Who cruised Van Nuys Bl in the 70's?

Oh yah Remember Wagon to go?
And did the hellman have a 390 in it. And what happend to the sour mouse the M G D T
That had a sbc in it?

 

Ah yes, Frankensqueeze. My tuning nightmare. I'd work on Bob's cars then, and the Vette kept melting #2 piston. So, I'd put a fatter fuel jet to that cylinder to calm it down. When I wasn't looking,Bob would counteract it by putting a bigger nitrous jet to that same cylinder. Melting the piston again, but worse
BTW, if it'd melt #2 at the track, Bob would have me remove the rockers and pushrods from that hole, allowing the rev-kit retain the roller lifters, and make bottom 10 second passes on 7 cylinders. True story. OK, now scroll to the next post for the final chapter on THAT Vette

 

The Vette was "borrowed" by Bob. We'd "test" at LACR during the week back then. Bob asked if I wanna go for a pass. Sure. The Frankensqueeze is hooked to the horn button. So, Bob's steering and squeezin with 3 fingers on the hub of the wheel with his left hand, shifting with the right. Mid 9's, a bunch of MPH later and we're on the return road with smoke comin in the car. Me, sitting passenger reaches in the back for the fire extinguisher. Bob says, calm down, it always does that after a hard pass. Then, in the pits, he says, you take it for a ride. I put fresh plugs in it and 2 fresh 20LB bottles. Little do I know, at some point, Bob unbolts the front shocks hoping to witness a wheelstand. So, I launch the car and it pogos almost out of control. I finish a shitty pass and the smoke is back as expected on the return road. Seems a bit worse this time. As I glance over at the fire extinguisher, still sitting on the passenger seat, a fireball comes from under the dash and singes the hair on my arms. The car's in flames and I can't get the seat belt off this thing. I'm staring into the fire as I'm struggling to release the belt. Finally I look down to see the belt buckle's way off to the left instead of centered. I exit the car and we watch it burn to nothing. Tires popping, Centerlines melting into the asphalt, tail lens dripping, etc. It melted the heads, roller rockers, seats, everything. We only salvaged the 3rd member out of the whole car. The melt marks remained in the asphalt on the return road next to the scale for some 20 yrs until they closed the track. I have video of the whole event. It was sad to see the car end that way. Bob comes upto me after and asks if I'm OK. I say yes, and he says YOU'RE FIRED! He hires me back on the way home and says there's one more chapter of enetertainment left in the Vette. After it's flatbedded back to the shop, and all the burnt fiberglass blown off on the hiway, it's just an eerie looking skeleton. Bob says, put it in front of the shop under the big front window and call BooBoo, the person he "borowed" the car from, to tell him he can have his car back. BooBoo was kind of an abrasive sort, and Bob set up chairs for us and neighbors to view BooBoo's response to seeing the Vette. It's hard to relay BooBoo's response,but it sent Bob into histerics, and him falling out of his chair

 

Boy this thread takes me back!!! I'm seeing names I haven't heard of in 30 years...I had a dark green with white roof 66 Galaxie that John striped in his shop on Roscoe. I also bought a 63 Galaxie from him at the same shop. I remember that picture of Sepulveda & Plummer used to be hanging on the wall there. My brother is one of the people standing on the sidewalk....Fantasia....COOL ASS CAR! My buddy Bill Thompson traded his 66 Mustang to the kid who bought it from John.....He used to let everyone drive it...Loved the vertigate man...Rick Graves took it out one day and snapped the left axle and tore up the locker.....Bill then traded it for a 69 Camaro and we lost track of it after that...John....you still have the same '40 coupe you had back then? You said you'd never sell it...
And I still have my "race?" jacket!
These days its a '72 Corvette (Groucho-bought it from Richie Brose in 1986!) and a 64 el Camino.....
Reid Stolz

 

Man, the name Bill Thompson sure sounds familiar. I just saw Rick Graves on Thursday. He works with Jim Lironis

 

Rick lived across the street from me when we were kids....Still see him once in a while....Bill ended up with a Orange 69 Camaro. he was hanging out with Rick when Rick had the black '69 Firebird...yea that goes back a ways....1979-80? We met Steve Johnson slot car racing...He was maybe 14 then....and short!

 

Yeah, I remember that Camaro. 4-speed with some Saugus racer's ported heads on it. He cleaned my clock from a roll one night on the way to someone else's street race.

 

Groucho:

Let me make a couple of minor corrections. I didn't "borrow" the car, I had bought it from Mike (Boo-Boo as you like to call him), but he loved that car and aways thought he might buy it back.

And NO WAY did I unbolt the shocks just for your pass. I wouldn't have done such a thing without telling you, or testing it first myself. My sideline analysis was that you left the line good, then hit the Frankensqueeze unit and the car pulled hard throwing you back in the seat which lifted your thumb off the horn button and made the car drop down which threw you forward and ONTO the horn button which engaged the juice again and threw you back - starting the whole sequence all over again. On about the third reiteration of this series of events the front wheels were off the ground at least a foot. Which wasn't good for this car as it weighed 3,600 lbs. But it was actually quite humorus at the time, until the meltdown kinda put a damper on the rest of the afternoon.

And just in case anyone was wondering, the Frankensqueeze unit consisted of two small solenoids running into "fan-jets" in each intake runner, for a total of 16 solenoids - not staged - All or nothing. It was quite dramatic on activation.

--
BottleBob
http://home.earthlink.net/~bottlbob

 

Well, it was 20+ yrs ago. But, I do remember you talkin about unbolting the shocks for a wheelie opportunity.

 

"Wagon II Go" I think. Frank Ballard's car. If I remember, he got burned somehow, and came to the street races in a bathrobe

 

Thinking back after my first post - this thread got my gray matter working,I remembered some of the spots that we used to race at - -up on old Sepulveda Bl. past Rinaldi by the old reservoir and out on River Road, I think it was around the Pierce Bros. Mortuary. And there use to be some guy that had a full blown rail dragster that was registered legal for the street, I remember seeing him on the 405 between Roscoe and Devonshire a couple of times and at some of the other spots.

 

Sour Mouse was, at the time, my best friend, Bruce Lehman. Bruce, I understand is a private investigator in the SFV. The "Sour Mouse" was a black w/white top '55 chevy 210 post. One of the first cars I ever lettered. Don't know what happened to the '53 MG. Scary ass car. GOT'CHA. I messed up our friendship. He's one hell of a guy.

 

The Hillman had a 390 when we met. I helped him put the 428 CJ in it. But Groucho said Mauvin put a 500 ci Lincoln motor in. I know he did but as I remember it, he yanked it out cause it couldnt get out of its own way.

 

Bob? Laugh? Who's ass are you tryin to blow smoke up, Groucho!!??

 

When I knew Marv, he claimed it was a 460 bored to a 510. I thought Linderholm bought Wagon II Go and painted it red. Jim G with the blue vette raced it at Sepulveda and Plummer. Jim wanted heads up from a roll because the vette had 3:73 gears. The Wagon got a tunnel ram for the race. Jim, Bob and I spent the day putting in a roller cam and a Doug Dyers Dominator.

After the race, I drew a cartoon of the vette and wagon mounted and framed (I was a commercial artist). I drew one for Bob and his vette being chased by the cops.

 

I don't know if I'm doin this right Groucho but I now have no more life because of you guys, BUT I'M LOV'N IT!!!!! How come you guys keep calling me John??? My drivers license said Lawerence Dean Goms back in the day!! That's my brother, Larry who lived in Chicago. All I did was go down to DMV with his birthcertificate and wah-lah, I'm Larry Goms, No one really knew my name and hence forth why I was ALWAYS called GOT'CHA. Please refer to me as GOT'CHA as that truly is my name. Just like Von Dutch is Howard, OK? Thanks. The kid that bought the Fantasia (aka Fastang) I think his name was Phil and his dad was the producer of the movie, "Aloha, Bobby and Rose". The last I heard of Fantasia was that it was striped and sitting behind a Chevron station in the Valley. And yes GOT'CHA still owns the '40 Ford, since 1961 but I think it's going on the chopping block.

 

see 196 for more from GOT'CHA$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Just plain crazy!!! Dam I love it!!

 

River Road in Burbank. The mortuary was/is Forest Lawn. And the only "rail" type car I remember was the original that Sanchez copied, 428 powered, was Arden's "rail", probably the fastest street driven car to EVER grace the Valley streets. I raced him with "QuickET". It was Arden, me and our wives, period! I know how fast I REALLY was and ya know what happened? Read the book when it comes out my friends, read the book!

 

Is there a car Linderholm DIDN'T own??? He was known as "The Butcher", not because he chopped cars up because he didnt, he was always on the point with his vehicles, he got the handle because he was a butcher in real life!! Cows didn't like him much but he was an alright guy, sometimes his money turned him into an unpleasent person but he would always make amends. I remember him constantly saying, "Don't worry, were gonna talk about you as soon as your gone too!" Little did he know the same stood true as soon as he left the area!! LOL. Hey!? Where's my art work!!! I'm a pinstriper/Letterer and have very little skill as a TRUE artist.

 

Who's "Lightning"?? After 77 wouldn't know'um.

 

That's the same story I got on Marv's motor(460 bored). Rick, pretty sure Noto is the one who painted it red. Regardless, he owned it while it was red for certain. Anyway I beat it @ Lumber City one night pretty bad (I think he missed 2nd gear). He sold it to Al Moraldi, Al died, then I bought it from his brother Joe, and sold it to ....pretty sure on this.....Eddy Alvarez. I think he and Rick Graves did something with it. But, the shock towers were cracking pretty bad from it's Big Block days as the original Wagon II Go.

 

I could read this stuff all day. You lived what us mid-western boys had dreams about. For me this stuff is the west coast. When i was a little guy i thought all of california was like hollywood knights. I was packing up, and moving there(so i kept telling myself, and everyone else that would listen) when i graduated high school. I have been as far as the cali/nevada line on a vegas trip with my now wife. First jobs, and girlsfriends, then a wife and kids, i never quite made it. I think every boy not from there wants to go there, and at least visit. To me the west coast is hot rods. Warm weather, surfer chicks, and hot rods(even if its not i want to believe it is). "california dreamin" i hope this thread never dies.

 

I don't know why in the heck you didn't register here as Got'Cha. THAT'S who you are fo sho. Anyway, it's about fucking time you jumped in with some stories. A true Icon. I was proud to be one of many to help pass the torch in your absence back then.

 

Man, in the 70's and part of the 80's, SoCal WAS like living Hollywood Knights! But, as beaurocracy killed cruising, and developers killed the Drive-Ins...........................But, hey, todays kids got tuner cars with lawnmower handles out back, I-pods, and computer games

 

Lightning:

The race spot you're talking about was alternately called Sepulveda & Mission or Lumber City. Since there was a Lumber City across from the cemetery. Many a race was run there, a few that probably woke some of the dead in the cemetery.

A little background info:
Just down the street from the cemetery on Sepulveda used to be "House of Corvettes" that sold used Corvettes. Behind House of Vettes was Hi-Tech Automotive that Jim G. (that Curtis has mentioned) and I bought. We eventually bought the bodyshop and a Corvette specialty shop (selling Corvette paraphernalia) in front. My hobby shop, BottleWorks, was just behind Hi-Tech Auto. In that time period (mid 80's) the brown Vette was long gone, but I had the '67 Frankensqueeze Vette, an '82 Black Dual Turbo'd small block Camaro ran 11.05, a gray '82 6-71 Blown Nitrous Big Block Camaro ran 10.31 @134, a small block Vega tubbed slicks nitrous ran bottom 11's on the motor, two 84 Vettes both with small nitrous units that were pretty much total dogs relatively speaking.

I was very hard on cars in that time period since I loved to do max horsepower experiments, unfortunately to the detriment of engine longevity, it was all Groucho could do to work full time at BottleWorks to keep them running, or at least ONE of them running at any one time so I could continue to get my race fix.

So Lumber City was my favorite race spot since I could just pull out of BottleWorks, uncorked if necessary, race and then drive back in before the L.A. Swat team could arrive.

Another little tid-bit that I just remembered. I had this wheel that I made with a counter on it. It was sort of like the kind cops use to measure out accident distances. During a number of days, I took it to every possible race spot in the Valley I knew of, or raced on, and measured them all. The purpose was to find our which spots were long quarters, and which spots were short quarters. That way if I was GIVING cars I'd suggest racing at one of the spots I knew was a long quarter so I have slightly more distance to catch them. And vise-versa, if I were GETTING cars, I'd suggest going to a race spot that I knew to be a short quarter to NOT give my chaser as much distance to catch me.

--
BottleBob
http://home.earthlink.net/~bottlbob

 

GasserGarage!! I want art work!! Gimmi! Don't make me hurt you!! LOL. GOT'CHA!

 

I LOVED every minute of it, and thank you for a very memorable opportunity. I'd "fix em" by day, and Bob "broke em" by night! Most mornings, I'd come in to the shop to a list of things to fix (read, things he broke while I slept). It was better than

PS-don't forget how much fun it was after the grey 82 Camaro got the blower, and 2 big units (one under each carb). I swear it looked like the back window was gonna break when that thing launced. Just a couple days ago Nishman was just commenting on how he loved watching that thing leave. I got a picture around here somewhere of it hangin the front tires, crossed up at LACR.

 

It won't "solid". Soon there will be a book and if all goes well, a movie (or two). "American Grafitti" was '62, our's will be '70's and NO ONE DIED!!!!!!! Our street Racing was so frickin safe because we racers AND spectators took it seriously. As close to running at a track as you could ever get. SAFTEY was our MAIN GOAL! One accident in 7 years and it was PARTIALLY my error. My brothers at H.A.M.B. remember Screwy Louie racing Jim Sedan's mint gold '67 GTO on Arleta. GOT'CHA

 

Groucho:

It's a little fuzzy now, but I seem to remember buying a 482 Big Block (.125 over), to put in the Blown '82 and testing it at the track. The cylinder wall thickness was so thin that under the load of the blower and nitrous it windowed the block (blew a chunk of the cast iron block right out the side) and hosed down the track with oil. The engine of course locked up. I hit the brakes but it didn't matter much since the back tires were sliding on oil, I missed the first turn out and was thinking Christ how am I going to stop this thing. But it finally did stop, good thing I didn't have a 10 quart oil pan, eh.

That Camaro didn't really lift both wheels but with it's unibody construction and NO sub-frame connectors it would twist badly enough to lift the left front wheel almost half a foot with the right front wheel still on the ground. I'm really surprised it didn't crack the stock windshield.

--
BottleBob
http://home.earthlink.net/~bottlbob