Street Racing Confession(s)

[Dibbons]

Let's hear about your street racing days (hope they ended years ago).

My one experience: Circa Spring of 1972 (I was a Junior) I was driving my parents special order 1971 Road Runner to high school daily (Palma High School-Salinas California). I had already raced the car at Fremont Raceway where (with the open 3.23 rear end and 383 Torqueflite) it ran very low 15 second E.T's.

Somehow or other I challenged a classmate (Steve) who was driving a 1968 Mercury Cyclone 390 to a race. We agreed on a ten dollar prize to the winner. It seemed like half the school followed us out to Armstrong Road, which was a quiet two-lane paved country road with lettuce fields on both sides (don't remember if power poles followed the same road). Bill, the largest football player on the team rode in my passenger seat and a similar sized student (Les) rode in the Cyclone. Another student served as the "starter". I would shift the slap-stick at the factory redline of 5,500 RPM. Of course, although we were well outside the city limits, I was still very nervous about getting busted by the cops (it was broad daylight).

Since there was no finish line, we agreed to race up to a pre-determined speed-don't remember if it was 90 MPH or 100 MPH. Off we went, and the Road Runner immediately took a small lead and held it to the end! I swore never to street race again, too nerve wracking for me. (Photo is the same Road Runner I was driving-now stored with its fifth or sixth owner).

 

[66Satellite47]

The early or mid '70's were some street racing days. My car was a '70 Barracuda Gran Coupe, started as a 383 2BBl, I changed to a DP4B 3310-1 with cheap headers. Many street races. Those poor 351 Mach 1's were so bad. The 340 dusters & Darts would beat me most times. The Chev's were a mixed bag. I beat some, some beat me pretty bad. Then I bought a drag car and the rest was history.

 

[YY1]

Street racing was still alive and reasonably well in the mid 1980's in my part of Ohio.

Almost every Friday night on a main thoroughfare that 2/3 of the way, encircled the city proper, but mostly in the surrounding townships.

My '66 Coronet poly 318 2 barrel was believe it or not, undefeated vs cars powered by gm 350's for an entire summer.

 

[6PKRTSE]

In the 80'and 90's on the street. I used to run two kits on an old 69 Charger. Two bottles in the trunk. One just had a dummy hose running to it. If someone wanted me to run on motor we would pull the bottles out. (Letting them see). However, I still had another bottle mounted up under the dash. If you opened the glove box door you could see it.
I also used to run VHT in my windshield washer reservoir that had hoses running to the rear tires that I would spray on the tires during a burnout.
I also had a brake light switch in my center console. If someone wanted to give me a car or the leave. I would activate the manual switch. If they were dumb enough to watch my brakes lights, I would already be on the move before they realized it. Turn the switch back off during or after the pass.
I always ran on just motor at the tracks for fun. So, if anyone was trying to guess or using a stop watch for a time. They never really knew what I ran on 1 kit or even 2 kits. Still run two stages/kits on two cars today. One is a sleeper, one not so much.

 

[HawkRod]

Here's one that DIDN'T happen...

Circa 1985, I was driving my 73 Road Runner with a 340, Slap Stik and 3.55 rear. I had rebuilt the engine with 10.0:1 compression ratio, ported heads, larger 2.02 valves, upgraded cam, etc. The car wasn't super fast but it did mid to high 14's in the quarter mile when I drag raced it - not too shabby for a big 'ol B body.

Anyway, I was sitting at a red light on a 4 lane road when a 68 Camaro pulls up next to me. He had a 6-71 blower poking out of the hood and the thing sounded like it was about to take off! He looked over at me and pointed forward in a challenge to race. I leaned my head over towards him and shouted "you've got to be kidding me!". When the light turned green I slowly accelerated. He paced me until about 15 or 20 MPH and then punched it and the car just catapulted forward with the tires screaming!

"... a man gots to know his limitations..."

 

[topside]

Ain't enough room here, haha. It was quite the scene for awhile in SoCal after Lions closed. Mainly operated out of the Van Nuys area, Wed nights & weekends.
Did that for several years until I wised up, but by then the cars were getting quite serious. Made more sense to me to use the track by then.
Good money to be made with a mid-12s car that could hook, though; my approach was a SB '57 Chevy that's been built for the MP class; lightened a bit, with 4.88s & no bottom-end torque, it left great on the street. Ironically, in the '80s I became close friends with another guy who'd had a '56 in Van Nuys at the same time, and though I think I recall seeing the car, we somehow never faced off.

 

[#41]

My 69 RR was the fastest car I knew of in my neighborhood. Back then, a light B-body (no power options, removed spare and jack) 440 4 speed car with 509 cam, Holley 750, single plane intake, headers, 509 cam and stiff gears was the king. I ran the original 383 hood emblems, ....so a lot of people were probably fooled by that. You could always watch people's eyes gravitate to the hood call-outs, but you kept the hood and your mouth closed. It only went on for a couple of years before I dropped a rod cap and then my interest turned to stock car racing.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

unfortunately no cool stories, I’ll just listen

 

[Runcharger]

I vividly remember the last time, I shifted the Hemi into high gear pulling by a guy and going by an apartment building. I remember my mind telling me that if I shifted into high I was doing 100MPH in a residential area. I finally realized how irresponsible that was and that was the end of it for me.
Lots of BS in street racing too, lots of guys didn't realize you only nipped them by enough to win. I remember racing a 455 T/A one night and fishtailing onto the marbles, I completely let off, gathered it up and then went by him like he was stopped. Pretty hard to get a race after showing my hand like that.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Wow, so many stories, don't really know where to start. I was 17 and in my 68 camaro SS 350 4 spd sent on a mission to get a Christmas tree. I had a couple friends come with me on the quest for the tree. We pulled up at a stop light on a 4 lane road, and a friend of mine in his 67 Fairlane 390 4 spd pulled up next to us. He looked over and I reciprocated, the light turned green and we hit it. We made it into second when the lights came on behind us. Pulled over, spotlights, ordered to sit on the sidewalk while more and more units arrived to make sure the unruly teens didn't get out of hand. I received my citation for driving above and beyond the norm, and we went to the Christmas tree lot, selected a nice one and proceeded home. I got to tell my parents about my endeavors after presenting them with the tree we crammed in the trunk of my camaro and actually made it home with. They were really happy for me and asked, at least you won right? I said of course I did! NOT! They took my keys, Christmas sucked and I ended up losing my license for 30 days and 150 buck fine. I was cited for drag racing and they reduced it to wreckless op, and since I was a minor, I got a clean record at 18. Did I learn my lesson? No. Lol. I did however get away from chebby and found mopars were superior in every way imaginable. There were other F bodies before my first b body tho. Maybe more to come.....

 

[padam]

In 81 I had my 68 Roadrunner, 383 auto, it had a heater and radio for options.
I put a Holley 750 vac secondary, headers, couple other things.
I used to run dog dish hubcaps up front and just paint the rear steelies black, (for people that say no one ever ran them.)

It ran great for what it was. Mostly light to light action in Akron or Canton. The only race I remember losing was to a blower Camaro , so nothing to be ashamed of,but I’m sure there were others. Long time ago.

A lot of guys didn’t understand racing like runcharger said
A guy I worked with had a Mustang I think GT 350. It was a nice car but he thought it was fast. I don’t know what was under the hood. He paid a lot of money for it though. I had about 500 in the Roadrunner including parts.
We lined them up one night and I was so far ahead of him when I hit 2nd gear that I just let off and let him go.
We got back to work and he was all smiles about how he beat me. I didn’t even have the heart to tell him what a dog his Shelby was.

 

[Budnicks]

Any Concord Ca. guys, from back in the day

Wondering how many others here may have been in the S.F. East Bay area east of the Culdicot {spelling} Tunnel or Concord/Clayton, Walnut Creek, Danville, Lafayette areas mainly back in the mid 70's to the mid 90's....

www.forbbodiesonly.com

 

[padam]

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/any-concord-ca-guys-from-back-in-the-day

You got a bad link

 

[Budnicks]

You got a bad link

yeah I don't know why either ?
(IT only happen on here too)
it's all correct, just doesn't work been having problems here all morning
every time I enter it, it does that ****,
I do the whole link & just the 1st part https.//www shows up as a link
it's a 12 year old thread.

Any Concord Ca. guys, from back in the day
from Oct 12th 2011

I just didn't want to type all that stuff again

oh well

I just redid it & same BS, I quit

 

[padam]

Comes back starting as “fbbodies…”
I think.

 

[Budnicks]

We did a shitload of street racing in
especially in Concord, Ca. Ygnacio Valley Rd. almost right out my back door
I was living in Turtle Creek subdivision in Concord,
where I grew up, born 1959 & raised until 1997,
I got the hell out of the bay area all together...
I moved east of Sacramento...
We (a whole bunch of us from Concord) all also street-raced in
Antioch, Pittsburg, Fairfield, Oakland, SF, Sacramento,
Cupertino, San Jose, Oroville, Marysville,
like 14 or so of US did track days too, the Concord Gang
You name it if they raced there, out west we went there...

I used to do the cruise in Wanut Creek Ca, it was a big deal in the 70-80s
Main Street & Locust all damn night Fri & Sats,
until the WCPD shut it down at like 2:00am
Then;
Most of us went out to the corner of Concord Ave & Willow Pass rd.
border of Concord & Walnut Creek, to Encino Grande
the Parking lot of a Safeway, bench race & organize street races
Many would drive over to Willow Pass right up the street,
to race slower cars 11-13 second cars usually modified reg. street cars
would race right there
(Quiet cars could get away with it, the loud cars would get us shut down early)
The much faster & much louder cars, some serious cars raced out there
we'd head up to Ygnacio Valley Rd, a parade of cars would follow
we had 1/4 miles marked out at both places

I even brought my 7 sec. T/S car out a couple times

Police were pretty cool they knew what was going on
they knew we weren't harming anything or anyone
sort of left us alone
until about 1985, they started to hammer down on all of US

 

[khryslerkid]

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/any-concord-ca-guys-from-back-in-the-day

Any Concord Ca. guys, from back in the day

 

[Budnicks]

Comes back starting as “fbbodies…”
I think.

I fixed it what a PITA

 

[Budnicks]

Any Concord Ca. guys, from back in the day

 

[Dibbons]

The best man at my wedding went to Concord High (class of '74 maybe).