Hot Rods Racing on public streets

There is a ongoing thread asking have you ever been in jail due to your car.

DISCLAIMER - I DON'T ADVOCATE RACING ON PUBLIC STREETS - THIS WAS A LONG TIME AGO.

It reminded me of a Saturday afternoon on my why home driving on Whitehall road which is notorious for speed traps.

It was early spring and I was driving my '39 Ford convertible, I had stopped at the light and a black Thunderbird super coupe eased up beside me, the passenger side window went down and I looked over to see our own Sheriff Taylor (Gene) and he revved up the coupe smiled and said wanna run it?

I know the Sheriff but I'm not too sure I would get arrested if I did something stupid the light changed and we both took off, I let off and he didn't, that car was gone.

Gene stopped in my place of business and was joking about our race and said he had followed me in the past and he thought my old car had more power than I showed, I told him I didn't want to use up any favor I might need in the future, he told me I hadn;t used my get out of jail free card. HRP

 

Only once for street racing in Detroit back in the 60's. Right after I got my brand new SS 396-375 Camaro. $ 800 was a lot of money for a ticket in 1969.

 

Never seen the inside a jail or police car. Did knock the rubber strip of the back bumper of an under cover police officers car once tuning the radio at a stop light when I was sixteen. No ticket, he just got out to make sure I wasn't drinking. I am a good boy

 

This one didn't tun out well.


I was busted for drag racing, and like any idiot teenager I was totally oblivious to at least looking around at my surroundings and thinking I shouldn't be racing here, nope me and another idiot just had to play red light to red light racing on main street.

The man in blue had called a wrecker to impounded my car and after frisking me to make sure I didn't have any weapons I was given temporary use of a shiny pair of bracelets made to be worn with ones hands in a awkward position behind ones back, then I was guided to the back seat of the waiting patrol car and chauffeured off to the police department, I was finger printed and they took my picture for their for their photo album.

I was given my one phone call, I called my dad, he showed up in the wee hours of the morning and bailed me out, the ride home was oddly quiet and my dad wasn't happy.

Dad dropped me off at the impound yard Monday after school and I paid the bill and got my car back.

I learned a valuable lesson that Saturday night back in the late 60's.

Don't race if you can't afford to pay the piper, after the paying the fine, court cost, impound fees, I was out almost 500 bucks, not to mention how much my insurance increased, it took me a while to repay my dad had he not helped I might have been a long time resident of the Grey Bar Motel. HRP

 

Yep--many times-mentioned in other thread. Caught only once. In 60-61 we had a friend who was a few years older and was a CHP. He would come down to Chowchilla with the newest CHP Mopar and we would run em way out west of town. It was only farm land out there, no houses around.

 

I street raced a lot, actually paid for the car with what I won. Never got caught racing. Closest I came was one Saturday night when I was bored, pulled into a parking lot in the middle of downtown, stuck it second gear and did a block long burnout before I pulled into a parking spot. About the time I got out of the car a police car pulled up behind me, cop gets out and says "Was that you that just did that? I can still smell the tire smoke." I figured I was hosed so I said " Yea, but it's not all tire smoke the damn clutch is slipping again." We talked about what my car for a few minutes and finally he said" If you're going to do stupid shit don't do it in town where I can see it." Got in his car and drove away.

 

Buddy had a 68 mustang GT originally a 390, 4 motors later it had a 428 from a police car that he rebuilt to Cobra Jet Specs. We were sitting in a donut shop one evening when a local cop asked about the car,
we told him it would beat his police car. He took us up on the challenge, We drove to the local connector that had a 1/4 mile marked out and took off. At a little over 110 the police car threw a rod, we avoided that town for as long as he had that mustang.

 

Stopped doing it many years ago. BUT...Cruise nights in Riverside, CA., were made for racing.
Van Buren Blvd at Arlington Ave. to the Van Buren Bridge.
Van Buren Blvd at Lincoln Ave. to Dufferin.
Victoria Ave. to anyplace.

Aside from Van Buren bridge, everything was citrus grove areas.

 

Never in town, other than a few red light to red light sprints. We had a few country roads we used, one was a US highway, another was a county road. Even marked off a 1/4 here in front of my house at one time, I live on a 1/2 mile straight. Never had a problem with the law. Heck, there was a drag racer who had a service station in town who would bring his drag car out to a county road about a mile from here and make hits just about every Sat before he left for Sat night racing.

 

Sooo there was a thread all ready butt what did you want to do.........toot toot toot......

 

I thought it would give you something else to complain about! HRP

 

I've got a off topic Plymouth that's a 10 second car, its loud, I drive it with slicks and front runners fully insured, licensed but the thing is flat out in your face obnoxious. I've only been stopped one time and this was years ago I had solid wire spark plug wires that interfered with the cops phone call. He just wanted to know why and how I was messing with his call. Wires got replaced asap.

 

I'm a street raceist.

 

Racing on public streets? No sir, wasn’t me, never. Must have been that other guy.

 

Like I said on the other thread. No, I've never been jailed.

 

I am kinda a arse, I do not street race and do not respect others that drive irresponsibly around me.
My new neighbor who moved in across the street and down a house, built a fox body mustang.
Pretty cool but he kept going out in the street and smoke the tires for a long time.
We have a quiet neighborhood with kids running around and pets.

just saying, not that impressed with a fox body and roller motor smoking the tires.
So after a couple weeks, I started going out in the street and video tape with my cell phone, in case anyone or animals got hurt.
He got the idea and did finally stop.
same 20 year old guy I see at the grocery store, he puts his kid in the shopping cart and runs full speed down the main meat isle saying WHEEE!
Some people do not have the brains they were born with.

 

Had a local cop called Big Jim he had a 54 Ford police car , I had a 53 Ford rag top with a full race stock car mill with tripes . Big Jim caught me speeding he was coming from the other direction . I pulled over and while he was turning around to get me I decided to make a run for it ! He chased me for miles I hid in a quarry and lost him . Drove into Pottstown to a gas station where I had my 50 Merc. rag top hid behind the garage and switched cars . Drove the Merc. for a week until I figured he cooled off . Had a new white rag top put on the Ford to replace the black one . He looked it over a couple times put never said nothing to me . Friends said he was really burned up that he didn't catch me , and I even gave him a head start it was at night and I guess he never got close enough to get my license number.

 

Yes I added to the "been to jail" thread, but none of my so called "incidents" were due to street racing.

I learned early on that I was a lousy street racer. I was a master at breaking my car racing, Blown clutches, trannys, universals and even spun a tire off the rim once...And, there was ALWAYS a kid out there with more money and a faster car than I could afford. I can't remember EVER winning a race on the street (or the strip)

 

Yep! I used to street race! Uh ha.... if there wasn’t nobody beside me...... I would race my shadow! Beat it one time..... I think...... but I may have been drinking that time????





Bones

 

Just last week!! Went for a ride up to Amish country ( route 896) in my high horsepower Flathead coupe. Was cruising along at a blazing speed until I had to stop for a stop sign. All of a sudden up pulls a Young Amish kid with his cute girlfriend sitting next to Him in their flatbed horse drawn buggy. He looks over and says, Ready to go?? Girlfriend says Ain't He neat?? The horse looks over snorting and bucking and rearing up for a launch, Off they went, How was I to Know Secretariat had a cousin, I revved up that Flathead and dumped the clutch and I was in hot pursuit (no horse was going to beat me) banging gears I finally caught them in fourth gear! I won and I was very happy!!! Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!! Pete

 

Out of the two folks in this story, I would like to hang out with one.....

 

I got in a load of trouble with my '68 Mustang GT Bullit car. 3 tix in 18 months and adios license... mine I collected in 15 months and eventually wriggled free of them by luck. The 1st in the series was in '81, I was racing a Chevelle and the cop pulls in back of me, the Chevelle kept going.

I street raced a tuner car that was next to me at a light back in 2016, obliterated that one pretty well. The last race I had was last fall, against a Hellcat, I had him until 3rd gear, he pulled away like I was standing still.

 

I commented on the other thread also. I laugh at myself because as a adult and now plenty old enough to know better I still give her once in a while, only 1 ticket in recent years, 5/6 years ago with my OT modern HEMI R/T car, thing runs pretty good/fast IMO. A Lot of my friends are old racers that came back to the car hobby as I did after circle track racing and all of us still have the competitive gene. So............ Yes I have street raced some as an adult among friends, I have a friend from back in high school days that all through the years we have raced, my roadster against his OT challenger, my 32/his 33, my OT Camaro ragtop/his Chevelle ragtop, I can't race him anymore as he has some really fast cars now. When I bought the OT ragtop, another good friend had become a Jaguar man, we raced I smoked him, he never said a word, calls me to meet up for lunch, he has a new Ford Taurus SHO, we race and I won, now he was pissed, took it to a Ford expert to wake it up, now we race and he has wheel spin/wheel hop problem,(front wheel drive car) I still win. The next time we do lunch he's got his Jaguar as it floats his boat but did not want to race anymore commenting he sold the SHO, POS. IMO it's hilarious that 2 old guys meet at a light on the street and the race is on, Yes we knew/know better and thinking at 72 I've finally matured some as I have not had the urge much anymore to do stupid stuff on streets, I'm Thankful that I have lived this long, enjoying life, that I can remember my past and share, again being 72 I seem to do more than enough stupid stuff on a regular basis, thinking soon every day will be an adventure. LOL, Everyone Have a Great Day ! The HAMB, Coffee, great start for the day for me. Thanks ! HRP

 

Amen Brother. HRP

 

Guilty as can be. Heck there are black marks on the highway in front of my house. There are times when theres no traffic for a hour. When the river overflows the high way no traffic at all.

 

Wasn't racing this time but fall of '69 my bud Kurt and I had picked up a couple girls at the Roadhouse in Pburg, KS and were heading to his house to party. We were in my OT new Charger behind a huge trailer that you couldn't see around going 20 mph with a string of cars behind us. Kurt says at this rate the sun will be up by the time we get to town. I slipped it into first and came around the trailer sideways, nailed second with the tires boiling right past the sheriff who was leading the pack.
Party lights come on so I pull over while Kurt is scrambling stashing a pint of peppermint schnaps and, well, our stash. I get cuffed and thrown in the back seat of the cop car and they let Kurt, who was shithoused, drive my car home! Didn't get locked up but sat in a chair for a couple hours then let go with a huge fine.

 

I had some guy pull a long side of me the other day & he wanted go.!
so I showed what I could do.! and we Stopped at the Light
and he gave me the Thum's up.
But that was my everyday Driver which is a 19 year old Chevy with 47 K
on it.0

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

I Came From Agriculture And The Racing Was Done Just Out Of Town...Mostly...

 

I used to many years ago race on North Main, Indiana and Agua Mansa in Riverside, Ca and Milliken in Ontario, Ca.

 

street raced all the time and did giant burnouts on a regular basis. i'd say in the time I had it I never drove my fast OT car without at least getting scratch between shifts.

I never got a ticket for any of that. got a few speeding tickets but it was the BS fix it tickets that got the best of me. had so many I either forgot to take care of one or it got messed up in the system, but it turned into a warrant and one time while we were getting hassled by the man for being 20 years old and out at night I was taken away in cuffs. lucky my buddies took my car and came and bailed me out. they kept me in jail for hours just being dicks.