History Old Chicago Hang-outs?

I grew up at 110th and washtenaw, like two blocks away from Speedsport. Rode my bicycle there darn near every day. Remember seeing all the touring cars from the day, Wild Willies fuel altered, Stone Woods and Cook, Big John Mazmanian, Garlits, etc. What a thrill, and helped start my addiction to cars and drag racing.Joe Bush had a bunch of local talent working there over the years. Jim Urso ran the counter, and when Joe left town Jim started Performance Auto on Western ave.Joe ended up dating, and then marrying a buddies sister, Joe had to be near 50, she was like 19, And cute. Recall they moved south somewhere. Also spent untold hours at Willys auto on western watching the hot stuff of the day on the chassis dynos, I can still see, and hear, the 409s, cross ram mopar wedges, and 427 fords, Thanks for bringing up Speedsport memories.

 

My pops was in a car club in the 50's and still has his jacket and plaque. I will show him this thread and he can add what he did back then.

 

A good account of the early hot rod scene in Chicago can be found in "They Call Me Mr. 500" by Andy Granatelli. Long out of print, but probably available from Amazon. Lots of good stuff about flattie Fords, Grancor, and the races that the Granatellis promoted at Soldier Field.

I went to college on the south side in the late 60s. In the spring my roommate and I would listen for the sounds of uncorked exhausts over at the parking lots along Lake Michigan. We knew that that meant that the "Soul Drags" were on. One Saturday night in 1969 there was a huge crowd and lots of brand new muscle cars running. I asked one of the spectators how they got away with it and the response was "we make sure the cops get their coffee and donut money" (in Chicago, if there was a will, there always was a way). This individual also noted that the "ten and a half second" cars could be found further south running alongside the Dan Ryan. I never made it to that venue.

Another great place to see a mix of neat cars was at the autocross (gymkhanas) in the parking lot of Soldier Field. This was a favorite venue for the Austin Healey Club of Chicago. It generally took til the afternoon before the bigger iron was able to beat the times posted earlier in the day by the Sprites (yes, it was a tight course). Corvairs were well-represented and beat Mustangs like a drum.

I drove Yellow Cab #697 for two years while in school. One of my patented moves was to wait until the last minute to respond to a fare when hailed, at which point I would hit the brakes hard while turning into the curb. This made the Firestone Taxi 100 tires squeal like a stuck pig, indicating that I was making a supreme effort to pick up the fare. Probably worth an extra ten cents on the tip, especially on North Michigan Ave. At the end of the day, those dimes added up. At the end of a ten hour day I usually ended up with 10-15 bucks in largely untaxed income and 42.5% of my $35 meter take. Dinner was generally a 99 cent sixpack of Red Top beer and a $2.50 large sausage and mush pizza from Ricobene's, the real Chicago pizza. My eight room apartment at 31st and Princeton was $42 a month, which I split with an apartment mate. Life was good.

Life was even gooder before my landlord, the local Democratic Precinct Chairman, raised my rent by ten dollars, because one of my fellow student friends had failed to vote for Daley. I asked why, since I wasn't even old enough to vote at the time, my rent was being raised, he said, "since McNamara is your friend, it is your responsibility to see that he votes right." That helped explain Chicago politics and economics very succinctly.

If Chicago wasn't so damn nasty in the winter, I would probably still live there. Walking across the overpass on 31st St in the winter, with the winds howling down all 14 lanes of the Dan Ryan, just made me want to puke. I had not yet learned about goose down and insulated boots. God it sucked.

 

The Grancor property is now a CarX muffler shop now. I pass it all the time.

 

do any of you remember the FORD PLANT,on 76th between palaski and cicero ave in the mid 50s. there would be 200 guys out there racing. the cops would show up on there three wheel motorbikes and try to catch us what a joke that was. wxn jxn.

 

Speedsport was at 72 and ashland first, then moved to 111th st.my brother.BOB WEIMER Worked at both places,in the 60s. joe bush moved to southern Ill after that. I hear he passed away some time ago. My brother opened a shop in berwyn , in the 60s on ogden ave. ,at oak park ave. called Weimer Machine. Its still there.wxn jxn

 

Great info, Jim Urso worked for Joe,when Joe moved he took over and started Performance Auto on 69th and western. He passed away a number of years ago.

 

I grew up down the street from Romeo's place,they even welded up my mini bike frame when I cracked it. I hung out at Dukes and did alot of racing on Saulk,183rd,107th and behind the amplitheater. We used to go all over from Cline Ave in Indiana to Doty,Rt 6,anywhere we could win some money. I have a few pics of me racing my car from back then too,my car was sorta well known back then.

 

Just found this site. Brings back memories of Skips, Bon Bons, Pie Pan, Super Dawg, Saturday nights racing on Elston, dyno tunes at Willys in Blue Island, Harlem Outdoor, blocking off Edens to street race....Ahhh the good times.

Lived a few blocks east of St Mary's on Damen. Miss the neighborhood and the Chicago food.

 

Does anyone remember Motorsport Research in Des Plaines, Il? I used to get my distributors curved and Holleys jetted there. Also, there was a shop that did hi-po work at Milwaukee and Elston Aves. Anyone remember the shop name. Also bought parts from Von Essers on Irving. Von Esser was one crazy SOB.

 

My father was a SKIPS guy. He had a four door black 58 chevy. Funny he claims he didn't lose either. Meet a guy out here who was a big time SKIPS guy as well (his car escapes me now, red A or 32?) he didn't lose either. Same time frame,they had to have cross paths.
They both talk about 2 hot chicks in a white chevy that really kicked some ass(boyfriends car).
I will show him this when I see him next week, fishing in the keys. He lights up when we talk about those days. Sounds like it was a great time to live. Just prooves I was born to the wrong generation.

 

And I miss Chicago food, too! Not the winter.

 

There was a place south of RT 30 on Western called Dandy's Drive-Inn. Place was there from the 50's till around 70 or so. Lots of races on Ridgeland by 183rd. Later the heavy duty stuff would start running on Sauk Trail and Ridgeland.
There were also lots of racing going on at Cottage Grove by the Ford plant in the 70's and 80's. I was in plenty of them. They are still racing late at night over on Joe Orr Road in Chicago Heights between Cottage Grove and State street.
They are also still racing on Doty road off the Bishop Ford, and 130th & Torrence.

 

Does anyone remember a burger joint at the SE corner of 69th & Pulaski in the late 60's/early 70's? This was before it was Shagnasty's. How about another burger joint on the NW corner of 79th & Cicero? (I think that was the corner). I remember it had a sign that was a circle with a bunch of spike-like things sticking out of it. I remember being taken there as a little kid - and they had the best fries I think I've ever had in my life. Nobody remembers these places and I've racked my brain for years trying to remember. Anyone?

 

My shop is kiddie corner from the old burger joint on 69th. Burnie across the street at the bank she should remember the stands name.The building as it is today is in the background of this picture .

 

I don't know if I told you guys, the Chevy Shop is GONE. I saw Bob at the Skip's swap meet Sunday. Same-old, same-old.

 

Jiffy Lube is where Shagnasty's used to be,the bank was built well after Shagnasty's closed.

 

Well, the last post on this thread was quite a while ago. I lived through the mid 50's through the mid 60's. We used to hang out at Skip's a lot. Later in the night we would go to Russell's a few miles East of Skip's until late hours. Guys would cruise from the Pie Pan to Skip's. Polk Brothers was next to Skip's and people would line up on North avenue and watch people take off out of Skip's. Polk Brothers lined up their delivery trucks so you couldn't line up there and watch. We also used to hang out at the A&W on Cermak Rd./22nd St.? in N. Riverside. We used to race at different places, but the Eisenhower Expressway was a favorite spot. In those days the Eisenhower was only open from Manheim Rd. to 1st Ave. in Maywood. We would race from Manheim to 25th Ave. People would sometimes watch standing on the 25th Ave. bridge. Another popular place to race was 1st. Ave. between Roosevelt Road and Cermak/22nd Street. This stretch of road was between Hinds Hosp. and a Forest Preserve. One night they were waking up patients at the Hospital and the police came in from both ends and busted a bunch of guys. A lot of people took off across the grass in the Forest Preserve, me included. I had a 59 White FI Corvette in those days. One night some guys from the South Side came over looking for me to race with the Argo Chevy, a black 56 2 door...I lost. I think I had beaten one of the S. Side guys at the US 30 Drag Strip. Gary Dyer used to run a red 57 Corvette in those days, I think he was a buddy of the S. Side guys. I was a member of the Tach-Masters in those days and we tried to keep our racing at the drag strips. I used to race at Oswego, US 30, Lake Geneva and Union Grove. I had a Black 59 Impala HT 4 speed 335 HP that I raced before the Corvette. I won several class trophy's at US 30, Oswego and Lake Geneva. The last time I raced back in the day was 1963 and I won my class, A/S I think, with my 62 Ford 406 Convert., and turned 13.65 @ 105 MPH. I recall that Granatelli had a shop in Maywood on Roosevelt Rd. just W. of 1st Ave. I think they made flathead parts there. I graduated from Proviso HS in 1957. I have some old pictures with my bio on H.A.M.B. I will have to dig out some old photos. It sure would be fun to talk to some of the guys from the old days.

 

Russel's is still there, (on Thatcher rd.). Has the old all-wood dining room and new addition. Very popular. Went to a car show there a couple years ago.

The Skip's location is a McD's now.

We cruised up from 95th st. in the mid-60's.

 

Some Chi-town nostalgia for you guys

 

If anyone can post photos from the late 50's, around Skips, that would be awesome!
My Father told stories of cruising that area in a mild custom 50 Ford P/U. He built.
Lowered, painted Purple with Gold Scallops, chrome lug nuts, on Gold steelies.
I saw B/W photos of it when I was very young.
He had a trophy from Soldiers Field, did they do custom car shows there?

 

I lived in Indiana south of U.S. 30 dragstrip, used to borrow dads 1ton grain farm truck and go north to get my fix of Grand Spalding Dodges Nickey Chevys, Stones Woods and Cook Art Arrfons, Arney the Farmer Beswick Chris Karameseny sorry about the spelling But you get the picture, The region was jumping in the 60s. I have the drivers door off of No Big Thing simca drag car hanging on my shop wall. I had a very fun life!!! Don in N. W. Indiana

 

There was a car show on Navy Pier around 64 that our car club, the Tach-Masters, did a club display, maybe 2 years. We also did shows at the Int'l. Amphitheatre and McCormack Place. I went to stock car races at Soldier Field, O'Hare Speedway on Manheim Rd. and SanteFe Speedway? I saw Lee Petty race a 54 Chrysler there. Ford had an exhibit at the McCormack place show that was right next to our club exhibit. Ak Miller was there with Ford , I had a chance to visit with him. I have old photos I will try to get off of slides or scanned. Sometimes we got kicked out of Skip's if we hung around to long or didn't buy anything, we would come back in a different car.

 

Great reading about all the old hangouts. Sunday nites used to big at Skip's.Trailered cars were the norm. Another great spot was the OK Corral aka Ogden and Kostner.Those boys brought out some cars. Another spot was on Fulton St. in the factory area. If the cops caught wind of any racing they would open up the fire hydrants. There used to be some pretty stout street racers during era.

 

We last raced on Fulton, (east of Damen ave.), in 1995. Had a police sarg. in one of the cars. It's all re-developed now. No chance of it now.

 

i have lived in the south suburbs all my life (57 yrs.)
the hottest spot of all was Blue Top drive in - highland indiana. you would have to drive around the block several times on fri or sat nite before you could even get in the lot. pretty chicks waited on you while you sat in your car. a buddy of mine worked at the sunoco down the block. my best friend had a 68 ss396 camaro - we'd go in the sunoco and uncap the headers and put the slicks on. people were amazed that we made it "all the way from illinois" like that.
dandy's drive in on western south of u.s. 30 in park forest (60's-70's)
ridgeland ave s. of sauk trail after midnite - street racing
cottage grove n. of sauk trail - street racing
of course, 111th & doty rd. not uncommon to have hundreds of cars there in the late 60's through the seventies. when i started going there as a kid, it was controlled by chicago p.d. - they were on the take and would charge $5 a car for each race that was set up. lots of gambling goin on. the guys from west pullman had very fast cars. u.s. 30 dragstrip wed. fri. and and sunday
119th and ashland - street racing
i see lotsa rubber laid down on joe orr road between cottage grove and state street these days, but i haven't seen the racing.
we cruise out to Simon Sez tacos in merrillville (rt. 30 & taft ) fri and sat nights during the summer now. lotsa hitter cars there, the owner has a large collection of cars and sometimes allows burnouts in the parking lot

 

Don Marmor (son) still hanging around the West burbs and cars shows with a black 60's vette. MSR turned into ProMotor in the 80's and does mostly roundy stuff now. Famous Nova was Destiny. Raced mostly at the Grove.

 

Boy this thread brings back a lot of memories. In 64 & 65 we also did a lot of racing behind McLean trucking around 103rd and Harlem, now occupied by what else Walmart. Others were between 111th & 115th and Central and 135th & Ridgeland,they didn't draw large crowds, kinda a one on one destination.
I had a 65 GTO that more than held it's own,good times that's for sure.


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I started at the finish-line on McLean rd. in the fog, and went off-roading at the north end in a Nova in about '67. (It was just an 'L' shaped access road with one trucking terminal at the time. Had a 90 degree left turn at the south-west end). OOPS!

 

Grew up NW Indiana 80's and early 90's before I moved. Blue Top of course and Cline Ext. for Street Racing. What I would give for some video of some of the stuff I saw up at the Amphitheatre a couple of nights.