Was Anyone Here Actually There?

I was born in 1960, by the age of 9 I was building Rat Fink models and drawing Monster pics on my notebooks. Also collecting DragCartoons and CarToons mags. Also the Monster bubble gum cards. Does that count, I'mm only 48 now?

 

Yeah, I was. First got interested in the fifties. Worked on many drag cars in the sixties including Rini brothers Quinte Dragway car top fueler. (Did the brakelines and brake set up) Wilson bros 6 ford rail (former Thumper Holiday Ford car) Triple Threat Mod/p Gas Altered model A with single 4 flathead V8. Gentle Benn's Ford of Canada SS/E Mustang (got called in occasionaly when they needed some mech work and I did the cylinder heads for this car almost always after it was first built.) The sixties were good but I did a lot more in the seventies and the nineties. I took the eighties off more or less. I know a lot of you fellows think it all stopped in 64 but i see little difference till the 90s when money took over the sport. I think drag racing and hot rodding was much the same till the late nineties then people became too wealthy and the non builders started buyng their way in. Like now we have rich racers running $45000 cars with $28000 motors and $9000 trannies to race against us normal folk for the same $500 or $750 and whining about how we shouldnt be allowed to race because we dont have that much invested. WE SHOULDN't BE ALLOWED!!! What about you bastidos who do nothing and buy everything? I see the same at cruise nights. A handful of folks who did it themselves or a large portion of it and then the winkies who buy two or three collector cars a year from someone else and wonder why we are not really impressed. Back when men were men and women were glad of it most everyone had a lot of sweat equity in their cars , race or street. That is what I miss.

 

I was thear ,most of the guys i hung with then i still do. As a teenager i bought a 39 merc. I put so mush lead in the trunk ,decking it the springs could not hold the lid up. Some of THE GUYS GREW UP,OTHERS DIED. AS FOR ME AND THE GUYS STILL RODDING WE ARE DOING THE PETER PAN THING.


IN 65 I SOLD MY OLDS POWERED 35 5 WINDOW FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ON OUR FIRST HOME. THAT YEAR I BOUGHT MY 40 PICK UP FOR $75. THATS WHAT IM DRIVING TODAY.

 

This was me in '63. After getting out of the Army. I started the car in '58 or 9. Of course I had spectated at lots of drag meets and drove a Olds lowered in front with pipes in high school

 

I'm 67 now, been through the whole scene, got my first car a 36 ford coupe when I was 11 that my dad won in a poker game and drove the wheels off it, then a 41 ford, then I moved up to a 49 ford with a hot motor. Cruising all nite, digging chuck berry, little richard, buddy holly, the big bopper, drinking beer from a gallon jug and hitting the armory dances to find chicks to play. The 50's was the best--the 60's (US Army to the hippies) was the weirdest--barely remember the 70's establishing a career--80's were tied down raising kids and the 90's back into the hotrods. Now just chilling with a shop full of strombergs, flathead stuff, a 27T roadster project, 53 Merc project, 51 F1 project, etc......etc......

 

I was in high school from 1956-1960......the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll and all the Avenue Cruisin' you could handle........it was completely similar to what you see in American Graffiti and Hollywood Knights.........the greatest years for fun with music and cars.......I wish I could revisit it!

AG asks, *Where were you in '62?* I was halfway through college........I think they should have asked, *Where were you in '59?*

CB

 

Was great to grow up in the fifity's, still like those cars and rock & roll. Currently have a 47 Chevy, 55 Ford F100, and a 60 chevy, but all are projects, will get something running soon!

 

im 63 . have seen most all of the bigs b 4 they were big ! had cars since 14 . raced cars , altereds , rails , sprint cars , stock cars . had many bikes also . first was a '49 pan head . not a big deal , just normal stuff at that time . we all did it . now socal was way ahead of norcal . great stuff down there !! ................ steve

 

I bought my first car magazine in 1957...Rod & Custom...I still have it and a bunch of others. My first car was bought in 61, 1932 Ford 5window, I still have that too. I painted it metalflake blue, ran a modified 4banger for several years. At night we would all cruise main street, called Box Butte, cruisin the Butte, from first to 11th, turn around and back to first. It was brick paved, had a unique sound to it. The local "farm boys" had new Impalas with 348's and 409s. There were a few other 30's 40's and 50's that were rads and customs, all had names painted on them.
There were drags at the old airport in Scottsbluff about 60 miles away. I drooled over the rails that would sometimes come from Denver to race there.
In 63 I went to Denver for trade school, there we would cruise 16th street and go to the Scotsman drive in on Wadsworth Blvd, drags at Bandimere.

The big indoor shows were the Sabers show in Denver and the Counts in Rapid City, SD

 

Was actually there with a '55 Chevy, a '64 GTO Convertible, and a '65 GTO Hardtop - wish I had them now!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Graduated by a miracle in 1961, stayed alive by miracles...wrote two books about the 1960's...200 pages of stories about the crazy things we did with a car...ordering info below.

R-

 

I was there. Customizing the family car was in for the younger man. In 1957-58 I decided to customize my 52 Willys Aero. After shaving the hood and trunk lid, the next was (to be) the external door handles. My plan was to do it black primer, the popular thing at the time. I had freinds that did the same to their relatively new cars. One was a '56 chivvy(Gary), another was a brand new '58 chivvy(Gene), and another was a '56 Olds(Burl).

Then I got involved in dirt circle track racing and the family car never got any more attention! The '50 Ford rag-top I used to tow my dirt-track stocker might seem to be 'cool' in todays definition, but then it was just a 7 year old beater. To me, being 'cool' was considered lame. In those days the paint on a car started to fade in a short time and if waxed and polished for a few years the primer started showing through.
In Tucson AZ what we see as hot rods today were not licenseable, rarely driven on the street because anything loud or without fenders was frowned on by the general public. If it was even suspected of being a hot rod the cops made it a hobby to pull any and all over without provication. Hot rods were to be discretely taken out of town where there were no cops for their fun. Believe it, rural county sherriffs didn't bother with writing traffic tickets in those days. They usually participated in the fun.

I traded the Willys in on a new '59 Chevy and got involved with my career and my growing family.

No more Hot Rodding for me, until I retired....Now, I'm a kid again!

 

1961 (17 years old) my first car was an "A" Coupe with a DeSoto engine/3 speed that was our High School Shop project for my junior and senior years...

 

Saw them off load the new 55 Chevy and Ford for the show rooms when I was 10. Have a large collection of the little rod and custom mags you could get for 25 cents, starting in 1954. Owned several jalopy Fords, a 37 flat back with a 48 mill, a 40 sedan with a 52 Olds mill ( lost membership in the flatheads forever group when I went Olds), and a stock 39 truck. Went to muscle cars in the mid 60s, 63 Ford Hipo 289, 69 Ford 428 Cobra Jet. Drag racer till baby came along. Did manage to hold on to an old 55 Chevy for 30 plus years and have that re-done and driving once more. Was "out of the net" for almost 30 years while I was in the service.
The old cars were easy to find in the 60s, but I hardly see one sitting out anymore. Seems its mostly the older guys doing this, the younger guys are into the rice burners. Man someone with one of those sewing machine exhaust systems would have been laughed off the street back then.
Rods and customs were "in" for most of the boys in high school, and it dominated our after shool hours and activities. Working on old cars and crusing was our fun.

 

i got out of school in1964 i grew up about 30 mi from indy east i'v been in cars all mt life and still am + harley's still have a bike and a 46 ford coupe have been through it all + nam retired form regular work now and just loveing it after 42 years of doing the same thing i don't even think about airplanes now ......

 

doing the peter pan thing.

? fill me in
Don

 

I can't really hold a candle to the older guys, but I was born in '63 and my old man started taking me to the drags at KCIR when I was about a minute old. I grew up in the days of the Willys, Anglia and American gassers, then watched the muscle cars take over. At that time in KC, the Rod-Tiques were about the only ones still left with pre-war cars running around. The smell of Nitro still makes me get all nostalgic. I remember my dad's friend, Big Sam Caudle had a blue '32 Durant that I slobbered over when I was still a snotty kid. Even the late 60's had some pretty cool car culture going on. Too bad the '70s happened right after that

 

born in 42.........raised in So Cal{Orange County}........been Hot Rodding all my life

 

Correction to your memory...It was called the "Scotchman"...and it was located on Federal Boulevard.

15th and 16th streets were the hot place to be...

I don't think you could race at Bandimere in 1963...you're probably thinking of Erie (AHRA) or Thunder Road (NHRA)...those were the only two I remember other than CDR in Castle Rock. And yes, The Sabers show was the largest in the area...

R-

 

'Caught my terminal case of Automobile Pox in 1949 when I accompanied my older brother into a local general repair garage and discovered the Buick powered track roadster that was housed there. I soon discovered all the other local (Delphos, OH) racers and the track they raced on (Landeck, OH). Became a total gearhead at age 12; bought every Hot Rod, Motor Trend, and Road & Track I could afford. Forewent many school activities (of the "accepted type") in order to hang in some racer's garage or go to the races with them. This affliction continued on thru the the transition to "Hardtops" and "Sportsman Stockers" with an occasional side affect of Sprint cars. By 1955 this illness resulted in my life's decision to become an automotive engineer via General Motors Institute. 1956 brought my first "up close & personal" encounter with the hot rod bit when I bought a '51 Ford Victoria. (Being an employee of Chevrolet and attending the Co. School had yet to sway me from the Ford based nature of my illness.) Several monthes later the Vicky sported a Y-Block, complete dechroming, radiused rear wheel wells and '56 Buick trim -on one side only. Practicality and the need for a daily driver impacted on the completion of the dream. Over the years the Forditus subsided only to be replaced by Chevirus. A T-bucket with a 283 came along in the '60s along with a new Corvette (350"/350H.P.) The dream of being an auto designer gave way to the hard reality of manufacturing engineering and mfg management.

In 1980 I told G.M. to stuff it and began a new phase-back to Fords. Today at 71 I drive a '32 5 Wdw-chopped 2"; full fendered; powered by a 286 Merc Flathead. A '53 F-100 powered by a 337" Lincoln is in the process of restoration. A dream track roadster sits mocked up in the garage waiting for me to finish a replica of a 1950 track roadster for a "client".

Suffice it to say I've been there and never left-I know a bit about what "traditional" REALLY means (and DOESN'T). Still own all thos HRMs from 1948 thru 1960.

 

I got my driver's license in 1962, so I guess I'm in. What you have to realize is that we were very innocent (by today's standards) & gullible. Just watch a movie from those times & it now seems almost ludicrous. We were impressed by any stupid thing that came along. Today we wouldn't give the same thing a second look. So, the whole scene was very magical. It will never be repeated.

 

I am now 67 and graduated from school in 1959. I was fortunate to have lived only a few blocks from Ron Aguirre house in Rialto and watched the many incarnations of his XSonic Corvette. (see picture) and I lived three houses away from Lloyd Hammond (see picture) who built this amazing 50 Ford in his garage using lead, not bondo. I also spent many a Sunday at Morrow Field better known as Colton Drag Strip and of course there was Fontana Drag City. It did and still does bring me a great deal of pleasure. The cars I have owned and the many friends I have made over the years are priceless to me. Once its in your blood it always remains. Guess you could say I was there!!!

 

Got my first car in 61 before I got licensed. It was a 56 Dodge that was handed down from my dad to my older brother. I bought it from him for 200.00 .I earned 1.35/hr working at a cemetary. Spent all my money and time working on it.
I was fascinated by customs more than hot rods, and wanted to modify the look of the car even more than the performance. I read all the hot rod mags and learned to do the body mods that way. Not bad for a young kid back in the boonies of Montana.
I radiused the rear fenderwells, tunneled antenna, nosed, decked , added a hood scoop, and removed the grille center section. My buddies and I were always fascinated by the automobile.and spent all our spare time working on cars.
Cruising the drag uptown was obligatory as was racing,drinking and fighting. Somehow we all survived with the exception of my buddy Mark who was killed in a violent rollover.

Heres the only picture I have of the car, Note the snazzy vinyl roof .
Chromies on the rear, a set of Firestone 500's and torque thrusts on the front followed.

 

I graduated in 1962 and was driving a 1949 ford that I bought from my dad. I worked at a wrecking yard destroying lots of 40 and 50 stuff( cant be proud of that). At least cars and parts were alwas there when you needed them.

 

Graduated high school in 1959 so I guess I'm one of the old farts. The first custom I ever saw was Wayne Duly's 53 Ford convertible. It was lowered and had a custom maroon paint job with scallops and that set me up for life. That was in 1956. One of the guys I went to school with,Bob Jones, had a beautiful 53 Chevy post car with a candy blue paint job and wild scallops. Both of these cars to the best of my memory had white tuck and roll interiors. My brother in law, he wasn't at that time, had a 54 Chevy convertible that had both pans rolled and had a 53 Chevy grill molded in it. It was painted back with the stock orange paint. It was amazing to the the number of old iron sitting on the parking lot at school. Gaylon sutherland a a cherry 38 Ford sedan that was just simply as slick as you have ever seen.
My first car was a 48 Chevy 4-door sedan. I lowered it as far as it would drop by heating the coils and putting on 4" lowering blocks. There were a lot of good times had in that old car. One time we were at the rock quarry north of town and some how it ended up that I was the only car still there and there were 22 kids still there. We loaded into and onto that old car and drove it back to town( about 10 miles).
My second car was a 55 Chevy 4-door with a 265 and powerglide that I changed over to a 283 and 3-speed with a Foxcraft floor shifter. A buddy of mine raced round de round and he some times broke parts on his race car and we would take parts off my cae so he could go ahead and race and then the next day we would go back out to the race
There was always a drag race to be had at the local drive in in my old home town track and put my car back together.
Times were a lot simpler. We had the local cops go get our beer for us and we would pay them extra for there efforts.
I was on the parade field at Fort Leonard Wood the day that J.F.K. was shot. Scared shitless, knew we were going to war with the Commies.
I have owned lots of old cars over the years but I have never owned a roadster and that is still my dream.
Later,
Dick

 

In 1961 I was 14.........I put a 303 OLDS motor and trans in a '35 Dodge Bros coupe, then sold it to a local hot rod club.

 

I remember things like 7 cent pop right out of the cooler, my favourite was stubby cola. The cold greasey smell of Dad's Royalite Garage, In the winter the black dust that floated in the air when the coal man shoveled a load into the coal shoot.
There seemed to be a lot more fires back then caused by coal or diesel oil furnaces. A couple times a year everybody would bring cans of food to school to help donate to the unfortunate family that lost everything.
I stole my first car in 1969, didn't get far cause I didn't know how to drive standard, probably made 100 feet.
-Buying cars for $25 and thrashing them in the fields cuz nobody had a drivers license. My buddy Mark bought a 56 sedan and the first thing we did was remove all the nice side trim and door handles while attempting to kill a forest.
My brothers new 63 1/2 Galaxie 500XL and When he put slicks on it he could raise the front wheels in an intersection. we didn't really know this until one time he figured he could beat the traffic when the light turned green. He wanted to turn left before the cars facing us started into the intersection. He cranked the wheel and dumped the clutch hard at good rpm but we went straight until he backed off then the front wheels caught and we almost nailed a new buick.
There was just a lot less to worry about back then, less traffic, less suburbs, 38 cents for a gallon of gas. When they ripped the royalite gas pumps from dads garage the price was 45 cents a gallon. Those old wayne pumps sat out beside the shed until the 1980s when they just went missing.
The 3 foot tall Pine trees that got planted in the back yard are 60 feet tall now. I don't wanna remember growing up and drinking powdered milk

This is sure an old thread but it's still a good one. Wish it was 1964 all over again


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I am 63 now, had the model A and Pontiac long before drivers liscense.
lived on a farm and wanted to work on cars, as my friends got cars I torched and welded and dualed out and made parts, a real butcher w torch and welder, ruined a couple cars but part of learning curve
also went to Nam and had a change of life and bought a new 68 Impala when i got home and did custom paint on it in body school and later metalflaked it was my first decent car till wife # 1 toateled it
started oval track in 1972 and did that for 18 years and got some beter stuff that I always felt that I had been deprived of
being in Gods country we never have much for examples to emulate, so we have to go our own way and inovate to get by

 

Yep I was there.
Pops owned a Speed Shop and a Body shop in So Cal (Orange County)
He helped me build my 1st 32 in 1962.
I opened my first shop after Nam in 1968 - Retired just 7 years ago but am still buildin.
Been buildin ever since.
This is the newest.
Fired it yesterday for the first time.

 

try again for photos
the Olds powered Chev sat in the barn all of 1967 when I was in Nam I was excited to get back to it and fix my bearing lock up when I cut the crank
we did not get paid much in the military then , but I managed to buy a couple decent parts then , chrome covers and a floor shift not very much by todays standards