Was Anyone Here Actually There?

I'll vote w/the Beaner!

 

I might be the young gun here at 50, but as I grew up in the sixties as a kid, it was Hot Rod Comics, Tom Daniel model kits, Ed Roth, Hot Rod Magazine baseball cards, slot cars, Hot Wheels and outragious rods at car shows that got my attention.

Jay

 

I was there..................for Forty Fort airport drag races with only a snow fence between race cars and spectators.

 

Thanks to Zorch for reviving this nearly four-year-old thread. It's fun to re-read all of this, especially from some guys we haven't heard from in a while. I hope that most of you senior guys have checked out the Old Farts' Club!

 

Sheesh! I was born in 64 and you probably had most all that under your belt by then. What a ride, livin large!!

 

I wasn't there but my pops was. He was racing in the early 50's behind the blimp hangar in Akron. He as shown me all the old hang out spots, told me countless stories of the days of old and I could sit and listen to everyone of them a million times more. He has a stack of pics from the mid 50's with 56 Chevy and tons of trophies. He still has quite a number of his Top Eliminator trophies from the mid 50's as well.

I've said it a hundred times, and I'll say it again. You guys lived in a very charmed time in history. The early years were very special to my dad and a number of his friends. When they get together its something else! You can see a gleam in his eye and hear a deeper tone in his laugh. I wouldn't trade my time with him for all the money in the world!

 

I was there.................when Garlits shaved his beard at Indy.

 

Dale, I think you should get your haircut and a wardrobe like that again!! LOL

 

yea I was there, lost my "cheerie" in a 1947 ford in year 1957. I still play with cars! I remember that night very well, I still listen to the music, I'm still friends and keep in contact with her!!!!!!!!! Don

 

I was too young to drive in the 50's and early sixties. I was in the car culture heavily though. My family promoted racing in the south. My brother had a sharp- 39 sedan, 40 coupe and a nice 55 chevy. His friend had a nice 38 chevy coupe. One of my cousins had a beautiful 39 deluxe coupe. Another cousin had several, including a 47 chevy coupe wiith an Olds in it that he flattened out one night. Another cousin had a 32 channeled roadster. My first car was a 28 ford tudor sedan.

I'm 64

 

Yep !!-I am 65+, graduated in 60-ran a 57 Poncho at Madera in 59 and 60--also had a 37 Ford pickup with a loaded flatty (Dad put it together)
Have been playing with cars ever since--ran a 62 Pontiac (4spd, tri power )at Madera and Raisin City in 62/63 and later a 65 Impala at Madera, Raisin City and Ballico. Helped alot of guys put solid cams, etc. in 55-57 Chevys--everyone did it along with factory dual quad setups--was the hot setup--then the stronger Mopars and Pontiacs came along. Used to go down to Fresno and look for races--and go to Stan's Drive-in and Mars Drive-in too.

Remember going down the the Chevy dealers to check out the new 56 Chevys and later the 57's too--was a big deal then --a yearly ritual with my Dad. He bought a new Ford pickup in 60 and I took it to the drags too--C/S I think--someone told him and I could'nt drive any of his cars/trucks after that. He finally gave me that truck in 78 just before he passed on.

 

He,he, and further, I find that most young guys don't pay much attention to us old guys anyhow, but this thread gives us a forum to reminise.

I can tell a young guy when he prefises his post with,
"I graduated high school" What's that all about?

My english teacher, Mrs. Edwards would have told me a person can't graduate a high school, it's "Graduate from high school...ha.

I've read this thread before, good to see it come back to the top.

 

born 1940 made me 10yrs old in 1950,20 in1960 ect,ect, uncle was a chevrolet dealer dad a mech and service station owner. so i was right in the middle of it. the midwest was a lot different than east of west coast. i dont remember ever seeing a 32 ford on the streets. a couple at the drags that were soon obsolete and replaced with willys and lighter cars. i became a product of my enviorment owning a salvage yard in phoenix, racing dirt track, now working out of my shop at home building cars.the movie american graffitee best describes the time of my youth.

 

I am 74 and Still in to Rodding & Kustoms did it all Motorcycles & Drag Racing Both
Road Racing, the Picture in my Avaitar is the Merc that I bought in 51 and Still have it today
I was talking to a Younger Guy the other day & He asked me about the 50'S
I told him it was a Nicer, Gentler, Respectfull Time with Great Music!
It was a Fun Time & I hung out at the Drive ins ( Harveys ) ( Treasure Island ) on Northern Blvd. Flushing, NY
I was in Motorcycles Riding as a Outlaw Rider & Had my 50 Merc!
Now I hang out in a Kustom Shop Builder!

 

Bought my first "little book" in the summer of '53 when I was twelve. Grew up near Chicago but never had any cool cars in High School because my Old Man was the tightest wad around, even though he was a mechanic by trade(who hated cars and especially Hot Rods and Racecars, Ha !)

Painted my first car in '57 when my buddy wanted his Dad's 1950 Dodge Wafer painted with gray primer to embarass him into buying a new car. The trick worked and he got to choose the engine they ordered in the new Chevy. He put one over on his Pop when thay got their new '58 Biscayne 2 door with the 348 and stick ! Quite the package after the old flathead six. Needless to say he beat the crap out of that Chevy racing everyone on the weekends.

I never got into the crazy drugs and RnR scene of the sixties.

I went on to follow sports car racing heavily and made a good living in the racing and engineering field for many years. I never did forget what I learned from my Hot Rod roots .

 

I was neither here nor there.

 

I was there...I started racing and hot rodding in the 40's.
I have been fortunate enough to meet or know almost everybody who is anybody in all types of racing. (up to 20 years ago)
I think the culture is still the same, the time is just later.

 

hung around the newstands and was captured (and taken away) by the creativity that was going on in so/cal in the mid fifty's.my life direction was set and i never looked back.i turned my hobby into my business.built many customs,hot rods for myself and others.sold my collision repair bus. in '04.restoreing the shop el camino.chopped,dropped ('78) with a '57 chev dash (third redo).

 

Yep, and got the scars to prove it; still messing with 'em.

 

Got my first car, a '50 Studebaker 4door in '62 before I got my license, first drag car shortly there after when three of us got together and made a flathead powered gasser out of a gutted '53 Ford 2door hardtop. Belonged to the T-Timers car club and had 17 different cars by the time I was 20 and ran the 1/4 at San Gabriel, Irwindale, San Fernando, Lions and Orange County before family and other things got in the way and I dropped out of the life style in the mid '70s.

Grew older, but not up and got back to my love of cars with the '64 Dodge in '02 and then got drawn back to my love of the 1/4 mile by an old friend who hooked me into building my second dedicated drag car, our HA/GR project.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189651

Miss the simpler days of the '60s when we would drive out to the drag strip, uncork the headers and race for the day and then cork it up and drive home. Cruising on weeknights and running stoplight to stoplight.

Turned 62 in April this year after starting off in January with open heart surgery for a damaged mitral valve and I'm looking forward to many more years of making things go faster than they did from the factory.

 

Ya,i was there,and in mind still am.Seen my frist conv. in 1954( cool dud with an Olds). Got frist Hot rod Mag. in 1956 (ford sedan with a Hemi on the the cover) Drage raced in MInn.(seen Big John M. run). So.Dak.,
Iowa, and Neb. Got div.5 winner plaque in 64.Freind's raced 409,s in the street.,Chev powered M.G. on the hiway.Even ran my Packard tow car ambulance,aganst a Caddy Ambulance in Minn. Belonged to the Ratios
Car club,N.H.R.A.,United drag RAcers,ect. ect. Drove Every thing From
Henery J to Corvette,with 50 cars in between.This could go on for many
pages, may be i'll someday stop an write a book,but frist i have 6 cars
waiting to get done .So much to remember,so many cars yet to buy,
and dream about.

 

Wow! this thread has made me do a lot of remembering. I was a snot nosed kid in the 50's and hit my teen years in 1960, yep turned 13 in 1960 it don't get much better than that. I had already been turned on to drag quite by accident at age 10 and attended my first sanctioned event in 1960 at Green Valley Raceway. That day at Green Valley literally changed the direction of my life as I saw my first dragster and knew that some day I would own and drive one.

I grew up in small town Texas a little North and West of Fort Worth and North East of Dallas (the town to tough to die). That area in those days was nothing but country so I learned to drive in a 1 & 1/2 ton Ford truck at age 9 that my dad had. You could get a drivers license at age 14 in Texas in those days if you took drivers ed. I took the course in the Spring and had to wait a week upon completion to take my drivers test when I turned 14. I had already built my first race car (F/Gas 52 Chevy) and was racing at Forest Hills drag strip at age 13. I was going to school and also working part time at age 10. My daily driver in those days was a 39 Ford coupe with a 265 under the hood. I bought the 265 from Dog, damn we had neat names for our friends back in those days.

I can remember going to the Valley on any given Saturday night and there would be 20 + top fuel dragsters + injected gas and fuel dragsters. Fuel altereds, gassers and early floppers. There were no cookie cutter cars in those days all were individual and most were home built. I wanted to go dragster racing in the mid 60's but I received my greetings from uncle Sam in 1966 so my plans were put on hold until 1968 when I got out.

In 63 I bought a 62 Impala SS 409 4-speed car. We cruised the Clover drive-ins (28th. St., River Oaks, University, and the Poly Clover) (We would also hit the Lone Star in Haltom City and the Round house in Richland Hills) looking for races and girls. What great times we had on those hot summer nights in Texas fogging up the windows.

My mom and dad were really cool and allowed me to chase all my dreams (if I could pay for them) even though my dreams scared the crap out of them. They were both there for my first pass in a dragster, but that is another story in it's self. I lost my dad this passed Oct. and I miss him everyday (Rest in peace dad). This is my first Christmas without him and it's not been easy.Thanks mom and dad for allowing me to to chase all my dreams, racing and business.

Yep, the 50's and 60's were a great time to grow up. Hula Hoops, slinkys, coon skin caps, Juke boxes, Juke joints, Doo Wop, Rock & Roll, Elvis, Beach Boys, Wolf Man Jack on the AM radio broadcasting from across the border from Del Rio, Texas, in Mexico, The Cellar in downtown Ft. Worth, Hot Rods, drag racing, Bucrons, cheater slicks, 3 on the tree, four on the floor, chrome reverse wheels, 3 deuces's, 4 deuces, 6 deuces, 8 deuces, 2x4's, rolled & pleated interior, dumps, Engle Cams, Isky Cams, Clay Smith Cams, McGurk Cams, sitting outside the liquor store and asking someone to buy you some booze, and the list could go on and on.

The world did change for most of my friends and I in 1966. It was just never the same when we came back home.

You younger guys and gals certainly missed some great times from back in the day.

Hope I did'nt bore you too much.

408 AA/D

 

I'm going on 63.I fell in love with cars at first with a '58 Amt T Bird model when I was 13.My first car was a $100 53 chev then a 59 chev 2 Dr post.The first brand new car a bought was a 68 Road Runner which I ran the piss out of.I went thru a set of four tires in 10,000mi.When the man at the tire store found out he said "burn off this set I'm selling you and hurry back".

 

C9 wrote, Visits, even through the written word are pleasant, but living through it all was a whole other thing....

Amen brother, amen. It truly was a special time. I'm 63 now and reading through this old thread again has brought back so many great memories. Thanks for bringing it back to the top.

 

Davey duce, Yes I was there also in the early sixties. Graduated from Auburn High school in 63. Maybe you remember Keno's drive in Renton and Dag's 19 cent hambudrgers. Crusing the Renton Loop. Then there was the Tubes for the Lake Wasnington Mercer island floating bridge, wild place to race. There was also the parking lot at Golden Gardens State Park. And oh by the way, it is Thun Field In Puyallup and then there was SIR Wed. night bracket racing and NHRA on Sunday. Times long Past, but not forgotten.

 

Well, I got in kind of late, but was born in 1950 and started going to the drags (San Gabriel) and jalopy races (Gardena) in 1958 with my Dad. He taught me how to use a camera at that age, thankfully.

One of my first good shots was of Gary Cagle's Newhouse Special at Lions in 1961...


Western Speedway in Gardena was our Sunday afternoon fun..


and all the indoor car shows in the Los Angeles area at the time...
....signed by Mickey Thompson himself (!)



Anyway, I got to see the real "Golden Age" of drag racing...the transformation from Super Stocks to A/FX to aletered wheelbase cars to funny cars, the exhibition cars, the jets dragsters and the wild smokin races of the fuel altereds and big blown gassers...
To racing of today is nothing compared to the 60's where two fuelers would face off and smoke the tires for the entire quarter mile...no computers, no trick clutches, just racing...
No way ever again will there be the sight of 200 MPH fuel altereds going nose to nose again. Never going to happen.
I was fortunate to have been there and thanks to my old Graflex 120 camera many of those shots have ended up here on the "drag cars in motion" thread.
All those those photos were sitting in a box going unappreciated for over 40 years until they were posted here on the HAMB.

 

I'm wet behind the ears compared to some of you guys, didn't get my drivers license until '66, after I'd been working on a 55 F100 for a couple of years. My oldest brother gave it to me and took me cruising with him for years before that. Paxton Drive-In in Lancaster, California and later the A & W. When we had the gas money to go "over the hill" it was Van Nuys Boulevard or Sunset. I caught the bug from him, and its incurable.

 

your forgetting PARTICIPATION by ASSOCIATION !Meaning the guys to young to actually build cars but with family or friends heavily involved in the car scene.I'm 55 but been around hotrods and customs as long as I can remember my dad ,mom,and most of my uncles were all car people.I can remember going to car shows when my folks paid $1 each to get in and I was free

 

Were you ANYWHERE?

~Jason

 

Im 64 1/2 and I street raced a ratty 57 Vette with a new 62 327/340 motor with a 4 speed and 456 gears I paid for as a bagboy in 62. In 65 I built a 57 Ford custom 300 with a 427/425 motor with a 4 speed & 456 gears while working at Ryder Truck Rental. I was by no means a rich kid, I built them and paid for them myself. It was the greatest time of my life beides my wife & son