Great stuff guys! A friend and I found this car in a field in the late 80's Turned out to be a real L78 396 2 door post. It got to run at the new Mission.
back in the seventies, a buddy of mine out in Maple Ridge had a black '70 mustang "street" car with a Jack Mezommo built high-port cleveland with a Bud Moore mini-plenum and a dominator, backed with a toploader. I was sitting at the same table with Jack at the GVMSPA deal, and we were talking about it. The guy that owned the car always really had a way with the ladies, the first thing Jack said was "oh yea, I remember that guy! Geez, you shoulda seen the woman he had with him!" Gave me a chuckle...
Ranks' car came in through Mussallum Motors right? The story is, there were also 4 COPO L-72 Chevelles sold through Mussallums. At least one of them was restored and shown briefly by someone local, a Le Mans Blue ht.
Oh and Rory, thanks for the follow-up on the Larry Schaffer car. I had no idea that car was a real t-bolt.
Great thread guys. Lots of memories from the old Mission track and Boundary Bay. Anyone have anymore photos from either track? Thanks
I`ve got a few dozen, but I`m pretty much useless at scanning and posting them. Maybe I can talk my wife in helping over the holidays. They are mostly pit and staging lane shots, from about 72 or 73, thru 78. I wasn`t at Boundary Bay the Saturday that Grumpy Jenkins raced Landy, but I did take a shot of Landy working on his car in the pits at Mission the next day.
What Kevin said Roy. We'd love to see them. I was there the week end of Grump and Landy and included one of the photos in the book Grumpys Toys. Doug
Wow , i would like to see those. I hope someone has shots of my light blue 68 elcamino ss396 at boundary bay Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
5w32...not sure about the Dave James connection, but I was thinking of (the late) Bruce McNicol's speed shops. Bruce was very helpful and sold me a lot of stuff when I decided to race my '70 Acadian 350 + 4 speed + 4.88 gears (got it into the very high 12's on old, old M&H cheater slix). Bruce & family ran several Stock class big Chevvies and held a number of records back in those days.
The Taylor & McNichol ramp truck, was that the yellow 63 Chevy 1 ton? If so, a buddy of mine at the time bought it to haul his ex Bob Nicholson SS/KA yellow 65 Chevy 11 wagon around in the late 70s. Taylor & McNichol ran a bunch of different 65-66 big Chevs, sedans, wagons, convertable, and would switch running gear from car to car depending on which class combination looked best for any given weekend. I remember at a couple of races they had a silver ragtop with the red white and blue nose from one of the other cars stuck on. I think they always ran 283s, both auto and 4 speeds, although I don`t know what engine combo they used in the orange Armor All Camaro, which I think was their last car. Bruces son Kevin is a bracket racer at Mission currently, racing a red 67 Nova.
Hey Glen...I wasn't smart enuf to take pictures back then, go figure Apparently we have a group, check it out http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=711
I have an old sales flyer from The Speed Shop somewhere , i will try and find it,scan and post it.... Maybe Dave James worked for Bruce in the store? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Was there ever more "The Speed Shops" than the North Vancouver and Surrey locations? I don`t think the Surrey store lasted more than a couple of years, how long was North Van around? I seem to recall that if you became a member, you got a discount, can`t remember if membership was free or not. I remember buying a new Hurst Ram Rod shifter there for my 65 Valiant 273/235HP 4 speed, I`m guessing in 75.
Steve, how often did you race your El Camino at Boundary Bay? I knew a guy that raced a 68 SS396 4 speed Chevelle there, fairly regularily, it was light blue with a wide darker blue stripe down the sides. His name was Sterling Foster, ring a bell? Its kinda funny, but back then, it seemed that you were either a Mission racer, or a Boundary Bay guy, most guys raced at one track, and stayed away from the other. I was a Mission "loyalist" even though I grew up in Delta, and only ever went to Boundary Bay a few times. I could hear the cars racing from my buddys house, and watch the racing on local TV, Delta Cable 10. It sure would have been nice to have still had Boundary Bay around, esprcially after the origional Mission Raceway shut down at the end on 78. The Boundary Bay airport sat empty for many years after the dragstrip stopped running, there was several attempts to get a track going again at the airport, but it never happened. We did do a lot of street racing there though in the early-mid 80s, on an access road.
Don't forget Chris McNichol, the son who went on to have a career in drag racing, first with Larry Miner, then with the Kallita organization.
Check post #111, the Taylor & McNichol 4-door is in the background of the 3rd shot, parked on the return road in front of the tower. The Casper chevy was a fixture of the local scene. I hope its being treated with the respect it deserves...
Yes, I have known Chris for many years, last I heard he was living in So.California, and races a RED in Top Dragster in Div.7. Chris used to own a blue 67 Nova 2 dr HT, this is the same car that Kevin races today.
As for the Casper 55 Chev wagon, it started showing up at Mission about 10 years ago, looking about identical to the magazine arcticle. A few years back, it showed up at the track painted and lettered the same, but had a current full tube low riding Super Gas style chassis underneath it. It may be faster (and safer), but it certainly lost its cool gasser look. I can`t imagine it would be very easy to put the car on the street in its current "upgraded" state.
I saw it several times around the 10 years ago time period, didnt really know what happened to it after that. Thats a shame, that car was a real piece of local history.
I worked for DIX when they were on Williams at Boundary through to the move to Schoolhouse. They went bankrupt & the assets & name was purchased but Performance North out of Edmonton. The name changed to Dix Performance North & I believe they still do operate in Alberta. About the same time that happened Frank deceided to retire from the business & Keystone was closed.
the only pics i have of the 68 camino, i think it was the Perkins brothers that bought it from me, i would really like to find the car if anyone knows where it is now
With the mention of the Perkin Bros. Do any of you have a picture of their 55 Chevy, "Time Machine". I lived in the Slocan Valley in the mid 70's, and it was seen regularly on the street in Silverton and New Denver. For those days, it was a very radical street car and certainly a beauty as well. It was a candy blue colour with "Time Machine" lettered in gold leaf along the top of the rear quarters. It certainly helped fuel my passion for old cars!
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