History Real Blood Sport: Old-Time Demolition Derby

64 last year for the push button trans i called it spook because it would always do weird things!

 

Funny stuff! We had a '56 DeS Firedome w. the FIRST push-button trans. Never had any problems with that one. Wonder what was UP with the '64 Imp?

 

yep exactly, didn't expect to see it on Tv in this day and time. they get so damm worried about the cars today they don't race like they used to. Thanks a million to Mike Helton for giving the go ahead to run this. Nothing like watching two guys go for the win being followed by a mass of twisted heaps of cars trailing tire smoke and debris.

 

holy smiley faces batman!

 

I don't get it.

 

lol it was SPOOK! Probably just wanted to let me know it's name!i couldn't name it casper because a friends business truck(big old white bread truck) had that name!

 

LOL. TALK about a band of brothers here. These guys would fight "to the DEATH," so to speak, then see eacother in the factory or junkyard, etc., on Monday!

 

I always had my buick rallyes shined up and ready as were my bumpers and a nice paint job with really good lettering by the wife!

If your going into battle ya gotta look GOOD doing it!

 

WOW man!! Good work. I would get killed out here in California running a car with no welded bumpers!!! The norm now is use 2 and 1/2 spools of wire front to back, and make sure you use the gm 5 mph bumper brackets with solid schedule 80 filler tube!! HEAVY METAL BROTHERS!!!

 

Thanks man. And I feel your pain!! When it's derby time, and there's only a few weeks or days left, all those thoughts come charging at me as well. Did I do all the right things? Did I weld in all the right spots? How can I make the car better? It's a crazy, never ending saga to get a leg up on everyone else, and those that derby and have derbied know the feeling!!! Good stuff Jimi!!

 

Motorhead, talk to me a little about teaming up. Has the strategy changed over the years? As I recall, once guys are assigned to a given heat, two buddies will decide who's a problem and double-team him & try & take him out of commission, right?

 

'course if the two "buddies" are the only ones left after a while, all deals are off!

 

Hey man moterheads my brother, Out here it's not like 2 guy teams sometimes I have seen as many as 7-8 guys all working together and splitting the money straight across. Kind of ruins it for the new guys getting into the sport when something like that happens!! JOKERJASON.

 

Me and my brother ran in two man team derbies for a couple years down in Utah. What a blast, unless you have one man down. They are holding one next spring that is gonna be three man teams. Can't wait. We also ran in one that was a four man team show, me and my brother and two of our friends, who are brothers. That one sucked though, we got lured into some shit we weren't quite ready for.

 

Sure sounds like Demo Derby HAS "evoloved" since I watched it as a youngster!!!

 

lol only 2 and a half? and it's the 10 mph bumper brackets.

seriously when i was 25 years old,the way i drove i would be terrified to be on the track with me in some of the stuff they build today.

I know i can still build em just fine, and i know i can drive(something i really am good at) unfortunately i cannot participate,and it drives me insane watching.

 

Oh ya jimi, the teaming is still there. Even though in every driver meeting I've ever been to at a derby the promoter says, "And there will be absolutely no teaming allowed. Those that are caught will be disqualified!" He he, that statement is so funny because when you show up at a derby, you usually can find at least one person to run with. And when I say "run with" it means if you happen to be in the same heat with that person, you basically keep an eye out for each other and go after everyone else. It happens today, and has always been a part of the sport. And them if it happens to come down to the guys you're "running with" at the end of the night in the main event, then you put on a show and knock the living shit out of each other, and what a blast that is!! There's nothing funner than taking lumps from your brother or buddies you are running with, ,no hard feelings, no sore losers, just some guys out there having a good time and literally laughing all they way into the rear end or radiator of each others cars!! Now team derbies are different, you are supposed to act as a team and take care of your buddies. I have never ran in one of those types of derbys, but would like to do it someday....

 

Sorry wagonkiller, that's what I meant 10 mph bumpers!! LOL....I hear you on the watching part...Sometimes it's ok, other times I hate it. Standing on the outside after being in the arena for so many years you just can't help just wanting to be out there tearing shit down with everyone else. I'm actually taking next year off (driving), but will still help my brother jokerjason and our buddies build cars. I'm 36 years old, and after crashing cars for the better part of 14 years, things are starting to ache, knees are starting to hurt, and the back is sore more frequently than not. I guess it's the price you pay when you voluntarlily decide to get into multiple car accidents 5 or 6 times a year!!! But damn, it's TOO MUCH FUN!!!!

 

Ya, they have evolved big time. What is considered standard derby cars by most guys now would've been considered "iron cars" or modifieds back in the day. Just the natural progression of things I guess. A guy in our town who got my brother and I into derbys years ago can't believe the stuff we do to our cars today. He comes by our shop and always asks, "is that legal??" "They let you do that??" "This is in the stock class, not the modified class??" He is truly amazed at how far derbys have come. He ran in the 60's all the way up to the late 80's and told us that they let people do too much to their cars nowadays. Yep, things have changed a bunch.

 

it sickens me to see anything older than about 64 get smashed up in these derbys.

Now if it was anything post 64, id be game!

an early 70s caddy would be tits!

 

Lol yer just a pup yet! Keep drivin another 10 yrs then let me know how ya feel!

 

DynaFlash8, seems to me that regardless of WHERE the YEAR cut-off were placed ('64, whatever), there's be omebody out there wincing everytime the car got hit. But, there can't be an entertaining event without SOMETHING of some value getting sacrificed, eh?

"Oh, no! I used to HAVE a Volare JUST LIKE THAT!!! Oh, the fine Corynthian leather!!" LOL

 

BTW, guys, I had another thread going about Edsels competeing on stock-car circuits. Has anybody ALREADY posted any pix or stories about how Edsels did in Demo Derby???

They were tough, had a high ass end AND had sveral available V-8s. (???)

 

Late fifties, early sixties Fords, including Edsels, are very tough built right.

 

CrashNBurns, yeah! And I can remember when 2nd-series T-birds were common on the street AND were crunched in Demo Derby every year, buddy.

But I was actually thinking of derbies during the '60s when Edsels would have been still CHEAP and PLENTIFUL.

 

Amen Crashnburns. A bunch of guys we run against from up north ONLY run late 50's and early 60's fords. A couple of months ago one of those particular guys ran a 58 edsel, orange and white, I'll post a pic of it. TOUGH AXX CAR!! And I believe he finished 1st in the heat and got 2nd in the main event!

..a couple more edsel derby car pics from the web.

 

I've ran against several late 50's and early 60's fords, and damn when they are built right, they are super tough cars. There's a guy from the central valley area of california who has been derbying for almost 30 years and he has this early 60's mercury that has been in 11 derbies!!! Of course it's a modified car, and has been for some time, so the frame is welded and filled to the brim, the rear end is weleded solid, it's crazy looking, this old wrinkled up box that somewhat resembles a car and sounds like it's running pro gas in NHRA!!

 

That sounds like an old war horse I wouldn't even want to go up against!

 

I ran two of them and 71 and a 73 I think. They are tanks! The engines were a 472 and a 500, those things really make some torque. I added some vertical headers and they really roared. You could smoke the tires for as long as you wanted even with the welded spiders. This year I couldn't find one so I settled for a 78 Ford LTD.




Caddies aren't very manueverable with the long wheelbase, but when you get up a head of steam you can really do some damage.
Rick

 

Nice,real nice. I remember the figure eight races and the cars they crashed. at 9 years old I thought that was so cool, then I got my licence and wanted one.