Hot rod stories. The truth!

I think we tried this before but it didn't work to well. Let try again. Real stories, some to crazy for people to believe unless they were there. Anyone got one?

In the "old gas stations" thread in the Photo's we were talking about this place on Licking Pike.

Most of us at one time or another raced out there when we were younger. It was there or the Big Mac Bridge going into Cincy, OH. One night a few of us was hanging out in the West End. I had an ex-girlfriend pull up in a late 80's Mustang. Her and her new boyfriend jump out and start checking out Jessie's Nova. The 'Stang sounded good but when we ask him stuff he acted like he didn't want to give anything away on what he had. He ask about the Nova and there was nothing to hide. Before the words was all the way out of his mouth the hood was open on the Nova so he could check it out.

A money price was made on the race and out Licking Pike we went. He and her in this nice shiney Mustang, Jessie and I in his Nova and Mikey in his Vette. We turned around and stopped at the light in Wilder. The tires were cleaned off and we sat there waiting for the take off. The guy yells over to count down. Jessie yells back over "no" you take off. Jess was giving him the jump.

As I sat riding shotgun I wondered if that old Nova had enough to beat this car we knew nothing about. From what I heard the guy was rich so money = speed to me. Before to much thought went into it I hear the RPM's kick up on the Mustang.

2..3..4..maybe 5 grand?? He smashed the gas pedal to the floor and waited a second and popped the clutch. Gods honest truth the Mustang sit there. I had enough time to look at them and back at Jess before Jessie hit his gas. The guy could not drive and was spoking the hides off the Mustang trying to get it to go.

Even with the jump for the Mustang that old Nova flashed it's 3500 RPM stall and hooks. Holeshot is an understatement! We take off and before we get through the interesection we passed him. The guy in the Mustang is still trying to get the car to hook. Before we get to Bobby Mackey's we are doing well over 100MPH. I am looking through the back window and see the Mustang's two headlights turn into one because we are so far ahead of him. I tell Jess you got him let out of it. He doesn't. When he feels he ran the 1/4 which felt more like 3/4 of a mile to me he lets go of the pedal.

Now that's sound like an okay hot rodding story but that not what this is about.
As we start to slow down I hear this jingle, JINGLE, Bing..??? It wasn't loud but something sounded funny. Mikey comes flying up in his Vette as we are going across the little bridge and yells out the window at us. Telling us what that little Jingle was.

On take off a 20 foot logging chain slid back in the trunk and slipped out a hole. About 10 or 15 foot of the chain was dragging the ground tossing sparks at over 100 MPH. The other 5 foot was nicely wrapped around some tools and the fuel cell in the trunk.

I'm sure in was a show for anyone who seen it. I often wonder how that Nova would have looked if that chain would have grabbed a man hole cover or something. Can you see a fuel cell being ripped out the back of a Nova at over 100 MPH?

We used to race on I-65 South. Back in the day there was so little traffic on it we could acctually stop, line up and flag off. We had a starting line, 1/8th and 1/4 marked on the concrete. Two miles between exits. Circle around and back to Shoney's that still had curb service then. The Metro cops pretty much ignored us because they didn't cruise the I system then.
My best buddy had one of the Cougars with the running turn signals. They worked great for staging lights and it was hot enough it made a good chase car.
So we're out there one Saturday night and just about the time we took off the blue lights lit up the world. Bad thing about racing on the I, there's no place to run. We all pull to the shoulder knowing the hammer is about to fall when 4 State Troopers blow by like the hounds of hell are after them. Never even looked at us but we decided the racing was over for the night.
That section of Interstate has 5 lanes each way now and if you drop below 70 you might get run over.

I had my '67 Chevelle, which I never got to drive it that much, being I was deployed a lot in those 12 Years. In my 11th year I moved off base. Anyway, I wanted to run it up Rte 41, virtually a straight away from Ft. Campbell to Hop Town as most G.I.'s called the next town heading North. Just about every day that I finished up my duties, I would race other buddies in there hopped up cars up rte 41 for some extra cash.

I got beat a few times, but the last time I raced, I was running for my life against two State Troopers and a MP (Military Police). Being I was never around base, I didn't know that the MP's had jurisdiction on the Rte in front of the base. I believe someone that I beat the day before, turned me in for racing.

On Rte 41 there was a railroad trestle that went above Rte 41 that had a turn around for State trucks above Rte 41. Of course I was running around 110 mph and I knew if I just could get up there, they would pass under me with a minute or so to spare. Yes, here they came, right under me heading to Hop Town. I must have sat there for three hours, hoping they weren't still looking for me.

Mind you, I left the base around 8pm. It was almost midnight before I got home. I got up the next morning to report for duty. When I went to get in my car, I pulled out and was pulled over immediately by Hop Town Police and the MP's.

My car sat in impound for 32 days and I was fined for Racing and Fleeing on a Military Base, which I argued being it was not on the base. But it didn't matter, you can not win when you are arguing with the Military. At the time, I was only making $1800.00 a month and they fined me $1000.00 and it cost me another $1600.00 to get my car from impound. They charged me 50 bucks a day while it sat there.

Then I was told I could not bring my car back onto the base. They were trying to get me to re-enlist and they told me that they would drop my fine to nothing and I could get back onto the base with my car if I would re-enlist for another 4 years. I told them "NO" and paid my fines and was released from the Military 26 July 1986.

I learned a very important lesson! Don't race near a Military installation. But when your young, it's hard to resist and you do not think about the consequences.

steve i out ran that mustang the night before that in my vette. we use to race everynight back then lol

A lot of good times.

yes it was fun

Reb's eyebrow story about John Schmidt reminded me.
My 2nd stepdad (we were friends before he was my stepdad but that's another story) had a '71 GMC Sprint. We had just finished putting a 396 & 400 Turbo in it. We had a horse camping trip planned for Memorial Day weekend. He decided to follow me with the Sprint and I would pull the horses with my truck. This was the shake down run for the Jimmy, 'bout 250 miles round trip.
Ran like a champ all the way there. On the way home Monday night I'm following him when he dives for the shoulder, jumps out and throws the hood up. I'm still stopping but I see flames licking around the hood. You think we had a fire extinguisher? I grabbed the cooler that was still full of water, ran up there and dumped the whole thing on it. It put it out but it was full dark and we were standing there wondering what caused the fire (the smell of gas would take your breath) when he pulls a lighter out of his pocket and before I can stop him he flics that Bic right over the engine. Whoosh and as the firemen say "It's fully involved" again. Burned all the hair off his arm, eyebrows and caught his hair on fire. He used something on his hair that I swear was 1/2 lacquer.
So here we on the side of the I with me trying to find some way to put the car out, he's jumping around with his hair on fire, my girlfriend is trying to beat the fire on his head out and another buddy is trying to get his pants unzipped so he can, uh, hose down the fire. If that truck driver hadn't stopped and tossed me a fire extinguisher, the Jimmy burned right to the ground.

That's crazy. Good story though.

Some of you new guys have to have a good story.???

Yep! Not all stories should stay in the garage.

Back in 86 me and my buddy was cruising 27 down in Somerset, Ky . we stopped at the mall to shoot the breeze with a few other guys we knew. When this girl drives up in a GTO Judge. She asked if anyone was up for a race , long story made short, she was cute and i was cocky and my malibu was fast, so I said sure. Needless to say her reaction time was faster than mine and that GTO would just fly. I did get a date out of the deal, but my pride was knocked down a notch or two. Turned out she had put in the wrench time on the Judge herself. We became friends but eventually lost touch. To bad, she was kinda cool.

There use to be a chic in Somerset that drove around in a red 57 Bel Air that was bone stock looking. Cracked paint and all. The care was a little rough but had every stitch of chrome on it and a set of mag wheels. Looked like she drove the wheels off it for years. Wonder if it's the same girl? She lived down in a hole, Burnside right before you get into Dixie Bend Retreat.

Might be, this girl lived down around burnside also.

I remember when I was a litle boy about 8 or 9 My uncle used to fix up hot rods all the time. At this time he had a 55 chevy, he had just rebuilt the engine and put a blower on it. What I remember was that he also was a volunteer Fireman and about the time he was ready to shake it down he got a call. It was so cool see that brown 55 taking off for the fire house with white smoke everywhere and tire sqealing. it was a false alarm, when he got back he said he had it up to 120 on old ST RT 74 there in eastgate.
I grew up in batavia and 32 there in eastgate was nothing like it is now. there was always fast cars running around. We also used to go up to frish's next to Roy Rogers in Mt carmel to see all the hot rods out racing 32 strip in front of the place.