Who cruised Van Nuys Bl in the 70's?

And speaking of Walt's studio of style..whatever happened to the 'Crown of Creation' tempest?? That orange fadeout paint was Killer... pics??? anyone...Kevin????

 

If ya want some good footage .there was a B rated movie called van nuys blvd. came out in mid 70s...Ive seen it on ebay...movie sucked but kool iron

 

Cruised VanNuys in the late 70's. If you saw a Gasser style 55 Red Nomad. That was me.

BR

 

I was talking to my Buddy Joe Ortega about this thread. He was one of the original founding members of the Majestics CC, and the Persians CC. He still has his original jacket with Chain stitching and a majestics tattoo from the 70's. He said they would mostly cruise in Whittier and BellFlower but once in a while in the Valley. I asked him to look for his pictures so i can scan them, hes had some cool rides..

 

in 1977 we brought 3 chevelles down from portland (portland chevelle club) we hooked up with so. cal. chevelles..on a wedsday nite..being from oregon we never saw that much kool shit in one place....those straight axle cars I saw still do it for me......... van nuys was like christmas for us

 

www.portoflosangeles.org/Board/Minutes/Minutes_062106.pdf

Scroll on down to page 4, paragraph labled 7.

 

The Gypsy Rose was super cool. I think it's still around(!?), only with the wrong wheels.

 

This thread is awesome! What a coincidence... I was talkin to the mechanic/friend that works with my dad and he was tellin me stories about how he had a Plymouth Commando with a 361 BB and a lumpy Isky cam. He said he was all up and down Van Nuys and Victory Blvd. lookin for a race.

In my opinion-The Gypsy Rose is probably the coolest lowrider ever

 

I wish I was around for all that stuff, nut I was only born in 76'!

I was big into streetracing here, but they have made it a felony now instead of a Highway traffic act offense. I cut way back when the fast and furious came out and all the idiots in their honda's showed up. The heat was on but we still had 400+ cars show up at woodbine and 16th (mostly junk though), but before that we were at texas bit, Millies, and Jonny's Burgers. Thats were the fast cars would hang out. I had a 10 second ride and I was a second stringer with some of the 8 second street cars we had running.

 

I've been bringing this up from other threads as needed!!!

You can tell when it's a great movie when it shows T & A within the first 5 minutes...!!! How could this movie "Suck"? Hahaha




That's how it was for myself and friends...! Getting laid several times a night between Drag racing our vans and Hot Rods...! Well at least parts of it...!

 

Harveys

 

Harveys on Firestone Blvd in Downey .....Big hair and low rides. I was cruising a 66 Vette gray primer flared back fenders american mags black diamond button tuft interior by Eddie Martinez a shop right up the street, worked for him part time.

 

was he from the valley? maybe if he was not thats why he did not cruise van nuys too often! my dad would cruise van nuys but would not cruise out of the valley to often! they also cruised san fernando road in san fernando at the mall or by mayers liquor

 

Damn I can't argue with that logic T&A can make the movie

 

my uncle & dad used to go out there in this chevy

 

...a buddy and I had the chance to cruize Van Nuys one time, and one time only. We drove out from Illinois in the late 70's to spend the winter and I told my buddy we gotta hit Van Nuys at least once. We did and I can still remember it like it was yesterday, it was awesome. The part that sticks with me was the huge variety of cars and trucks that were cruizin,...I remember a Dodge Charger club lined up the curb all in a row, must've been two dozen of em; hot rods, shoebox fords, tri-fives, T-birds, VW's, etc, etc. Guys were runnin stuff thru the gears and gettin 2nd gear scratch; It was like we went to heaven without dyin' ! I'm really glad we went at least that one time as not that long after Van Nuys ceased to exist in that form anyway.
Sure wish I would've taken pictures.

 

I used to live in North Hollywood starting in 76/77, I was only 14 but my friend and I would get over to Van Nuys Bl. and just stare open mouthed at all the stuff cruising by. We used to go all the time once he got his license, man I remember the sounds of races happening on back side streets, sounded like a damn dragstrip through the neighborhoods. You had to have been there to have sennit, nothing, and I mean NOTHING comes close these days to the real old time cruises. I seemto remember a guy with a really stock looking VW bus with a mid mounted BIG V8 I saw on Van Nuys, damn thing looked stock but would just lift the whol;e front end in the air.....wish I could have been old enough to have my own car there before it all got closed down by "the man".....

 

I was on van nuys alot from 1965 to early 70`s
my main car was a 1958 chev red glossy primer, astro wheels, and a 4/8 track stereo.

my first time memory was summer 1965- at the parking lot for june ellens, this was the turn around lot,.
there must ve been a thousand people there.
it was really boss,.
I could ve spent my whole life there.

Low riders and hot rods, then later vans.
it was a great time that we will never see again.
a different world, and I think it was a better world.

 

Yup, Van Nuys Blvd/Bobs from 1966-70.
We drove everything from a Model A panel delivery with a sbc, Fiat Topolino powered by a Cadillac and a T-Bucket.
I remember parking lots for Vettes, another one VW's, choppers, lowriders, hot rods, etc. Everyone had a parking lot to meet at with like-kind vehicles and then everyone hit the Blvd. to mix it up with eachother.
You never knew what you would see, but you could bet that you'd see something unreal....and probably not street legal but there it was pulling up next to you at a red light. I remember sometimes even catching a whiff of someone running nitro, thats how crazy it was.
Even that Vette gasser with the parachute....

 

Me. Yellow Baja bug. No pix. Good memories.

Service Center Speed Shop ruled !!

 

I was going down Sherman Way the other day where it goes under the Van Nuys airport run way...and I remember we'd rap our pipes in that tunnel on our way to the Blvd.

A high school friend, Louie Lawlum sp? had a 66 Nova L79 he kept sleeper style ... and we'd go down to VN blvd looking for races.
The one that I remember best was a guy in a brand new 1970 ( paper plates even ) Road Runner. So we head over to Haskel in a factory area to race... or the kill I should say. The road runner just burned rubber while that little Nova would launch pretty good and was gone.

 

Sorry to say that I missed seeing it in person...just read about it in magazines. I lived in LA in the early '90s when businesses began to realize that a parking lot full of cool cars was actually good for business. Gee, do ya' think?

As a side note, my '74 Pontiac Ventura was built in the factory right there on VN. BLVD and sold from Prestige Pontiac, also right on VN BLVD.

 

I didn't but both my parents and my uncle did. I'll have to ask them if they have any pics

 

Those were the days. I was 17, had a 71 RS Camaro with an LT1 my buddy John Strong built for my. It was a hideous Avocado green with a green interior, Appliance five spokes, M50-15 Tires on the back, Gabriel Air shocks, and slapper bars. Van Halen's first album had just dropped and I cranked it through my Craig 8-track. Springsteen's "Born to Run" was the my other 8=track I damn near wore out. Every Wednesday, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. We'd cruise up and down and show off for the girls. I remember guys with full-tilt race cars backing 'em off of trailers behind the BofA buliding, rolling down an alley and right out into traffic, BA-BABITTA-BABITTA-BABITTA. Gorgeous chicks hanging out of car windows. wheelie bars and all. There were as many people milling around on the sidewalk as there were cruisers. I remember being pulled over one Wed night by a cop for passsing an open beer to a girl in a baja bug. The cop made me pour out all my suds into a dumpster out back of a building and told me to go home. Or else. I was back the next Wednesday. It was kind of surreal how many cars came from all over to make that scene. There will never be anything like it. Closest comparison I've got is when San Berdo closes down their entire downtown every year for Route 66 and there's a non=stop cruise through town over the entire weekend of the show. Sorry for rambling, but yeah I remember it well. It was somethun
alright.

 

I went down to Van Nuys quite a few times back in the mid 70's. I used to have a 61 Falcon, Dark Green, with a 36 International straight Axle, ran a built 327, 4 speed. It was very quick for the street back in those days. The car was completly stripped of all unecesary weight like seats and other unecesary items as heaters and such, weighed 2450 lbs.

 

Yep..Fridays were great on Van Nuys is the late 70's...I was a wee lad of 13, but rode shotgun in a 68 Camaro to holler at the hot chicks in their tight "Dittos" jeans...ah...the good old days...

 

i think the name of that burger joint across from stick city was Scottys Burger

 

You were running NOS (damn I hate when people use those letters for nitrous) in the late 60's early 70's?

Great bench racing thread. I never went there, but it was the dream destination for a lot of gear heads. Hot Rod and Car Craft pumped it up and maybe all the press, combined with the rise in real estate prices, killed it.

 

I had a british racing green 55' Chevy 210 with a 350, 4 speed and 4:56's. Got creamed by Bottle Bob in his 68' Vette. Then had a dark green 65" Malibu SS with a 396 on nitrous, 4 speed and 4:88's. Hung out at Jack'n the Box every night looking for a race.

Bottle Bob blew up the engine in his 68' Vette. Traded a 75' Chevy Monza for the Vette minus motor. Put a 454 with nitrous, 4 speed and 4:88's.

Anyone remember Bob Brant and his blown sbc Datsun 240?

 

I was there in the 80's, I remember bottle Bob, and Groucho from back then.


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