I am working on another short story so was interested if anyone knew where the hot spots were in California for late night street racing and what day or days were preferred? I presume Friday nights and/or Saturday nights. I haven't posted my stories here lately (no doubt to the relief of some on SAAC) because it is my understanding that it throws off the algorithm and makes/ complicates my channel's ability to climb in rank. Thanks for any information or insight you all can provide.
Richard E.
Don't fret my little one, just because others have no imagination, expressive or creative skills as you do. Don't let them slow you down or hamper you.
Look at Sharknado they said it was a failure, the creator is up to the 7th (yup SEVEN) picture laughing his rear end all the way to the bank.
For more inspirational moments follow my daily posts on SAAC 4 U and thanks everyone for their kindness and support
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/197-180322100741.png)
We comprehend some maybe technically challenged, so we have provided a direct link to peace and tranquility:
http://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=16984.75
Back to the topic at hand, looking for info in street racing in California
In the OC ( 65-72) it was Harbor blvd on the Anaheim-Fullerton border. Taco Bravo was THE place to hang out. Willys gassers , altered wheel base, really fast stuff. Whittier blvd in Whittier and of course Van Nuys blvd in the valley. Later it was Alameda in Compton or Studebaker road in what is now Cypress. Might be others too.
Everywhere - The hotspot cruise places were Whittier Blvd (I got nailed for street racing there in my 70 Road Runner) and Van Nuys Blvd. But every Bob's Big Boy or In-N-Out (plus mom & pop drive thru) was a meeting place for car guys who'd go off to some quiet industrial area for a quick race.
Okay cool! Thank you for the information, gentlemen. This story is going to be a weird one but having fun with it. Only a few hundred words into the idea. Involves a 69 Camaro Z/28. Hey it can't all be Ford or Shelby Mustangs. Besides, if I were ever to cross over to an old Chevrolet it would likely be the 69 Z/28. That is one screaming car with its 302 block and factory four speed. I think the 69 Z/28 only came with a four speed like the Boss 302s.
And FLSAAC, Sharknado was ridiculous, funny, creative and inspirational showing that one can write about anything.
Make the "Z" in Z-28 zombie......
In the San Francisco area it was the Great Highway (adjacent to the beach) and Brotherhood Way on Friday nights. When the cops would close off the Great Highway the racers would head to Brotherhood. If they got hassled at Brotherhood they would head to A&W for a burger which was located by Westlake Shopping Center in Daly City. Everyone stayed there until things cooled off. I valued my driver's license too much to actually race but I was a willing passenger! Those were the days!
Craig R.
Quote from: deathsled on March 18, 2022, 12:52:34 PMInvolves a 69 Camaro Z/28.
My favorite year - but not a great drag car. You need a 396 or better yet one of the COPO/Yenko/Baldwin 427s.
I was working at the Chevy dealer (high school auto shop work experience) and their first 1967 Z28 rolled off the hauler - yellow/black stripes. The UAW clowns had installed Hurst the shifter wrong and I got tasked with fixing it. I got to do the test drive - of course just after school got out. That thing sure would smoke the tires. We stuck it on the dyno and guesstimated 430-450 at the flywheel. I also had to fix the rearend a couple times in a 396 Camaro. We knew what happened but they did warranty because it belonged to one of the city councilmen. When it came back the second time the was not happy he'd be paying the bill. As soon as we showed him where his kid's slicks had rubbed off the paint in the wheel wells he understood.
In SanFracisco 1965+ era there was the Great Highway and El Camino Real in Daly City. Remember a dragster once on the Great Highway as he was "challenged " by a guy who said he could beat anyone! Bad idea!
What ever happened to Big Willie Robinson ?
Quote from: FL SAAC on March 18, 2022, 04:23:51 PM
What ever happened to Big Willie Robinson ?
He and Tomiko passed away. You always knew the street race was on when Big Willie got the Xmas tree out of the trunk.
DragZine did the best tribute
https://www.dragzine.com/news/remembering-street-racing-legend-and-big-willie-robinson/
https://www.motortrend.com/features/behind-telling-big-willie-robinsons-story
What is the "Orange Belt?" I heard it referenced in the Darnell's Garage scene of Christine. I like the terminology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbaAsgDBx0c
Yup immediately made me think of Big Willie and his drag strip at Long Beach Harbor https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2013/08/14/restoration-begins-on-big-willie-robinsons-last-charger-daytona (https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2013/08/14/restoration-begins-on-big-willie-robinsons-last-charger-daytona)
I know it's heresy to put this link up to a 69 Z/28 but most of us (I think) including myself can appreciate what the car represented and the time period in which it thrived. I used to despise all things Chevrolet in high school due to certain rivalries, but I have relented as time passed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcVyTduXg_4
Has the chrome delete package. Check
Has the crossram carburetion. Check
I remember a recall though for engines separating from the motor mounts in the first generation and Chevrolet using chains to hold them down until a fix could be had?
The Chevrolet service bulletin that I had the dealer install on my 1969 Impala / 396 (non SS) was a cable that captured the LH (broken) motor mount.
Quote from: deathsled on March 18, 2022, 06:39:39 PM
I know it's heresy to put this link up to a 69 Z/28 but most of us (I think) including myself can appreciate what the car represented and the time period in which it thrived. I used to despise all things Chevrolet in high school due to certain rivalries, but I have relented as time passed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcVyTduXg_4
Has the chrome delete package. Check
Has the crossram carburetion. Check
I remember a recall though for engines separating from the motor mounts in the first generation and Chevrolet using chains to hold them down until a fix could be had?
Found a forum on that issue. Here.
https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367519
Maybe the Boss 302 was the better car then. But the 69 Boss engines had problems. Cracked piston skirts I think. Which were cured in the 1970?
Stock the Chebby Z-28 was a LOT quicker. Modified they were close. Ford brakes and suspension was better. Ceebby had the 4.10 and 4.86 rears in more cars than the Mustang 3.91 and 4.30.
Ah! Great memories from the "gray" group! Best of times and memories!
Also, the '60s gave us CSX cars and real Shelby GT's!
Quote from: deathsled on March 18, 2022, 10:07:26 PM
Found a forum on that issue. Here.
https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367519
Maybe the Boss 302 was the better car then. But the 69 Boss engines had problems. Cracked piston skirts I think. Which were cured in the 1970?
Both where great cars, both solid lifter and high revving
The BOSS was more cantankerous
The Chevy just kept on running
Quote from: Royce Peterson on March 18, 2022, 11:14:43 PM
Stock the Chebby Z-28 was a LOT quicker. Modified they were close. Ford brakes and suspension was better. Ceebby had the 4.10 and 4.86 rears in more cars than the Mustang 3.91 and 4.30.
Both stock where little pigs
On the Chevy we found that a good breakfast and a set of 4.88 gears worked magic on the street or strip
Look at the lift with street tires, no slicks
These pictures where taken at the race track directly in front of our old house just before the authorities shut this particular track down....lol
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Hard to tell but it kinda looks like you had Lakewood traction bars?
Roy
I guess we are are well off into the thread drift...
I wish that I had a photo... my cousin had a '68 Z/28. Black with gold stripes, Cragar S/S wheels.
I was a very impressionable 15, that car was incredible.
IIRC [it was not exactly "very close" to stock], he ran in SS/J at the track in KY, pretty sure that he said it would lift the tires with slicks, and 12.5 E.T. - does that sound about right?
Of course, it was also his college daily driver ???
Quote from: TA Coupe on March 19, 2022, 09:19:41 AM
Hard to tell but it kinda looks like you had Lakewood traction bars?
Roy
Yes indeedee, we was bonafide....
Got to get that traction down in order to break out of the 16s and mid 15s
Boy we where fast in that DZ 302 290 h.p. (allegedly) !
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Quote from: mark p on March 19, 2022, 10:12:47 AM
I guess we are are well off into the thread drift...
I wish that I had a photo... my cousin had a '68 Z/28. Black with gold stripes, Cragar S/S wheels.
I was a very impressionable 15, that car was incredible.
IIRC [it was "not exactly" stock], he ran in SS/J at the track in KY, pretty sure that he said it would lift the tires with slicks and 12.5 E.T. - does that sound about right?
Of course, it was also his college daily driver ???
You killing me smalls, the one time I saw a camaro break into the 12s and being street driven was when it got dropped out of an airplane at 15,000 feet...
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Quote from: FL SAAC on March 19, 2022, 11:51:26 AM
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That's no Chevy - it's about to become a MoPile
Rarely if ever a factory new car would be any threat on the street. Modified and home built cars ruled at that time. As far as Z's there was a local glass company that bought a new one off the lot, took it home and stripped it of the interior and drivetrain. Raced it 3-4 years than put all the original parts back on the car then sold it to one of out group. Think it only had 5K miles or less on the car at that time.
Wish I had taken pictures of us, our cars or more things but didn't have much extra money that didn't get spent on the cars or girls. More on the cars :)
Quote from: FL SAAC on March 19, 2022, 11:51:26 AM
You killing me smalls, the one time I saw a camaro break into the 12s and being street driven was when it got dropped out of an airplane at 15,000 feet...
One of our group ran a 68 in the early 70's - mid 10's if I recall correctly. It was run on the street from time to time but that always brought attention and the local police that always cruised by the houses we used in the city to keep an eye on us.
We had money (not great amounts) races weekly but it got more exciting and expensive when cars and people would travel through or visit from other areas of Cal or we took a trip to another region or town. Crazy stuff would take place when the local strip would hold big events. Recall one funny car that a short run down the main drag one night. Don't know how they carried that off without someone showing up.
Few years later we "organized" the Schools Out (became the Graffiti cruise) in a near by town. Big draw because of the movie and the location in relationship to the movie. Those got so big the police gave up trying to enforce anything Thousands and thousand of cars and people. Since by side racing down the main drag. Prepped cars all over the place and you could run open headers all night long without a worry. As kids we would often never cap up before driving home for a half hour or so. Ah so young ::) But that cruise became a problem so we stopped attending once the bay area people and gangs started to escalate the problems later
Quote from: J_Speegle on March 19, 2022, 03:52:28 PM
:)
Quote from: FL SAAC on March 19, 2022, 11:51:26 AM
You killing me smalls, the one time I saw a camaro break into the 12s and being street driven was when it got dropped out of an airplane at 15,000 feet...
One of our group ran a 68 in the early 70's - mid 10's if I recall correctly. It was run on the street from time to time but that always brought attention and the local police that always cruised by the houses we used in the city to keep an eye on us.
That is key right there, "from time to time". The ones we saw running 10s or better, would pull up on a trailer a few blocks away from the crowds and unload. Then drive in like it was a "street car".
You could smell that racing fuel before they arrived and once they arrived you felt as if tear gas was dropped.
This would complicate matters when the local law enforcement officers would arrive and look at everyone's eyes (flare red due to the toxicity coming out of the tailpipes) they would start asking if anyone was either dispensing or inhaling marijuanica.
Richard,
As always, I look forward to your car stories.
Wednesday was the best racing night at Van Nuys, year-round. Fri-Sat was more for the teenagers, but street racers would still show up.
I agree that a stock 302 Z/28 wasn't/isn't a great drag race car...unless you do the series of mods that others above have already mentioned.
I'd choose the 396 or Yenko 427 as a starting point. Back in the day, more cubes were always better, right? (I'm still in that cult.)
Another cool Chevy, and almost unknown to anyone at the time, was the '65 Malibu SS Z/16. The first 396. Solid-lifters. Fender skirts and a vinyl roof. Optional pale yellow paint made it the ultimate sleeper car. It looked like granny's inline-six Chevelle, until it promptly ate your lunch.
BTW: My cousin had one in the late-60s. With headers and other typical Day Two work, they'd really run. Strangely, those cars had open-differential, not posi. (The chassis engineers thought a Panhard rod would suffice.) The result was a car that laid down the biggest and angriest one-legged burnouts on the planet. Chevy only built 201 of Z/16 (200 hardtops, one convertible) and they were among the very the first of the big block '60s cars to soar to giant bucks. (Nice Z/16s were already at $50k in the early/mid-'80s, when you could buy an equal-condition Hemi Satellite or GTX for $20-25k.) Z/16s have typically been over $150 for the past 30 years.
If the Z/16 is not appropos for this article of yours...then perhaps in the future. Keep 'em coning!
Van
Hoss ( Dan Blocker ) from Bonanza had a Z16
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 19, 2022, 08:40:31 PM
Richard,
As always, I look forward to your car stories.
Wednesday was the best racing night at Van Nuys, year-round. Fri-Sat was more for the teenagers, but street racers would still show up.
I agree that a stock 302 Z/28 wasn't/isn't a great drag race car...unless you do the series of mods that others above have already mentioned.
I'd choose the 396 or Yenko 427 as a starting point. Back in the day, more cubes were always better, right? (I'm still in that cult.)
Another cool Chevy, and almost unknown to anyone at the time, was the '65 Malibu SS Z/16. The first 396. Solid-lifters. Fender skirts and a vinyl roof. Looked like granny's car, until it promptly ate your lunch. My cousin had one in the late-60s. Truly bad-azz with headers and other typical Day Two work. Strangely, those cars had open-differential, not posi. They laid down the biggest and angriest one-legged burnouts on the planet. Chevy only built 201 of them. They were the first of the big block '60s cars to soar to giant bucks in the mid-'80s. Nice Z/16s were already at $50k, when you could buy a pretty damn nice Hemi for $40k. They've typically been over $150k for the past 30 years.
If it's not appropos for this article of yours...then perhaps in the future.
^^^ You are correct, Tony.
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 19, 2022, 08:40:31 PM
Richard,
As always, I look forward to your car stories.
Wednesday was the best racing night at Van Nuys, year-round. Fri-Sat was more for the teenagers, but street racers would still show up.
I agree that a stock 302 Z/28 wasn't/isn't a great drag race car...unless you do the series of mods that others above have already mentioned.
I'd choose the 396 or Yenko 427 as a starting point. Back in the day, more cubes were always better, right? (I'm still in that cult.)
Another cool Chevy, and almost unknown to anyone at the time, was the '65 Malibu SS Z/16. The first 396. Solid-lifters. Fender skirts and a vinyl roof. Optional pale yellow paint made it the ultimate sleeper car. It looked like granny's inline-six Chevelle, until it promptly ate your lunch.
BTW: My cousin had one in the late-60s. With headers and other typical Day Two work, they'd really run. Strangely, those cars had open-differential, not posi. (The chassis engineers thought a Panhard rod would suffice.) The result was a car that laid down the biggest and angriest one-legged burnouts on the planet. Chevy only built 201 of Z/16 (200 hardtops, one convertible) and they were among the very the first of the big block '60s cars to soar to giant bucks. (Nice Z/16s were already at $50k in the early/mid-'80s, when you could buy an equal-condition Hemi Satellite or GTX for $20-25k.) Z/16s have typically been over $150 for the past 30 years.
If the Z/16 is not appropos for this article of yours...then perhaps in the future. Keep 'em coning!
Van
Hey Van, thanks for listening to said stories. It seems that the last one I posted on youtube had a bit of a take off with the algorithm, the story of the ghost behind the gas station in a secret and sealed off area. Youtube's algorithm is unusual. My current story lineup involves a 69 Boss 302, a 69 Z/28, a 70 Plymouth Barracuda AAR and a big block 69 Roadrunner A12. I imagine that a group of friends could run what they had or could afford. In the scenario they agree to race each other but wait for the big block to race last so that the three smaller blocks can do rounds of elimination. They never make it to race the big block Roadrunner due to a, ahem, tragic accident. Then the horror begins for the main character when he visits his afterlife. Not what he expected.
My biggest years in street racing in the San Fernando Valley were 1978 through 1981, after that I was so busy with the Unlimited Air Racing that it was very sporadic.
The initial years I ran a couple of different Chevelle's with big blocks.
San Fernando road was really big primarily because where we raced was on the border between Devonshire Division and North Hollywood Division. The results was that we were so far out there that it was rare that the police would travel to the limit of their boundaries just for stupid people in hot rods. That all worked great until a new group started coming out more into beer and partying and causing mayhem than racing. They started throwing rocks at the train full of brand new cars from the Van Nuys Plant......Yeah, the feds showed up, had North Hollywood throw out a net and there was a major bust. Stupid punks throwing rocks at trains is a federal offense and the railroad police have power and NO sense of humor.
Canoga and Nordhoff from the Lumber City parking lot. The stupid thing there turned out to be that two police cars could trap everyone in the parking lot.
Sepulveda Blvd. right were it went on to the freeway if the police showed up you just went straight on the freeway and left the area.
The 118 freeway before it was opened both on the West end of the Valley and on the East end of Simi Valley.
Woodley by the Van Nuys airport.
The North end of Woodley just south of Rinaldi...that was a great spot until one night the Desk Sargent came out of Devonshire, shut us down and told us all, "I know I am not going to stop you hoodlums from drag racing on the streets. But I AM going to stop you from racing on this street"! He then explained that there was a judge from Van Nuys courthouse that lived a block away from where we were. That ended that because the judge called the Division and said "End this noise".
Winnetka by the drive in.
East L.A. scariest night if my life. We went down there to race a friend of mine's Chevelle I had done the engine for and we looked the car over and agreed to race. The guy said he was going to stop and put some slicks on......A different car same color but really different showed up and my friend started calling him a cheater. I told him to shut up and take the loss. Things were not good until Big Willey came over and recognized me and straightened everything out. My friend raced got his doors blown off and we paid $1,500 for the adventure. I never went street racing in East L.A. again.....ever.
There were other places but that was long long ago in a far off land.
I would like to say my respects for Officer Larry Ball who pulled me over many times, always was firm but nice. He was blown up defusing a bomb in 1986 and that made me realize that these officers really had more important things to do than chase us away from street racing.
I still love hot rodding, not a fan of street racing.
John
Quote from: JohnSlack on March 20, 2022, 01:27:54 AMthrowing rocks at trains is a federal offense and the railroad police have power and NO sense of humor.
The 118 freeway before it was opened both on the West end of the Valley and on the East end of Simi Valley.
Woodley by the Van Nuys airport.
East L.A. scariest night if my life.
A friend of my parents was a railroad cop - never saw the guy smile. What he really hated was stupid employees who who'd break into a shipment to steal a bottle of shampoo. It cost $1,000s to do all the paperwork and investigations then the union usually got the guy his job back.
We used the unfinished 210 in the late 60s. There was also a lot of new housing tracts being built with fresh streets. I worked at the local PD when I got my Road Runner and we'd go to Via Verde after the night shift and use the nice 4 lane road they'd built. The Sheriff came since it was their area. The badges came out and he left.
We'd use the road along the north side of Brackett airport right next to the Pomona Fairgrounds. The cops always showed up after a couple passes. We finally figured out a guy in the control tower at the airport was ratting us out.
East LA was a no-go even in the 60's.
It is a pleasure for me to read all of these untold stories from back in the day. I love it!
Quote from: 98SVT - was 06GT on March 20, 2022, 11:49:36 AM
Quote from: JohnSlack on March 20, 2022, 01:27:54 AMthrowing rocks at trains is a federal offense and the railroad police have power and NO sense of humor.
The 118 freeway before it was opened both on the West end of the Valley and on the East end of Simi Valley.
Woodley by the Van Nuys airport.
East L.A. scariest night if my life.
A friend of my parents was a railroad cop - never saw the guy smile. What he really hated was stupid employees who who'd break into a shipment to steal a bottle of shampoo. It cost $1,000s to do all the paperwork and investigations then the union usually got the guy his job back.
We used the unfinished 210 in the late 60s. There was also a lot of new housing tracts being built with fresh streets. I worked at the local PD when I got my Road Runner and we'd go to Via Verde after the night shift and use the nice 4 lane road they'd built. The Sheriff came since it was their area. The badges came out and he left.
We'd use the road along the north side of Brackett airport right next to the Pomona Fairgrounds. The cops always showed up after a couple passes. We finally figured out a guy in the control tower at the airport was ratting us out.
East LA was a no-go even in the 60's.
Agreed about the railroad police and definitely about East L.A. I had never had any problems with racism growing up. We kept our race plane in a hangar at the Compton airport. Local kids would climb the airport fence, hang out and learn about airplanes. One of the kids my age was graduating the sixth grade same as I was. He was so excited he was graduating! I askfed him where he was going to Jr. High. He told me nowhere, I'm graduating! My Dad and his Crew Chief took him home and talked this mother, they told her that they thought he was an intelligent young man that deserved the opportunity of an education. She wanted to know why did a couple of nosey white men cared about her son. They talked more and she kept her son in school. We eventually moved the racer to Van Nuys airport. Years later early in race week a black man my age came to the pit area and asked for my Dad, he went into the transporter trailer talked with him for a while. They both came out and came towards me. My Dad told me who he was, it was the kid I used to play at the airport with, all grown up with a college degree and a job with the FAA. He had come to say Thank You to a nosey white man that changed his life as well as his brother and sisters lives. So race never had been a thought for me. But 5 minutes into the experience of getting out of the car in East L.A. was a life changing moment, I found out that just because I didn't have an issue with anybody there did not mean that someone there didn't have a problem with a young 20 year old motor guy there with a big mouthed car owner/driver. Scared the Hell out of me. As I said, luckily I had met and talked with Big Willey in the San Fernando Valley on a few nights. He stepped in defused the situation with my big mouth friend, we put up our money, took the loss and went home. Never to return to East L.A.
John
Quote from: JohnSlack on March 20, 2022, 03:09:29 PM
Agreed about the railroad police and definitely about East L.A. I had never had any problems with racism growing up. We kept our race plane in a hangar at the Compton airport. .......My Dad told me who he was, it was the kid I used to play at the airport with, all grown up with a college degree and a job with the FAA. He had come to say Thank You to a nosey white man
I had met and talked with Big Willey in the San Fernando Valley on a few nights. He stepped in defused the situation
That had to be a proud moment for you and your dad. When I started flying (swapped my year old Dodge minivan for a high time 182) at Cable everyone said don't go to Compton because they liked shooting at planes on final. My ex brother in law had a friend who was a Compton cop. He carried a 4" 44 Mag and a 45acp 1911 as his back up gun. Compton was the wild west at least until the late 80s.
Growing up in SoCal we never seemed to have racial problems - like hear the south was. Everybody seemed to get along and work together except when some hot heads or gangs caused problems. In the late 70s I went to the heart of Watts to help a guy who worked at one of my accounts get his Model A running again. Missed the turn and went back at the light a carload of gangbangers pulled up and asked what I was doing there. Told him I was going to see a friend and help him with his car. Good to go - but I won't go near the place or East LA today too many crazies.
Big Willie grew up in the south and knew the problems racism caused and would stand for none of it at his events. No booze, drugs, gangs or racial problems allowed.
Everybody always bad mouths scary biker gangs - my only encounter was positive. I took a spill on my Honda 350 when an old lady shot out of a gas station across all the lanes to make a left turn. A couple Mongols saw it and stopped to see if I was OK. I had broke the clutch handle and was scrapped up - t shirt and no helmet. While I was wiping off the blood they swapped the brake & clutch handle and followed me a couple blocks (out of their way) to see that I could get home OK. Mongols (early on it was mostly East LA guys) are the the gang who like to have shootouts and knife fights with the Hell's Angels - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongols_Motorcycle_Club
At Car Craft Magazine in the early 90s, someone had the idea to do a series of stories about the "Real Truths of Street Racing Today" Or something like that. We'd planned to report about L.A., Detroit, St Louis, and other lively venues.
I was freelance at the time, and I (plus one other guy and a Petersen Publishing photographer) spent several weeks going to all the local SoCal illegal venues. We interviewed drivers and spectators who were typically paranoid/secretive/scary (sometimes all three.) Or they proved to be total squirrels and racer-wanna-bes.
The whole experience was "interesting" to be part of, but the tactical mistake we made was driving a Petersen photo van, which was painted "undercover cop car" brown, with dog dish wheels, no side windows, and replete with giant roof rack platform. No, we were not welcomed with open arms. And, shooting flash photos out from the dark confines of the van's interior caused the people to scatter like roaches on a linoleum floor.
Night Two, we wore our Car Craft logo shirts, hats and jackets like they were some sort of gang-member-repellant shields, and it did get a bit easier to walk up to someone and ask if it's okay to take photos of them standing by their car. (But, only about 10% of those we asked, said okay. That's up from 0-1% w/o the Car Craft swag.)
The most memorable time during that story's production was one late night in Lennox area (aka South Central) when we thought the crowd was going to turn on us. It was only because we knew one old-time racer's nickname (something like "Nitrous Bob") and said he'd vouch for us, that we survived...even though good ol' Bob wasn't there that night.
We wisely headed back to the Valley, where the Hispanic gangs in low-riders gave off vibes more like PTA Moms in station wagons, by comparison.
At San Fernando Road, as mentioned by others, the rowdy stuff sometimes did get out of hand...with spectators throwing food, drink cans and rocks at the racing cars. We never saw any guns, but did hear a "pop...pop...pop" once.
We went to Terminal Island and interviewed Big Willy, and he was the overlord, to be sure. That was 30 years ago.
We ran two or three long stories in Car Craft, before we came to our senses and called it quits. There was little chance that we'd get the real "full true story" of the inner sanctum of street racing. Especially because the characters, the streets and the car setups vary, according to parts of the country.
And, because no one wants to reveal/discuss/admit their knowledge of anything.
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 07:46:15 PM
At Car Craft Magazine in the early 90s, someone had the idea to do a series of stories about the "Real Truths of Street Racing Today" Or something like that.
Most of the groups were very protective of their turf and did not want newcomers anywhere around. It got far worse when CA passed the law where they could seize and crush street racers cars. Kinda like getting beat up if you invaded some locals at their good surfing spot.
And today we have reality TV street racing - albeit with the cops blocking off the road and ambulances standing by. Oh yeah don't forget scripted conversations and outcomes.
The difference today is Street racers have 3500 HP- 230mph Pro mods... back then The Fast guy was bottle BOB with his 69 Corvette ran 10 ohs. Different times fer sure, Like totally! Because I am a valley dude and thats the way it was!!! ;)
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 07:46:15 PM
At Car Craft Magazine in the early 90s, someone had the idea to do a series of stories about the "Real Truths of Street Racing Today" Or something like that. We'd planned to report about L.A., Detroit, St Louis, and other lively venues.
I was freelance at the time, and I (plus one other guy and a Petersen Publishing photographer) spent several weeks going to all the local SoCal illegal venues. We interviewed drivers and spectators who were typically paranoid/secretive/scary (sometimes all three.) Or they proved to be total squirrels and racer-wanna-bes.
The whole experience was "interesting" to be part of, but the tactical mistake we made was driving a Petersen photo van, which was painted "undercover cop car" brown, with dog dish wheels, no side windows, and replete with giant roof rack platform. No, we were not welcomed with open arms. And, shooting flash photos out from the dark confines of the van's interior caused the people to scatter like roaches on a linoleum floor.
Night Two, we wore our Car Craft logo shirts, hats and jackets like they were some sort of gang-member-repellant shields, and it did get a bit easier to walk up to someone and ask if it's okay to take photos of them standing by their car. (But, only about 10% of those we asked, said okay. That's up from 0-1% w/o the Car Craft swag.)
The most memorable time during that story's production was one late night in Lennox area (aka South Central) when we thought the crowd was going to turn on us. It was only because we knew one old-time racer's nickname (something like "Nitrous Bob") and said he'd vouch for us, that we survived...even though good ol' Bob wasn't there that night.
We wisely headed back to the Valley, where the Hispanic gangs in low-riders gave off vibes more like PTA Moms in station wagons, by comparison.
At San Fernando Road, as mentioned by others, the rowdy stuff sometimes did get out of hand...with spectators throwing food, drink cans and rocks at the racing cars. We never saw any guns, but did hear a "pop...pop...pop" once.
We went to Terminal Island and interviewed Big Willy, and he was the overlord, to be sure. That was 30 years ago.
We ran two or three long stories in Car Craft, before we came to our senses and called it quits. There was little chance that we'd get the real "full true story" of the inner sanctum of street racing. Especially because the characters, the streets and the car setups vary, according to parts of the country.
And, because no one wants to reveal/discuss/admit their knowledge of anything.
"Bottle Bob" ran a late 60s early 70s Corvette on juice, hippy reject cranky old man, was in the middle of swearing he didn't run squeeze on a pass. The solenoid stuck open and blew the mufflers off the back of the car. Sounded like a whole box of M-80s. LOL he was a character. NOT a friend, however I knew who he was.
My Chevelle had a bottle, I could disconnect it, crack open the bottom d prove it was disconnected. I could disconnect the solenoid under the hood. There was another bottle system that went through the frame rails, up through the bottom of the radiator out through the radiator hose, into the bottom of intake manifold and connected to a solenoid under the intake. That's how the nitrous oxide got to the intake manifold. The gasoline solenoid is the one on top nobody ever cared if it got disconnected.....that is how the gasoline got to the intake manifold. The radiator Greg Shaw had made over in a San Fernando radiator shop. The connections were all #6 stainless steel bulkhead fittings out of a San Fernando road surplus shop.
Greg Shaw was the king of "Squeeze" (his nickname for Nitrous Oxide. Greg made a 300, 450, and a 600 horsepower set up for the race plane. We tested the 450 horsepower unit for a 30 minute flight duration. We carried a lot of squeeze we hardly ever used, but it was there if we needed it.
John
Thats him... ;D Filthy little Hippie reject with the CRAZY fast VETTE. He was probably in his early forties at the time hangin with the Teens. He was one of the first to experiment with N O S and had mutiple kits on it and watched him spin out at probably 130 mph on Wentworth street. used up all four lanes and never hit a thing, stiil recall what a lucky sum bitch he was.
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 07:46:15 PM
At Car Craft Magazine in the early 90s, someone had the idea to do a series of stories about the "Real Truths of Street Racing Today" Or something like that. We'd planned to report about L.A., Detroit, St Louis, and other lively venues.
I was freelance at the time, and I (plus one other guy and a Petersen Publishing photographer) spent several weeks going to all the local SoCal illegal venues. We interviewed drivers and spectators who were typically paranoid/secretive/scary (sometimes all three.) Or they proved to be total squirrels and racer-wanna-bes.
The whole experience was "interesting" to be part of, but the tactical mistake we made was driving a Petersen photo van, which was painted "undercover cop car" brown, with dog dish wheels, no side windows, and replete with giant roof rack platform. No, we were not welcomed with open arms. And, shooting flash photos out from the dark confines of the van's interior caused the people to scatter like roaches on a linoleum floor.
Night Two, we wore our Car Craft logo shirts, hats and jackets like they were some sort of gang-member-repellant shields, and it did get a bit easier to walk up to someone and ask if it's okay to take photos of them standing by their car. (But, only about 10% of those we asked, said okay. That's up from 0-1% w/o the Car Craft swag.)
The most memorable time during that story's production was one late night in Lennox area (aka South Central) when we thought the crowd was going to turn on us. It was only because we knew one old-time racer's nickname (something like "Nitrous Bob") and said he'd vouch for us, that we survived...even though good ol' Bob wasn't there that night.
We wisely headed back to the Valley, where the Hispanic gangs in low-riders gave off vibes more like PTA Moms in station wagons, by comparison.
At San Fernando Road, as mentioned by others, the rowdy stuff sometimes did get out of hand...with spectators throwing food, drink cans and rocks at the racing cars. We never saw any guns, but did hear a "pop...pop...pop" once.
We went to Terminal Island and interviewed Big Willy, and he was the overlord, to be sure. That was 30 years ago.
We ran two or three long stories in Car Craft, before we came to our senses and called it quits. There was little chance that we'd get the real "full true story" of the inner sanctum of street racing. Especially because the characters, the streets and the car setups vary, according to parts of the country.
And, because no one wants to reveal/discuss/admit their knowledge of anything.
I also did freelance for CC, HR and Motor Trend mags/TV. Btw, I was a street racer and also a cameraman. I was accepted among the squirrels, and video taped lots of action from 1987-1992. My friends come to know my videos as the 'Squirrel videos'. Many street racers were very shady, some were drug dealers, however most were good guys. I made some great friends from the old street racing days. I believe the reason you were met with suspicion is because you were not one of us--an outsider so to speak. Your stealth van was more like an undercover cop mobile. And the camera flashes didn't help your situation either. Even TV news crews were met that way also. Big Willie was a very gracious leader among us. I got to video tape him many times out at the races...and he was grateful for it getting the message out there.
Here is what I posted over at the Boss 302 site on this topic:
To add it here the street racing in the SFV, Valencia, and Camarillo:
Canoga and Lassen
Mason Ave.
San Fernando Rd.
Glenoaks Blvd.
Raymer
Oxnard St.
Wood Rd.
Laguna Rd.
Lynn Rd.
...and many, many more.
The old hang outs were:
Super Shops, Bob's Big Boy and McDonald's on Van Nuys Blvd.
Kevins Burgers on Reseda and DeSoto.
Chastworth and Zelzah.
Karls Jr on Sepulveda Blvd.
Mobil gas station on Glenoaks Blvd.
Karls Jr in Camarillo
And various industrial lots, etc.
Also, FWIW:
I have countless hours of video from 1987-1992 @ the street races. Including many members who are on this very site!
Quote from: JohnSlack on March 20, 2022, 09:05:09 PMGreg Shaw was the king of "Squeeze" (his nickname for Nitrous Oxide. Greg made a 300, 450, and a 600 horsepower set up for the race plane. We tested the 450 horsepower unit for a 30 minute flight duration. We carried a lot of squeeze we hardly ever used, but it was there if we needed it.
German innovation in WWII - War Emergency Power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM-1
Forgot to mention: one of the fastest street cars in the mid to late 1980s in the SFV was Sam aka 'hajie' and his 1985 modified and NOS'd equipt Saleen Mustang. And yes, it was his daily driver. It would run 10s at LACR.
Crossboss, thanks for your posting. Agreed that we didn't help ourselves any with the photo van choice.
I'd been street racing (nothing over $50...I wasn't big-time by any means...but $25-$50 was a lot to me back then) at Van Nuys since mid-70s. I knew the basic rules, most the hangouts, a few of the people, etc. (Although most of the people were referred-to more by their cars than their names. "The dude with the Orange LS6 Chevelle", etc.) Super Shops parking lot was our digs.
My pal Phil and I, and a few others from Culver City, would be there most every Wednesday and Saturday night. We would've liked to have been a few years older, in order to have been there in the true late-1960s heyday, but we still had fun. Cruising for chicks was about half of our motive, followed by checking out other fast cars for speed equipment, and actual racing.
With KMET and KLOS radio songs blasting out of just about every car around you, it made for good times.
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 10:04:05 PM
Crossboss, thanks for your posting. Agreed that we didn't help ourselves any with the photo van choice.
I'd been street racing (nothing over $50...I wasn't big-time by any means...but $25-$50 was a lot to me back then) at Van Nuys since mid-70s. I knew the basic rules, most the hangouts, a few of the people, etc. (Although most of the people were referred-to more by their cars than their names. "The dude with the Orange LS6 Chevelle", etc.) Super Shops parking lot was our digs.
My pal Phil and I, and a few others from Culver City, would be there most every Wednesday night, and about every other Saturday. We would've liked to have been a few years older, in order to have been there in the true late-1960s heyday, but we still had fun. Cruising for chicks was about half of our motive, followed by checking out other fast car for speed tips, and actual racing.
With KMET and KLOS radio songs blasting out of just about every car around you, it made for good times.
All of the racers (and friends) were referred to as pet names or as we called them 'squirrel names'. As mentioned Sam was 'hajie' (he was Indian), I was 'fatty'. Others were called 'Idol', 'Magoo', etc you get the idea. It was all fun.
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 07:46:15 PM
At Car Craft Magazine in the early 90s, someone had the idea to do a series of stories about the "Real Truths of Street Racing Today" Or something like that. We'd planned to report about L.A., Detroit, St Louis, and other lively venues.
I was freelance at the time, and I (plus one other guy and a Petersen Publishing photographer) spent several weeks going to all the local SoCal illegal venues. We interviewed drivers and spectators who were typically paranoid/secretive/scary (sometimes all three.) Or they proved to be total squirrels and racer-wanna-bes.
The whole experience was "interesting" to be part of, but the tactical mistake we made was driving a Petersen photo van, which was painted "undercover cop car" brown, with dog dish wheels, no side windows, and replete with giant roof rack platform. No, we were not welcomed with open arms. And, shooting flash photos out from the dark confines of the van's interior caused the people to scatter like roaches on a linoleum floor.
Night Two, we wore our Car Craft logo shirts, hats and jackets like they were some sort of gang-member-repellant shields, and it did get a bit easier to walk up to someone and ask if it's okay to take photos of them standing by their car. (But, only about 10% of those we asked, said okay. That's up from 0-1% w/o the Car Craft swag.)
The most memorable time during that story's production was one late night in Lennox area (aka South Central) when we thought the crowd was going to turn on us. It was only because we knew one old-time racer's nickname (something like "Nitrous Bob") and said he'd vouch for us, that we survived...even though good ol' Bob wasn't there that night.
We wisely headed back to the Valley, where the Hispanic gangs in low-riders gave off vibes more like PTA Moms in station wagons, by comparison.
At San Fernando Road, as mentioned by others, the rowdy stuff sometimes did get out of hand...with spectators throwing food, drink cans and rocks at the racing cars. We never saw any guns, but did hear a "pop...pop...pop" once.
We went to Terminal Island and interviewed Big Willy, and he was the overlord, to be sure. That was 30 years ago.
We ran two or three long stories in Car Craft, before we came to our senses and called it quits. There was little chance that we'd get the real "full true story" of the inner sanctum of street racing. Especially because the characters, the streets and the car setups vary, according to parts of the country.
And, because no one wants to reveal/discuss/admit their knowledge of anything.
Thanks for the great story. Now, speeders tacitly admit their wrongdoing and borderline brag about it posting their escapades online through YouTube Instagram and so on. Sometimes the prosecutors go after them because all the evidence is right there open and shut!
Quote from: Side-Oilers on March 20, 2022, 10:04:05 PM
Crossboss, thanks for your posting. Agreed that we didn't help ourselves any with the photo van choice.
I'd been street racing (nothing over $50...I wasn't big-time by any means...but $25-$50 was a lot to me back then) at Van Nuys since mid-70s. I knew the basic rules, most the hangouts, a few of the people, etc. (Although most of the people were referred-to more by their cars than their names. "The dude with the Orange LS6 Chevelle", etc.) Super Shops parking lot was our digs.
My pal Phil and I, and a few others from Culver City, would be there most every Wednesday and Saturday night. We would've liked to have been a few years older, in order to have been there in the true late-1960s heyday, but we still had fun. Cruising for chicks was about half of our motive, followed by checking out other fast cars for speed equipment, and actual racing.
With KMET and KLOS radio songs blasting out of just about every car around you, it made for good times.
The MIGHTY MET... KMET with Jeff Gonzer WOOOAHHH and Uncle Joe Benson over at KLOS Good times fer sure! Dont forget Frazier Smith!!! ;D
And Paraquat Kelly, Jim Ladd, BC, Gino, Cynthia Fox, Steve Downs, etc.
Well this will screw with the YouTube algorithm on my channel, but screw it. Here is the genesis of my initial inquiry. I think it is one of my better stories. But opinions vary.
I present: "Burnt Rubber"
https://youtu.be/wFhCMeoidow
Great Caesar's ghost !
You have enough material here to run up through season nine of your new series.
By the way, what will you call it ?
"Rich and Tonys excellent adventure" or "So Dazed and Confused I did not know what street I was on"
Rich,
Going back to '69 , like you asked, ( when lots of the poster were in diapers , or not born) things were allot different as far as police. No Helicopters, cameras etc. There were usually only two or three actual races in a night. Very quick . No huge crowds. Nitrous wasn't around then . A 6-71 blower was as bad as it could be. Not allot of big strokers either . 427 Chevelles were a dime a dozen. There were some fast BB Camaros out of Bill Thomas's shop about a mile away from Harbor blvd in Anaheim. Ford's were poorly represented in '69 as the Boss cars weren't fast and the CJ was a 12 second car at best . There was one "straight axle" '65 Mustang with a high riser that ran tens at "the beach" but I never saw it race on the street. Remember "big money" in '69 was $100 . A week's pay for most of us back then.
Randy
Richard
There was a lot of "street racing" that took place in almost every town across the county, most was for bragging rights. When you started to get money involved it got real serious, real fast. It wasn't like a whole evening of racing it was usually a run or two at secret location and you always had one real bad ass guy to hold the money. Lots of intimidation going on. You know it became really serious when a gun was introduced to the argument
Didn't do a lot of street racing but I did take $100 from a guy at a street race one night He has a 1967 Mustang that had been allegedly "built". He lost by half a car length. Later that summer I was running brackets at the local drag strip and he gets in line to race me again. This time he had open headers, slicks and a mouthy driver. My buddy was sitting in the stands and the owner asked him for a chance to win his hundred back. My friend he didn't want him to feel bad when I beat him again. I crept my car into the lights, the other car driver had his car bake torqued up to the max. Had an 8" open rear with 4:62!gearing. I put a hole shot on him of about 4-5 cars as he sat and spun the one tire on the 8" slick. He then proceeded to float the valves on the hydraulic lifter motor in both first and second gear. I ran a 14.31 at 92.9 mph he ran a 14.5 at almost 99 mph. He passed me between the finish line and Mph lights past the finish line. The driver jumped out at the end of the strip and accused me of "cheating".
Like I said lots of racing took place but most was just for bragging rights
Quote from: FL SAAC on March 21, 2022, 09:45:49 AM
Great Caesar's ghost !
You have enough material here to run up through season nine of your new series.
By the way, what will you call it ?
"Rich and Tonys excellent adventure" or "So Dazed and Confused I did not know what street I was on"
You're correct, Tony. Lots of stories generated by this post and I am pleased to read them. I think I can get a novella out of the street scene from the early 70s. More exciting than the next iPhone or should be, but these days, I'm not so sure given the current crop coming up. Do they know what excitement is outside of the virtual world? I live in a fantasy world as evidenced by my writing but also I live in the real world. It's all about balance.
Quote from: gt350hr on March 21, 2022, 11:16:14 AM
Rich,
Going back to '69 , like you asked, ( when lots of the poster were in diapers , or not born) things were allot different as far as police. No Helicopters, cameras etc. There were usually only two or three actual races in a night. Very quick . No huge crowds. Nitrous wasn't around then . A 6-71 blower was as bad as it could be. Not allot of big strokers either . 427 Chevelles were a dime a dozen. There were some fast BB Camaros out of Bill Thomas's shop about a mile away from Harbor blvd in Anaheim. Ford's were poorly represented in '69 as the Boss cars weren't fast and the CJ was a 12 second car at best . There was one "straight axle" '65 Mustang with a high riser that ran tens at "the beach" but I never saw it race on the street. Remember "big money" in '69 was $100 . A week's pay for most of us back then.
Randy
Thanks for the information, Randy. I am still mulling over the idea of writing a fire breathing novella about the street racing scene somewhere in the U.S. (Likely California because it still remains my favorite fantasy state). It wouldn't be a horror but a feel good story for a change with some real drama. I remember one of the forum members (I know his handle but don't want to bust him out) talking about hiding from the cops in a nightmist Shelby Mustang, hiding behind a hedge that matched the colour of his car. That image is frozen in my memory for some reason, it was so vivid even though I wasn't there.
I'll give you a real stop light grand prix story. I had a '66 notch back that I had just outfitted for drag racing .Slicks , 5.14 gears , C4 with 3,000 stall converter and a 360HP 289. The only spare headers I had were a set of 180* firing order set I got from Ray Wolfe that came from SAI. They sounded like a Honda four cylinder motorcycle out the back. So I am coming back from the local Burger King and a guy in a Tiger pulls up next to me and laughs at the sound probably thinking I had a 6 with a glass pack. So he revs me and points forward. I say OK! I had 6 cars on him as I pulled high gear. Slowing to the next signal he pulls up along side ad says he missed a gear. No problem! We did it again and I wound the engine a bit tighter to give him more noise and I ran it to 100 mph with him trailing by at least ten cars and I slowed as he passed me with the finger in the air. Guess my "6" was a little too powerful! That was 1977.
Quote from: 98SVT - was 06GT on March 20, 2022, 09:53:25 PM
Quote from: JohnSlack on March 20, 2022, 09:05:09 PMGreg Shaw was the king of "Squeeze" (his nickname for Nitrous Oxide. Greg made a 300, 450, and a 600 horsepower set up for the race plane. We tested the 450 horsepower unit for a 30 minute flight duration. We carried a lot of squeeze we hardly ever used, but it was there if we needed it.
German innovation in WWII - War Emergency Power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM-1
I don't have the time right now, however I have a great story about Greg Shaw, Dave Cornell, myself and old Nazi that used to work for Focke Wulf under Kurt Tank. It was the reason we could keep the Nitrous Oxide liquid while feeding it to a 3,350 Cubic inch engine making 4,200 plus horsepower for half an hour. Nobody else could because when a very small group of dedicated people share a secret, they stay that way.
John
Quote from: deathsled on March 20, 2022, 11:59:35 PM
Well this will screw with the YouTube algorithm on my channel, but screw it. Here is the genesis of my initial inquiry. I think it is one of my better stories. But opinions vary.
I present: "Burnt Rubber"
https://youtu.be/wFhCMeoidow
Just viewed all I can say it was a heated unexpected conversion, keepem coming
It wasn't all drag racing. There was Mulholland Drive (only did that once) and Turnbull Canyon Road (did that one a bunch of times on the way to and from Whittier Blvd. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9930756,-118.0097788,1356m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
If you look real hard you'll see a Randy motor in that Shelby.
On July 6th, 1971, Steve Saleen learns that racing is for the track when he drives his Shelby GT350 off a cliff in Turnbull Canyon in Whittier, California. Steve spends months recovering from his injuries.
(https://i.imgur.com/5S7MxGol.jpg)
To add a little flavor to the story line ... Ever since there were 2 cars on the road there was always some competition. I know the timeline was supposed to be 1969 - 70 but the cars that were involved then were involved before that time frame, and well after that time frame. Street racing is not confined to those exact years unless you need something to have happened in that exact time frame. So Cal is a good choice for racing because if it happened first it usually happened there, thats why the list of early pioneers of speed... usually began near L A.
Quote from: 427heaven on March 21, 2022, 08:30:40 PM
To add a little flavor to the story line ... Ever since there were 2 horses on the road there was always some competition.
Fixed it
Quote from: 427heaven on March 21, 2022, 08:30:40 PM
To add a little flavor to the story line ... Ever since there were 2 cars on the road there was always some competition. I know the timeline was supposed to be 1969 - 70 but the cars that were involved then were involved before that time frame, and well after that time frame. Street racing is not confined to those exact years unless you need something to have happened in that exact time frame. So Cal is a good choice for racing because if it happened first it usually happened there, thats why the list of early pioneers of speed... usually began near L A.
Oui, Oui
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/197-210322211109.png)
Angeles Crest Highway has some curves...... 8)
You guys have me California dreaming again (yeah I know, rose colored glasses, but still). If I do the novella, the location will have to be Southern California. Thank you to everyone for all of these stories. If no one tells them, then no one else knows them. It is important that they be told.
Mulholland. In my group, the transition from racing on the straight, flat, streets of the Valley to curvy canyon roads started taking place around 1977. New factory stock cars weren't too quick anymore, so maybe you could have fun twisting the Gs in that new Oldsmobile-403-engined Trans Am of yours. Mikey will race you in you in his mom's powder-blue Mustang II. (Not as exciting as watching a Pro Stocker come off an enclosed trailer and run for $500, then go back into the trailer and disappear) but it was funny to watch the first couple of squirrels, each night, running out of talent in a corner.
There was a movie called "King of the Mountain" or something like that, which pitted a guy in a Porsche against some muscle cars. I'm going strictly by memory here, so I could be wrong about some of the details. The film was a low budget flick with several gag-worthy parts, but it got my pals and I to thinking about trying the canyon stuff too. In years previous, some of the COCOA guys had already explored those turns and started buying 911s and BMW 2002 tii to have fun with up there.
Here's a good article about racing on Mulholland from 1970s and earlier. https://www.motortrend.com/features/the-ghosts-on-mulholland-drive/
I enjoyed both kinds of illegal competition, and if you're ever driven at high speed along Decker Cyn, from PCH in Malibu connecting to Mulholland and onto Laurel Canyon (careful, Mulholland was not paved in sections, back then) you'll probably have just gotten a new speed addiction. I'd have to Google Maps it, but I'd guess the total run was bout 25-30 miles.
Those balls-out midnight runs became standard protocol for us (helming magazine test cars, as well as our own machines) most any night of the week. Usually zero traffic, great straights and corners, and the occasional azz-pucker from a deer jumping into your path. These runs tested every moving part of your car, including the ash tray hinges that rattled loose from the massive 4-axis g-forces. :P
Actually, there were many sections of the road where charging 80-100 mph into a dip could reward you with big air, or propel you off a cliff. So, make that 5-axis (axes?) We quickly started improving our cars' brakes, tires, suspensions, cooling systems, headlights, and replacing 4.11 and 4.56 street racing gears with higher-speed-friendly 3.50s, etc.
We only saw a cop ONE time. He was going home (our summation) on his Sheriff-issue bike and we fortunately? magically? had just slowed down to legal speeds as he came around a corner, in our direction. After that, we spaced out the cars in our group to no closer than a quarter-mile apart. Cheapo $99 Burt-Reynolds-approved CB radios kept us out of the way of most trouble. But, no satin jackets allowed.
There's an old falling-over sign-post (still there as of three years ago) at the intersection of Decker and Topanga Cyn, where we'd always stop and scrawl our ETs (from PCH to there) onto the post.
We did keep going to Van Nuys Bl on Wednesdays, and expanded our street-racing map to include Westchester, El Segundo (with the awesome 6-lane-wide Pershing Dr behind LAX) and Manhattan Beach. Manhattan usually had the best-looking girls. But, their cops would write you for 1 mph over. After we each got one of those friendly court summons we stopped venturing further south than LAX.
I just got a neat idea for a new thread. Watch for that post in 5,4,3,2...
Since Mulholland was mentioned, here is a good story for y'all: One late summer night in 1986, my buddy and I were parked at the top and just bs-ing. We hear this loud rumbling coming around the corner, and low and behold this nice blue 427 Cobra shows up. He slows down to where we are, and stops. Holy $hit, it's Jay Leno! We ending up talking for 2 hours about cars, girls and the entertainment biz. This was just around the time he filmed the famous Doritos commercials, and was making the guest spot on The Tonight Show. What a memory! Thanks, Jay!
Quote from: 557 on March 21, 2022, 09:18:11 PM
Angeles Crest Highway has some curves...... 8)
Did that a couple months ago on the way out to Willow Springs.
We used to do a gumball type thing where you'd get an early AM call to go run Azusa Canyon and Glendora Mountain Road. We'd get 8-12 cars show up at first light and make a pass each direction then get breakfast.
Quote from: gt350hr on March 21, 2022, 03:35:19 PM
I'll give you a real stop light grand prix story. I had a '66 notch back that I had just outfitted for drag racing .Slicks , 5.14 gears , C4 with 3,000 stall converter and a 360HP 289. The only spare headers I had were a set of 180* firing order set I got from Ray Wolfe that came from SAI. They sounded like a Honda four cylinder motorcycle out the back. So I am coming back from the local Burger King and a guy in a Tiger pulls up next to me and laughs at the sound probably thinking I had a 6 with a glass pack. So he revs me and points forward. I say OK! I had 6 cars on him as I pulled high gear. Slowing to the next signal he pulls up along side ad says he missed a gear. No problem! We did it again and I wound the engine a bit tighter to give him more noise and I ran it to 100 mph with him trailing by at least ten cars and I slowed as he passed me with the finger in the air. Guess my "6" was a little too powerful! That was 1977.
[
Hey Randy
Would this '66 have been "The Green Car?"/quote]
That was it.The two week wonder. Went from 15+ second ETs to high twelves with a drive train transplant that took about 10 days.
Figured that was it. I bought that car from you less engine and trans. Pulled the 289 from my Tiger and put it in the Mustang with a junkyard c4 and stock converter. Worked good enough with the 5.14 gears and slicks to run 13.40's. Wanted to do more but I was 18 with no money.
Quote from: late66gt350 on March 23, 2022, 12:32:00 PMWanted to do more but I was 18 with no money.
Weren't we all - Went to Irwindale at 16 with my high school driver a 59 Ford station wagon. Wednesday night was run what ya brung for 1 or 2 dollars. I had just rebuilt the 292 and stuck a 312 4 barrel manifold on it with glass packs. It ran high 14s. I broke 2nd gear in that old 3 speed so often I could get it out and fixed in about 2 hours. I finally bought ($15) a well used and noisy T89 (T85 with overdrive) truck trans and never broke it again.
Quote from: late66gt350 on March 23, 2022, 12:32:00 PM
Figured that was it. I bought that car from you less engine and trans. Pulled the 289 from my Tiger and put it in the Mustang with a junkyard c4 and stock converter. Worked good enough with the 5.14 gears and slicks to run 13.40's. Wanted to do more but I was 18 with no money.
Good to hear from you Dave. I am still wanting a 9.9999999 second ET slip from my Shelby ( back to original white since you last saw it) . Now that I am retiring , I hope to have time to build and install the new engine in it and try.
Randy
Wow Randy. Your memory is unreal! Yes, your Shelby was blue at that time with the Boss 302. Always loved checking out your garage with all the outrageous
hard to find Ford parts. Nice to hear from you as well.
Dave
Quote from: 98SVT - was 06GT on March 21, 2022, 08:24:32 PM
It wasn't all drag racing. There was Mulholland Drive (only did that once) and Turnbull Canyon Road (did that one a bunch of times on the way to and from Whittier Blvd. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9930756,-118.0097788,1356m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
If you look real hard you'll see a Randy motor in that Shelby.
On July 6th, 1971, Steve Saleen learns that racing is for the track when he drives his Shelby GT350 off a cliff in Turnbull Canyon in Whittier, California. Steve spends months recovering from his injuries.
(https://i.imgur.com/5S7MxGol.jpg)
No that was before me . That was a Bill Miller engine . 289 with Webers . I helped on that car's replacement ,6S417.
Quote from: gt350hr on March 23, 2022, 05:17:33 PM
No that was before me . That was a Bill Miller engine . 289 with Webers . I helped on that car's replacement ,6S417.
Was that the Bill Miller who ran a TF car?
The one and only. At the time he was a counter jockey at Ansen. He rose to fame when he was "given" the Ansen aluminum rod operation by Louie. After he built a "proper" aluminum he bought Forged True Pistons and the rest is history.
Quote from: gt350hr on March 25, 2022, 12:00:31 PM
The one and only. At the time he was a counter jockey at Ansen. He rose to fame when he was "given" the Ansen aluminum rod operation by Louie. After he built a "proper" aluminum he bought Forged True Pistons and the rest is history.
Yes - the early rods were junk. Ansen wanted to be in the wheel business only. I imagine they suckered him with a free product line but the fine print of the deal was he assumed all liability for the junk they had been selling. Of course is was the early 70s and the lawyers may not have had a say.
Saw this topic, thought of Prom night 1973 picking up the girlfriend. Was on Sunset Blvd in San Francisco, a series of straight blocks with stop lights every two blocks, built in christmas trees, so perfect for drag race after drag race. Got into it with a Dodge Charger in the '65 GT350, light after light. Pretty evenly matched, but on the last drag, I made a very quick illegal left to get to the girlfriends house, as the Charger continued straight. What fun! Arrived at the Prom and girlfriends friend and her date were very, very late. He was disheveled and she very mad. He had been arrested for drag racing, car impounded... dad had to post his bail. Guess who he was drag racing? Anyway, cop told him he was eaiser to catch than the Mustang who pulled the illegal road race left turn. Guess I just lucked out and had a car that could handle well. The Dodge would have never made that turn had the rolls been reversed.
Quote from: kram350 on March 25, 2022, 10:41:29 PM
Saw this topic, thought of Prom night 1973 picking up the girlfriend. Was on Sunset Blvd in San Francisco, a series of straight blocks with stop lights every two blocks, built in christmas trees, so perfect for drag race after drag race. Got into it with a Dodge Charger in the '65 GT350, light after light. Pretty evenly matched, but on the last drag, I made a very quick illegal left to get to the girlfriends house, as the Charger continued straight. What fun! Arrived at the Prom and girlfriends friend and her date were very, very late. He was disheveled and she very mad. He had been arrested for drag racing, car impounded... dad had to post his bail. Guess who he was drag racing? Anyway, cop told him he was eaiser to catch than the Mustang who pulled the illegal road race left turn. Guess I just lucked out and had a car that could handle well. The Dodge would have never made that turn had the rolls been reversed.
Great story. So much writing material from all of you for a potential novella. Thank you!