Dis is My Ride!!!

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Holy Mackerel, Pat, you were in the thick of it. I am sure glad you joined us here at FABO. I remember a PRA race (Professional Racer Association, I seem to remember, or maybe Organization) race at National Speedway on Long Island back in the early-mid 1970s. I took a great pic of Big Daddy tapping out a hole in his Hemi's head between runs. I was at a couple of Gator Nats in the early '70s, also. That was real seat-of-the-pants racing back in those days; no computers!

I remember seeing that Hemi Colt, too; quite a beast! I think I have a pic of Ronnie standing in front of it.

Please feel free to post any of thsoe great memories here whenever you get the urge. Thanks much.
 
Have you guys heard the Bruce Springsteen song, Glory Days? Well, that's what it was. My heroes/friends are slowly disappearing. I'm now a retired school teacher at age 62 and there is still a "little boy" in my mind. Guys, tomorrow is promised to no one. What we have is TODAY! We need to do the most with it. I could go on and on about my fun days of drag racing. Do any of you remember Starvin' Marvin Schwartz? He was another friend and very unique. He was a master parts scrounger! You couldn't help but like him; the perenial underdog that would never give up. I had a collection of Hemi parts back in the day...a set of Bob Lambeck Pro Stock aluminum dual plug heads and a 5/8 stroker crank I bought used from Jerry Gwynn (Darrell's dad who ran the alcohol funny car, the Baby Huey). Marvin had already run close to the Top Fuel record with motors built from peoples scrap. Well, he talked me into loaning him the heads and I gave him the crank. He robbed a set of fuel pistons from Chuck Quenzler and I think he got a blower from Art Malone. We went to Gainesville and as I remember, he was number 2 qualifier. Garlits was number one and Garlets beat Marvin but it wasn't a cake walk. Marvin really respected Don. When we got out of the truck at Gainesville, he told me, "Pat, if you want to see how it is really done right, go over there and watch Garlits put on a tune and see how Ed sets up a clutch". It wasn't long after that when Marvin lost his life in a crash. I don't know what ever happened to my heads but I don't care. I'd have Marvin back if I could...and Ronnie...and Billy....and Dick...and Reid....and Nicholson.
Garlits emailed me this morning to ask if I would go on the trip to Virginia Motorsports Park in May with him. Of course I'm going. We have a lot of fun. I met another FABO member on my Trip with Don to Ocean City, MD and it was Tony Harlen, know as HEMI GTS on the site. You should see his awesome Dart!!!
Don still hasn't gotten the new Hemi Challenger race car yet from Chrysler. I think the financial mess will nix the whole thing. You know he was flown out to Bandemere in Denver to race it against Judy Lily in a similar car. Don won the match race. Then the car went back to Detroit. Don still hasn't gotten the new duallie they promised either. I love the one he has now! I guess that's all I have to say for now. Best wishes to all you guys.
Pat
 
Yes it is true. The Dana in Dick Landy's last Dart Sport was cast from magnesium. Ronnie Sox had one too in the last "Li'l Boss" Duster. Chrysler contracted to have them made and machined. NHRA had just about killed Chrysler in Pro Stock with the big weight advantages they gave Chevy and Ford. I remember the bitching I heard from Bill Jenkins and even my friend Don Nicholson when Ronnie was kicking their butts. I understand that the Landy Dart Sport was discovered and restored by a fat cat collector and the mag Dana was still in the car. Maybe someone can make it an assignment to Google Dick Landy Race Cars and see if it developes a lead. Now I still sound like a teacher!! I promise you the car is out there somewhere. See who can find it!
Has anyone found a sneaky feature on my Demon that I didn't divulge yet? Hint: look at the side view.
Pat
 
Thanks, Pat, those stories are pure history. Yes, it is a shame that those old friends are now memories, but as this information is relayed to the rest of us, those memories will be perpetuated for generations.

I have always been greatly impressed by the engineering that Chrysler put into their race program all those years ago, re: the magnesium rear, etc. I, too, remember how the MoPars were weighted out of real competition in Pro Stock back then; the same thing happened in NASCAR. It was a crime.
 
Well I guessed a dry sump oil system but I don't think that was right, Nice Demon by the way and love the stories, yea I'm partial to Demons with BB's.

Terry
 
too sweet!!!!!! in the weeds??? there aint nothing growin where this thing is!!!
 
Thanks for trying, Demon Seed! Here is the hint again, it is very subtle until you see it sitting next to another Demon or Duster: LOOK AT THE SIDE VIEW PICTURE! Good luck!
 
Hey Pat, does your car have an altered wheelbase, or are my tired eyes (clock change) deceiving me?
 
PFogel said:
Thanks for trying, Demon Seed! Here is the hint again, it is very subtle until you see it sitting next to another Demon or Duster: LOOK AT THE SIDE VIEW PICTURE! Good luck!
Click to expand...

Is the nose of that Demon extended or angled down?
 
My guess is, the rear wheel well opening was altered.
 
Fishbreath, 66340sedan and ramcharger, you got it!! Yes it has an altered wheel base. It isn't readily apparent because of the stretched wheel opening. The nose is angled like Landy did with the Pro Stock Dart Sport. I give you guys a tip of the hat and thank you for playing! Thanks for all the kind words too. You are a great bunch of car nuts!
Pat
 
Keep the stories coming! I'm afraid that these people, cars and "behind the scenes" stories will fade from history if someone doesn't document them.

We do hear of their successes and triumphs, but seldom do we hear of stories of the men themselves, their loves, hates and rivalries that give us a glimpse of the men behind the legends.

I worked with a woman who's husband raced at Lions back in the day. She was there when Don Garlits was trashed by the announcer and presented as "Don Garbage" because he didn't have the slick paint job and new equipment that the California racers had. She said the look on Mrs. Garlits face was one of complete disgust and that she was almost in tears. :angry7:

As we all know, Don won that race! :cheers::cheers: Can you enlighten us in regards to this race and fill us in with more detail?
 
You are a man who appreciates the bye-gone days. I know I sure do. I will try to get Don to stand still long enough to tell me his personal perspective on that "Don Garbage" event in California. I'll try to get him to email it to me today. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't - it depends on how busy he is. I went to the "No Billet" show on the grounds this past Saturday, too bad I couldn't have asked him then! He was busy firing up his recently restored hemi-powered air raid siren he picked up from the city of Miami. Man that thing was loud! Next he fired up antique Swamp Rat V on 90% pop for a bit of cackling. That was loud too! People went running for cover when he gave it a good blip and the nitro fumes got every ones eyes! I spent most of the time talking to Don's wife, Pat. She is such a sweetheart. She has huffed so much nitro over the years the Swamp Rat's fumes didn't seem to bother her at all. It is amazing that they still have all the dragsters they ever built except for maybe two. He even has the wrecked ones!
Don recently acquired Shirley Muldowny's last dragster and restored it. It was basically the chassis with the front end and the rear with slicks. It had the wing but the rest was gone. Don has so many spare parts he was able to complete a correct engine, etc. Shirley was going through a nasty divorce with her engine tuner, the famous and popular Rahn Tobler. I'm sure she really needed the money or she would not have sold the car. It went cheap but I can't break the confidentiality Don asked me to keep. On the road we never listen to the radio so we get to talk a lot. He has told me so many interesting things and historical things but they are private and confidential. He did tell me his feelings about the failed PRO that he was a prime mover in promoting. NHRA was being really chincy with payouts so Don tried his hand at organizing the Top Fuel drivers to provide leverage in numbers with Wally Parks. It was saying, "If you want a Top Fuel Show, this is the payout we demand or no show." Well, ever the professional, Don got to virtually everyone and swore to support it and join - a sort of union but without dues. Don bankrolled the whole thing. When the chips were down, drivers backed out, lied, didn't show and left Don with egg on his face, a destroyed relationship with NHRA and a financial loss of about 100 grand. After that disaster in Tulsa (I was there with Ronnie Sox), Don had a hell of a time getting sponsors. You know the rest of the story...Big Daddy continued racing on his own nickle and won. To make matters worse, Don Moody won the Tulsa meet and he was one of the guys that pooped on Big! When Don talks about that PRO deal, he gets just as angry as the time it all happened! He gets so upset he uses the "F" word! Are there any old farts like me out there that were street racers? I have some tales to tell there for sure!! You guys let me know if you find this thread the wrong place for this.
Pat
 
63valiantkiss,thanks for your kind words! I have a warm spot for cars like your wagon too. Have you seen what my friend Curtis did with one of those? His user name on the site is waggin. It turned out totally factory looking. Have fun and enjoy your toy!
 
PFogel said:
You are a man who appreciates the bye-gone days. I know I sure do. I will try to get Don to stand still long enough to tell me his personal perspective on that "Don Garbage" event in California. I'll try to get him to email it to me today. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't - it depends on how busy he is. I went to the "No Billet" show on the grounds this past Saturday, too bad I couldn't have asked him then! He was busy firing up his recently restored hemi-powered air raid siren he picked up from the city of Miami. Man that thing was loud! Next he fired up antique Swamp Rat V on 90% pop for a bit of cackling. That was loud too! People went running for cover when he gave it a good blip and the nitro fumes got every ones eyes! I spent most of the time talking to Don's wife, Pat. She is such a sweetheart. She has huffed so much nitro over the years the Swamp Rat's fumes didn't seem to bother her at all. It is amazing that they still have all the dragsters they ever built except for maybe two. He even has the wrecked ones!
Don recently acquired Shirley Muldowny's last dragster and restored it. It was basically the chassis with the front end and the rear with slicks. It had the wing but the rest was gone. Don has so many spare parts he was able to complete a correct engine, etc. Shirley was going through a nasty divorce with her engine tuner, the famous and popular Rahn Tobler. I'm sure she really needed the money or she would not have sold the car. It went cheap but I can't break the confidentiality Don asked me to keep. On the road we never listen to the radio so we get to talk a lot. He has told me so many interesting things and historical things but they are private and confidential. He did tell me his feelings about the failed PRO that he was a prime mover in promoting. NHRA was being really chincy with payouts so Don tried his hand at organizing the Top Fuel drivers to provide leverage in numbers with Wally Parks. It was saying, "If you want a Top Fuel Show, this is the payout we demand or no show." Well, ever the professional, Don got to virtually everyone and swore to support it and join - a sort of union but without dues. Don bankrolled the whole thing. When the chips were down, drivers backed out, lied, didn't show and left Don with egg on his face, a destroyed relationship with NHRA and a financial loss of about 100 grand. After that disaster in Tulsa (I was there with Ronnie Sox), Don had a hell of a time getting sponsors. You know the rest of the story...Big Daddy continued racing on his own nickle and won. To make matters worse, Don Moody won the Tulsa meet and he was one of the guys that pooped on Big! When Don talks about that PRO deal, he gets just as angry as the time it all happened! He gets so upset he uses the "F" word! Are there any old farts like me out there that were street racers? I have some tales to tell there for sure!! You guys let me know if you find this thread the wrong place for this.
Pat
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I love the stories you are posting here...Garlits is the man! please share more, especially the street racing stuff....this IS the thread for it! lol:-D man the old school drag racers were the best i love this stuff
 
I have owned a lot of cars in my 62 years. The first one I ever seriously street raced was a '60 Impala Sport Coupe. It was red with a white top and red interior. It had the big high compression 348, solid lifter cam, 4-speed and 4.56 posi. Back in 1962 gas was cheap. I filled up with Sunoco Blue for about 5-bucks!!! The car was beautiful with its American Torque Thrusts. I lived in Mason County, KY, the town of Maysville. We had rivalries with the gear heads in neighboring Bracken County in the town of Brooksville. There was a guy there with a bad '57 Chevy convertible. He claimed it had the dual quad 270 horse 283 but I knew better. He bought the 300 horse 327 from a 62 Impala that got wrapped around a tree on highway 10! He stuck the dual quads on that after porting and polishing the heads. He even put an Isky roller cam and kit in the thing. He also ran a 4.56 on the street with Englewood tires. (anybody remember those?). Well, we had a cruising circuit just across the Ohio River from Maysville with a string of drive-in restaurants. It was the place to be seen and heard. Pretty girls always jumped in your car for a lap through the circuit and then they'd hop out and jump into another cool ride. The bad asses from Bracken County cruised the circuit too. One night after I took my girlfriend home from a date, I just wasn't ready to go home. I went back to the circuit and parked at Bisotti's Restaurant and got a chopped cherry Coke, raised the hood to show off my 3 pots and chromed valve covers (from a 409) and began BSing with some buddies. Two guys from the enemy camp came around in a Ford Starliner with a 390 tri-power and 4-speed and they asked me if I wanted to run that "piece of sh--" for 10 bucks. My buddies badgered me into accepting. Highway 52 ran all along the circuit and just east of Aberdeen, we had a quarter mile marked off with white paint. We would send a "lieutenant" to the finish line for safety in case of on coming traffic. It was amazing that when the whole event started there were maybe 10 people around and it was almost midnight. People came from out of nowhere! Both sides of the road were lined with cars and guys and girls standing outside of them to watch the race! Damn that was dumb! It was a two lane highway! I got him out of the hole and beat him by a fender at the end. Its a wonder no one got killed with all that 4-speed power shifting. We turned around and raced back. I beat him again when he lit the tires too hard. When we got out of the cars, he was really pissed and refused to pay me on the bet. Words built and a push got a shove and then I gave him a mouth full of bloody chicklets! 5 of his buddies then jumped on me and I was getting a butt wuppin' until some of my friends evened it out. I never got the money but I insulted him real good. The next night, he shows up again but he is with the guy with the '57 Chevy named Russell. He was nice enough but he challenged for $25. I had $10 on me and my buddies kicked in the rest. It was to be the best of 2, racing each direction again. In case of a tie nobody collected money. Money was really secondary - it was the glory and prestige we raced for. On the first run, I got out of the hole first and then the guy missed 2nd gear. He couldn't catch me. On the reverse run, I left on him good again but this time he didn't miss a gear and he passed me on the top end like I was tied to a tree! The lock collar on my progressive linkage had loosened allowing the two end carbs to shut down. It was 1-for-1 and we both were happy. We shook hands and showed mutual respect. He went around telling how he beat me and I went around telling how I beat him!! I later put a 409 dual quad in that '60 Chevy and nobody really wanted to race me heads up. I traded that Chevy in on a new '68 Hemi Roadrunner and that's when the street racing really got heavy. That story nextime!
Pat
 
Big Daddy just got back to me with the email. Here is what he had to say word-for-word:
Pat,
I have never taken offense at the stupid remarks said over the PA system, or from the stands. When I appeared at lions with the winged car in 63, a fan screamed from the stands,"Hey you f_______fink, take that Piper Cub and go back to Florida!" I just laughed and won the race!
Don

I'm sure Pat Garlits was upset. She has always been very protective.

If anyone is interested in the summer tour schedule, I will email you a copy and also a picture of Don with the Challenger in Denver. Request at [email protected]
 
PFogel said:
You are a man who appreciates the bye-gone days. I know I sure do. I will try to get Don to stand still long enough to tell me his personal perspective on that "Don Garbage" event in California. I'll try to get him to email it to me today. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't - it depends on how busy he is.

Understood, I'm sure he's an incredibly busy man and I sure wouldn't want to stir up any bad memories. From what I heard he kicked some california butt so those memories shouldn't be all bad, lol!

I went to the "No Billet" show on the grounds this past Saturday, too bad I couldn't have asked him then! He was busy firing up his recently restored hemi-powered air raid siren he picked up from the city of Miami. Man that thing was loud! Next he fired up antique Swamp Rat V on 90% pop for a bit of cackling. That was loud too! People went running for cover when he gave it a good blip and the nitro fumes got every ones eyes! I spent most of the time talking to Don's wife, Pat. She is such a sweetheart. She has huffed so much nitro over the years the Swamp Rat's fumes didn't seem to bother her at all. It is amazing that they still have all the dragsters they ever built except for maybe two. He even has the wrecked ones!

Hemi air raid siren?!?! Man, I love that guy!! What a thrill it must've been to hear the Swamp Rat V come alive again too.

It's so great to hear that Mr. Garlits and his wife Pat are still together after all these years. It's just seems such a rare thing these days.

Don recently acquired Shirley Muldowny's last dragster and restored it. It was basically the chassis with the front end and the rear with slicks. It had the wing but the rest was gone. Don has so many spare parts he was able to complete a correct engine, etc. Shirley was going through a nasty divorce with her engine tuner, the famous and popular Rahn Tobler. I'm sure she really needed the money or she would not have sold the car. It went cheap but I can't break the confidentiality Don asked me to keep. On the road we never listen to the radio so we get to talk a lot. He has told me so many interesting things and historical things but they are private and confidential.

Sorry to hear about Shirley. I'm old enough to remember her winning the nats.

I understand you being careful of Mr. Garlits privacy. The whole idea of having a good friend is having someone to confide in.

He did tell me his feelings about the failed PRO that he was a prime mover in promoting. NHRA was being really chincy with payouts so Don tried his hand at organizing the Top Fuel drivers to provide leverage in numbers with Wally Parks. It was saying, "If you want a Top Fuel Show, this is the payout we demand or no show." Well, ever the professional, Don got to virtually everyone and swore to support it and join - a sort of union but without dues. Don bankrolled the whole thing. When the chips were down, drivers backed out, lied, didn't show and left Don with egg on his face, a destroyed relationship with NHRA and a financial loss of about 100 grand. After that disaster in Tulsa (I was there with Ronnie Sox), Don had a hell of a time getting sponsors. You know the rest of the story...Big Daddy continued racing on his own nickle and won. To make matters worse, Don Moody won the Tulsa meet and he was one of the guys that pooped on Big! When Don talks about that PRO deal, he gets just as angry as the time it all happened! He gets so upset he uses the "F" word!

Wow! I can't believe that all these racers turned their back on Big Daddy! What the hell were they thinking? Here's a man who put his *** on the line for the benifit of all and they turned on him. Incredible!

Are there any old farts like me out there that were street racers? I have some tales to tell there for sure!! You guys let me know if you find this thread the wrong place for this.
Pat
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I read your last street racing story, keep 'em coming!! :cheers::cheers:

This is the perfect place for this and maybe Adam may want to make it a "sticky" so it stays on top. Thank you so much for the insight. I was born in '66 so I missed much of the street racing/NHRA glory days. :-D
 
PFogel said:
Big Daddy just got back to me with the email. Here is what he had to say word-for-word:
Pat,
I have never taken offense at the stupid remarks said over the PA system, or from the stands. When I appeared at lions with the winged car in 63, a fan screamed from the stands,"Hey you f_______fink, take that Piper Cub and go back to Florida!" I just laughed and won the race!
Don

I'm sure Pat Garlits was upset. She has always been very protective.

If anyone is interested in the summer tour schedule, I will email you a copy and also a picture of Don with the Challenger in Denver. Request at [email protected]
Click to expand...

Wow!! I understand fans that root for their own drivers but that kind stuff being shouted from the stands is classless crap. If I was there I would've been tempted to give that "fan" a "mouthfull of bloody chiclets" myself, lol!

Big Daddy's response shows just what a class act and true professional he is. I used to bracket race motorcycles and the focus and concentration it takes is incredible. I can't imagine what it would take to run Top Fuel and I would think that he would have to brush off that BS to take care of the job at hand. He is truly an icon in professional drag racing and embodies the true spirit of the american way. I hope he knows how many people look up to him and use him for inspiration when times get tough. :cheers::cheers:
 
more tales of the streets, this time with your mopar! im loving this...i just went to some street races this past friday and didnt even stay to watch...i was busting a gut laughing at all these import kids who race in the same spot all the time and get arrested in their rice burners....i cant wait to roll through there with my scamp, maybe show them how its really done lol...MORE STORIES!
 
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