Event Coverage memorable road trips

The 2nd friend went on to tell me about a trip he and "Joey Chitwood" made to Arizona to pickup a race car with a Chevy van and an empty trailer . "Joey" missed a road closed sign , and at the last second took the van and trailer through the median and bouncing up onto the other side of the road before driving off into the hole where a bridge use to be !

 

At least he got that out of his system before your trip, had you known in advance I feel certain you would have made other arrangements, regardless in your case alls well that ends well. HRP

 

I've got this in my Amazon cart for the next time I get in a book mood

Broke Down, A Million Miles From Home. Now What?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1634927524/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

I have a couple of Rogers books, fast cars & faded thunder, I got to add this on to my hot rod book library. HRP

 

WINNER!

 

Hello,
As a teenager with the whole coast to explore, there were plenty of exciting road trips, overnight and a full day’s worth. The overnights were OK with our parents, if my brother was along for the ride. Since he and his friends also surfed, that worked out well for both of us. As a senior in HS, we had our own overnight road trips sans older brother. That was a plus for me.

If we took separate hot rods or station wagons, we still surfed together. It was the enclosed space for miles and miles of the highway driving that seemed odd, the older we got…Besides, who wants to surf with an older brother, anyway? But, one advantage, in the beginning, was that he experienced the Baja roads and highways before I was able to travel and surf down there.

My dad was a fantastic (fanatical) fisherman! Anywhere he went, fresh water or salt, he always collected his share of fish, including the biggest one at each location. When my brother and I would drag in a little fish on our hooks, it was exciting, but when our dad hooked one, his pole bent to no end and he was fighting that fish for several minutes. We did not know that he used a very lightweight pole, line and reel because fishing this way, gave him more excitement.

We had poles that were sturdy and made to fit our little hands. He wanted to go on beach camp out with some of his friends and families down in Baja. Not just across the border, but a 150 mile drive South to a remote campground. This was a second week of a two week vacation, with the first week, camping/fishing on the beach 10 miles South of Ensenada. Dragging multiple perch/ bass out of the water and up the beach was a highlight of this trip

This was the longest trip our family had taken in his two toned 4 door 1953 Buick sedan. We were looking forward to the beach and surf fishing. After the first week just South of Ensenada, we leisurely took off after everyone else had left. We drove for what seemed like miles in the hot weather. It was all windows, vents and everything we could open to get the air flowing inside of the big Buick.
Similar to our 4 door Buick sedan with the two tone paint

Jnaki

We were driving in the 53 Buick for what seemed like hours and finally my dad decided to take this one dirt road right, leading to the beach. As we drove on this winding, bumpy dirt road, we could see the blue in the far horizon, so we knew we were going toward the beach. My brother and I were antsy in the back seat, it was hot and we were a little stir crazy. Of course…”are we there, yet?” was heard multiple times, to my dad’s dismay.

All of a sudden, around a blind curve, my mom yells out, “There is the ocean!” It must have startled my dad as he rounded the curve and as he looked, his right side front wheel slipped into a two foot deep culvert. Then he slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop, with one tire in the culvert and the back on barely hanging on the edge of the slope. The bottom of the motor was resting on the dirt and we could not move.

Now, that is some predicament for our family. (100 miles from any known city or civilization and only the beach about 5 miles away.) After trying all sorts of planks, rocks, branches and more rocks, my dad gave up. He took a canteen full of water and started walking down the dirt road to the beach area, where it looked like there was some housing. My brother and I were having an adventure for sure, but my dad had a long walk ahead of him.

My mom was left with the two small brothers and locked us up inside of the hot 53 Buick sedan. (Since no one was driving or walking along this road, she did let us have the window rolled down somewhat) It seemed like hours, but a dusty cloud on that beach road was my dad and a truck load of locals coming to the rescue. They put in larger rocks, used a pipe and beam to get the Buick up away from the dirt and finally, a hard depression of the gas pedal made the Buick go in reverse out of the ditch. YEAH!

Of course, my dad gave those locals a lot of money for their help and my mom gave them tons of sandwiches and drinks. They were so friendly, nice and very helpful. We never made it to the fishing camp and headed back to civilization at the resort hotel back in Ensenada, another 100+ mile road trip. It was a combination of coastal scrub, dry weather and the big blue ocean nearby that made the trip worthwhile. Any road has its hazards, but one small lady started this escapade with her excited voice…

 

My most memorable roadtrip was our honeymoon to Fl. in 1975. {in our 68 Vette} But not gonna tell ya much about that one. But I do love a roadtrip. So many fun ones over the years. From going to the Nats, the Nats south, East, and the Goodguy's runs etc. At one time we had an old home built camper too. I now take the grandkids on some roadtrips in our Nomad. We like to stop at the mom and pop diners, or stay at old motels, camp grounds etc. I still sleep in the delivery at some of the Rod runs too. Cool thread, so keep the stories coming. Here's a few old pictures of roadtrips past. Thanks Ron......

 

May of last year we drove my just finished 41 ford custom from the Uk to Italy via France and Switzerland for a holiday, fantastic trip and good shake down for the car.

45B9EEA3-B19F-479B-BA24-63AB1E050DCA by KFC posted Nov 5, 2018 at 3:39 PM

BD6253B0-5BAD-4FAB-BD32-8688434DE576 by KFC posted Oct 3, 2018 at 3:33 PM

03B8F61A-96C5-44C9-AA18-A2F4A5B8BCF0 by KFC posted Oct 3, 2018 at 3:33 PM

 

My brother, my dad, and I would almost every summer go to the Street Rod Nats, usually in Louisville, and usually we would use grandma's conversion van, but this year we rented a car. On our way back home, I was about 12, and my brother was about 7, we went to Cracker Barrell and my brother had pancakes and then some kiwi Sunny D from the gas station. So we are in the back seat and my brother ralphs all over the back seat, I'm doing all that I can to get as far away as I could. Every time this story gets brought up I somehow I get the blame for not doing anything

 

Your Headlight story brought up a memory of a headlight adventure I had. I was coming home on I-90 around 2:00 AM and the headlight on my motorcycle craps out, switch to low beam, no go, wayside just ahead, pull in and thinking on what to do and hoping a state patrol officer did not show up to offer assistance as I had been drinking, not drunk but enough to be in trouble I'm sure. About 15/20 minutes a large group of bikers make a pee stop and come over and ask if I need any help. I explained my problem, one guy checked a few things and they asked me where I was headed, told them and the man says, no problem I know that area well, get in the middle of us, we'll escort you home, I Lived off of I-90 about 10 miles north and they took me right to my driveway. I thanked them at wayside and for years if I saw a broke down biker/ car/trailer I would stop and offer help, I still do but give more thought because of the times we live in now. Another Story, coming home from a Race club meeting, after the bar closed, saw a car sitting w/ flashers on, not in the best neighborhood, I stopped and the young lady was terrified, after speaking with her I offered her my cell phone through the window so she could call her husband to come for her, she reached him, he's coming 20 minutes away. I told her have him wave in my direction, I would be across the street keeping an eye on her where she could still see me as I could not wait at car because if police show up, I had been drinking.( again not a lot, but enough) He shows up, waves, I go home.

 

For about 40 + years rode with parents (Dads race deal) and then my race deal, towed race cars all over the midwest, considering miles and years involved, lack of trailer maintenance, not too many adventures, but several and can say Always a positive story of receiving help to get back on road again. Not sure about today, I'm talking 50's through 90's met many good honest people/businessmen, I'm hoping that's still true, I feel there's still way more good than bad , but the press always covers the bad and IMO the world has changed to a much scarier violent place.

 

Hello,

After our 1940 Willys 671 coupe disaster at the end of summer 1960, our hope of continuing on in drag racing as a possible career took a sharp turn. Now, it was full recovery mode for my brother. Doctor’s visits, med center treatments, quick jaunts to the local drugstore for more gauze and pads, etc.

The cruising road trips everywhere we used to go were now taking on a new meaning. Driving the 58 Impala was still our link to our drag racing history and leading up to our final 671 supercharged SBC Willys Coupe.

So, instead of coastal highways and mountain road trips in the 58 Impala, it was now a means to and end. It was still a very cool car to drive and own. But, for the next year and beyond, it was in support of my brother’s horrific accident recovery period. The good thing was that my brother still liked the 58 Impala. every time we got in to go someplace. He had some kind of smile, as if he were drifting back in time to those early drag racing days.

So, the weekly trips to the recovery center, the doctor’s offices and something to keep the momentum going, (asked to do by my brother) trips to Mickey Thompson’s Shop for the weekly editions of the Drag News papers. At the time, I was driving the black 58 Impala. The guys at the shop knew of our Impala from the weekly attendance and consistent drag racing every weekend from 1958-60. I drove, while my brother only went outside when going to the doctor’s visits.

Although my brother was wrapped up in gauze, he still had the use of his bandaged hands. So, he read everything he could about drag racing and hot rods. Our piles of magazines were getting taller and my trips to the local liquor store, where we both started our small R&C magazine perusal almost every week as little kids, took center stage for his voracious appetite for all things hot rod/drag racing.

As soon as he could hold a pencil, he started drawing and writing about drag racing and it effects on young kids, teens, and 20 something impressionable people. It was his way to keep connected to his old hot rod/drag race world. Sometimes, his writing was harsh, critical of the rules and the factory taking over our everyday teenage activity with high dollar sponsorships vs the normal teenage income hot rod.

So, my visits to Mickey Thompson’s Shop increased for the Drag News and other drag racing papers. It was one swoop as the liquor store where we were introduced to hot rods, customs, and drag racing was just down the street.

Jnaki

My brother and I met Jack Ewell at Mickey Thompson’s Shop that was located near our Westside of Long Beach house. We used to go over there to get our supply of hot rod/drag race information and ideas. Also, we would time it so we were the first ones to get the local supply of Drag News papers that were delivered weekly. Like all old speed shops, the conversations kept us informed and added to our knowledge base . It did not hurt that we also bought some items that were available to us. That kept the shop happy. We even drove the 1940 671 SBC Willys Coupe over there to show them what we just finished. They were impressed !

Jack Ewell was the parts manager at Mickey Thompson's. After our 1940 Willys 671 SBC coupe accident, during the recovery period and absence from Lion’s Dragstrip, we got a call from Jack Ewell. He was making an offer to put in one of the 671 supercharged Pontiac motors in our 58 Impala. it was due to the fact that we already had a C&O Stick Hydro in place, but also, the guys at Mickey Thompson’s Shop knew of our Impala as we drove over there regularly.

In the early history of So Cal drags, Jack Ewell was heavily involved in all aspects of drag racing.

But, the surprising thing presented to us over the phone one summer day was to modify our 1958 Impala with one of the shop’s 671 supercharged Pontiac motors. By this time, they had seen the Impala with the installed C&O Stick Hydro and were impressed with the clean install and instant power generated. So, the proposal was offered to us. I talked to Jack Ewell and he outlined what was to be. The install would be simple as the motor would bolt up easily to the C&O Stick Hydro. The rest of the install would be performed with custom motor mounts and connections.

It was his way to get us back into the fold of street power and drag racing. It was very tempting, but we needed the 58 Impala for my brother’s recovery visits to the doctor and rehabilitation program. So, it had to be a reliable daily driver, not a highly modified Impala that was close to being a heavy Gas Coupe/Sedan competitor. That was a nice gesture and we thanked him for it, but my brother had to decline the offer.
Proposed finished look and result... 671 Pontiac motor...etc.

In 1960-61, the factory sedans were getting more complicated with the sponsorships and faster cars. The trend was to show how modifications could still be used on the street and raced successfully at the drags. The so called factory stocks were race cars in street clothing and would not be able to hold their own on one heavy Friday night cruise and still be competitive.

Mickey Thompson’s Shop was willing to pick up the cost of the install and finished product. When I told him it was our daily driver to school and medical centers. He said that it would be a fully functioning street hot rod, as well as being able to withstand the daily stops and going to various places. Wow, a dream come true. They also requested that we go back to Lion’s Dragstrip to enter in the Gas Coupe and Sedan class for competition races.

What a deal and super offer for us. But, my brother had the last say in what was to be done and his frightening experience still stayed on his mind, although he kept that to himself most of the time. So, I knew where his ideas were going and he gently declined, stating health issues. The speed shop knew what was proposed and also what was the reasoning for the decline in the offer.

Several years later, there were a gaggle of similar set ups for factory experimental and also modified cars/station wagons/sedans for the Gas Coupe/Sedan Classes at the drags.

So, a simple hot rod cruiser had seen its days as an everyday driver, weekend racer, and now a medical road trip vehicle saw a new direction for its life. (a family car) But, our modified road trips continued on for an additional year to get to the point of enjoying the new direction and healing as it happened.

Two years later, ever take a highly modified, 1958 Chevy Impala to the beach with two longboards sticking out of the trunk? That was in itself, memorable as our history took on a new direction.