Racers take over streets after dark
- Thread starter grillebilly
- Start date
squirrelnest
Lunatic Member
My dad was friends with Robert Berger who won the soap box derby in 1938....and helped make the soap box race car!
KingBubba
"Too Much Stuff"
As Orlando's sprawl moved west toward where my former house was, the local "Fast and Furious" crowd decided that the road just to the rear of my property was the place to race at 3am on Sunday morning. No matter how many calls to the police happened, they continued with the racing. The must have had lookouts and used phone or radio for communicating. The racing was loud but nowhere near as loud as it was when all the cars left at the same time. For years, I never did get a good Saturday night sleep. I wish they were racing with soapbox racers. 
sKIZo, your more right than you think. When I was in my late teens our town of Burlington looked just like the movie American Graffiti. Every Friday and Saturday night High Street was home to all sorts of muscle cars and hot rods. They would cruise back and forth having fun and looking for a race.
Cops had rules: No burnouts and no open headers. And most importantly, no racing in town.
My best friend, even to this day, Pat, had a 67 Chevelle 396 that was the fastest car around. Looked more stock than hopped up, it was Pat's tuning that made it run. That and the way he could slam shifts with it's 4 speed.
We would go out of town to race and Pat always beat them by a fender, stop and take the money. Once I asked him why he didn't just blow the guy away and he answered "He will be back to race me again, never show your hand" Sure enough, a week or two later he would be back having added some speed parts to the car. Sure enough, Pat would beat him by a fender. Some guys just never learned.
I remember when Interstate 295 just opened between Trenton and Burlington. Nobody used it yet and at night it was deserted. What a dragstrip! Three lanes, wide shoulders and straight. You could never do that today.
All of this was back in the late 70's, by about 1980 it had been chased out of town. No more tunnel rams and blowers to be seen about. Wish I had taken pictures, it was just natural to see and I figured it was normal. People came from all over, the bad asses from Philly going home draggin there tails between there legs after Pat took there money.
Just this evening I was at Pat's shop, we were flowing a head for a small block that's going into a 67 Chevelle that is a shop project car. Sure hope he remembers how to still slam gears!
Two weeks ago we fitted a tube front end with a drop axle, Should be out in the spring.
BillWojo
Cops had rules: No burnouts and no open headers. And most importantly, no racing in town.
My best friend, even to this day, Pat, had a 67 Chevelle 396 that was the fastest car around. Looked more stock than hopped up, it was Pat's tuning that made it run. That and the way he could slam shifts with it's 4 speed.
We would go out of town to race and Pat always beat them by a fender, stop and take the money. Once I asked him why he didn't just blow the guy away and he answered "He will be back to race me again, never show your hand" Sure enough, a week or two later he would be back having added some speed parts to the car. Sure enough, Pat would beat him by a fender. Some guys just never learned.
I remember when Interstate 295 just opened between Trenton and Burlington. Nobody used it yet and at night it was deserted. What a dragstrip! Three lanes, wide shoulders and straight. You could never do that today.
All of this was back in the late 70's, by about 1980 it had been chased out of town. No more tunnel rams and blowers to be seen about. Wish I had taken pictures, it was just natural to see and I figured it was normal. People came from all over, the bad asses from Philly going home draggin there tails between there legs after Pat took there money.
Just this evening I was at Pat's shop, we were flowing a head for a small block that's going into a 67 Chevelle that is a shop project car. Sure hope he remembers how to still slam gears!
Two weeks ago we fitted a tube front end with a drop axle, Should be out in the spring.
BillWojo
Archguy
Official Roiurama Factory Rep
Wow, it looks just like the one on the Simpsons, which is the sum total of my experience with soap-box derby.
When do you think that photo was taken?
grillebilly
Empty Head
Good question. If I had to guess it would be 1959.
