 5 cycle cam. Saw what

 

My sister was born in '59 and Dad called me the "Longest Argument He Ever Lost" with my Mom....I was born in '68.

 

A Sophmore in High School and living on a farm in Indiana doen't lend itself to such a good Hotrod start. The Ford 8N tractor was quite the vehicle to go wide open and slide around the corner of a gravel road! Danger of flipping?......didn't ocurr to me. That year I got my first set of wheels....a Sears Moped ! Donuts, wheelies, and wide open at 36 mph were the thrills of a life time. My brother was off to college ; so I'd go out and start up his '58 Chevy 348 and rev the heck out of it. That year Mom and Dad got their first new car......a '62 Chevy II. GM learned that there was a manufacturer's defect in the Chevy II 3-speed column shifter being made from poor quality steel..... I went thru 4 of them power shifting from 1st to 2nd.

 

In '62 I was in the 9th grade and knew everything about cars, or at least thought so. I would bond with my Dad on Saturday mornings out in the driveway tinkering with the family car. He had already taught me things like how to gap spark plugs, set points, and adjust valves. Every year Dad took me around to the car dealers so we could look at the new models and collect the brochures. '62 was one of the years my parents bought a new car. The local Ford dealer had many to choose from. While Mom was looking at a station wagon, Dad and I were going over a Galaxie 500 with a 3-duece 406 and 4-speed. Dad even had the salesman get the keys and so we could hear it run. We did not take a test drive but my heart was beating fast thinking maybe Dad would buy it. He wound up buying the station wagon for Mom but I still thought my Dad was cool because he at least looked at the 406. I sure do miss him.

 

I was 5. I do indeed have some memories of that time. Mom always had a Cadillac and I think that year she still had the 58. Dad was racing late models at the local tracks. We lived in the south end of Dearborn Hgts. Dad would wrestle light wrecks into pretty cars and make a lil dough to support us. I recall an Olds, a 56 2dr HT with a continental kit. He took us all out for an ice cream and on the way home they'd just oiled one of the roads we had to take...he was pissed. I recall the 36 Dodge pickup with the dual quad Caddy motor. He was doing the brakes and working under it. The door was open, I got in and played pedal car and sprayed him with brake fluid. He got out pissed and real angry so I ran. When he caught me he was laughing but I remember feeling guilty. I remember mom taking the truck for a blast around the "long block" as we called it. For those who recall the neighborhood, Van Born RD was a block up, Pelham Rd was 4 blocks over. I vividly recall mom burning rubber on Van Born and again on Pelham. You could just see cars on Pelham from our yard and we only saw a blue blurr as she sped down to Powers street and back home. Dad was a talented guy and respected by many, more than he ever knew, and we'd have visits from people I knew nothing about. Wm Clay Ford, Jim White from DST, and our "uncle" Dick Mitchell was one of dad's runnin buddies from his old 'hood. Mitch was one of the drivers in the Comet durability run and was always around in the summer helping do something out back. Those days ended when dad suffered 2 crushed vertabrae in his back. In later years I remember Mitch taking dad out for a ride in a 427 65 Mustang fastback built by DST. He carried dad out to the car cuz he couldn't walk very well yet. They were gone for hours. Fast forward to our later years we owned one of the other DST hotrod trucks, a 62 shortbed unibody. It had a 430 MEL motor, a T-Bird dash and steering column, and black tuck n roll. We were told they raced it, but it may have been a 1st effort or the tow truck for the real race truck. Today, all of this nostalgia and $1.37 gets me a large coffee at the Speedway gas station. I wish I had the truck back, and I know Mitch is still around livin in FLA. Last I heard he was still racing in the Legend series.

 

Graduated HS in '62. Drove a 48 Plymouth sedan after selling a 51 Ford coupe. Loved the sound of the flathead in that 51 and at this time I don't know why I sold it! Bought a 48 Ford coupe with the thought of making a jalopy racer out if. Joined the Marines and left for training in SC before I got the chance to do anything with it. Dad sent me a note while I was stationed in CA to let me know he had sold the coupe to 'clean up' the back yard. Arghhhh!

 

Mazooma, got to corect your corrections 1961 409, 1958 348 were the Original BBC's and the white pump Custom Supreme was 39 cents in 62 (I was paying 35 cents in 59) and it is a good story. 100 octane was 25 cents at Powerine stations

 

I was 24 on the family ranch in Paso Robles area. Had a 20 x 40 section of a 100x40
steel building for my cars. 1931 a coupe 51 henry j 50 olds coupe 55 chev pu
with 58 pontiac and bw 4 speed. All except hj were drivers. The hj was becoming a gaser. Got a 58 corvette with 245 hp 2x4 and 3 speed in 62. Lots of fun and a easy
life back that time.

 

I started 1962 driving a Midnight Blue '55 Buick 2-door, nosed, decked, duals & a 4-barrel - couldn't figure out why it didn't run better, you see I didn't know that it had a 264 inch engine rather than a 322. I can't remember what I did with that car, but at the end of '62 I had a '50 Chev 2-door, duals and a floor shift, and was working on what was supposed to be my revenge against the three 409 Chevies in town - a '54 Olds 2-door with a 394, 10.5 pistons, Isky roller, Vertex Mag, 2 AFB's and a Hydro.

Went to the Nationals in Indianapolis for the second time, we were in the '60 Pontiac Catalina hardtop, Tri-power 4 speed belonging to one of my buddies that the 4 of us had driven out in the year before. I had just turned 20 in August, but looked way to young to buy beer. The draft board in our area was still working on 24 year olds, so I had little worry of having to meet my military obligation.
It was good year, but the next two were better........

And when I got the Olds running I had some tuning problems, and ended up swapping it for a friend's '58 Chevy convertible, 348 with 3 carbs. My friend fixed the 'tuning' problem.....I didn't know the Vertex mag had no mechanical advance, so I had it set at 8 degrees......total!. He still has the engine.

 

now were splitting hairs , but Super Shell gas was 29.9 in 1967, so I'm doubting that in 1962 Custom Surpreme was 39 cents.
Might have been a state by state thing, I don't know, but I worked at a Shell station in '67 and regular was 29.9 ans SS was 29.9....
damn, we rodders sure like our details...

 

Neener, neener, neener!!!!! Bet you guys are great @ trivial pursuit!

 

I was a whopping 6 years old in 62. But I did Cruise Harvey's, with my dad. Have the T shirt to prove it! Mom had a 60 Comet Wagon ~ killer 144 six 2 speed auto.
Dad drove a "Hot Rodded MGTF1500" with dual carbs and headers. Me I had cool Schwinn and was just starting to build models while listening to KHJ and KRLA radio.

 

Yes you're wrong. Uncle doesn't like to share with us. I was in Crash Crew (big red fire trucks on the air field) at N.A.S. Agana Guam 1960-1962 everytime a plane landed with explosives on board, a crash truck stayed with them as long as they were on the ground. 1960 we were getting maybe one a week by april of 62 (when I left) we were getting several a day. 1st it was Laos (we weren't there, just a few military advisors. right) then Vietnam

I transferred to VFAW-3 (all weather fighter squadron) at North Island San Diego. we were flying delta wing F4D-S and were the only Navy Squadron ever under full direct Air Force Command and part of NORAD we had a detachment in Key West Florida. I was in Communications and had the highest security clearance. and were hooked to the same RED PHONE that was in the White House. Our pilots in Key West were the ones that were blowing innocent Cuban fishing boats out of the water During the Blockade. I don't care what you read in the papers for 58 days were at 100% ready. if that red phone would have rung no one would remember Vietnam

 

On the tail end of a three and a half year active duty tour in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club, stationed in San Diego. Drivin' my first '57 Chevy, chasin' skirts, and meeting the one who would become my Bride for the past 45 years.

 

I lived in east Pasadena and had my Packard Powered 51 Olds running 13 1/2 compression on the street and couldn't run any other gas in 62 It was .39 trust me on this one.

I also had a 59 Triumph Bonneville and it favored Super Shell and Arco Richfield, very seldom got treated to the white pump

 

OK, I trust your memory. Geez, 39 was expensive at the time, but with 13:1 ya gotta do what ya gotta do..
Ah, great memories of John's Bike Shop on Rosemead and the Moonlight Rollerway....

 

Noname, you have to tell us the story behind your Packard powered '51 Olds! (Talk about an "oddrod" that is the original.)

 

In 1962 , I was a scrawny teenager getting ready to start my junior year of high school . Totally oblivious to the real world . Uncle Sam took care of that soon after . Boy , that's been a long time ago , a totally different world than the one we live in today ! If only we could turn the clock back !

 

Turned 14 the summer of '62. I had to do the math. Getting ready to go to ninth grade.
In Dallas Texas at the time, 7th, 8th ,and 9th grades were junior high school. High school was sophomore, junior, and senior classes.
Just got my hardship driver's licence, but no car. There was no money.
For us it was all about motorcycles, as we could ride smaller bikes at thirteen.
It was Triumphs, and Sportsters, the cops didn't care what we rode as long as we used some common sense. Try that now. My first was an Allstate 125.
A few Cushmans, and a smattering of foriegn stuff.Craig Bogotis(sp?) had a Mustang that was a kind of motorcycle that was the coolest, wildest thing I'd ever seen. I still want one!
No Asassinations yet, and no British invasion. I was working at the Goodyear store in Casa View changing tires and somtimes helping deliver appilences. Got a job under "hardship" curcumstances, my dad was loosing his motor skills and was sick a lot. No drugs yet, but lots of hot rods in the Dallas area. White Rock lake was THE place to go "make out", and on the weekends it was a solid parade of cool cars from all over the East side of Dallas around the lake.
At that time Dallas was more like a lot of little towns with each neighborhood being somewhat self contained, and you didn't really leave your neighborhood much, you didn't need to. So most of the cars you saw, you knew who they belonged to.
Mike Motley had a classic Ivo style Bucket with a Caddie, and it was by far the coolest car around.
My cousin and I were still trying to race go karts, but my dad was already sick with what would eventually take him and things were getting complicated.
Hadn't even heard of Viet Nam yet.
In five years, I would be married with a pregnent wife, in and out of the army , and Mike Norris and I would be standing in the push loop at Dallas International getting ready to start his top fueler.
It was a whole different world... Mike

 

62? Sold my 31 Ford roadster with the 324 Olds to start drag racing, partnered with Phil Brown for a Scotty Fenn 440 with an injected Ardun...biggest thrill was beating Big John Mazmanian's blown Vette...biggest loss was to Hugh Tucker's street roadster...hung out in East Pasadena at Bob's Big Boy...the deal there was to make a full-throttle pass down the alley behind Bob's, until the cops staked out the place and bagged us...watched Vietnam build up, joined the Navy later that year...would up in Vietnam by '65.

'62 was also the year that super stocks got really big, with the 409's and the big Fords and Mopars getting as much attention at the drags as the fuel cars (other worse memory...was cruising Colorado Blvd in my roadster with a couple of buddies when this plain white bubble top Chev pulls along side with an older guy with glasses..."that thing race?" he asks, and after my buddy says some smart-ass thing about old guys, he smokes me like I was standing still....later, at the Powerine station, he is picking his next victim and one of the guys looks at me increduously and says "You didn't know him...that's Don Nicholson." So Dyno Don was doing a little street racing getting ready for the Winternationals where he also smoked all the competition...I was just another notch on his door.

 

Don would race anywhere, anytime. 59-60 before I joined the navy spent most of my days between C.S. Meade Chevrolet sitting on the trunks of cars that Don was running on his Dyno (Dyno Don Nicolson) and Blairs Speed Shop on foothill,
nights were Burgerlane in Monrovia, Henry's in Arcadia,
Bob's in East Pasadena.
Met my first wife when she was a car hop at Bob's
After Midnight we'd go hang in the studio with Dick Hug, Huggie Boy while he was on the air

 

Yup. Henry's, next the Santa Anita Theater, then to Eaton's for fried chicken, Academy Theater, Moonlight Rollerway, Hastings Drive In AKA, the "Pasadena Passion Pit"

 

Yeah, Connley's there on PCH. Poly was close to there, my brother went to Poly. I worked through high school at Catalina Pool Supply just down the street near Advance Mufflers. Margie used to come to Connleys. She worked with Hunter Hancock and was married to Tony Williams of the Platters.