Street Racing Confession(s)

[biomedtechguy]

The "cruising scene" in the 70s in New Orleans was just SO PERFECT for me being a teenager, and it will NEVER be like that again. My dad used to street race before I was born, before he married my mom, and his "scene" wasn't a lot different than mine, although the "hot spots" for action and hanging out were different, they were within the same general area.
For me, it was "the Lakefront" and the northernmost section of road that ran through City Park perpendicular to Lakeshore Drive. The great thing about the section of Wisner Blvd. that we used was a bayou ran down one side and the only cross street was at the traffic light that was the Christmas Tree. It was literally a minute off of the easternmost end of the "main drag" where we'd cruise and park, and maybe 10 minutes from the farthest point of Lakeshore Drive.
Mostly 12-16 second cars there.
The cars along the Lake and the "kids" in every parking spot on the weekends was a time like no other.
Eventually, that scene came to a close, early to mid 80s at best, ending a run that started in the late 50s and 60s.
Racing moved to the easternmost end of Hayne Blvd in "the East" which was OK by me because I and my friends mostly lived in "the East" so it was close to home.
Now The Pad is a big street race location, and made known on the Street Outlaws show. I don't like the wooden powerline poles that line that road, and I pray no one ever hits one, because they don't "give".

 

[WS23U1]

What great times they were.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Key word, were,

 

[Budnicks]

The street-racing scene 'is big again'
some fast cars too, many mostly now modern cars now too
some old iron/muscle-car types of cars (62-72) are still serious contenders
some serious bets going down too

Unless you are part of the group;
many are really secretive 'about where & when', they need to be
so they don't have huge crowds & attract attention, lookie-lous wannabees
(Fast & Furious type nonsense, fake BS)
especially the undesirables that glam onto it, the gangs/rabble-rousers
or real trouble causers (especially if you're near a big-shitty) & leaches

Many that participate, are 'very weary of newcomers'
they won't even share (what or where) if you're not in a comparable car
or know someone in the group, to vouch for you
pretty private clubs (for lack of a better term) now

Reality is;
it's nothing like glorified BS, Street-Outlaws on TV,
(I do still like the show, it's drag racing after all)
It's not lighted up like a damn runway scripted BS,
with 20-40 $100k+ tow rigs & trailered in $200k track cars
(It is mostly small tire cars, like it always was/has been)
it's usually going down in an undisclosed & a dark secluded back road,
away from trouble
like in the outskirts or suburbs or out in rural areas farm/ranchlands,
way away from population/towns inner-shittys
usually a simple arm-drop out in the dark, in an otherwise deserted area
then back to their hangouts to brag or lick their wounds

Just a different era

 

[Crackedback]

The street-racing scene 'is big again'
some fast cars too, many modern cars now too
some old iron/muscle type cars (62-72) are still serious contenders
some serious bet going down too

many are really secretive 'about where & when', they need to be
so they don't have huge crowds & attract attention,
especially gangs/rebel rousers or trouble

Many that participate
they won't even share (what or where) if you're not in a comparable car
or know someone in the group, to vouch for you

Reality is;
it's nothing like Street-Outlaws on TV, scripted BS, with track cars
it's usually an undisclosed & a dark secluded back road, away from trouble
like in the suburbs of farm/ranchlands, way away from population/towns inner-shittys

Even when I was active, depending on the car, I didn't want a lot of people around. We would go out on Fri/Sat to find people and set up stuff for during the week. Made plenty of phone calls on a tuesday afternoon to set stuff up that night, etc. Each crew brought max 5-6 people. Couple at start line, coupler at finish to declare winner, starter. Limited eyes. Easier to stay stealthy too.

At a bigger hangout location, have a pair start spouting off about racing. They leave and take the majority of the crowd with them. We'd go to a different street and handle business.

Had one place at starting line area that had private security with a connection/scanner/radio to local PD. Watch us and let us know if the po-po was on the way.

 

[biomedtechguy]

What great times they were.

NEVER could happen again in New Orleans like it was for me and my friends, and the hundreds of other teenagers and young adults, even lots of "young at heart" people too, that did the "cruising the Lakefront" thing in the 60s, 70s and very beginning of the 80s before it all went away. It was an "American Graffiti" like scene, and the society we lived in, so closely tied to the rituals our young parents did, the demographics of New Orleans back then, so many intricate pieces of that beautiful mosaic of Americana, GONE forever, and I AM BLESSED that it was so real for me, and that I had a 71 Charger R/T to play my part in that scene. "Thank you God!" for making those years, days, hours, and fond memories available to me and my friends!!

 

[6PKRTSE]

Agreed, will never be repeated. There were hundreds of us out there every weekend cruising and street racing. Sometimes even snuck some week night races in for some bigger money so there were no crowds.

 

[WS23U1]

NEVER could happen again in New Orleans like it was for me and my friends, and the hundreds of other teenagers and young adults, even lots of "young at heart" people too, that did the "cruising the Lakefront" thing in the 60s, 70s and very beginning of the 80s before it all went away. It was an "American Graffiti" like scene, and the society we lived in, so closely tied to the rituals our young parents did, the demographics of New Orleans back then, so many intricate pieces of that beautiful mosaic of Americana, GONE forever, and I AM BLESSED that it was so real for me, and that I had a 71 Charger R/T to play my part in that scene. "Thank you God!" for making those years, days, hours, and fond memories available to me and my friends

I've still got a 71 Charger R/T.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I've still got a 71 Charger R/T.

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Looks slow. Wanna race? Lol. Let's get it all started again......

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Looks slow. Wanna race? Lol. Let's get it all started again......

Let’s go, we’re we meeting?

 

[6PKRTSE]

Let’s go, we’re we meeting?

Here in Michigan, we would meet and cruise Telegraph. Race from there.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Here in Michigan, we would meet and cruise Telegraph. Race from there.

Man I wish, sounds like fun

 

[biomedtechguy]

I've still got a 71 Charger R/T

I'd be 99% sure the traffic light (Xmas tree) is still at the intersection of Wisner Blvd and Marconi Drive, and I'm absolutely certain that Bayou St. John runs parallel to the right of Wisner. I would be shocked if ANY street was cut in at a 90° on the other side (City Park). That stretch of land was used for Kennedy High School. I think the N.O.P.D. should have a LOT more important things to do and places to be than that 1320 plus length section of road too...
BUT
IF all of the Law Enforcement agencies are all still in operation, there are at least THREE who could "pop up" at the wrong time:
City Park Police-(aka "The Squirrel Police"-remember, we were "kids" and I assure you, I meant to be funny, not disrespectful) Yes, without getting into the granular details, New Orleans City Park is run by a Commission, and they had their own police dept, although I don’t ever recall them stopping by, but then again, I don't remember a number of things from a few nights down there, when I was not driving of course, with any number of my friends in their vehicles....
Orleans Levee Board Police-(aka "The Fish Patrol") Levee Board Police patrolled the lengths of the levee system which is and was critical infrastructure and lots of it all around there, but they seemed to do a LOT of "budget supplementation" writing traffic tickets! They were definitely the most involved in keeping the noise and criminal activity down all along Lakeshore Drive between Bayou St. John overpass and the turn on the west end that leads to the main street(s) out of "the Lakefront" area. They also covered "the Point" which was about ⅛ mile from the end of the main congregation area. That section of road that includes the U-Turn at the Point is lined on the south side by boathouses, property that has 100 year long "leases" to those who stay there. That whole "situation" is another political Can of Worms. One encounter I had with the Fish Patrol I have to be grateful to the officer that caught me wizzing along side some brick shed that housed some kind of public equipment. The wizzing wasn't the only thing I was somewhere in the process of, and I could have faced a really difficult legal case, no one else involved, but the cop let me go. The other encounter I had most certainly did involve a female, one who I'd ask to marry me a few months later, but alas, that didn't work out. She was one of those women that many eyes would cast upon, about 5'11" and legs at least as long as my 6'3" frame carried, and "38 Special" wasn't just a great band in that era, it also was a good description of her anatomy...Whew! She was HOT, and she lived in the female barracks of the Navy Base, and I was still at my parents house, so nights when we didn't get a room, well, there were many nights when we became
"the beast with 2 backs"
but the Fish Patrol indicated that we had to find another place to carry on, and I immediately took their advice to find another place to park where we picked up where we had left off....
New Orleans Police-No nicknames for them, and I can answer the question "What's worse than getting stopped in my 71 R/T Charger by a NOPD cop in an area known for street racing when I'm 16 years old, and had been warned by my dad (remember-who used to street race) that "the car would be sold if I ever got a drag racing ticket"?? When the cop is MY DAD, and I had to explain that I was just cruising the route, but definitely NOT doing any racing...Eventually I did get a ticket for "Wreckless Operation By Drag Racing" in New Orleans East, but my parents didn't force me to sell the R/T, and my dad actually talked with the judge, and I got a lecture from the same judge, but the ticket was reduced to some minor infraction instead of what amounted to just below DUI. That wasn't my last race, but it sure was the only time I got caught!!
*Here's a couple of quick notes from the litany of good times I had doing "the cruising the Lake" thing.
*There was a guy our age that had a "yellow" 70 GTO, 455 Ram Air with a 4 speed. I can't remember if it was Canary Yellow or Orbit Orange, but it was definitely more yellow than orange. Must have been a late 70 production with the 455.

Beautiful car in 78/79, friendly guy drove it, and it was fun to see him fight to keep the rubber on the rear wheels in contact with the road, and forward motion all at the same time.
Another story worth mentioning, was a guy who had finished a hot rebuild on the 427 for his Vette, but it was going to be a few too many months until the car was ready to receive the solid lifter, hot built 427, and he couldn't wait any more, so he put the 427 in a Chevy Van. Just a plain white work van, that I can assure you all ran no slower than 12 second ¼ miles on the street! It was something to hear that square brick fly past the finish line at 115-120 MPH and that 427 SCREAMING, and I'm sure some of the people who put money down lost their asses if they bet against that van!

 

[496 polara]

Grew up in Raleigh NC and a lot of people were street racing. I was never part of the serious group as I was just a high school kid. My second car was a 70 R/T charger. 440 4 speed. After the motor was rebuilt I put a six pak and then a .509 cam in it. Had headers when I bought it (1983).The Dana had 4.10 gears. So it was no slouch.
Best two races were against a Mercury Capri that had a 351 Windsor swapped into and a 5 speed. We went from a slow roll through the top of 3rd gear and I put a fender on him.We were both surprised!
Second one was against a 69 Chevelle SS big block 4 speed. He was in front of me and hit it so I did likewise and we stayed in it till the top of 4th gear.We were hauling azz . He couldn't pull away from me and I couldn't gain on him. Dead even.

When I still had the stock cam in it I raced a stock 74 trans am sd455 and I pulled a fender on him till we let out past 100 mph.

Had a lot of fun and many other escapades but boy did I take life for granted when I was young.

 

[gooser]

post #48 do i know you that 71 rt looks a lot like my 71 rt did?

 

[Dave6T4]

My favorite street racing memory is from 1969. I bought a new 383, automatic SuperBee coupe in February. This car was factory equipped with 3.91 gears on a Suregrip. On Polyglass tires and through the mufflers, it would run 14.20's at the local track, good enough to beat a lot of Muscle Cars without stiff gears. By the summer, I had acquired and installed an A-12 hood on my SuperBee. Word got around that on a certain Sunday, there would be an unsanctioned competition of accelerative prowess on a local paved secluded secondary road. On this road lived a pair of gearhead farm brothers, whose parents had gone away for the weekend, leaving them in charge of the farm. The barnyard was used as the "pits" for the event. From there, a quarter mile was marked out on this flat and straight section of country road.
I arrived around 11 a.m., and the event was already in progress. Through the course of the afternoon, there must have been 50 cars participating, with many more spectators. I raced until about 4 p.m., before leaving for the day. I won more than I lost, so it was a very enjoyable afternoon. We were never interrupted by the the local police, and rarely had to stop the race to let local traffic through. Most of the area "Hotshoes" showed up with their 442's, SS Chevelle's, the odd GTO, RoadRunners, 340 Dart's, etc. One local rich kid showed up with his 428 Cobra Jet Mustang and proceeded to beat up on most of us. The car I remember most was a 1965 Beaumont, which was a retrimmed Chevelle that was sold up here in Ontario by Pontiac dealers as a cheaper alternative to the GTO. This particular Beaumont was equipped with a 350 h.p. 327, 4-speed, and was likely running 3.70 or 4.10 gears. This car was the quickest one there. Nowadays, it would be the rarest one as well. The two brothers had the street race organized pretty well with local help and the day proceeded very well.
I have stayed in touch with these brothers over the years, since they both eventually became Mopar owners. The one brother bought a Challenger T/A in 1970, and still owns it, along with a matching newer Challenger with a T/A style hood scoop. In 2019, I reminded him it was the 50th anniversary of the 1969 "Courtland Nationals". He organised a car show at the farm that he now owned to commemorate the Street Race. Although there was no street racing this time, about 50 cars attended the car show. One of the original participants is now a professional photographer. He collected the day's participants who were also there 50 years ago, and took our picture. There were about a dozen of us there that day. Again, another enjoyable day, reconnecting with old friends I had not seen in a while. The Beaumont owner from 1969 was there with a recreation of his old 1965 warrior.

 

[biomedtechguy]

post #48 do i know you that 71 rt looks a lot like my 71 rt did?

Here's one picture of my 71 Charger R/T from 1979. I hit a low post in a parking lot and tore up the front gravel pan (under the bumper). It was a great car to have "back then" but my 70 Roadrunner is WAY faster.

 

[Gunner1]

I grew up in a little town in LA called South Gate. Mom owned a burger stand on the main drag. Dad was a Sgt on the PD. It was the 60s. I flipped burgers from 60 to 65. Our place was a stop on cruise night. It really was like happy days. I remember Dave Carra 32 Ford Pickup with a blown Kieth Black 392 hemi. So many bad ax cars and races starting at the corner stop light. The fast guys went to the other end of town a raced at the GM assembly plant. I left at 17 and joined the marines. Best race I saw was my buddy in a 64 fairlane with a 289 Hipo with 3 twos. A 4 speed 389 posi and if I remember right some sort of slicks. He raced a 63 dodge 330 with a 426 wedge. I remember everyone going crazy over his crossram. Short story is dans ford spanked him. Arm dropped a Dan was a white streak while the dodge went up in smoke. No money but the little fairlane didn’t get many races after that.

 

[Kern Dog]

In 1985, I went out to a known street race location north of town.
El Centro road was THE street racing spot in the Sacramento area. Two lanes, farmland and no street lights anywhere. I'd go out there sometimes just to watch. I had a slow 73 Camaro with a 2.73 one legger so I wasn't going to beat anyone.
This was the first time that I saw a car do a burnout with a locking differential....two tires spinning and smoking. I remember the car...1964 GTO.
I'd go there a few times a year and watch the races, try to hit on the girls and usually strike out.
One time, I brought a buddy who was 21 and had brought some "California Coolers", one of the early wine coolers on the market.
I hated beer. I still do. I like sweet drinks so to catch a buzz, for me it was either liquor and chasing it with a soda or wine coolers.
I didn't get drunk but I was impaired.
Time rolled on and people started to leave. Two stragglers asked for a ride so they, Tony and I got in my car and we took off. The turn was coming up. Tony said We're too fast....
Booze fueled courage prompted me to respond....I got it, bud.
But I did not have it.
The car drifted across the turn and into a big drainage ditch, messing up the right fender, hood, windshield and suspension.
A guy in a Jeep pulled me out. I drove home with the tires squealing and shaking.
Later I found that the lower control arm mounts had ripped from the frame almost entirely. The idler arm was bent and the frame had a kink in it.
YEARS LATER.......
I'm in the back of a buddy's lowered minitruck. Several of us piled in...two up front and four in the back under a camper shell. We were out messing around out at the lake, passing the "Seagrams 7" bottle around. The driver went to make a turn and the added weight of 5 extra people caused him to run wide on a turn and slide over a median and off the road. 2 flat tires. No cell phones then and we were 15 miles out of town past midnight.
I volunteered to walk on the road and see if I could flag down someone. The only car that stopped was driven by one of the guys that was in my Camaro when I went off the road. He was as shocked as I was to see each other.
The man gave me a ride to a buddy's house to get tires and a jack.
The end.

 

[Garceau]

My favorite street racing memory is from 1969. I bought a new 383, automatic SuperBee coupe in February. This car was factory equipped with 3.91 gears on a Suregrip. On Polyglass tires and through the mufflers, it would run 14.20's at the local track, good enough to beat a lot of Muscle Cars without stiff gears. By the summer, I had acquired and installed an A-12 hood on my SuperBee. Word got around that on a certain Sunday, there would be an unsanctioned competition of accelerative prowess on a local paved secluded secondary road. On this road lived a pair of gearhead farm brothers, whose parents had gone away for the weekend, leaving them in charge of the farm. The barnyard was used as the "pits" for the event. From there, a quarter mile was marked out on this flat and straight section of country road.
I arrived around 11 a.m., and the event was already in progress. Through the course of the afternoon, there must have been 50 cars participating, with many more spectators. I raced until about 4 p.m., before leaving for the day. I won more than I lost, so it was a very enjoyable afternoon. We were never interrupted by the the local police, and rarely had to stop the race to let local traffic through. Most of the area "Hotshoes" showed up with their 442's, SS Chevelle's, the odd GTO, RoadRunners, 340 Dart's, etc. One local rich kid showed up with his 428 Cobra Jet Mustang and proceeded to beat up on most of us. The car I remember most was a 1965 Beaumont, which was a retrimmed Chevelle that was sold up here in Ontario by Pontiac dealers as a cheaper alternative to the GTO. This particular Beaumont was equipped with a 350 h.p. 327, 4-speed, and was likely running 3.70 or 4.10 gears. This car was the quickest one there. Nowadays, it would be the rarest one as well. The two brothers had the street race organized pretty well with local help and the day proceeded very well.
I have stayed in touch with these brothers over the years, since they both eventually became Mopar owners. The one brother bought a Challenger T/A in 1970, and still owns it, along with a matching newer Challenger with a T/A style hood scoop. In 2019, I reminded him it was the 50th anniversary of the 1969 "Courtland Nationals". He organised a car show at the farm that he now owned to commemorate the Street Race. Although there was no street racing this time, about 50 cars attended the car show. One of the original participants is now a professional photographer. He collected the day's participants who were also there 50 years ago, and took our picture. There were about a dozen of us there that day. Again, another enjoyable day, reconnecting with old friends I had not seen in a while. The Beaumont owner from 1969 was there with a recreation of his old 1965 warrior.

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thats a great story and a better ending !