Drag Racing and Street racing in the 60's, 70's and 80's.

[BigPapa]

I had a '79 Camaro in the early '80's that was amazingly fast for a basically stock car. My best friend had a '67 Mustang fast back with a stroked and bored 289 that was BAD. He finally stressed the unibody to the point the back glass fell out one night at the strip. Only saw him get beat on the street twice. Anyway, he'd rather ride around with me in my Camaro picking races with some "built" cars. I don't know how many times we'd pull up to some guy with a built Trans Am or Z28 in my quiet, plain white Sport Coupe and take them to the cleaners.



All that said, if my son tries it, I'll lock him in the shed till he's 18... ... ... ... :-laf

 

[DNDracing]

I believe he has his 300,000 mile plate. I know he has a TDR badge, which I'm very jealous of, by the time I joined, they were discontinued

904 trans in the Gremlin, with a brake.

401CID AMC, 0. 060 over, mechanical roller. Indy aluminum cylinders heads, 10:1 compression.

Chevy 10 bolt with 4. 10 gears.

Stock suspension/brakes front and rear.

 

[Simplysmn]

#ad


here is my toy I had before I lost it to a fire

first trip down the 1/4 was 13. 56 at 99 mph but I was sleeping at the light's but never had a chance to take it back Such is Life

 

[Wayne M.]

#ad

here is my toy I had before I lost it to a fire
first trip down the 1/4 was 13. 56 at 99 mph but I was sleeping at the light's but never had a chance to take it back Such is Life

Hmmmm. I was wondering about your sig. Sorry to hear of its demise. Must have been fun.

 

[Simplysmn]

#ad


yeah this was the after math of a Flywheel exploding at 5000 rpm's on the street hit the oil cooler and when up in flames with me inside I got out with 2nd n 3rd degree burn's loss of vision was 20-20 now I'm 20-40 and also lost hearing in right ear had 3rd degree burn's in my nose n ear after everything I've been through they say I must be a Cat that Had 9 lives but I'm down a few now . Car was a Blast to drive I beat so many v8 car's it wasn't funny even raced a SRT8 charger down freeway and walked away at over 140

 

[Wayne M.]

YEAOWWWW When you said fire- I thought in a garage or something like that... When it was parked. You're a lucky man.
At 140, did it lift in front? I heard Bugs did that. I had a '69 440 R/T Charger that I had topped out, and in the NASCAR books, they said the steering got too light to control at 135-140. I felt it and it was scary!!!

 

[Simplysmn]

yeah it was just a tad light on frontend but it only lasted for a few min's then I was back down to Normal speed and yeah that happened as I was leaving a stop light as I shifted into 3rd gear it Exploded as I rolled out of it and got to the edge of road the back window's were popping out then I got to sit and watch as all the fiberglass melted and the fuel tank shot 50 ft flames out the top I had a mix of 110/91 and had just filled the tank plus I had 2 1/2 gal's of 110 in a fuel jug right next to me in car . it was Deffently a E ticket ride that day and as I think back I had my choice of the bug or the truck and choose the bug It would of been cheaper to take the truck that day i took a 10 grand plus hit that day

 

[jgillott]

Yep, I 've participated in street drags. I had a '60 Chevy Impala 2-door hardtop, beautiful black (the one and only black car I've ever owned) with a red interior. 348 with three on the column and it would run 60-MPH in 1st gear without floating the valves. Invert the air cleaner lid and the valves would float. Ask why I know that. In the early 60s I-35E went around Denton, TX with paved concrete service roads. We had a straight quarter mile marked on the east service road and participated in many street drags. I lived a few blocks away and could often hear others using "our" race track. The local gendarmes knew most of us and didn't bother us unless the crowd go too large. In '66 when I bought my Vette, I could run it up the interstate for short runs at double the speed limit. I quit that stuff after successfully out running the TX Highway Patrol one night. I figured my time was up. :-laf



Bill

My father had a '58 Impala 348, 3x2's, 3 on the tree, and 4. 11's. That thing was darn quick for as big as it was. His cousin had a '60 like yours only white. Both were just beautiful cars.

 

[Wayne M.]

Here's a recent picture of mine... I just redid the front suspension. Enjoying it on the street...
The specs;
'71 318 Duster converted to 340 model with sharktooth grille, factory buckets/console/ AC car
'73 340 built to '68 specs, W2 heads, solid cam, 1 3/4 drag headers, 3. 5. " flowmasters Built by yours truly, 3310 Holley on a victor intake
904 trans by Dynamic, tight 8" converter
8 3/4 rear with 4. 56 cogs
'73 front suspension/ brakes
Custom AutoMeter gauge cluster with electronic speedo designed and installed by yours truly.
I've owned the car since 1985- took it to my H. S. Graduation. Had the body and paint done in 1991- been that way since. The mechanicals have been constantly evolving since then.
Raced it heavily from 1989- 1997, been a street terror since then. More than 500 passes on this engine. It's gone a few rounds and best ET is 12. 20 @ 109 MPH at ATCO dragway in NJ.

Here's another shot coming out of the water box at Englishtown circa 1996. http://www.moparts.org/moparts/picture/race/3-b.jpg I was shocked to see this posted my someone other than me.