Boston Ma area - Street Racing in 60's remember this car?

Jack:That picture of Richie's Model A may have been taken when Bill Besarick owned it because the T behind it belonged to Vito Venuti and it is a real early version of it before the addition of the top and the Man-A-Fre induction.The giveaway is the high mounted wodd grained beer keg gas tank.Here is a pic of Bill and I on a cruise somewhere on Route 95 I think and Vito's T is right behind us only with a top.

I remember an accident like that involving a 55 Chevy 4 door sedan gasser at Sanford.Guy was running a 50 or 60 lb. flywheel and it exploded on the starting line and came right up through the dash.The center of the dashboard was nearly touching the roof! Several spectators were also injured by shrapnel.

Bob Peavey was definitely a character and a very hard drinker and have heard countless stories about his exploits while under the influence.I think Brian used to keep a lot of cash on hand in case he needed to bail Bob out of jail.

Yes that was Jimmy DeCotis' 35 Ford.I remember the family well.His dad Carl used to have a 57 Olds 98 convertible(J-2)with a continental kit that he used to race on Route 1.His dad(Jimmie's grandfather) owned several motels along Route 1 and tragically died there one night.He used to own one that was just over the hill from the Kowloon Restaurant(it was located where Fuddrucker's is now)and there was a bar across the highway where he used to drink.About 10 pm every night he would walk back across Route 1 to the motel.He was rarely drunk but walked a bit slow.Anyway one night he was walking across and some clown came up over the hill going like a bat out of hell and nailed him in the speed lane;throwing him into the right lane where he was hit several more times.The driver took off and was never found.Very sad.

That road claimed many lives.Another really horrible one involved a 56 Chevrolet owned by a guy from Melrose.Can't remember his name but he had lost his license and a leg in a previous accident.There were 3 guys in the car(the owner was in the passenger seat)and a friend of mine was driving at a high rate of speed when they were cut off in the speed lane by someone changing lanes.This happened right across the street from the Hilltop.The Chevy went up onto the median strip and went sideways starting to roll over.The car rolled numerous times before hitting a telephone pole right at the rear of the roof;crushing it.The guy who was riding in the rear seat died instantly from a broken neck and the driver was seriously injured.The owner of the car didn't get a scratch.
My friend who was driving never got over that and drank himself to death.
Too many stories.

EDIT: That pic of Bill and I was not on 95;now i'm trying to remember where it was.I think it was a cruise to Gloucester around 1970.

 

Great picture....the flywheel story, sounds like what my dad told me, came up through the dash etc,,,likely the same story, he was probably at sanford, not NED as I assumed.

 

Definitely the same accident, just saw you had mentioned it nearly hit the roof...my dad had told me that as well

 

I remember my dad telling me the 55 story also. If memory serves correctly the kid's father was a Nash dealer or maybe he did Mercury's.
Anyhow the kids father and my dad were very close friends as they were both new car dealers in the Massachusetts area at the time.
The loss of his son devastated my dad's buddy.
He never recovered from the loss after several nervous breakdowns. It was a tragedy that wrecked their family.

 

Across from 801 Main St. at the corner of Edmund St.

 

Here is Bob March's "March Wind" parked in Malden Square before heading to Connecticut Dragway on Sunday morning. Tom Brewer with the flowered pants ( it was 1969 ), Curley partialy hidden, Bill Nobel and some folks heading to Church. On Saturday afternoon the crowd at the Edmund St. garages could get pretty big and a bit crazy. The guys were ragging on Bob March's old 1960 Ford Galaxie that always left a trail of blue smoke. As a joke they pulled a vacum line from wipers and stuck it in a quart of oil, resulting in billowing smoke from the exhaust. Bob put on his fire mask, goggles and helmet and drove through Malden Square blanketing the whole square with thick blue smoke.

 

Great pic and great story Jack!Brings back a lot of memories.Tom Brewer in flowers! Priceless.Without a doubt one of the craziest buggers I've ever met.
Going thru some of my old pics and thought I'd post a few.Some were posted awhile back.

First couple pics are of Eldon Sidebotham's old roadster when my cousin Dick Manley owned it circa 1966.The shot with the hood attached is rare as the car had a tendency to overheat with it on.Engine was a 4 carb 296 cu.in. Merc with a 40 sideshift trans and a Columbia 2-speed rear end that rarely worked.The car was actually built in Peabody in the early 50's by a guy that owned or worked at a salvage yard.Dave Simard owns it now.

Next pic is a 34 Ford roadster turned into a 3 window coupe that Dick owned around 1959-60.Fred Manning from Saugus built it in the early 50's.Chopped and channeled with the fenders molded in with tapered running boards.Rear fenders made from 2 sets of 34 fenders.Early Chevy top made the rolled pan.Powered by an early Olds V-8.Dick swapped it for a chopped 53 Studebaker that Paul Bourque built with Richie Roche.Mike Blount from Stoneham got it from Richie and then it disappeared.
Remember helping Dick prep it for a show and going for a drive at night and running over a skunk!They refused to let us in the show the next day even though we spent hours trying to wash off the smell.

Next is a pic of Don Burley's chopped 41 Ford convertible taken at the Newburyport show.Don't know where this one went.Afterward Don owned a beautiful Indy nosed 32 Ford roadster and then Richie Willet's Deuce 5 window.

Next is Don Hiller's 34 Ford 5 window that was Olds powered.Don owned a body shop in Salem and built the car in the early 50's.The girl next to it was my ex-wife's best friend.

Speaking of ex-wives;here is a pic of my 68 Chevelle with her in it showing off her swollen legs.She was pregnant with my son then(1974).The Chevelle had a serious small block Chevy 327 built by Bruce McGinnis of Acton who used to campaign a AA/FD.

Last for now is a chopped 54 Chevy(Olds powered) with boat attached built by Paul O'Neill of Lynn.I swapped an AM/FM radio for the car in 1974.Car was built in the late 1950's.Paul once again owns the car.

That's it for now;I'll post more later.

 

You guys have the flywheel story mixed up.The 4 door 55 blew the flywheel at Sanford ,That was Al Thistle.The 55 at N.E.D. was the one whose family had the Rambler dealership in Quincy.Also the pregnant wife.I saw the crash ,unsure of what caused it but he went off the right side of the track at the lights.

 

Here's a few more:

Bob Ellison & Rick McGarvey's 33 Willys at some show(may have been Suffolk Downs in 69)
The Deuce sedan from the Flywheels show at Tedeschi's Market in 1963.This car is still around;I got an e-mail from the guy who owns it awhile back.
Jere Sheehan's 34 Ford roadster that he's owned since high school.One of the founding members of the New England Hot Rod Council and the Cam Snappers of Newburyport MA.Hell of a nice guy.
Jere's brother's 34 Ford cabriolet.Note the license plate.Jere told me the story of it.Seems he wanted to paint the car purple and as a sample took a purple onion to the paint store for them to match.The license plate was a natural after that.
A couple of cars from out here in Michigan:
A 23 T roadster built by Guy Preston of Ypsilanti Michigan.I lived right down the street from him in 1968.Had a 4-71 blown Chevy(283 I think)and the individual pipes had Volkswagen baffles in them.It was for sale for $2500.Sorry for the double exposure;my Argus C-3 camera was screwing up and eventually broke.
The Mustang in the next picture was my now brother-in-law's that we flamed in 3 colors(gold,purple,and metallic green)with rattlecans in a 25 cent car wash and the outlined in white.That is a much skinnier yours truly striping the edges of the flames circa 1968.
The 34 Ford with the Y block and six deuces was taken at Tedeschi's in 1963.Not sure but that may be the one that was painted purple Metalflake and called,"Flaked Out".
Last one is also at Tedeschi's and my favorite custom:a chopped and sectioned 53-54 Mercury with a Crown Vic moulding added.Paint was Titian Red.Supposedly this car still exists somewhere in Massachusetts.Anyone know for sure?

 

801 main.....right near pv

 

I grew up on the So. Shore and lived there when these pics were taken. The hot rod scene on the No. Shore might as well have been in California to me. I've lived on the No. Shore for about 35 yrs though, and am enjoying trying to pick out familiar places as well as seeing the cars. Was the drive-in where the 34 roadster was shot the old Saugus Drive-in? And where was Tedeschi's located, Rte 1?

 

I don't remember tha name of the drive in where Jere's car was photographed but it was in the early 1970's and it was I think in Quincy or Braintree.John(I forget his handle on here)who owns the red Deuce roadster;his dad should know because I believe he was there with his 35 Ford sedan.
Tedeschi's was located in Braintree although I don't remember what route it was on.On an earlier thread somebody mentioned what is there now.

 

Hoop, Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing that story about the 55 crashing passed the lights at NED. I think it happened pretty soon after the track opened in 1966. Attached is a picture of Al Thistle's 55 Chevy four door at Sanford in 1964, that had the flywheel explosion.

 

It looks like the South Shore Plaza Twin Drive-In in Braintree.

 

The garages at 801 Main are still there,although in bad shape. They are located right across from the Sunnyhurst store at the corner of Edmund St. The store has a different name now,but I don't know what it is. I have pictures that I will post soon.

 

That is it! Thank you!Sometimes the old gray matter breaks down.

 

Unkledaddy, Thanks for posting,this should spark a few stories.

 

That blue 32 sedan is Johnny Otis from Braintree , MA. It was a feature car in Car Craft in 1963. It was also in a magazine like Car Culture Delux a few years ago. It is now owned by someone out west, I saw it at Bakersfield.

 

It amazes me how few pics there are of this place. it was the hottest spot at the time.

 

This is Bill Lazurus from Salem, MA. driving the "Mr Wiggle" AA/FA. Bill shared space with Bob March up on Main St.in Malden. When March moved to California, Laz moved down to the Edmund St garages with Bob Coraine. A year later Laz moved to California and put the car up for sale at one of those hi performance car dealer lots. Before Bill went fuel altered racing, he had a rear engine (I think it was 55 Chevy or Pontiac) that he drove on the street. Around 1970 he showed up at his garage with the old car on his trailer. The car had not been used in years and was in poor shape. The car was going to the junk yard but not before he would take the healthy SBC out. He took out his torches and cut the car in half to gain easy acess to the motor. Then it was just a fifteen year old car without much value.

 

anyon havephoto of Ned car? sad two tragic accidents

 

i know someone in recent years...rented those garages! now i know wherthey are

 

I knew Bill very well Jack but never knew he drove a fuel car.When I worked at the Mercedes dealership in Salem I striped a blue Model A roadster that was radically channeled and had a white top and interior for him.I had a picture of it in my computer but lost it when it crashed.I still have the print in one of my photo albums.It was taken in Sturbridge MA at one of the rod runs down there.

The car you are referring to was a 55 Chevy 4 door sedan that had an Olds engine and Hydra-Matic trans that was chain driven to the rear axle mounted in the rear.It was quite a wheelstander as I recall.He must have installed the SBC later on.I remember seeing the car before I went in the Navy(1964).Bill was definitely quite a character.

The Salem area had quite a range of characters.The North Street garage was populated by John Silva(chopped,channeled,and sectioned 41 Merc coupe and a channeled 40 Ford sedan)Gil Corraine(32 Ford Vicky)Frank Manos(39 Ford sedan with a blown Cadillac engine)Paul Protz(31 Ford coupe with a 392 Chrysler)and my cousin Dick Manley with his 34 Ford coupe/roadster.That was around 1959-1960.
Don Hiller had that beautiful chopped and channeled 34 coupe I showed a pic of in another post.Sonny Pasternak had,"the Fly" a 34 Ford sedan made into a roadster and shortened to a 76 inch wheelbase.Charlie Foy had an Olds powered coupe(can't remember the year).Len Legere had his radically chopped 50 Ford convertible with the Chrysler Hemi in it.
There were more but my mind isn't working too well tonight.
Another member on here was reading this thread and e-mailed me yesterday.He lived in Wakefield and I had plettered his 55 Chevy race car back in the early 70's.He lives in California now.(HI ZEKE!).He sent me a pic of the Chevy and a bike I did for him as well.It was great to hear from him after nearly 40 years.I'm sure he won't mind me posting the pics.EDIT:Can't post the pics;they're too large and I don't know how to reduce them.Will try later.

 

I'm gonna take current photos of the marshroad and main st garages

 

my dad also told me his friend had a 57 buick....327 in it? and another kid had 396 in 64 goat

 

The GTO could have belonged to one of the Jones brothers from Revere.They had a couple of Pontiacs with BBC in them.My brother-in-law had a 63 Galaxie notchback with a 428 and a C-6 in it and he was always racing themThat Galaxie was one fast car.
We used to all hang out at the Sunoco station on Route 1 across from the Hilltop and drink at the Wigwam which was next door.Invariably a race would commence after a few beverages.The owner of the gas station had a 69 Camaro with a pretty serious 350 in it and one of the employees had a brand new 69 GTO.The gears in the GTO were pretty tall so he would usually get slaughtered coming out of the chute but would usually catch whomever he was racing on the top end.
One Christmas I was playing Santa Claus to the gas customers and the owner had left us a half gallon of Seagram's to keep warm with.If you can picture a 140 lb. Santa with hair halfway down my back and a similarly long beard sprayed with silver hair spray having consumed about a quarter of the half gallon by about 11am...well you get the picture.
Anyway long after I had pissed off countless customers and passed out on a bunch of oil cases,Ralph(my brother-in-law) and Wally(the GTO owner)decide that they just have to race up Route 1 AGAIN! Ralph doesn't drink but Wally does enough for both of them so they take off northbound.
It is Christmas morning about 2:30 am and they are blasting up Route 1 with Ralph in the outside lane and Wally in the right lane.They go screaming past a guy in the middle lane doing over a hundred and come up over the hill just before the Ship restaurant and there in Wally's lane doing about 40 mph is a Saugus Police cruiser!
Wally has a passenger(16 year old Paul Donahue)and slams on the brakes.When they measured the skid marks later they found he had slid 257 ft BEFORE he hit the back of the cruiser the FIRST time.He was slightly sideways when he hit and the impact spun the GTO around and he hit the cruiser AGAIN on the side and then slid another 150 ft before coming to a stop.
Ralph meanwhile had somehow managed to get around both of them by going partially up on the median and coming back down without rolling the Ford. He stopped up the road and went back to check on Wally and then took off.The cops never did catch him.
Miraculously nobody was injured seriously.Wally had his lower teeth go through his lip when his head hit the steering wheel(he wasn't wearing a seat belt).Paul and the cop weren't injured at all but both cars were totaled.If I recall the only straight panel on the GTO was the roof.
They dragged both of them off to jail.Paul hadn't been drinking and Wally refused a sobriety test.
When he went to court he had a good lawyer and he lost his license for 3 months.He bought the GTO back from the insurance company and actually fixed it but it was never the same and he eventually sold it.
I haven't seen Wally in years;Paul went on to build several race cars and last I heard he was campaigning an alcohol dragster.
I remember waking up Christmas morning in a parking lot with my girlfriend in the car by the State Police knocking on the window wondering if I was still alive.I was still dressed in the Santa suit;half the hairspray was out of my beard and it looked like I'd emptied my stomach several times out the driver's window. I think I stopped drinking for about a month after that one.

 

I took some pictures today of the garages etc....I also went down edmund street and at end, took quick left and there were old garages...I am thinking those are edmund st garages...they were very old, then very similar looking ones on clinton street

will upload pics later, need to drop my son back off to his mom around 4pm, then bbq at friends house in Lynn

 

I remember a few of Richie willets builds . The Boston Hooker think it was a c cab 425 powered buick show car. I remeber a T coupe Maroon with a pinto engine. I also remember He had a Town coach front was open and sedan rear.
Did Bob Noss Drive a 55 that was purple/ magenta?
Boston Camaro long shot here . Just thinking about your dads old car.was a guy that worked at PV . Had a 65 chevelle then a nasty s/b powered 55. later he had a 50 austin think the name on the door of the austin was thumper? Think the guys name was Jimmy Nagle. Long shot but ask.\

 

I missed the point there sorry. The 55 I spoke of fits the car your were asking about.