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Giving lengths harks back to at least the 50's and 60's. Remember it well in high school. No body would ask for lengths. After all what was the point of racing if you had an inferior product and you knew you were gonna get your ass whooped. No body likes to be embarassed, especially after being spotted 4 or 5 lengths. And besides what is a length? The length of a mini Cooper or a Cadillac deVille or a football field?
Guys, Guys,
Forget the blues!!!! I grew up in the 50's and 60's Come on, Kennedy got shot, do you think my brothers and I were allowed to miss Judo lessons???? My father was a Fighter Pilot.......things move on!!! (Kennedy....responsible for the single largest tax hike in history and esculation of the Vietnam conflict). I never knew I had hair growing up as "head wounds" are dirty!
Didnt stop anything form racing or having fun. I run a 7 sec super gas at the races occasionally and have plenty of youngsters come up that are having the time of their lifes as we did in our era. Yes things and times evolve but the fun is still there in it's new context. Do I miss the old days??? Yes I miss the beauty of Beirut, the girls I learned about life with, the cars I sold that I wish I had kept and the missed opportunities, I was too drunk or stupid or too young to recogonize. Never say Sorry, "Tis better to beg forgiviness than to ask permission"
Doug
Usually our street racing was a casual glance of the eye, and a blip of the throttle. If the other guy blipped back, you went on green! It still was plenty exciting, without a wager being involved!
Moments that stand out include the time I let a Cobra Jet Mustang go first, and passed him as I powershifted third. ('57 Vette with a loaded 327)... or the time it was a tossup with a 435 HP Vette roadster.....or the time I rolled across the railroad tracks on main with a new tripower GTO, let him go first, but caught him in second in my 409 Biscayne................. :-( ..............
........ <:-( .......Whaaaaaaaaaah! .......I'm homesick!!!
Spent my innocent:rolleyes: youth on the factory proving grounds of Woodward Blvd. Telegraph=West side turf and Gratiot Ave.=East side turf (my turf).
Heads up just like HOTRODPAINT described.
If you were quick, your rep preceded you. Not by name but by the description of your ride.
You didn't give up lengths, but you may concede to "going on the roll" (if you felt sorry for your opponent).
You didn't give up your mods, and there was no peeking under the hood.
Yes there were Racing for Pinks for those with the Bravado and confidence. Often a East vs West thing.
How many remember Rosin burnouts?
If you were to do that today Homeland Security would FREAK!
I remember in about 1963 I was in High School, and the buzz all day was that 2 local cars were going to go at it right in front of the school at a certain time. I was in English class, with a lady teacher who was no one to mess around with, and the time came for the big race. All the guys were on pins and needles and kept walking up to the pencil sharpener at the window to see if they were out there yet. We were on the second floor facing the street in front of the school, so we had a great view when it happened.
One car was an Olds powered '34 Ford pickup. Full fendered, but chopped and channelled, and the other car was a '55 Chevy with a brand new 409/425 HP under the hood with all new 409 drivetrain under the car. (the owner of the '55 was a local hoodlum and he stole a brand new 409 off a dealers lot and stripped it down for the '55)
At the magic hour we heard open headers coming down the street and we were all straining to see over the windowsill. We were sitting on our books to make us higher in our seats, and the teacher could tell something wasn't right. Finally the '34 and the '55 lined up and started to race, and every boy in the class ran to the window yelling. It was like a scene out of Animal House, as the teacher was screaming for us to get back into our seats, but no one was listening.
The '55 smoked the pickup, and we all go extra homework for our bad behaviour, but it was the talk of the school for weeks. I can still see all of the boys sitting real high in their seat on a stack of textbooks.
Don
i grew up living at the track from birth in 1961 until my dads drag racing retirement in 1982, i would not trade that for anything. he started in a 41 willys gasser in 1960 and became a top fuel funny car driver in 1969 until 1975 was burned up in a fire, then ran alcohol funny car for 2 years then went to a vega bracket car. and he got dissapointed with the direction of the sport and went late model dirt car racing, and still does today. here is his 41 willys, track location unknown.
You must have some really great memories of your Dad's dragstrip days. That picture is classic Willys...........wheels up, heading for the finish line.
Don
man i could go on for months with memories, in the willys days safety was not a huge issue, i remember my brother and myself. we would ride with him to the staging lanes, crammed in what was left of the seat space, from the electronic box and shifter in the way, he would do his burnout then do a couple launches and pull the wheels, and right before prestage we would hop out and get in the chase truck and follow him right down the track. and that was every weekend all summer. now thats a memory
Now I see why I signed up here, GREAT THREAD!!!!!!!! Being born in 63 and exposed to the strip in the early 70's I got a taste of the early left overs and with the resurgence of the nostalgia cars in the last ten years I think the mix of old and new offers something for all. FED's are the kings of the sport to me but still enjoy TFuelers ripping 340 mph passes. Here are a few thoughts on whats been said by some here.
"bracket racing ruined drag racing"
Bracket racing became necessary as the amount of cars with less places to run and too many different car/power combos overwhelm tech lines and how else can you pair up everyone? Many that dislike brackets often complain about the high costs of racing. Class racing is generally more expensive. Brackets are a part of drag racing and Im fine with it.
People baggin on the youth rice burner movement
I see it but this is what the kids have today. Not my cup of tea but they tweak these cars with every bit as much passion as the old guys did in their youth. So they do it with a pc? so what, you telling me it wouldnt be done that way back in the day if the option was available? Most would admit that the levels of performance they get out of these things is amazing although I cant stand to see front wheels spin. Wheelie bars on a FWD car make me wanna puke even if they do keep the front planted.
"good old street racing"
Ya I did it, ya I wrecked some cars, ya it was stupid then and it is now. I think we got away with it more simply because the streets werent as crowded as they are today. I got an awakening when I watched a fellow high schooler wrap his v8 monza around an oak killing his two passengers and he of course walked away. Walk up on a scene like that and it makes you realize there is a place for everything and the street isnt it.
Better back then? In some ways yes and in some ways no. I just wish I had more foresight to pick up so many cars for pennies that I passed by.
My beefs as far as drag racing's concerned are throttle stops and delay boxes. Its hard enough to explain bracket racing to a newcomer let alone try to explain that crap. I never understood why people want to spend more to go slower.
great thread !! I wish I was born earlier as My first year of racing was done the last year US 30 in Gary was open , then I had nothing but country roads and streets to race on ( union grove was too far away ) my mom hated my dads racing habit and when they got divorced she did everything to keep me away from drag racing , Didn't work :D , when I lived with my dad it got serious , if it had wheels I would try to race it , as for spotting or giving lengths I wouldn't budge it was either put up or shut up and several guys got toppled that way , it gave you a incentive to try harder on your combination , I would have rich punks laugh at my roached out/primered firebird , but would give my old bird respect after leaving goodyear freckles on there fancy paintjob and taking there money . made many people a believer in if it don't go chrome it .(even though pontiacs came stock with chrome valve covers :whacked: ) the best race I won was taking on a crossfire vette , I won but not after seriously damaging the upper end of my motor ( which the purse paid for ) after that I kind of backed out till a buddy asked to wrench on his car that turned into a shoe position which was ok by me ( no pay to play !!) but the pictures and magizines my dad had laying around still remind me of wondering what it would have been like to drive my uncles comet he bought from H-M back in the 60's with that big old FE , only my dad and uncle will know as they are the only ones who raced it till my dad ( who won't talk about it ) blew it up . :HMMM:
Hey Stimpy, is the Comet still in the family? You know Speed-O-Motive makes some humongous big inch kits for FE's........:)
tech , unfortunately no , the uncle sold it before going to SVN to a mechanic at a local mercury dealer, from what I was told my uncle was having second thoughts on the way out to the guy and still was thinking on having my dad store it for him till he came home , but he sold it to the guy telling him it was a handfull to drive , the guy said he knew how to drive these type of cars , well a week later it was kind of dewy out in the morning and mister drivers ed , punched it to pass another car and wound up passing the car thru 2 mailboxes and into a tree then landed in a swamp . car totaled . :CRY: :CRY: :CRY: today that car would be worth a 6 digit figure, they didn't pull the motor or anything scraped it all . My grandfather who worked in Fomoco Management had to pull some strings to originally order it , and they picked it up at 2 places the body at the railhead/transfer terminal ( they wouldn't deliver it to the dealer/ i think my grandfather had something to do with this as the kids ( dad and my uncle )where sneaky and didin't want him to know what he was getting , and the engine at a motorfreight terminal ( would you say the car required some assy ??) they shipped it with a 4 or 6 cylinder?? hooked to the manual trans , in the trunk was the proper bellhousing , headers and rims with cheaters on them. the car was like 5 grand which was alot of dough back then . ( my dad bought our house ( 3 brm , 3600sqft on a half acre for 20 g's):eek: My grandfather upon seeing the car was Furious as it was a stripped out ( bare basics ) Comet ( rubber floor mat , no heat , no radio , van seats ( still laughing about that comment "why is there van seats in this car ??" he used to say it as a joke ) My grandfather knew what it was as the guys in Dearborn told him .
Hey Hotrodpaint
You ever build any thing using aluminum? I been tooling around with a 1:18 and built the floor pans/tubs/ frame rails/ and now i'm on the front suspension i'm having a hard time coming up with the steering parts! any ideals......
I have used aluminum. Can't help on the 1/18th scale parts. You may have to scratchbuild the pieces. Most hobby shops have strip styrene in every possible shape, and it's cheap and easy to work with. Isn't that the diecast scale? I've used 1/24th & 1/25th kits only.
I'm trying to build this with out any styrene.. also been kind of hard welding this small thin stuff!
YES it's diecast & they have it in the 1:24 & 1:64
I have some of those old models still sealed some not some built when i was a kid that i wouldn't take any thing for...WHY? Had to many a%% woop'n for using my moms knife's in the fire to melt the plastic & cutting the wash cloth for carpet...funny how the models parts have changed & all the goodies they make now! My kids think i'm going over the edge :HMMM: with about 400+ in cars,trucks,& some cycles... ebay made some of these worth crazy money.