Our first outing with the little Dodge was a success, if you qualify success as two clean runs and nothing serious broken ( lost the radiator when the thermostat failed). We posted a 13.39 pass at 100 mph, and considering that we finished the car to be as close to a 1963 SS/A car as possible (more work needed)...we are pretty darn satisfied. But the Ramchargers posted a 134 mph pass in 1963, so we have something to shoot for. The whole experience got me to thinking...I think too much most of the time...and what follows is the result. Pardon the length, and I hope you enjoy it. Real Steel Bodies, Flathead Motors, Bias Ply Tires, Cheater Slicks...and a thousand other vintage parts and pieces. What do they all have in common? Theyre wanted by almost everyone...at least now they are. It has not been that long ago really, that these parts were relegated to rusting away in a field, or hung on a garage wall as a reminder of past glory. Most people were embracing automotive technology in a big way. We could get an almost flawless fiberglass body, mount it on an already modified set of rails, power it by a reliable and powerful computer controlled power plant and ride on radial tires. What could be better than that? Everything we needed was readily available to build the car we always wanted. No more, cutting, welding, beating and hammering. Just pick up a catalog and get exactly what you needed. Then, a few years ago...nobody knows for sure where and when...a rusty old roadster was rolled out to the road somewhere in America with a For Sale sign attached. Somebody with a vision bought that heap and set off on a journey to rediscover their Rodding Roots. Whoever that person was, its a good bet they didnt have a lot of money and they bought the old roadster because they couldnt afford all that technology in the mail-order books. They labored to put the car on the road evenings and weekends for months, maybe even years. They begged, borrowed, traded, swapped or stole all the parts and learned to do with what was available. Finally, after a Herculean effort, they rolled the car out into the light for the first time. The body wasnt laser straight, the paint wasnt flawless, the wheels were narrow and the tires were used, but they were proud, and rightfully so. This was their creation... not something out of a box. Fast forward to August 20, 2011 MOKAN Raceway near the Missouri/Kansas border in Heartland America. The scene looks like something out of a messed up episode of Back to the Future. The cars are all old but the tow vehicles, for the most part, are newer. The track is crude by modern standards. Built in a cornfield 50 years ago, it looks more like a strip from The Lords of Flatbush than a place for John Force to run. Everywhere you look there are vintage Gassers, Altereds, Diggers and Period-Built Rods. This was the H.A.M.B Drags. A meet begun a decade or so ago by a group of guys who wanted to run their Home-Built Hot Rods on the track without having to bow down to the NHRA. Chances are, somewhere amongst the hundreds of racers was that old roadster. It might have made several passes during the day and although it didnt break the 13 second mark, few people did in 1948. In fact, the B Roadster Record was only 129 mph on the dry lakes back then. Not a car in sight is perfect, at least not the way weve been conditioned to think of as perfect. Some were rusty, and many sported satin black paint. Their engines were not awash in chrome and there was not a set of Weld Superlites in sight. But if you looked closely you would have seen perfection. You would have seen combinations of parts that have not been done in 50 years. You would have been able to watch cars line up against one another that have not run that way since the Hemi was a new thing and Wrinkle Walls were just a dream. And nowhere would you have seen cars built out of a book. You see, in this world (and for my money its the REAL WORLD) the idea is not to go as fast as possible. Its not to spend incredible sums of money on the latest and greatest speed parts. Its not about setting records or pushing back the veil of quarter mile limits. Its not about show. What its about is PRIDE! Its about racing the ghosts of our Fathers at MOKAN and chasing the clouds of dust at El Mirage. Its beating and hammering, cutting and welding, wrenching and thrashing to prove it CAN BE DONE. And, in the end, it is also about the people. Guys who have the will to succeed and the heart to keep on pounding away in the face of the established Hot Rod Elite to live the life of a Rebel, taste the sand and beat the Ghosts. Copyright 2011 the Night Prowlers
very nicely said... in a high performance, carbon fiber, computer controlled, laser cut, digital perfect world...its a breath of fresh air, to see speed equipped, magnesium, chopped down and hopped up, mechanical art in unison....
Thanks for the kind words, but it IS the truth! The Rebel is always the guy who works the hardest and sets the curve!
Copyright 2011? You worried about getting plagiarized?? I honestly think there is way more to this thing than anyone can logically explain because I don't think it's logical at all - it's pure emotion. That which lights up the pleasure center in our brain whether we want it to or not. When you look at a car and something inside goes "I want THAT!" there are all kinds of way to rationalize it but no way to truly explain it.
Excellent write.Puts a lot of things into perspective. Every person that builds what comes out of their head and pocketbook with their own hands owe you a salute. Thanks again, HillRat
Just got back from the Duck Drags in Tulsa...Same deal there! Man, this thing has got me! Going to a friend's shop tomorrow to start getting ready for next season...once it gets in your blood they told me...they were right! Thanks All! HG
The Jalopy Journal
