Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: hemicop]
#506377
07/29/10 12:23 PM
07/29/10 12:23 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141 Phoenix,Az.
hemicop
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141
Phoenix,Az.
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How bout some more racing stories guys and gals????
Okay, here's how a high-dollar race typically got pulled off. My buddy that owned "Competition Speed" had lost a few grand the weekend before & needed/wanted to recoup. He put "feelers" out during the week & found a guy with a nice Modified Production Camaro willing to run. The race was slated for the Van Wyck near the World's Fair Marina on a Saturday night around 3:00 A.M. The money for the teams was allegedly 5k but side bets & all pushed it up to somewhere near 10. Those that knew showed up at the Marina but the crowd was so big the cops showed up & alot of people scattered. Knowing one of the racers, I managed to hide & stuck around while they re-negoitiated the race. The money would be the same (5k) but they'd run on the Cross Island. My friend's flat-towing his car, while the M/P car is on a trailer. I start to follow but somehow get seperated from the group, so I'm a little late getting there. As I'm nearing the race site I see a ton of people gathering along the side of the road. I step-up the pace not far from where everyone is I see a police car on an overpass. I hustle down to the site to warn my friend the cops are nearby & to find somewhere else. I pull up to the site, park my car & just as I do both cars are warming their tires, the starter is stepping up & it looks like it's "on". Just then about 4 cop cars rush in , lights on & all that & one of them works his way through the crowd, trying to get up to the racecars. He manages to pull in front of the M/P car & as he does my friend takes off, hoping none of the other cops chase him. The M/P car gets seized, some the spectators get stopped & cited for various things (obstructing traffic, equip. violations, etc.) I rush back to my car like everyone else &as I get to my car I hear: "Hey [Edited by Moparts - Family Friendly Site - Keep it clean]! Next time I'll write you up for speeding!" I look around & there's a Hwy Patrol cop glaring at me. Those of you from NYC back then know their uniforms made them look like Gestapo, so I figure he's gonna screw with me awhile & see where that goes. I play dumb & ask him if that was him on the overpass. He says "Yeah" so I ask him how fast I was going. He accused me of doing 120, which I seriously doubt, but at that point I wasn't going to argue. He let me go, ticket free, and I left without doing or saying anything more. The following Monday I went to the speed shop & learned what happened. My friend got away, the M/P car got impounded & the driver booked. All the "backers" got away and except for some tickets handed out the only real loser that night was the driver & owner of the M/P car.
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: MikeyT]
#506378
07/29/10 01:00 PM
07/29/10 01:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547 boston mass-moving to long isl...
massdaytona
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547
boston mass-moving to long isl...
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The chassis shop was Straightline Performance. Mikey T was the guy.
yes, yes I am!!
Mike
yo..yo mike... remember perry's chevelle??? i bought it... u did all the chassis work... and i still have the grumpy jenkins shifter...
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: fullmetaljacket]
#506380
07/29/10 07:00 PM
07/29/10 07:00 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141 Phoenix,Az.
hemicop
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141
Phoenix,Az.
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Quote:
Wonder what ever happened to that M/P Camaro. I've seen Hwy 2 shields on the take at 150th St. Some one had the right paper to make that happen.
My guess was my friend had connections as one of his customers was "hooked up" with the City in an area other than police work. A simple call to a "friend-of-a-friend" or "cousin" could've straightened it all out. This was all comon knowledge so "greasing" someone's palm was just how business was done. This was where the real criminal side of streetracing came into play. Imagine what it took to get the real big money runs to go off without a hitch. But in the end it never really mattered--we never hurt anyone, VERY rarely did a race like this result in violence & your "rep" was at stake, so to not pay-off or anything like that would result in a variety of problems for you. Most guys quit, some went back to running their businesses or the very lucky few turned it into a respectable living. That was the fun of it all. At the time anything seemd possible and you were having fun....
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: hemicop]
#506385
07/30/10 09:30 PM
07/30/10 09:30 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,275 Desert Tracker
HYPER8oSoNic
top fuel
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top fuel
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Desert Tracker
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The REAL skill was in the negotiating. Unlike "pinks", there was no yelling, figet-pointing or name calling. It was more like playing Poker. You talked money, location MAYBE owned up to about 5-10% of what you really had & what the car could do & run 'em. Hopefully no data would leak out & you could win. That goes on today I know in every type of racing (just TRY to get specs on a S/S racer's set-up for example) but the serious street-rats had it down to a science which back then was rare. Of course if you were unlucky your opponent would have access to some guys who actually worked at gathering intel on your opponent & would have car specs, perhaps pictures of your opponent that could tell you just how fast he really was or what latest modifiction he made . He may help you or you'd bribe him for the info and get an edge on negotiating the race. That stuff hasn't changed but I'm sure modern streetracers are even more secretive.
Yes it is like Poker, in a sense. I often saw it as that old military card game called "pinoncle". It is where you can trump any ones books or winnings. Same as in street racing, the better combo wins consecutively!! Those days of having "spies" at the strip or, perhaps the "candy store" where you got your speed fixin's for your ride, are still around. The only ways that you can get around the problem is to effectively DO your own engine/drivetrain building (minimal but EFFECTIVE machine work excluded)or go to a 3/4 long block (no intake, exhaust, cam, intake, timing set, water pump etc.) with just heads, machined block and balanced rotating assembly and STIR in your own RECIPE of parts!! Then for the HARDCORE, there is the foolproof, warranteed "crate motor/drivetrain" assembilies. They don't really care who does know their combo, they just keep "turning the wick up" as the competition gets tougher!! Bribes are still in use, but the costs has gone up as our economy has gone DOWN!! Talk about supply and the demand for racing information, H-cop! Good post!!
"Stupidity is Ignorance on Steroids" "Yeah, it's hopped to over 160" (quote by Kowalski in the movie Vanishing Point 1970 - Cupid Productions)
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: hemicop]
#506386
07/30/10 09:52 PM
07/30/10 09:52 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,275 Desert Tracker
HYPER8oSoNic
top fuel
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Posts: 2,275
Desert Tracker
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Wonder what ever happened to that M/P Camaro. I've seen Hwy 2 shields on the take at 150th St. Some one had the right paper to make that happen.
My guess was my friend had connections as one of his customers was "hooked up" with the City in an area other than police work. A simple call to a "friend-of-a-friend" or "cousin" could've straightened it all out. This was all comon knowledge so "greasing" someone's palm was just how business was done. This was where the real criminal side of streetracing came into play. Imagine what it took to get the real big money runs to go off without a hitch. But in the end it never really mattered--we never hurt anyone, VERY rarely did a race like this result in violence & your "rep" was at stake, so to not pay-off or anything like that would result in a variety of problems for you. Most guys quit, some went back to running their businesses or the very lucky few turned it into a respectable living. That was the fun of it all. At the time anything seemd possible and you were having fun....
The biggest thing about those "twinight runs" or 'submarine races", they were WELL organized and nobody got hurt (pro runs, some local action). And speaking of organization, the atomosphere was ALREADY set up long before the two cars/drivers met on the tarmac. Between the "two pillars" of society in the streets, order was KEPT. Through this "natural order" some of the best runs ever seen and skilled drivers were born into history. It seem that the "less you knew" and the more you payed attention to detail, you often would make it back to see more action.
"Stupidity is Ignorance on Steroids" "Yeah, it's hopped to over 160" (quote by Kowalski in the movie Vanishing Point 1970 - Cupid Productions)
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: hemicop]
#506388
07/31/10 09:14 AM
07/31/10 09:14 AM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547 boston mass-moving to long isl...
massdaytona
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547
boston mass-moving to long isl...
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aNYHOW, anyone have any more stories?
ok in 69 at westons on forrest ave on staten island, a bunch of 'brothers' from jersey cruise in looking for action... the car they wish to race against is a 64 lemans (forget the owners name), which is 'built'... the engine was done by a calif. shop, etc/etc... the car was an 'animal'... and the 'jersey boys' car... a 69 camaro pace car... so friday nite back and forth as the jersey boys want a 10car (handicap).. nothing doing, sat nite is down to 8 or 7...nothing doing, sunday nite its done to 5...nothing doing, then maybe at 11pm, when everyone is ready to call it a nite, the jersey boys say... ok we'll race u straight-up with our 69 chevelle... handshakes follow, the staten island crew are high-fivin (or whatever it was back then)each other.. and off we go to south ave... well the cops are there, so its off to arden ave... no cops... cars are jacked up, headers uncapped, slicks put on and ready to race...
now the lemans with uncapped headers woke up the dead, and the slicks could have been used on a funny car.... wide.... meantime the chevelle had small , maybe 10 1/2'' slicks, uncapped the car sounded ok... certainly nothing like the lemans...
they line up, flag goes down, and the chevelle must take close to a telephone pole lead... at the top end, the lemans comes on, but no way can it make up for that holeshot...
not sure how much $$$$ they raced for, but it was a large sum (for 69).. later come to find out the chevelle had a worked (very worked) zl1 alum. 427...
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: Qwik426]
#506389
07/31/10 06:05 PM
07/31/10 06:05 PM
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,812 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wagonmaster
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,812
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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I don't know the "scenario" but I do know the driver: it was 1980 Stock Eliminator world champ Ray Cook who, unfortunately, is no longer with us.
Here's a picture of Ray doing a burnout and his racing partner--both on and off the track--Artie Leong (near the right rear quarter panel) during happier times:
I wonder if Art was any relation to Roland - of "The Hawaiian" fame?
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: massdaytona]
#506390
07/31/10 07:07 PM
07/31/10 07:07 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141 Phoenix,Az.
hemicop
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,141
Phoenix,Az.
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Quote:
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aNYHOW, anyone have any more stories?
ok in 69 at westons on forrest ave on staten island, a bunch of 'brothers' from jersey cruise in looking for action... the car they wish to race against is a 64 lemans (forget the owners name), which is 'built'... the engine was done by a calif. shop, etc/etc... the car was an 'animal'... and the 'jersey boys' car... a 69 camaro pace car... so friday nite back and forth as the jersey boys want a 10car (handicap).. nothing doing, sat nite is down to 8 or 7...nothing doing, sunday nite its done to 5...nothing doing, then maybe at 11pm, when everyone is ready to call it a nite, the jersey boys say... ok we'll race u straight-up with our 69 chevelle... handshakes follow, the staten island crew are high-fivin (or whatever it was back then)each other.. and off we go to south ave... well the cops are there, so its off to arden ave... no cops... cars are jacked up, headers uncapped, slicks put on and ready to race...
now the lemans with uncapped headers woke up the dead, and the slicks could have been used on a funny car.... wide.... meantime the chevelle had small , maybe 10 1/2'' slicks, uncapped the car sounded ok... certainly nothing like the lemans...
they line up, flag goes down, and the chevelle must take close to a telephone pole lead... at the top end, the lemans comes on, but no way can it make up for that holeshot...
not sure how much $$$$ they raced for, but it was a large sum (for 69).. later come to find out the chevelle had a worked (very worked) zl1 alum. 427...
Now THIS is the kinda stuff I'm talking about! I'd love to know what the Pontiac was runnin, as there weren't too many serious Ponchos around. Anyone want to own up to what their combo was back then?....... ME FIRST! .before I had my Pinto (don't laugh, see previous posts), I had a '67 big-block 'vette. Forget the original engine, it's replacement was a .060 over 427, rect. port heads, Tarantula manifold (remember those?) with a ZL-1 cam(striaght from the dealership parts dept.)a 780 Holley & Hooker Trans-Am style headers. I had it hooked to an M-21 in front of 4:56 gears. One of those weird single bar traction bars held the rear-end (sort of) & Moroso "trick" springs for a small-block 'vette held up the front-end. It didn't corner worth a damn, got God-awful mileage & speed-bumps gave me fits but when it launched it looked like the whole car was going to jump off the ground. A guy by the name of Vinny Barone did the motor for about $2,500 , which was a fair amount back then. He did an outstanding job & I think he still races in Comp Elim. now.....
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: hemicop]
#506392
08/01/10 08:45 AM
08/01/10 08:45 AM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547 boston mass-moving to long isl...
massdaytona
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 547
boston mass-moving to long isl...
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Now THIS is the kinda stuff I'm talking about! I'd love to know what the Pontiac was runnin, as there weren't too many serious Ponchos around..
the poncho was also running a rat... a serious rat...but it was no match for the jersey boys on that nite.. maybe the poncho was slow off the line , i dunno, but on that nite he got his butt kicked.. i will eventually remember the owners name and post it up...
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Re: Street Racing in the 60's & 70's - Tell them your s
[Re: massdaytona]
#506394
08/02/10 08:31 PM
08/02/10 08:31 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,275 Desert Tracker
HYPER8oSoNic
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,275
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Now THIS is the kinda stuff I'm talking about! I'd love to know what the Pontiac was runnin, as there weren't too many serious Ponchos around..
the poncho was also running a rat... a serious rat...but it was no match for the jersey boys on that nite.. maybe the poncho was slow off the line , i dunno, but on that nite he got his butt kicked.. i will eventually remember the owners name and post it up...
To get a HARD-RUNNING Poncho back then, you HAD to go to Nunzi's in Bay Ridge. Or, contact a couple of lesser known-at-the-time builders on the West Coast. Or, as I stand corrected, Royal Oak Pontiac, Michigan. Locally, a Pontiac Dealer located on Fresh Pond Road in the vicinity of Metropolitan Ave, used to sell the goods also. I forgotten the name of the dealer, someone out there knows who I'm talking about? Thanks.
Last edited by HYPER8oSoNic; 08/05/10 09:35 PM.
"Stupidity is Ignorance on Steroids" "Yeah, it's hopped to over 160" (quote by Kowalski in the movie Vanishing Point 1970 - Cupid Productions)
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