History Real Blood Sport: Old-Time Demolition Derby

Id like to see a larger picture of the 59 caddilac

 

Hell, guys, I may not make myself popular here. BUT, I'm one who ALWAYS felt stationwagons should run ONLY against wagons & similar vehicles. That ROOF gives support sedans & hardtops just don't have.

 

And, yeah, driver talent & drive is a factor. BUT it helps if you have a vehicle with a FACTORY, built-in, overhead BRACE!!!

SEPARATE class. Should've ALWAYS been that way!

Maybe I saw too many good drivers lose to a mediocre driver with the ADVANTAGE of body style.

Sorry.

 

No,no man. what you say is true jimi. That's why a lot of promoters in our area are banning GM wagons from a lot of derbys. But on the flipside of that, I've seen Cordoba's, Lincolns, Impalas, Dodge Monocos' and a host of other four and two door sedans take wagons out on smaller tracks. On the bigger tracks, having the smaller car can be deadly and or a blessing. Same with having a big ol' GM wagon on a small track. Depends on how you drive and if you have any help. But you are right, If I had the choice of building up a mid 70's gem wagon or lets say a 66 new yorker, I would have to take the wagon, just for the shear size and weight alone. Then you start adding some "welds" in the right spots and you've got any army tank with four wheels and american flags!!! Now I know in some states they have all imperial derbys (pre 69) and I've seen a few derbys on the internet that were nothing but chevy wagons. And anyone who derbys knows that having a well built GM wagon or well built hammerhead imperial can give you one hell of an advantage out there in the mud. I've been doing derbys for 15 years, and still have not had the privelage or running a new or slightly used gm wagon. I"ve ran chrysler town and country wagaons, and a few ford wagons, but never a GM wagon. My brother has run a bunch of them and has had success with all of them pretty much. In our derby crew, I'm sort of like the hand out guy. I'll take what is left over or what other guys don't want to run. My brother spends a lot of time and money on his cars, and time and money is something I don't have alot of now or even in the recent past because of two new babies and a job that requires lots of overtime. So I take what I can and make it work, and lately, it has been working...Sorry, off thread a bit again....

 

MotorHead, sure NOT any reason to apologize for bringing WORK into the picture. We'd ALL do more with cars, if we didn't have to go off to WORK, make dough to feed the family, pay the bills AND finance CAR PROJECTS, right??? LOL

 

Your post was both thoughtful and interesting, though! Since Demo Derby is PROBABLY the most free-wheeling, largely UNREGULATED (except by LOCAL officials) motor sport left in America, I don't syuppose it would make any SENSE to try and dream up a RULE BOOK, establish a SANCTIONING BODY, etc., would it?

Seems to me, people like it FINE, just the way it's been and is. Any thoughts to the contrary out there in HAMBland?

 

So how do they build a motor guarenteed to run with no water? By the way ,used to work for a guy who claimed to have invented demos,(along with Larry Mendelson), at Islip on Long Island. Name way Ray Erickson, anyone know him?

 

HUGH, tell us MORE!

 

I haven't heard the name, but I do recall some of the old time derby guys saying that derbys were invented somewhere in New York. Cool deal, let's here some more info on this guy!!

 

A few years ago, a guy named Jeff James started the XDDL (Xtreme demolition derby league.) He travelled around the country for over a year picking out hot spots where there were lots of derby events and drivers. Then came up with a point series throughout the US that allowed each regional competitor and driver that placed in the top 10 for each event a guaranteed spot to compete in the championships in Colorado (or utah, can't really remember the exact location). He had a really good thing going. He tried his best to keep it going, but if i remember correctly, it lasted about 4 years. In California they had the first one in Red Bluff, Ca, then it was held in Woodland, Ca, then Colusa, ca for the final two years. And really, he had a great thing going, then things fell through and it went away. So at least someone tried to get a national type derby league going, something similar to professional circle track racing and drag racing. And what a mad derby it was. Anyone who was anyone in derbys in california showed up to these events, and it was a legitimate blood bath. There were guys that showed up from all parts of the US too, Oregon, Washington, nevada, Utah, Wyoming, hell, there was a couple of guys that came down from Canada! Cars got rollled over, 10-15 chevy wagons and just as many imperials scattered throughout the heats, awesome hard hitting shows. And to tell you the truth, I really don't know why it didn't succeed and last longer than it did.

 

LOL...Ya, I hear ya man. We all gots to put in the time at work to make the things go round. Too bad it wasn't like the early days of racing and demo derbys, when guys could damn near make a living just off of running cars!! What a great gig that would be....and possibly run a little "shine" on the side just to make ends meet!!!

 

By the way, everybody, i am glad the HAMB network editor let this question go into circ.

I actually KNOW that a whole bunch of RODDERS back in my time were ALSO doing Demo Derby. Shit, the church-going crowd & business community had their small-town attitudes that these "red-neck" boys were no good or just making noise at night when working people were trying to SLEEP. You KNOW that nonsense (but the police enforced it, so you had to watch where you laid rubber, boy!!!).

My POINT is: The SAME boys who rodded cars also were, often, deep into derby, 'k? Just the way the world wags (or did BACK THEN!). LOL

 

newer cars arn't so bad 73 cad


even 80's


and 90's

just so you know when they go 80 and up you have to adapt.lol you guys have NO idea what these guys build these days.but the stock 80's shows are still derbys that the cars actually smash up some

i bought this to derby with 42,000 miles on it! ended up driving it for 11 or 12 yrs!

 

Word of CAUTION HERE! You have to take anybody as a SERIOUS threat to person or property when he's missing (1) an eye, (2) fingers or other body parts, or (3) CALLS himmself "Wagon Killer" ! LOL!!!

Cool pix, dude!

 

Jeezus wagonkiller!! What about that imperial next to the white one on the left?? That is a PEACH of a derby car man!! And yes, I have an idea of what the guys do to the later model cars too derby bro. And it is a LOT of work just to compete with the old iron. Damn, man, that white imperial is cherry, and as a faithful derby driver, I COULD NOT derby that car, it is way too clean and you made the right choice. Glad to see another bro of the welded iron and slingin' mud join in on the thread. Take it easy man....Dale

 

And after looking at those photos, you did all the right welds and cuts in all the right places, good for you, and keep on hammerin for the good cause...

 

Yeah! That is a SUPER-clean Imp coupe! What's it, a '65, '66 ???

 

That picture is awesome and sickening at the same time. It looks like a real blast, but it hurts to see nice iron all smashed up.

 

BabbittBeater: You are RIGHT! That is WHY I have compared Demo Derby to the SPECTACLE of the Roman Colliseum. On the one hand, there is something AWFUL happening! But, STILL, you can't peel yourself away!!!

 

In the 1968 film Herbie the love bug, in the opening scene with the demolition derby cars, was actually stock footage from the film Fireball 500, which explains, for example, the shot of Jim Douglas' 4B Merc toppling over on its roof before crashing down.
Cool vintage derby shots in that movie!!

 

From the net..

 

Great SHOTS there, CleanCut !

 

<EMBED src=http://www.youtube.com/v/OXt7Vm04SnM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1 width=425 height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always">

Here you go...
</EMBED>

 

Guys, I think I figured out another reason for the fascination with Demolition Derby -- beyond this "Dark Side" irony of obsession with tearing up something that has/had value. (You know what I mean, it's VERY contrary to NORMAL systems of thought = CONstructive. THAT's what makes it so wacky-FUN!)

In the '60s when I grew up, we were NOT bad kids in my family. But, we did everything accoring to what dad & mom thought were proper NORMS: dinner time, bed time, study time, don't be late for school, don't even wear your socks 2 days in a row, eh?

My POINT IS: As a kid, didn't ya get SO g-d tired of ALWAYS having to do EVERYTHING by the book that you just wanted to do something WILD???? Once I started DRIVING, my dad looked his DeSoto Firedome over carefully, every time I drove it anyplace. If I put a scratch on it, I caught HELL!

SO, I had this dream of being able to just go and jump ditches, run from the cops, brash MY car into another equally crazy guy's car (anybody WITH me here?).

 

CleanCutCreations, I am AMAZED the old coupe held up that well . . .or is that JUST the MOVIES?

All the Debies I went to, the early stuff was either too worn out when it rolled on the track, or the frames just weren't constructed to lend themselves to any such PURPOSEFUL punishment.

 

BUT, CleanCut, I am enjoying this flick as it loads bit by bit. ARE THERE ANY NUDE SCENES??? Huh?

 

This clip points up one of the things that USED to bug me: DEAD cars. I almost wanted judges to stop the heat and get those knocked-out cars out of the WAY!

But, I know guys can use them as a hiding place to pounce from that does not exist right when the heat STARTS, eh?

 

If anyone saw the nationwise race up in Canada today, you would know the derby is alive and well lol, Nascars in the rain on rain tires, on a road course with hairpin turns. beating banging spinning and wrecking. Most of those cars looked like they had been through a derby after that. best dam race i've seen in years. they ought to hose down the track here before races. it wasn't too bad until they announced they would be continuing the race in the rain, then it got good!! not sure how long this will stay up on their site, but it's great just ignore the commercial in the beginning. the part of this race after it rained,think putting the derby cars on a road course and let em at it. http://www.nascar.com/video/busch/2009/08/30/nns.mon.slips.nascar/index.html

 

Hey, LostforaWhile, wasn't that sort of what the old-time "Figure 8" derbies were about? And it was sort of like a masive game of "chicken," too!

 

the 73 caddy is the ONLY car with welded doors and front bumper

the other 2 80 and up cars are NO WELD show cars the only welding allowed was the engine mounts and rear end lock weld.bumpers are chained on! these types of shows are my specialty