Hey....WHO likes Demo Derby action ??

[33 IMP]

Our local paved oval has "night of destruction". They have figure eight, demo derby, trailer races with cars or trucks towing small gardening trailers, old house trailers, (small ones) and boat trailers (with boats) where the goal is to destroy and obliterate the trailer, sled races ( front drive junkers with rear tires removed, replaced by a steel skid plate) a slip-and-slide with sparks..
They had to do something to keep irwindale open, i'm glad they did. Irwindale is also our local 1/8 mile dragstrip.

 

[Kern Dog]

Imagine the look on the faces of people when the brave guy suggested a "Figure 8 Race".

 

[BeatersRus]

where to start even...hmm.
okay well you have to think of demo derby just like stock car racing back in the 60-s/70s.
if you can cheat and get away with it,they do.


the cars are usually close to the rules but they will run stuff like hidden bars in the bodies,
weld in supports and use double stuffed tires.
some of the builders will also Pre crush the rear of the car so it bends a certain way in the derby itself when hit.
most guys use the chevy motors because they are dirt cheap to find and build and believe it or not...

some guys..do go overboard.
i support one guy who has a 4k motor that he runs in his best cars....
yes...4k in a demo derby motor that could possibly throw a rod during the event.
makes my head swim sometimes.

there are also all kinds of derbies out there,
ive supported the Bus and RV derbies before,
those are crazy with figure 8 races in school buses and rvs.

and while most of these are small shows or local town shows,
some are Big time shows and the participants can win up to 10grand.
so these derby guys get serious too...just like the old racers bitd.
hope any of this helped you Kern.

 

[Kern Dog]

I would love to get an up close look at some of the cars. I am not looking to compete, I am just interested in the reinforcements they do.

 

[Dennis H]

Grew up with them back East. Loved them. Miss them. Old enough to remember the Imperial advantage.

 

[slimt]

I see this type of thing Daily on the way to work.. . Its a blast watching those when we go over the Border.. just a good time..

 

[Kern Dog]

Grew up with them back East. Loved them. Miss them. Old enough to remember the Imperial advantage.

I checked a few sites and found that they STILL ban the Imperials from competition.

 

[Kern Dog]

Way back in the 80's A buddy of mine had a muffler shop, West Coast Muffler.

There was a shop in Citrus Heights Ca with that name. It was changed within a year, maybe because your friend had his shop first?

 

[1967coronet]

My younger brother was big into building and driving derby cars for several years.
most all were mid 70s Impalas , hardtops , sedans , wagons. 350s and 400 small blocks
He ran at most at county fairs ect around here and did pretty good.
Won a few , and many times finished in the $ if he didn't win.
I grinned to myself when reading the double tire and bars up the qts and fenders.
radiators were seat belt mounted. trans cooler mounted in the rear seat area with fan on it.
hole in the floor with his own home built auto shifter mounted on the trans itself.
Once running in a heat a bar was dropped across to prevent hitting park.
Rear frames pre bent to start up instead of down. rear end spyder gears welded solid.
Ignition was removed from the column and went to toggle and push button on the dash.
2qts of slick50 in the engine. They would run with no water for a long long time LOL.
They used to stand the cars up on end and fill the boxed sections of frames with concrete/sand.
welding the doors , qts , fenders , ect together solid really makes a big difference.
The old chevy shock style bumpers were welded solid.
I am forgetting a ton of stuff but it used to get pretty crazy the stuff they tried to get past the inspections ect.

 

[coronet68mx]

Last night I went to the first Demolition Derby that I have been to in over 25 years....

View attachment 765640
Funny that this Ford had "Joto" across the front of the hood. The word is Spanish for "Homosexual male"...

At risk of being censored "puto" is also a synonym.

 

[MarPar]

I checked a few sites and found that they STILL ban the Imperials from competition.

Good. Those bastards have killed more Imps than I care to remember.

Anyways, ever see a figure 8 school bus race? THAT is fun!

 

[BeatersRus]

i think this here would be very cool indeed,if only us regular people could drive them

 

[beanhead]

Cool thread Kern! One of my uncles rest his soul used to run in the dirt track roundy-round races, then did the demo derbys. This was during the early to mid-80s...those events later changed into 'Enduro' racing, (which I like watching a whole lot more) which was a mix of demolition and oval racing. They'd do like 500 laps, no cautions, and they would beat the crap out of each other. I can't remember exactly what kind of cars he ran but they were just late 70s/early 80s clunkers..

 

[Richard Cranium]

Fun to watch, but getting into one collision at that speed is bad enough. Getting into multiple collisions has got to be jarring, to say the least.

 

[Don Frelier]

My youngest son is a big derby fan. It's turning into an addiction. He has a real knack for pulling stuff at the junk yard and making it work. In the end you are left with a piece of junk, but he enjoys the thrill.
Last years Impala the "Freedom 35" car was campaigned to six countem 6 events. The last picture shows how far the car was crushed.
I really thought after the fifth time it was done for.
The tires on the front in one picture have two tires stuffed beneath them and they are "grooved". Way too much time invested.
He has a unique hood folding method.

 

[khryslerkid]

Fun to watch, but getting into one collision at that speed is bad enough. Getting into multiple collisions has got to be jarring, to say the least.

So true. My two nephews got into dirt track circle racing with Plymouth Neons. They really did well, coming in the top three with lots of first places. The one nephew had several bad wrecks, one he had to be flown out to shock trauma. Doctor said he had suffered multiple concussions in the past and one more might be all she wrote. They both gave it up.

 

[MarPar]

FF to 5:30

 

[BeatersRus]

lol at that fast forwards comment Marpar.
i so know what you mean there.
almost every one of these bus figure 8-s is an endless marathon of waiting for someone to tank someone else....
half of them stop and wait at the crossroad!!
then by the time the field has managed to spread back out again,its the same thing again.
some of the smaller car figure 8s have some good wrecks

 

[Greg Ducato]

So y'all have so many pre 1970's cars and trucks out there you use them for Demolition Derbies? I guess its beats sending them whole to the crusher, at least they are going out in a blaze of glory.

 

[BeatersRus]

most of the older stuff up northeast here is rotty,very few worthies to reuse.
in fact,a couple of my guys buy from down south,
usually 2-3 cars at a time and bring them back all at once on a superlong trailer.
these are the Dedicated guys,they dont go for the new stuff,they want the real iron.

the Rest of the field,id estimate 97% are newer cars now that get used altho!
i have seen a mint 68 dart 2 door show up and get smashed to death..
i tried to trade buy whatever for that car even tho it was stripped,
but he was determined to " run it "
car lasted about 3 hits shut off and was done.
and then got tanked endlessly because he was in the middle.
guy was a newbie and had no clue what he was doing.....sad.