Thread: Woodward, Telegraph, Gratiot & "the Ditch"

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Here is a post I made on the "Summer relief" thread,... but I think it bears repeating.

This thread reminded me of some of the most pleasant memories I have of my youth with cars,... I never had A/C in a car until the late 70's (and that wasn't a hot rod) , but I remember those long hot dog days of summer here in Michigan,... and after the day was done, work was over, and the sun started to set,.... you just had to go for a ride.

I would jump in my car, roll all the windows down (with crank handles), and head over to a buddies house, listening to "CKLW The Big 8", or "WKNR Keener 13",.... when I got to my buddies house the heat and humidity of the day would be falling off into a cool night, All of my Buddies and I lived about 5 minutes (If that) from Telegraph Rd., we would brake it down to two guys per car,.... and head up to Telegraph, sometimes Woodward Ave. just to cool off and look for girls.

There were all kinds of cars cursing Telegraph on any given night following a hot day (most of which weren't Hot Rods),..... but the sound of your engine and exhaust ( The smell of burning Sunoco 260),... as well as the sound of other built cars cursing around you was like magic,.... it seemed everyone listened to CKLW or WKNR and the sound echoed through the night,...... did we find girls ? yep, sometimes,..... did we race ? Oh yeah we went to war many times.

Hanging out at Korvetts parking lot, or Top Hat Hamburgers, sometimes the brand new Burger King,..... life was simpler then, and even with Viet Nam going on there didn't seem to be World Wide confusion like there is now, but that could have been just the way it seemed to a young man with a cool Hot Rod and a whole life ahead of him.

I have gone back to Telegraph and even Woodward throughout the years,... sadly it's not the same,..... those days are lost in time and live only in the memories of some of my ol' buddies and myself,. and probably some of you old timers like me.

Sorry about rambling on, just something I felt I had to write out. Next time your out driving around after a hot summer day,... turn off the A/C, roll down the windows, find some good music,..... and try to find that time machine.

Thanks for indulging me on this post. Heres a picture of one of my old horses ('66 fairlane conv. mild SBF and a fairbanks C-4 & 9" rear,... ) doing what it did best,........ Also a clone I started of the 427 Mustang a few years back, I found a 428 CJ to go into this one, but ended up giving it to my son. (and yes I know this is a 68 not a 67 and it has Keystone classics not SS Cragars,... but it was all I could find at the time)