What is the CRAZIEST thing you have done in a week to make a race

[pittsburghracer]

I have two that should have put me in the "crazy house." One was 24 hours and one was technically 5 days. Back in the mid 1980's I was going rounds but the car was slowing every pass so I kept bumping my dial-in up .10 every round. I lost in the final and took home some money on a late Sunday afternoon. I unloaded the car when I got home and did a quick leak-down on the engine and found issues on both 4 and 6 cylinders so I pulled the intake and head. Back then I was running 9.80-10.0 in the 1/4 with stock crank, stock re-done rods, TRW high compression junk pistons, and 906 heads in my Duster. Well as luck would have it I torched a head gasket between the cylinders and ate into the block and head a little over .100 so that ended Sunday nights work. During my 8 hour work shift the next day in the mill I lines up a couple of welders to see if it was repairable. Both said no being cast iron. Now remember this was 1985. At work the next day a heard about a guy 25 miles from my house so I called him and he said bring it out, so I did Tuesday night. Now remember the engine is in the car so I took fiberglass cloth and a material we called KAYOWOOL in the mill and used it around furnaces so I could protect the cylinders while he welded. This guy looked like a Hippy from the 1960's and was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He looked at it and said heck ya he could weld it (in the car) but asked how I could get it machined. I told he I did Millwright work in a steel mill and we did patch work with grinders and files all the time so he said ok. I asked how much and he said 125.00 for both the head and block and then asked what the tolerance was and I told him I would aim for under .003 or LESS. He told me to call him the next day (Wednesday) and he would see how far he was and give an update. I called after 2:30 and he said it was done so after work I headed on up. Once there I checked it out and it was not only welded but he ground and filed it to UNDER .003. I asked what's up with that and he laughed and said he couldn't believe it could be done and then told me he only wanted 100.00 (25.00 less) because he was turning down jobs he would now take on. Luckily I happened to notice his beer brand and grabbed him a case on the way there. I thanked him and was on my way. I unloaded when I got home so I could start fresh on Thursday after work. Well Thursday I put it back together, fired it up, loaded it up, went to bed before midnight to get rested up for work Friday. Friday night it not only ran GREAT but I made it to the 5th round and got some valuable points. Now that would take me 2 PLUS weeks to do. LOL

 

[72scampguy]

When i was young and broke the distributor went out on my hauler on the way to tje track. Jerked the one out of the race car and installed it in the hauler on the side of road. Drove to the track a swapped it back to the car. Won tje feature that nite. (Dirt track car) put back in the hauler and came home. The winnings paid for new part in the hauler. Good nite of racing.

 

[440outlawdart]

years ago I was at a tnt Friday night,broke a camshaft in 3 pieces,brought it home torn it apart in the morning,went to a friends house,he was at work,got a used cam,put it back together and made it to a bracket race saturday

 

[70aarcuda]

Starting Saturday morning..I pulled two engines out cars...swapped out J heads for w2 heads along with the w2 headers....gates opened a 6 pm......rolled a few minutes after that...

 

[pittsburghracer]

I’m glad to see that I’m not the only nut around here. Lol

 

[pittsburghracer]

Back in the 1970’s I raced Friday at the track and Saturday night while street racing had some issues with my 4 speed on the way home and I wanted to track race Sunday. I pulled the car in my dads garage and pulled the transmission. Now remember I was working on my back with the car about 12 inches off the ground. To pull it and put it in I had to roll it on my chest (126 pounds) and lift it in and out. I pulled, installed,

and tore it apart (never did one before) 3 times that night before it felt right. When I opened the garage door it started raining and as luck would have it the race was rained out. The good news is it was fixed for some more street racing Sunday night.

 

[Demonracer]

My racing partner & I were at an NHRA divisional race with the stock eliminator Dakota years ago & split a fuel line. Of course, it resulted in and engine fire that cooked the under hood wiring. A fellow racer said he had a harness for a full size truck that should work. I spent the next 4 hours pulling the cooked harness & replacing it with the other one to make first round of eliminations. We red lit in the final round, but we made the race.

 

[cojohnso]

I got bumped from tech by a guy that must have been board and wanting to flex his weekend authority. He tossed me because my fuel line was not metal braided far enough down the firewall. No Napa or anything around. Didnt know anyone. In fact, different State. I went to a local HW store and made a fuel line from natural gas piping. Added a little weight. But was certainly steel enough. The tech guy really must not have liked me. I had a couple other small changes to satisfy Mr. Rulebook. Including welding my battery ties. (I actually used JB Weld) But it passed. This was in a 10+ second Duster. HE CHECKED EVERYTHING. Including date on trans blanket. I didn't even know it was a must? I just was lucky mine was new. And put on as precaution. He checked for aftermarket stamp on rear axles. Mine has the Mosier stamp as I answered. He then walked around and checked the otherside. Like anyone would run one aftermarket and one stock axle? He asked about pinion support? I have SS springs. I left snubber on in the event of spring failure. (Even though it's doing nothing but added weight.) He noted and moved on. I lost in 1/4 finals. But was racing.

I have never seen anything like this scrutiny before or since on a bracket car. The only other time I was at this track? Was same car and a different guy passed me in 5 minutes after just checking helmet and seat belt dates. This one was easily 40 minutes just on me? Maybe it was like the airport? Every so often a random cavity search?

 

[bobtile]

Two years ago I was running my car hard all year. It started slowing towards the end of the year even with the good air.
I had one race left that I wanted to make in Maryland in November.
After my race in NY, I did a compression test on the drivers side first.
I found an issue so I pulled the head.
I found a burnt head gasket with no damage to the head or block. I picked up a set of head gaskets , put everything back together, ran the valves and waited till Wednesday to start it up.
I was supposed to leave Thursday eve. To go down to Maryland.
Started the car and still didn't sound right.
Did a compression test on passenger side and found it worse than the other side.
Thursday afternoon, I got home from work a little early and pulled the passenger head.
Gasket burnt, block ok, but head burnt through.
I called Ray Barton and he told me to drop off the head and he would see what he could do.
I made the 2 hour trip and got there just before they closed.
I told him I was trying to make a race in MD. the next day and he had a guy stay and work on the head while I waited.
I thought that was an incredible gesture on his part.
He only charged me 200 bucks to weld and finish the head. WHILE I WAITED!
I got home and put everything back together.
It was 1 am on Friday morning when I finally got everything together.
Unfortunately for my neighbors, I needed to run the car..
I went to sleep about 2 am Friday morning!
Woke up about 9 am and went to the race.
Unfortunately, in the 3rd round, I over revved my motor and blew it up on the burnout.
That was a lot of thrashing for nothing.

 

[pittsburghracer]

I like your effort but sorry to hear about it blowing up. That’s a bummer

 

[Krooser]

Blew an engine on my modified at New Smyrna Beach during the IMCA Florida Series in Feb, 1987.

I was running a junkyard 351C... there was one other racer, Rusty, who ran a big block Ford and he owned a nice engine shop in Gainesville. I had a good race motor to replace that old one.

He let us use the shop overnight so we could make the last race of the series on Saturday night.

About 2AM we got raided by the local SWAT team... they thought we were burglarizing Rusty's shop. The PA said..."ON THE GROUND... HANDS AND LEGS SPREAD"... guns drawn... the whole shootin' match.

We got stashed in two patrol cars... face down on the floor. Handcuffed in back.

A call to Rusty, and a visit in his PJ's, got us out of hot water!

 

[pittsburghracer]

Where's the LMAO button.

 

[Krooser]

Where's the LMAO button.

When we got back home the driveshaft on the van broke... we were stuck halfway in a driveway with the race car trailer sticking out in traffic. We were so broke we didn't have 25 cents between the two of us to call a tow. Called 911 and asked them to call...

 

[moper]

I got myself into a race some years ago. He didn't know I had a new motor in pieces. So in four days, between full time work and night classes, I built the new engine, swapped it and the convertor, tuned it, and won the race. That was a long time ago...lol.

 

[Charrlie_S]

Island Dragway, back in the 70's. Had a 60 Chevy 283 2bbl stocker with a 4 spd. Nhra changed the rules and said no 4 speeds in the low HP cars. Had a 3 sp setup, but no shifter (none available). Ran time shots, and a fellow came over with a 3 sp shifter, which he sold to me for a low price. Changed the trans during "lunch" break, and made first round. Blew the tires off the car. 4 speed had a 2.20 1st gear, 3 speed had a 3.09 1st gear. rear was a 5.13.
Done many things over the years.
Rebuilt trans in the bathtub, at the motel.
Changed a piston and valve, in the hauler, after a valve broke, in a gas station parking lot 1,000 miles from home.
ETC.

 

[pittsburghracer]

About the craziest thing I did in a hotel parking lot was on vacation in Ocean Ciry Md. I had built a very nice 360 engine for my used to be 318 tow vehicle. It started chattering with a couple of noisy lifters on the way down so I nursed it the last 30 miles or so. I had a few tools so I stopped and ordered 3 lifters by the hotel and picked them and a long magnet rod. My parking spot was under the hotel luckily so I was in the shade and with the 340 heads on it I was able to put the bad lifters and flip them over to were they would come out of the head. I could feel two soft ones on the driver side so I changed the two out. It took about and hour total after I removed the van doghouse. Thank God I was skinny back then

 

[Krooser]

There's a story from the old timers about short track ace Dick Trickle blowing an engine in his Mustang, pulling the engine out of his pick-up and putting it in his race car. Then he wins the feature and tows the pick-up and trailer home with the racecar with flashlights taped to the front fenders AFTER they closed the bar!!!

Having known Trickle I believe thats a true story.

 

[pittsburghracer]

I’m betting those old Southern dirt track racers could keep us entertained for a month with some wild stories.

 

[NorthernNYMOPAR]

Circle track car my daughter drove, won one week, next week out of town so wife and daughter went racing called me car was making noise told them race it got video of it smoking like crazy out exhaust dropped valve destroyed motor, came back Sunday night, pulled motor, Monday took block took machine shop Monday, ordered pistons, and other parts, finished assembly Friday night, installation Saturday Morning, Fired it at 10 AM ran it, changed oil, went racing Saturday night and won again …..

 

[famous bob]

Circle track car my daughter drove, won one week, next week out of town so wife and daughter went racing called me car was making noise told them race it got video of it smoking like crazy out exhaust dropped valve destroyed motor, came back Sunday night, pulled motor, Monday took block took machine shop Monday, ordered pistons, and other parts, finished assembly Friday night, installation Saturday Morning, Fired it at 10 AM ran it, changed oil, went racing Saturday night and won again …..

I laughed at remembering we had a full size extra large kotex strapped to the outer two dustcover bolts on the hemi for two races, won 1 of the races. Changed her rag every round------
They trick "J convertor" was knocking the front bushing and seal out. b/m made it good at my expense for the shipping .

 

[pittsburghracer]

I laughed at remembering we had a full size extra large kotex strapped to the outer two dustcover bolts on the hemi for two races, won 1 of the races. Changed her rag every round------
They trick "J convertor" was knocking the front bushing and seal out. b/m made it good at my expense for the shipping .

Lol. We had engine diaper before the manufacture’s made them. Whatever it took to get thru the race day.

 

[Sublime one]

So I was raised in a race shop fetching parts and beers, as a young boy with no Mom it seemed perfectly normal. (still does hah) So I do not remember what the drama was but my father and buddy worked all night to get car ready, got it all ready and van loaded. We had been driving for about an hour before they realized I was still in the van. Yep I am now part of pit crew, they had no time to take me back and had to get to track. In their exhaustion and focus they had simply forgotten about me! I am at best 9 years old? So my new job is to sit on beer cooler and open beers and hand them forward. Official Disclaimer: I am sure no one driving was drinking. And as they rotated and needed to pee I had to grab the side door and slide it open where they would pee on the fly. This turned into a incredible display of patience and timing as invariably if you had to pee the driver would naturally need to pass a car at the point you were 1/2 done. This led to side bets and no end of howling. Keep in mind this is late sixties the van had a false floor with a wood platform deck to double the storage. The sliding door on side was huge and I could barely open it. At some point they decided I was allowed one sip per beer opened as a token of appreciation for me being FNG on pit crew. In return they did their best to hit me with empties as they tossed them to the back. They filled the cavity where the back double doors closed with empties. So we get to the track and have to go straight to tech. They tell me to stay put and act normal. (Still not sure how to do that) They get the car on the scales and pop open the back doors and all the beer cans clatter to the ground. The chief tech guy is not amused. They order me out of the van to toss them in the trash. I am in awe of even being there I am at tech, being told what to do as a member of the crew, all under the watchful eye of the track officials. Trying to be super cool and mature I stand up in the van and walk towards the back doors amidst the empty cans. My grand entry, as I exit I hit my head squarely upon the edge of the opening for the back doors. I land on the MT cans which then act as marbles and me and all my glory cascade out of the van on a carpet of cans and land on my back at the track officials feet. His displeasure is now full blown as here is a little kid quite clearly "off balance" My Dad and his buddies are doubled over as are most in the tech area. They had a bit of reputation you see. They won the race that weekend. And my spot on the crew was cemented. I just figured I would share that story as so many of us have been in this hobby for so long. We all have about a million stories just like that. The world was simpler then I think. I can only imagine how that would turn out today. Heck I even drank out of a garden hose when I was thirsty.

 

[Sublime one]

View attachment 1715312379 View attachment 1715312380 View attachment 1715312381 View attachment 1715312382 Back in the 1970’s I raced Friday at the track and Saturday night while street racing had some issues with my 4 speed on the way home and I wanted to track race Sunday. I pulled the car in my dads garage and pulled the transmission. Now remember I was working on my back with the car about 12 inches off the ground. To pull it and put it in I had to roll it on my chest (126 pounds) and lift it in and out. I pulled, installed,View attachment 1715312379 View attachment 1715312380 View attachment 1715312381 View attachment 1715312382 and tore it apart (never did one before) 3 times that night before it felt right. When I opened the garage door it started raining and as luck would have it the race was rained out. The good news is it was fixed for some more street racing Sunday night.

Love the vintage pix. Most all our track pix were burned in a fit of vengeance by one of my Dads crazy lady friend. I am sure her wrath was warranted but our family lost a whole bunch of pictures that day.

 

[pittsburghracer]

Love the vintage pix. Most all our track pix were burned in a fit of vengeance by one of my Dads crazy lady friend. I am sure her wrath was warranted but our family lost a whole bunch of pictures that day.

Man that would really stink. It’s great reflecting back. We had a 10 day challenge on Facebook to tell our old Racing stories a couple years ago. Man that was some fun.

 

[Sublime one]

Man that would really stink. It’s great reflecting back. We had a 10 day challenge on Facebook to tell our old Racing stories a couple years ago. Man that was some fun.

I'm not man enough for FB! But I bet the stories were a hoot. Some of the best times of my life watching my Dad and his buddies at the track and all the helmet throwing jerking guys out of cars and general brawls at every juncture. I learned how to drink and many other general life skills essential to becoming a fine young US Marine at those tracks. Men were men I gotta tell ya!