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My brother-in-law did a little bootlegging when Iowa was still liquor by the drink in the late 50's. One day he and my sister pulled in our driveway in a 57 T-bird, with a paxton supercharger on a built 312. He took my brother and I for rides and we were both hooked. BTW, he later totaled it crossing the bridge from Iowa to Illinois, while trying to evade the police.
My father use to tell me stories about a bunch of guys from the Tama/Vining area that use to "boot-leg"" a little.Quote:
Originally Posted by 41willys
The use meet to meet at some supper-club west of Cedar Rapids.
Who knows maybe it was true??
I heard a lot of stories from my folks about the hey day of bootlegging in Iowa. Some of which were about the CedRel Supper Club west of CR on Highway 30. My brother-in-law used to go to Rock Island and buy cases of liquor (pints because they were easier to distribute), and sell them out of his trunk at various nights spots, like the CedRel. He was doing just that in Clinton the night he totaled the bird.
Eric,
I guess I never noticed you were in DM. I lived in West DM back in the 70's and frequented both Couch's and Racers Den. Are either of them still in existence? As I recall Couch had his business in an old school bldg. on the north side for a while.
John
Like many guys my age, I was glued to the TV set every Friday night hoping to catch a glimpse of Grabowskis T on 77 Sunset Strip. I was about 12 at the time, and if they used it in that week's episode it was the buzz at school all the next week. I think that is why I am a roadster guy to this day.
A few local cars formed my earliest memories too, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when $ 25 was the going rate for numerous model A's, '50 Fords, early Dodges, etc. By the time I was 16 I had gone through maybe 20 cars, ranging from Crosleys to '32 Fords.
But I still have a soft spot for Norms T, and that will always be the one that really got me into this hobby.
Don
We have eaten at CedRel but it must of been over ten years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by 41willys
The food at that time was some of the best.
As far as I know those bars are long gone.Quote:
Originally Posted by 41willys
There was a motorsports bar out on Ingersoll.
The last time I went in there it was all early twenties kids talking about having a "super-chip" burned for their import.
I drank one beer with my buddies and then left rather quickly.
Let's talk about the Bart Root '29/'32 again. For me my memories of Hot Rod magazine articles read as a 15 year old teenager had to do with the shape of the '29 Ford cowl. It blends the engine compartment into the body in a way similar to a track roadster and it has always facinated me, even today. Thus I would have to say that reading articles with pictures of '29 Fords had a large effect on what I think a rod should look like ('41 Ford Coupes look good too! Hey, a nice '40 Ford convert. with a Carson top can be dynamite as well!). Here is a picture I have posted before from the 2006 NHRA Richmond Nats which shows that sweet cowl! Whoever has those old pictures of the Root Roadster could post them again for me! The Root roadster was included in one of the anniversary issues of HRM, the 20th I believe.
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
Don is it the picture or have they extended the "wheel- base on the car??Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Shillady
I wonder what this kids answer would be ?
"Was that good?" he asks :cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnf17cp3Eg
Erik, As far as I know it is a '29 body on a '32 frame and maybe the angle on the front wheels make it look a little longer. As I recall I took pictures of the full fendered Deuce behind it and it did not seem that the '29 was any longer than the Deuce. Also note that the full fendered '32 in the background cannot be seen here but the crown of the front fenders would make it look like the front wheels were further back while without any fenders on the front of the '29 it does make it look like the frame was stretched. If you look closely you can see the bead in the '32 frame under the '29 body and the position of the bead looks like the familiar '32 bead so I would say the '32 frame is the stock wheelbase. This car was probably built during the fiftys and I was most interested in the older chrome plated top mounts on the cockpit edge since at that time I was trying to install metal top mounts in my 'glass '29.
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
I was looking at the distance from the back of the door to the front of the rear fender and for some reason the entire car looks like it is about a foot to long.Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Shillady
Who knows like you said it might be the camera angle.
maybe its the booze or the crack! , looks okie dokie over here ..:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by erik erikson
It must be from the shine you sold me the other day.:whacked: :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by flh4speed
For Me it was my Dad's 57 chevy.
I took it one day with out asking when I was about 16 and it had one of those miserable vertcal gate 4 speed shifters in it and I got it locked in reverse and first gear at the same time. Maybe they were just miserable shifters because I was 16 & didn't really know much about anything.........
Anyway, that was not a fun ending to an otherwise perfect day.
Krash
Dallas TX
for me it started at a very young age,coming from a large family and been one
of the youngest of 10 boys and 5 girls,(cold winters is what I was told)
one of my brothers had a red and white 55 old 98 2 dr ht. skirts and cont.kit,
beautiful car as I remember,then when I was enough to drive and chasing skirts on my 55 ford 4 dr. ht.,(yes a FORD) we would throw away our hub caps,paint the rims black and add baby moons,(remember them ?) we though
that would make it run faster,**) this guy that was a few years old had this
sharp 3 window 35 ford, light gray primer, ( he called it the Gray Ghost)
it was the fastest car on our streets back then, too this day we don't know
what he was running under the hood..:confused:
My dad had a 57 Corvette gasser in 71 gold metal flake with sunburst orange fade job, whit interior, flip front, chrome rollbar and chrome suspension...It was the real deal...As a small boy that was the only style car that mattered...It ruined me for the rest of my life, we found the car about 3 years ago and some guy spend his retirement to restore it back to original beautiful, but not as beautiful as it was in 71....
man that swill was for cleaning parts ya wasnt suppose to actually consume it:D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by erik erikson
my dad and uncles were always into dirt track cars...i remember in about "56" my dad put a straight 8 in our "51" chevy family car..and blew the doors off my uncles hot rod "49" ford tudor V8 flatty..i was in the car with him that day and ever since thats what i craved "more power"..its sad to say that in "60" that car and my dad didnt come home no more..but my uncles kept me going by building faster cars..and showed me with a few dollars, a cutting torch and a little elbow grease. big engines will go into small cars..we were poor but owned a small salvage yard.... :whacked: if anyone wants to see my place now go to my ME page at ebay..cast*iron*memories
Ya, Right, Which peice of candy did I like the best when I was a kid! :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: ,.. :eek: I don't know! I just always knew I wanted a 392 Hemi T Coupe since I was a kid, and now I have 1 and most of a 2nd one! :3dSMILE:
Pat
i was first betten around 1967. my dad had a 392 hemi powered 41 willys C/GAS gasser with a clutchflite tranny. i was 7 years old, with myself and my brother in the passenger area, he would do his burnout, back up a bit, rack it up and dump the clutch to clear the tires off. it would pull a wheelie in the process. then me and my brother would hop out and run back to the retrieval truck, they would launch the cars and we chased them down the track to tow him back. then he went into top fuel. i had a pretty cool childhood upbringing.
One of my best friend's had a red '65 Mustang with a 289 and a 4-speed when I was 15. I went with him to the Friday night burger stand (kevin's burgers) here in the Valley in San Fernando Valley and I was hooked.
-James
My dad was a devoted racing fan when I was a kid (mostly sprint cars and midgets) so we went to the track frequently. That gave me an interest in cars, especially fast cars.:HMMM:
Later on, my older sisters' boyfriends would give me their car magazines, so I got interested in hotrods and customs.:rolleyes: Then, in about 1960 or '61 when I was 12 or 13, an acquaintance of the family took me for a ride in his roadster (which he still owns today - see below). That "set the hook" permanently.:whacked:
Later on (1965 - '66) I spent a few nights cruising with a buddy in his brother-in-law's fenderless, channeled Model-A coupe and I fell in love with fenderless coupes. After a few other hotrods, I finally built my fenderless coupe. Last year I drove it to Indiana so I could photograph my toy with the car that inspired it all those years ago.:D
For me it was the movie american graffiti that got me in to hotrods.. I was 12 years old when i first seen the movie.. My opinion that one of george lucas's greatest films. That also got me into old music, For a 12 year old in 1987 this was pretty weird!! Age 14 my first car was a 55 chevy 2dr post, i keep this car till a little over a year ago. At 16 i bought a 56 chevy deluxe cab pickup...Over the years i've had several old cars & trucks some i wished i had back!! I sent 2 novas to the local junkyard a 69 and 70.. I alt to have my butt kicked for doing that!! A 57 chevy deluxe cab pickup(rough shape) sold for 240.00, Had a 56 olds rocket 88 4dr hardtop give to me..Like a big dummy i sent it to the junkyard..Sold a 1964 ford galaxie 500 xl 2dr fastback for 300.00.. I really regret that one, since i own one now, i could have had a parts car...Not to long ago i sold a 56 ford fairlane 2dr club sedan for 1,000.. Now all i have is my 64 galaxie, my 56 chevy truck, and my wifes 65 mustang..I look back with a lot of regret on all these classics that i sold and junked..Now that i have 2 wonderful children, my 3 classics will be past down to them..
When I was 14, the local bad boy street racer lived down the street from me and had a 71 Monte Carlo with a built 402 Big Block. Bright red, black vinyl top, buckets and console, and rally wheels. Parents and cops hated him; chicks digged him. Superman couldn't have been any cooler.