Who cruised Van Nuys Bl in the 70's?

WOW, Sparkletts! On Magnolia, just west of Laurel, way in the back. I bought a baggie of purple flake for $5 there YEARS agao.

 

Man... I just had a flashback.

I used to cruise Van Nuys Blvd. in the mid 70's.

My first car was a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner with a 383 .... that thing had a horn that went beep beep.
Man. I used to get in alot of trouble racin' that thing around the valley.

We always hung out in front of the headshop on Van Nuys just south of Vanowen.
The name of the headshop was " Heads & Highs ".
At the end of the night we always ended up at the Bob's Big Boy at Roscoe & Van Nuys.

The LAPD started crackin' down on cruising & they started puttin' up roadblocks to prevent cruising & they slowly but surley prevented an uninterruped cruise from Ventura Blvd. To Parthenia St.

Shit... I even stole the MotherTrucker name from a parts & accessories store that used to be on Van Nuys Blvd .





Lotsa good memories there but, I had to get outta L.A. years ago.

 

GOT'CHA:

Smokey Cohea, I didn't know him when he worked for Cohea Muffler but I worked with him at Mike Fennel Enterprises in Santa Clarita in '93-'94. He was a fabricator/welder and I was a machinist. The company restored classic cars - classic like in 1933 Mercedes, Deusenburgs, and the like.

I also worked with him at when we both worked for the studios as prop makers on the Densel Washington move "Courage Under Fire". We made a "seemingly" functional tank cannon breach, and a ray-gun for the TV series Lois & Clark. Really nice guy.


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

 

Man O man...Van Nuys was where I wanted to cruise,but...living in O.C. I went north and cruised Whittier Blvd. B4 they ran us outa there. Got two tickets in one evening on Whittier as a teen...waited till the Night b4 I had to be in court b4 I told my Dad...The judge threw them{the tickets) both out and told me to stop cruising because the city would ticket me every chance they got...to please the retailers. I guess I didn't buy enough gas and munchies from them....

 

Mother Trucker....WOW...I still have a copy or two of those in a long forgotton box somewhere around here...havn't seen that logo from the ole trucker paper in decades...but I know where their stashed....well,I think I know where....

 

I was too young to drive in the 70's, but here's a little movie of me cruising up Van Nuys Bl. last night on my way home from Bob's =)

Nothing exciting happens, I just wanted to play around with a suction cup camera mount I picked up ($35 from www.rammount.com ). The rattling sound when I'm idling is just my firewall, I'll get some insulation in there as soon as it bugs me enough...

<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/51fOH5dglUg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/51fOH5dglUg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>

 

Cool film MCM.....Now try to imagine all 3 lanes both ways bumper to bumper from Sherman Way to Burbank Blvd with nothing but street rods, muscle cars, low riders, VW's, vans, and of course the kids in moms car, crowds lining the sidewalks and you would have it the way it was in the 70's....Took an hour to make a pass....Put the Vegas strip to shame!!!!

 

OK. This has gone WAY beyond spooky for me! In 1965 I bought a big ol' baggie of purple flake. Bought it through my friend's dad who built hotrods and dragboats, Don Blevens.
I asked him to get me some metalflake, not knowing it came dry! I applied it to a car I built by spraying clear out of a rattlecan, then applying the metalflake out of a pepper shaker! I was twelve years old!

 

Great vid man and awesome ride 2

 

Hey Mothertrucker- Were you part of Associated Road Runners? Rick Graves with a white/blk top '69, 383 4spd, Gary Hinson (had a different car every few weeks) and guy named Bruce had an all white '69, 440 4spd?
Those are the only ones I remember, but I remember there was alot of them....How about the Trans Am club that hung out at the Pontiac dealer...You see a line of 30 T/A's cruising together.....
A friend of mine married the girl Anne that worked at Mothertrucker....He worked next door at Van Nuys Radio....Corner of Van Nuys & Oxnard......

 

i cruised down van nuys blvd last night on my way home from bobs too!

 

they would look good in one of my my chebies

 

didn't run into you

 

None of those cars sound familiar but I did have a friend named Bruce that had a orange/yellow & black '69 RoadRunner.

I used to work part time at the Von's market on Van Nuys south of Vanowen.

Is there still a Pep Boys near Van Nuys & Saticoy ?

 

http://www.aircraftdesigns.com/hot-rods.html

Below is Marty Hollmann in his T cruising down Van Nuys Blvd. Marty worked at Bob's Big Boy directing traffic.

 

Those photos always trip me out because I'm always thinking, "Man, look at all those beautiful cars!"

Then I realize that at the time, the T is the only one that stood out, and the rest of them were all "normal" cars.

 

I just creamed my jeans looking at that pic.

 

Pep boys is now at Van Nuys and Parthenia...Alot of that area was torn down in the early 90's when the GM plant was torn down and a shopping center (called "The Plant") was built.......

 

How about that original Merc? Wonder if it survives today......

 

i know... i was there waiting to be seated in the diner... then i said screw it and went outside, started talkin to a few people about their rides and then had to leave early to pick up the wife from work! i did see a strays car parked next to me tho.. but i was in a hurry to leave

 

VN & Oxnard, I think that's where SPEEDMASTERS was. Remember MOTHERTRUCKERS, Mopars Inc., Chevy's Unlimited, 27 clubs altogeather.

 

Another one of my rides that scared the b-jesus out of my competition, "THE DELIVERY"

 

OK I'll try again, "THE DELIVERY"

 

I remember the Delivery...Brown Falcon panel? How about the Tiger "Ain't No Big Thing",? I Remember when it fell off the trailer going out to Irwindale....Hit the only tree around for miles......At least that's the story I got....LOL!!!

 

Well, with the internet, it might be different. Look how many responded to this thread. MANY are NEW members drawn in by hearing about this thread. I'd go. See, now there's 7[/quote]

Okay, Why don't we meet at Toluca Lake Bob's this Friday night, April 3rd?
ElRobo,
Miguel,
Groucho,
VNCruiser + 5

You guys that were there back in the day can tell those of us that weren't all about it!
I'm not too familiar with the area, I'm sure someone has a suggestion for where to go from Bob's - I'm sure there'd be a few others there who would want come along - who's in?
CraigR

 

With the weather this time of year, Bob's is too good to leave on a Friday

Okay, Why don't we meet at Toluca Lake Bob's this Friday night, April 3rd?
ElRobo,
Miguel,
Groucho,
VNCruiser + 5

You guys that were there back in the day can tell those of us that weren't all about it!
I'm not too familiar with the area, I'm sure someone has a suggestion for where to go from Bob's - I'm sure there'd be a few others there who would want come along - who's in?
CraigR[/quote]

 

See ya there for breakfast Saturday then!

 

Man you got one hell of a memory!! Yep the Delivery and Tiger were Brown mini flake, The Tiger was "NO BIG THING", ran in the 11's, almost past me on the freeway cause it fell of the trailer, on our way BACK from the track, and started passing me!!! Joe Deluca (Yellow AMERICAN GRAFITTI Coupe with the nailhead Buick in it) noticed it was headed for a cafe racer in the slow lane, I hit the go pedal on my '74 Ranchero to get in front of it and save the biker and just as I was about to pull in front of the Tiger it turned RIGHT and smacked a tree dead center in BURBANK. The car is no more but the engine went into the Delivery.

 

I remember most of this stuff from spending a lot of time hanging out at your shop on Roscoe...Before that there was always a crowd at the house...(only kitchen I've ever seen with pin striped & scrolled cabinets! )...I had another friend that lived in your neighborhood and that flamed Ford oval emblem painted on the driveway ramp was there for years. I also worked around the corner at Moran's Gulf...We'd put on the mag wheels and tires for Baher Chevrolet and then drop em off at your house for striping...
Knew Joe DeLuca all the way back in elementry school...Bought an engine from him for the '63 XL I got from you...Whatever happened to him? I also had a light blue '62 XL I bought from Paul Curry...Ever track him down?
"Cruise Cool on Van Nuys Blvd" ....Need to get more of those bumper stickers made again....