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I didn't do a lot of street racing due to the fact my muscle car was a '62 Dodge Dart auto. with a 361. Not very competitive but had a great back seat...

Actually, a 361 Dart given some careful "tweaks" & with some careful "hunting" could've been a fun, competitive ride, even in NYC--- and that's what was fun about streetracing. My Dad's 318-powered stationwagon or my buddy with the OHC 6-cyl GTO (he blew-up the 389) was all part of the scene and we had FUN. Getting suckerd in & beaten by an SD421 or detained by the cops for having a possible stolen car (see previous posts) were all part of growing up in a place like NYC. Having friends like John D'Andrea with his Gremlin or getting "schooled" in the local speedshop are things most young guys now will never know. How many kids today will get to ride in a P/S built in their Dad's garage (remember this WAS the early days of P/S) or go for a ride in one on the street? Or have a much older friend show you something he just learned in AutoShop class? (do they still have them? ).
You wanna hear stories? How about the time my friend got thrown out of Machine Shop class for building a gun instead of working on a set of heads? or bringing in your car to Auto Shop for a semester -long project of re-painting it? This was when school was actually "cool" & the teachers liked their job & the kids. My first Mopar "project" was my teacher's '68 383 Charger that needed some basic work.
No, the stories are out there and they are fun, exciting, worth re-telling & those of us from back then are happy, grateful & proud we lived in that time---actually some of us are surprised we lived through some of the stuff!

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Whoa, H-Cop a 361 in a 62' dart IS nothing to SNEER
AT!! It can and will dust off quite a bit of machinery, even today with the modern technology.
So, because it wasn't a musclecar DOES NOT omit
you from the street scene!! I seen 361 Chargers
which RAN like scalded cats!! Embarrassed some
bigger, notable motors too, with that combo!! It's
all about the RIGHT PARTS MATCHUP and Volumetic
Efficiency. One question though: Who would be silly enough to BUILD a gun in school when it was
practically dirt cheap to get one!! Never will understand human nature! Anyway, GREAT post!!