Hot Rods Have you gone to jail because of your car?

Back in the early sixties I had 57 chevy lowered to the ground. Every weekend out cruising I’d get a too low ticket. They were fix it tickets. You would fix the problem and get the ticket signed off by a cop. I would sign the ticket off and write in a badge number. It always worked. Nobody checked those signatures. After getting 20 tickets in 9 months they wanted me to come to court. On the way to court I got another lowering ticket. The judge looked at my record and said “son, your not getting the message”, lf you come before me with another lowering ticket, I’m giving you six months in the county jail. Well I had that one in my back pocket. I let it go to warrant. Then I got drafted into the Army. Home on leave before deploying to Vietnam my buddies and me got pulled over by the cops and I went to jail for a outstanding warrant. I told the judge I was going to Vietnam. He said “Son, I don’t think your gonna make it”. My jaw dropped to the floor. I would have been in deep shit if I missed that deployment. After a little begging he fined me two hundred bucks and let me go.



Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

No, but my car got impounded because of me!

Sent from my LG-TP450 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Similar,sold a car,they got tickets, car still in my name,bench warrant for my arrest

 

Similar, riding with two friends in his green chevy suburban, got pulled over at gunpoint, handcuffed, all because his green chevy pickup had been stolen 4 months earlier, insurance paid off, we were in his new chevy but somehow there was confusion. cops let us go after 30 minutes, we showed them the pistol on my friends belt when they took the cuffs off, they never knew he had it. stupid cops

 

Yes, me too. I was raised to trust the police.Its the police who have caused me to lose all faith in them and to detest them as much as Butch

 

Bones, about this going to jail thing. I've already PM'd you with this but after reading all the stuff these other guys have 'fessed up to, I figured I should come clean. Back in the days when I was traveling around the country as a journeyman Boilermaker, I got a job just close enough to home that I could sleep in my own bed every night, if I didn't mind the hour and a half commute one way through the backwoods of Northern Indiana. Second day on the job, I decided to go to the motel with the rest of the crew instead of making the 85 mile drive home. The motel was 20 miles away in Valparaiso and there just happened to be a one bar small town about 5 miles from the job. Boilermakers are notorious for being 10 feet tall, bulletproof and able to outdrink the members of any other trade in the world. After all, we had a drink named after us. Seriously, you've never heard of a drink named after pipe fitters or electricians, have you?

All the rest of the crew left before closing time so it remained to my buddy, Teddy Gatlin and me to do the honors. Teddy had what he thought was a pretty hot Monte Carlo and I was driving my home built 65 Galaxy with a warmed up 390, factory tri-power, and a 4 speed with speedometer drive gear that I installed backwards for some reason. Since Teddy knew the way to the motel, I let him lead the way. Heading north on highway 49 about 2:30 in the morning with the telephone poles going by pretty quick, I noticed a set of headlights way back behind me and two more way, way behind the first set. All at once, Teddy sped up and when I mashed on it to keep up, the rest of the carburetors came to life. Being law abiding citizens, Teddy and I slowed down for the stop sign at the junction of 49 and US 30 and just when we came to a halt, an Indiana state trooper slid past us sideways to a stop, jumped out of his car with his gun drawn and told us to get out and don't move. About that time, 8 or 9 more cruisers showed up and then all the cops got into a discussion about what the actual charges were going to be. I was pretty sure that a DUI was going to be involved until they told us to get back into our cars and follow them to the jail in Valpo. We sat there waiting for the Justice of the Peace to show up when in walked this guy about 3 feet tall and about half of him seemed to be head. I busted up laughing and asked him what the cops got him for. He then proceeded to inform me that he was indeed the JP which of course made me laugh even harder. All this time, Teddy was maintaining his cool and telling me to shut up. The pint sized JP got all official and informed us that we were being charged with reckless driving and a speed contest. When he asked us how we pled, Teddy answered "Guilty" just as I said "Not guilty". The JP asked us which was it and I jumped in with "Not guilty" just as Teddy said the opposite. The judge was getting frustrated and told us that the cops had seen us racing and clocked us at 103 while we were slowing down for the stop. I told him there was no way we were in a speed contest since we were going to the motel and Teddy knew the way. Besides that, if we had been racing, there was no way Teddy's Chevy was going to outrun my Ford. I thought with a rational answer like that, the judge would surely understand but he didn't.

Since Teddy pled guilty, he was allowed to bail out but my not guilty plea caused me to spend the rest of the night in a cell. I lost my license for two months and the Galaxy spent the night in impound. My boss, Phil Wiseman, showed up at 7:30, got me out of jail and then took me straight to work where I spent the day welding painted hand rail. The combination of hangover and burnt paint fumes will make a person sick. Then, since it was Friday and Phil lived pretty close to me, he drove me home after work and sat there laughing his ass of while I tried explain to my wife exactly what happened. I just thought I felt bad welding that handrail but it was nothing at all like I felt standing there in front of my wife. I've held this back from most people, but since reading this thread, I'm pretty sure I'm hanging out with the right crowd here on the HAMB.

 

I've got a total of 39 tickets, lost my license twice. Been in jail a few times but it was for fighting and drinking or both. Don't miss those times at all.

 

Not a car but the cops confiscated my go-cart and locked it in the police station. Had to take my mom down there to get it back.

 

had a GTO in high school, add long hair and you would think I was driving around in a car with bags of heroin and machine guns falling out of the trunk. I bet in the 3 years I owned that car I did not go a week without getting pulled over for some BS. one of my many fix it tickets either got missed by the court or I forgot to fix it, one night while out doing nothing the cops came to harass us and I got taken away for the warrant.
Cops were dicks to us back in the late 70's. how proud they must have been of themselves hassling kids who were not doing anything illegal at the time.

 

Yes I have. It was 1979 and I had my 1968 Firebird 400 4 speed car with a built 421 and 4:33 gears. Ticket says 74 in a 35 but the cop says it was street racing and the car was towed and I got a ride to the Torrington PD for a night in the cell and a date with the judge in the AM.

The judge was not impressed and denied me paying the fines on payday and said to pay them now or back to jail. Had to sit in the holding cell awaiting mom to pay my fines and get me out.

Luckily I requested the garage I worked for (Milos Amoco) as the towing company and was able to get my car back with nothing more that an ass chewing from my boss.

I have a copy of the ticket still kicking around here somewhere.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

Yep, been there done that. 51 ford p/u, 283 sbc with dual 4's and volare front end slammed to the ground. Ran from the cops street racing on west street in Wichita. It had no insurance at the time and my liscense was suspended for an unpaid ticket. I made it home. Got in my 67 Camaro 468 bbc m22 4spd and was dumb enough to go back. Pulled over at a stop light with someone in front of me for a reverse light stuck on. No where to run with someone in front of me. Went to jail for driving on suspended. My dumd ass 17 year old self had to call my dad at 2AM. Then I had to take the 51 and the trailer with no insurance and me with no liscense to go get the camaro. It had 10 inch slicks and open headers. Couldnt drive it away from there. I ask my dad to take his truck and go get it. He told me tough shit I caused the problem and go figure it out. I though I was going to end up with two cars in impound.

 

No, but we're willing to learn!

 

I keep hearing about cops being “ dicks” back in the day??? Really,,,, maybe it was a regional thing? Coming out of high school and heading to college after a breakup with my girl...... I sometimes “ stretched” the law!!! I should have probably been thrown under the jail many times! But even under the influence...... I was respectful..... not an ass kisser, just the facts. In my opinion the cops in my town, back in the day were great! They would tell me to get out of town and stay out! Follow me to make sure! Let me go drunk! But today.... everything is on camera, computer, big brother is watching. The cops can’t give a kid, or an old guy like me, a break any more...... some lawyer will have his job, because he he exercised a little judgement! My rant is over......lol.










Bones

 

... only "paint jail".

 

Good dad.

 

No jail, but definitely my share of tickets and warnings.

 

Yep, Street racing. 17 years old. Had $2000 in the bank that I was saving for the Hot Rod of my dreams. The Judge and the Lawyer got it all. Never street raced again.

 

San Bernardino County Sheriffs were dicks back in the 60s. Oklahoma City cops were pretty good people back then. As the late, great Waylon Jennings said in his song, "I've Always Been Crazy". I've " Been busted for things I did and I didn't do".

 

Butch, I can relate, I too mistrust cops in a big way, before cars, I rode, I was your typical harley davidson scooter trash. I have never done anything serious enough to get me in a pile of trouble, but because I look like an axe murderer, I have had my share of pullovers and run ins with the law, this still continues to this day. My T bucket was my first car, to say it was a heat magnet was an understatement, till I sold the car, to my knowledge, nobody has been pulled over in it since. I got pulled over LOTS, always argued the finer points of vehicle laws to uneducated cops who made the rules up as they went, dragged out paperwork I had to carry to avoid fines much to their surprise. Now I'm not saying I can't be an argumentive S.O.B., because I can, but I hate stupid cops. I was pulled over two months ago for a "vehicle check" in my 36, with my wife, (who cringes when this happens), promptly asked what I'd done wrong, cop said nothing, it was a vehicle check. I thanked him, fired up the old girl and drove away, left him there. He never followed me, I think they just don't like the way I look, so they decide to "investigate." Yes, I have been carted off to jail because I was pulled over, nuff said.

 

many decades ago, when I was in high school. I drove a 49 Olds Rocket 88, Dumped in front. Enough so that I caught the bumper on the curb and bent it badly. Near where I live is the Port of Redwood City. They get bulk carriers in with sand, gravel, and cement. They leave with sea salt from the salt ponds and shredded metal from Sims Metal. Lots of trucks come in every day and lots of cars and other things go into the shredder. Sims doesn't sell parts. And they had a cherry Olds bumper laying right near the gate. So me and Rich Hall went down there with another get away driver one night. Rich and I went to the gate and were making noise to see if they had a dog. They had an armed guard. We took off running and I heard a gunshot and a bullet wiz by. So we stopped and the guard called in a s"shots fired" on the radio. This brought lots of back up. Redwood City cops. CHP, and San Mateo sheriff. So while Rich and I were waiting for them to get everything sorted out we were between a new 348 RWCPD Chevy cop and a new CHP 430 Merc. Naturally the two cops started talking about which was faster. So they put us in the back of the Chevy and lined them up on Harbor Road. The Merc won, Since we had never gone into Sims, we really never did anything illegal. So we went to the RWC police station and they called our parents to come get us. My dad did. Rich's dad told them to keep him and let him find his own way home in the morning.

 

I got hauled I for a stolen car in my Mom's '66 Buick when I was in high school. She was driving my Merc. I took her car to go after groceries and I guess when she rolled past her house she didn't see her car and called it in. Small town and they liked screwing with me.

Got arrested once in Calif for felony speeding (speeds in excess of 100). I had to post bail and I may or may not have been going that fast. It was a radar ticket and my attorney made the cop produce documentation that he was a certified radar operator which he could not produce. I ended up pleading to simple speeding and paying the ticket.

 

I was pulled over by the California CHP just last night at 2:00 am coming home from Ventura, CA. from the 1-day delayed USAC midgets Turkey Night Grand Prix car race. I pulled off the freeway and stopped immediately. Chipper said I was weaving and asked if I've been drinking. While seated in my car he did the "Follow the pin with your eyes" routine. Another CHP cruiser rolled by so they were full on ready to haul someone in. I've never been happier for NOT drinking at a sporting event!!! He checked my licence status, handed it back to me and said "Have a good night". I then asked him how can I get back on the freeway. Chipper said go to that intersection ahead and do illegal U-turn, don't let us see you do that, then take this road to the freeway on ramp. Interesting interaction with the law at 2:00 am.

 

So, your the "kid"......

 

X2

 

Yup “wife jail” because my wife was pissed at how much money I spent!


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.