Register now to get rid of these ads!

History Real Blood Sport: Old-Time Demolition Derby

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by jimi'shemi291, Aug 13, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jimi'shemi291
    Joined: Jan 21, 2009
    Posts: 9,499

    jimi'shemi291
    Member

    I hope you guys (and ladies, too) don't think I'm looney for this post! :confused::mad::p;):D

    Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Demo Derby was HUGE at our little Ohio town's annual county fair. Guys prepped cars all year long for this competition.

    Understand, I LOVED the '40s, 50s and '60s cars that were being run, BUT like all other red-blooded young people at the time, I was drawn to the Demo Derby like a moth to a flame. :rolleyes::p I AM REMINDED OF THE ROMAN'S WATCHING GLADIATORS BATTLE TO THE DEATH. :mad: This was the closest I have seen to gladiatorial combat in modern times. :eek: No humans gladiators died, but their CARS sure did! :( In each heat, ALL but one (sometimes ALL!) cars "died." Later, all survivors engaged in a fight to the dead, determining the battle-scarred CHAMPION!!!! :):D:cool:

    That was the whole point: Who had the best car and the best reflexes :cool: -- to avoid getting yer radiator smashed, or your fenders pushed into your tires (overheating and blow-outs, of course). It was a spectacle that is incomparable to anything now. :eek: Mid-'50s DeSotos always fared well, but I also saw a '50 Packard run, a Lowey Stude, second-gen Thunderbirds, tons of '50s Big Three cars.

    A lot of the guys who crunched cars THEN, I'll bet, would love to have them back now, uncrunched. :( I guess my questions are THREE:rolleyes::

    (1) Am I the only HAMBER who once took strange, wicked pleasure in watching this destruction of vintage cars? (I'm not alone, am I?) :p

    (2) If you are old enough to have witnessed VINTAGE Demo Derby (or were a rabid fan, like me!), what are your outstanding memories and impressions? :rolleyes:

    (3) Name some of the now-valuable or notable makes and models YOU saw duke it out! :eek: (And, which ones did YOU root for?)

    Jimi'sHemi291
     
  2. harpo1313
    Joined: Jan 4, 2008
    Posts: 2,584

    harpo1313
    Member
    from wareham,ma

    its a natural,i was beating ,burning,crushing etc matchbox and tonkas from the start.never competed but did get twelve stiches from flying debris at seekonk speedway years ago.
     
  3. I have been around demo derbies all my life, and I have been driving in them since 1997. I have seen just about every make and model of automobile wrecked at one point or another. My first memories of the sport are from the early eighties, far from the golden years, but I have seen alot of vintage (50s and 60s) cars crashed. Without a doubt, in my area, the old Mopars were always the killers, with the early sixties Fords running a close second. Unfortunately, demo derbies have taken a very sad turn in recent years. The point has always been to wreck cars, the harder the hitting the better, to get a great crowd response. Now, it seems the point is to honeycake around and save your car for as long as you can. The new age drivers are building cars that don't bend like they should, taking all the original meaning completely out of it. I would have loved to have been around in the early years to witness the carnage, before the sport had been neutered.
     
  4. G V Gordon
    Joined: Oct 29, 2002
    Posts: 5,713

    G V Gordon
    Member
    from Enid OK

    Two time demo derby champ at the Garfield Co Fair (back in the 70's).

    Best cars I ever used were '59 Fords. 6 cylinders, lots to bend before you got to anything vital. Also any leaf sprung rear is better as the shorter the car gets the higher it sets. GMs with coils would bend at the frame kickup and ventualy you were dragging your bumper.

    Those old Ford sixes would run red hot and just keep truckin.
     

  5. Fordguy78
    Joined: Apr 2, 2009
    Posts: 557

    Fordguy78
    Member

    Demo Derbys now a days are expensive. My cousin helps a guy out with his and he told me some guys will drop up to 15k on motors. That's crazy
     
  6. jimi'shemi291
    Joined: Jan 21, 2009
    Posts: 9,499

    jimi'shemi291
    Member

    Good stuff, guys! I WISH THERE WERE A DECADE-BY-DECADE RECORD on Demo-Derbies, just like NASACR's records, but I know that's totally impossible, since everything is/was local and/or regional.

    It saddens me to learn that Demo Derby has been sanitized (just like NASCAR!). But, then, there are NOT anymore disposable Chrysler/Des or second-gen ThurderBirds to waste anymore! Jeez, WHAT A FRIGGIN time that was! (Even if we DID cringe every time something cool got crunched!
     
  7. Plowboy
    Joined: Nov 8, 2002
    Posts: 4,278

    Plowboy
    Member

    It is still big around here. My buddy runs suicide door lincolns and puts 360 chryslers in them.....

    He also runs the mid 70's wagons and has a couple of "built" small block Chevies that he will run in those.

    yes, like anything else, it is expensive if you want to win. It is getting hard to find a good rear wheel drive car to run these days though......
     
  8. jimi'shemi291
    Joined: Jan 21, 2009
    Posts: 9,499

    jimi'shemi291
    Member

    Sounds like Crsh&Burn has a point: Demo Derby (like NASCAR) has "evolved into something unlike the original.

    Back when i was following it, a bunch of grubby, beer-drinking guys helped eachother take everything off that was legal. At our affair, the judges got wise to cheating, though. One dude had even poured a slab of concrete in his truck bed, then welded it shut! LOL

    (Needless to say, he didn't get far before judges stopped the heat when his rear wasn't crushing like other guys' cars. He had to load up and take 'er away!)
     
  9. X426X
    Joined: Jul 22, 2009
    Posts: 174

    X426X
    Member
    from OhiO

    I've driven in almost 100 derbies since '79. My best car was a '63 Imperial LeBaron 2 door I bought for $100.00. Used my trusty 440 wedge, 5.13 gears, one ton truck leafs and ten rolls of #9 wire. Ran it twelve times in seven derbies back in '83-'84. Back then the old Fords were dying out and GM roundbacks were coming in, but the Imperials tore 'em all up always. One full track hit from an Imperial would bend an old Ford or roundback up like a pretzel. The great thing about the full frame Imperial is that everybody you hit saw stars while you barely felt it. Unless you hit another Imperial, then you both saw stars!
    :cool:
     
  10. Imperials are all but banned around here. I did get to run a few before they were however. Two '66s, and a '67 post car. You're absolutely right, Anything other than an Imperial crumbles right in front of your eyes. It's awesome. I ran an all Imperial heat with one of my 66s, that was the only time I didn't have fun in a derby car. It sucked. I've ran a handful of "roundback" wagons and several 74-76 GM sedans, built legally, I could never get more than a couple heats out of them. It's funny as I'm typing this, I'm looking at my busted ass foot from running a derby car last friday night. A '75 Charger with a nasty 440/727. Badass little car. my seat belt sucked me up and I was getting light headed, so I took it off. Ha ha. Bad idea. I got a four foot tall maddog trophy for my efforts anyway. Not bad for a two day derby, since I only run in one heat.
     
  11. Streetwerkz
    Joined: Oct 1, 2008
    Posts: 718

    Streetwerkz
    Member

    Man I love derby, we watch as many as we hear about Col. motor speedway, fairgrounds, franklin county fairgrounds, etc.
    seem to be a bit milder than I remember as a kid, driving in soupy mud slows it down :( and most of the fields seem smaller
     
  12. kustomkat
    Joined: Sep 4, 2006
    Posts: 558

    kustomkat
    Member

    Not trying to start a shit storm, but here is a couple of weeks ago.... WARNING.... Images may be offensive to some viewers...

    Be advised...... This car was JUNK..... There was nothing really saveable. What was savable was sold. There were two cars piled on top of it, and the roof was pushed back out with a porta-power...The pictures make it look better than it was, and that was the point... Only thing that MIGHT have been saveable was the rear bumper, but even it was pretty bad...
     

    Attached Files:

    • 011.JPG
      011.JPG
      File size:
      484.1 KB
      Views:
      2,319
    • 012.jpg
      012.jpg
      File size:
      213.9 KB
      Views:
      1,452
    • 019.JPG
      019.JPG
      File size:
      486.5 KB
      Views:
      1,400
    • 020.jpg
      020.jpg
      File size:
      219.7 KB
      Views:
      1,632
  13. That is awesome must have been a lot of fun.
     
  14. jimi'shemi291
    Joined: Jan 21, 2009
    Posts: 9,499

    jimi'shemi291
    Member

    Amen on the Imperials! I saw a '64, I think with a 413, run at Fairfield Co. Fairgrounds in Ohio back in early '70s. Ran like a stripped-ass ape!
     
  15. Streetwerkz
    Joined: Oct 1, 2008
    Posts: 718

    Streetwerkz
    Member


    least she went out fighting..... better than goin to the crusher
     
  16. i used to go every year to the county derbys here lately since buying my 60 t-bird ive been wondering just how many of them i watched get smashed they used to be very popular derbys cars around here them and of as mentioned the "train car on tires" chrysler imperials before they were outlawed

    i remember back then our fair ran like 5 features and 1 main and then a anything left running heat and we wouldnt get home until like 2or 3 in the morning (derbys started at like 5pm)
    the last one i went to a coupole years ago started at 5 and was over by 930 that was like 7 heats long

    it was cool but at the same time boring when you had a heat that had 3 or 4 or more imperials init ....just couldnt kill them beasts ....... the only weak spot i know an imperial had was the wheels/ lug nuts studs i watched as one lost one of its rear wheels and EVERYONE just pounced on it still took em over an hour to stop it

    it is sad to think how many very cool old cars died that way but at the time they were just that old cars

    that pontiac pictured above ( i would of loved to had that front bumper hanging on my garage wall )
     
  17. hotrod-40
    Joined: Mar 25, 2008
    Posts: 840

    hotrod-40
    Member

    I think we need to protest the modern demo-derbys! Save all the 87 caddies and such!
     
  18. kustomkat
    Joined: Sep 4, 2006
    Posts: 558

    kustomkat
    Member

    that pontiac pictured above ( i would of loved to had that front bumper hanging on my garage wall )[/QUOTE]


    I can get you the whole car to hang on the wall..... Minus the engine and trans, of course....
     
  19. jimdagrump
    Joined: Feb 10, 2009
    Posts: 12

    jimdagrump
    Member

    I started out with the demo derby's some 40 years ago. We used the old chevys and fords 49 to 63. man i wish i could have some of them back now.
     
  20. Brian C
    Joined: Mar 25, 2005
    Posts: 494

    Brian C
    Member

    Islip Speedway 1964. Yeah that's a Model A in the middle of it all.......I'm thinkin' maybe he didn't do so well :rolleyes:

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Ratty55
    Joined: Nov 13, 2007
    Posts: 396

    Ratty55
    Member
    from Frohna,MO

    Talk about a disadvantage. That would be like a geo metro vs. a 70's monte carlo now.....
     
  22. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    I can still remember the first one I went to and it was in the late 60s and all 50s cars,dad had a fit because someone trashed a mint 55 ford and he needed the fenders for the 55 I have now.
     
  23. metalman
    Joined: Dec 30, 2006
    Posts: 3,297

    metalman
    Member

    I don't know, at one of the last demo derbys around hear a guy entered a Pinto (brave guy!) and darn near won it. When he got hit he was so light he just flew instead of crumpled, kinda batted around like a ping pong ball. Wasn't till he got caught up in the carnage and squished between the hit and a dead car did he go out, I think it was just him and the winner left.
     
  24. I've never ran in a derby but always thought it would be fun. As I have an Impirial and a '70 Fury III out back ready to yank the drivetrains and go to the crusher I thought I'd drop in a 360 and derby them before they get mashed. No dice! I've not even been to a fair much less a derby in well over ten years and had no idea but, apparently now a days all they let you run around here are 1980 and later and absolutly no Impirials. Go figure!
     

  25. I can get you the whole car to hang on the wall..... Minus the engine and trans, of course....[/QUOTE]


    um thanks but no, i ment before it went through the derby appreciate the offer though
     
  26. rixrex
    Joined: Jun 25, 2006
    Posts: 1,433

    rixrex
    Member

    Would love to get back into it..The 80s were my day, big letters at the bottom of the rules "No Chrysler Imperials"..best car I ever ran was a 77 four-door Cadillac, big Cadillacs before they down-sized in 78 were best in my opinion..We would weld all the seams shut and just cut access holes to where ever we needed, ran a small boat gas tank and battery inside the car, had to take all the chrome and glass off..bought the car for $87.50, won about a $1000 and sold to the crusher for $75..BIG FUN...
     
  27. I used to love them as a kid, now I think it's a shame all the wasted cars. Would be cool to do it now with all Jap crap. Derby would only last 45 seconds, however...
     
  28. jimi'shemi291
    Joined: Jan 21, 2009
    Posts: 9,499

    jimi'shemi291
    Member

    Richard D., you are SO right. But as I said, I knew this spectacle was going ON, even if I stayed home, SO I was like a moth to the flame. Best cars I saw SMASHED that I wished -- right THEN -- that I could rescue were a '49 Packard and a PRISTINE '56 DeSoto Sportsman 2DH. Heck, as good shape as the DeSoto was in, if the guy had SAVED it instead of crunching it, it'd be worth easily $15 Grand now!
     
  29. wvenfield
    Joined: Nov 23, 2006
    Posts: 5,580

    wvenfield
    Member

    I always liked the figure 8 races better. The cars would get a bit more speed in those. Demo derby's are still pretty big around here also. A guy I work with runs them. He's small time budget and makes a few bucks. He has gotten his boys involved in the 4 cyliner derby's (They are like 14 and 12). People gave both of them old cars they had.

    The 12 year old won first place the other day ($400).

    As an aside, that 56 Bumper is nicer than the one currently on my car. Those front bumpers aren't easy to find either. Cool demo car though.
     
  30. I could have used that '56 rear bumper, too. I had an "unsavable" '56 and I sold the entire top off it, the frame on it was too rough to have run a demo. No one is repopping those floors now, probably worth cutting out if they're halfway solid.

    Ahh well.


    I used to go every year, mid-60s Imperials they still allow at a lot of local ones and those and the 71-76 GM cars do well. The late square body Crown Vics aren't bad. But last year the State Fair Championship came down to two 2000 or so FWD Malibus, even the big Chryslers and stuff were dead and these things just kept going, with the ass end smashed just about flat into the back seat.

    One year a guy ran a '60 Olds 2dr hardtop and another guy ran a '60 Chevy 4dr. Niether one did very well.


    Somewhere here I have a kids book I've saved that I got at the flea market, too, a Scholastic Books or one of those things that you could order from a flyer you got in school in the 80s. "Demolition Derby" ... it's an all color pictorial taken from Islip Speedway from the mid-60s or early '70s, complete with some shots showing the ABC TV "Wide World Of Sports" guys, some shots of demos, some of the figure eight races. Was well worth the buck and a half I paid for it.

    My dad has an Oswego Speedway (NY) book somewhere in his stuff that's the same kind of thing - except it's from about 1955 (or maybe older, he's had it since he was a kid), black and white, and the cars are all '30s and '40s. I aught to see if he knows where it is and scan some of the pages and post the pictures. Packards, Cadillacs, etc. -
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.