More Drag City Race Stories
By Scott Strenzel, aka Scooter from Scooter’s Garage
Harv has about worn himself out swimming/splashing around pool.
I’m afraid he’s so at home laying in it that he’ll drop off asleep and drown.
Anyway, was just scanning through the last issue of Auto Round-Up, and saw an X drag strip vintage car that’s now street legal. This hit the switch on a light bulb that brought back another “Scooter true story”.
It’s 1964, I’m a senior, still cruising in the 1958 Vette and have sold the baby blue 1955 Chevy 265 4 barrel 3 on the floor straight piped 210 2 dr Chevy, needed to have a less “hot rod-able” replacement ride for the Vette when it gets tore up. The local state police had the dealership doing the recovery and storage of abandoned cars, etc. We had this little light yellow and cream topped 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook coupe in the in-pound area for a few months. No one claimed it! “Some how” I got low bid on it. Can’t be anything “in” about that fact! Ha Ha! I paid the $39 dollar storage fees and bid $50 more and owned it. Don’t remember how in hell my dad and Sergeant Emerson Lake (remember him?) got me a title. But who cares when you are 17. Anyway, if you read on, you will understand why I make mention of the cool little coupe, that’s drivable!
OK. I have the Cam Buster’s Car Club. About 30 miles away in a much larger town, there are two car clubs.
I got permission to mention them, but don’t want to speak badly of the past and possibly tick off the members that are still in one of the clubs, that’s around today.
I have broken up with the love of my life, Sue. I am dating the HOT blonde High School Snow Princess, Lynn. I have a date to take her Cadillac to the Hill Crest Drive-In for food and do some cruising. Ran across a hot 1956 Chevy and turns out he’s an officer for the bigger car club that has its own building right on the main street. We cruise to the clubhouse and open our hoods to check out each others mills. A bunch of the other club members arrive. Well, as any car kid would do, “My car is FASTER than yours!” That seemed to be the primary topic of conversation. Heck, in my life now, I’d be drooling all over the blond and leave the damn hood closed. Maybe I’m partly getting grown-up, and then, maybe not.
As the poop gets fairly deep, it’s suggested that we ALL head out and commence to do some DRAG RACING to see just who can beat the Cam Buster guy’s Vette!
They tell me to follow them to where they have 1320 foot of M-115 marked with a start and finish line all of the way across the two lane black top! Golly, isn’t there a movie line in there somewhere?
I’ll give just a partial recall list of what was there from the other club, before the tire smoke begins. A 1949-51 Merc, with a 312 V-8, a stupid looking 4 door sleeper 1954 Plymouth with a Hemi in it, a 1958 Chevy 348 250hp (1 4-barrel) 3 on the tree, a 1962 Biscayne (dad sold it to him) 250hp 327 T-10, 4:56 posi light blue 2 door and the 1956 210 2-door sedan with possibly a 327 AFB 4 speed in it, plus some other not so notable cars, but at least a dozen or so. PLUS the cars that just drove out to watch the races. The club had done this a few times before. Once we all arrived. A car pulled partly right on to the state highway and the members jumped out, loosened up the lug nuts on the driver’s front and removed that rim and tire. Then they let it gently down on the pavement and set out flares to tell any on coming civilian traffic that there’s a problem ahead and that they’d have to turn by Sergeant’s Sinclair gas station and drive around the mess. At the finish line there were a few “result judges” setting there on the side road. Then up about another quarter mile was one car with a guy with a 5 cell flash light that would signal when there were no cars coming from the other side of the hill that helped slow you down just after the finish line. I had pulled off on to the shoulder to let Lynn out so she could watch from a safe place. I also wanted to check my oil etc. I was now ready to take on the whole damn club! One car at a time!
First up was the 1956 Chevy guy. I had already figured out my car hooks up best when dropping the clutch at just above 3500 RPM’s and as it just barely quits squealing, I floor it! Then of-course I keep my foot to the floor at ALL times as I jam the clutch in at about 6400 RPM’s to shift that trusty T-10! We line up, a guy come out as a starter with a flash light. It flicks on, I nail it! SHIT DOUBLE SHIT! I forgot to clean off my tires from pulling off to let the hottie out. I had some clay or mud on them. Plus, I way red lined (another old B grade movie?) it at about 6800, slipping all over the damn road. He beat me bad! But after I had my crap together, I ended up racing at-least 10 or 12 cars. I beat ALL of them except maybe 2 or 3. Plus, we had to wait a few times as civilian cars came from the west and were let through. By luck as it was, after midnight no cars came the other way and had to be told to take the detour and NO COPS either!
OK. I’m at-least respectable, and am asking for a re-match with the 1956 Chevy guy that started all of this fun. OK he says, line them up! SHIT! DOUBLE AND GOSH DARN, TRIPLE SHIT! As we get the go flash I dump it! The damn clutch just slips to beat the band. I’m almost a done turkey!
Lynn and I gently ride to her house at maybe 35 or 40 MPH. Every time I’d climb a hill or accelerate more than a little… it would just rev up. I was worried I’d blow the whole mess and cut off her fine looking legs. Dropped her off with a “quickie kiss” and it’s off to the Chevy garage and put the slippin’ Vette into “MY” stall and fire up my trusty, but slow Cranbrook. I end up with maybe 3 hours of sleep. I had to be at the Chevy garage at 6am to wash every used car in stock before 8:30am. That’s opening time on Saturdays. With them shinny, dear old dad can better sell them. Had to spring for a new 39 cent skunk air freshener for the Sat night drive-in date (AKA my free tonsil check procedure) in the Cranbrook with Lynn. Life is GOOD! Cars are FUN. I’m lovin’ it! The dealership and the garage is closed! Lust you later Lynn!
Originally posted on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Category: Auto Round-Up News
