The small block v8 engines revved up and with cutouts opened, 4 bbl carbs throbbin and then the cluch is dumped. Almost always the little 55 chevys were in front of the Ford counterparts. At the end of the quarter mile "track" the chevy is coastin across the finish line well ahead of the Ford. Upon closer examination the Chevy is found to contain a "modified" intake system which includes a rather odd lookin valve train along with an odd lookin air scoop for the HUGE Carter Carb mounted about 2 inches above the original intake position. The Ford owner is all a dither wantin a "miss-match" disqualification which would make him the winner. The Chevy owner told'm he could've beaten the Ford with stock equipment. The confrontation usually didn't progress any further than the argue'n stage.

Two wide black marks, solid and without interruption, were burned into the blacktop where the Chevy had started from. The little weakling Ford had barely left 2 foot of "mark" while the Chevy's were well over 100 feet. Several times when the Chevy was "run" it seemed to almost always end up in altercations ranging from a " brisk" thumpin to a few angry words. It seemed that nobody had the car that was better'n the Chevy.

These were the days way back in the early 60's when fast cars, cheap gasoline, [lawmen were few and far between] and vague laws against drag racing were the "norm" for these parts. Many a weekend was spent tryin out each others fast cars. The rest of the week was spent rebuildin clutchs, pressure plates, u-joints, transmissions, rearends and a host of other things that went wrong when the "top dogs" were showin off their power and speed.

Two HUGE truck tires [recaps] on the back and in the size of 7.60 X 15's and 5.60 X 15's [volkswagen tires] on the front. It was always a treat to see those front tires carried off the blacktop for a spell when the Chevy was "launched".

Me involved? You bet!!! Who do you think had that fast little 55 Chevy? Times have changed so much so that these activities of the young hillbilly kids are all but forgotten except by a few of us old dogs. The old 55 Chevy is gone, that wimpy little 54 Ford is a memory and, of course, the tire sizes ain't even known about today! Cheap gasoline is gone, small block chevy motors are "doggy" soundin now ---except those little 4 bangers. Those little dudes will outrun even the fastest of those old "bucket-a-bolts" of 40 years ago--and do it on half the gasoline!

I've gotten old, fat,stiff, half blind, lazy and with not a drop of desire to repeat those days when we'd lay on the wet ground workin on an old rust bucket.

How many of ya'll ole hairy legged men experienced the same type of entertainment when ya'll were just a pup?

I sure do hope that the Lord enjoyed those times of "hillbilly entertainment" as much as we did!

Old hoot gibson. Matt.24:44

-- old hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), December 30, 2001

Answers

Well yeah Hoot. The chevy had more CID than the ford. I'm guessing the ford had a 232 CID and the chevy a 265 CID. I had a stock 54 Ford with a 2 bbl carb that'd lay a strip 27' in first, 9' in second and 3' feet in third, power shifting thru the gears with the pedal never leaving the floor after launch. That was the first year for overhead valves in the fords and the first year for V8 in the Chevys.

I always heard the Chevies were faster in drag races because they had a shorter stroke than the Fords so they'd rev faster.

-- john (natlivent@pcpros.net), December 31, 2001.

Yeah Hoot, those Chevies did great on the drags, but my Fords and Lincolns always took first on the hills and curves! I've only owned 2 chevies in my life and couldn't keep either one running. I

Life does change doesn't it? Every time I wander into a classic car rally I am shocked that all the car guys are middle-aged and bald. What happened to all those young, good-lookin' bucks that smelled like gear oil? These days I spend more time looking at the cars than I do the guys and so does my daughter!

There is a new generation of up and coming car kids that need to learn from the OGs (Old Guys) The kids in our family are rather shocked that my Dad, the 75 year old patriarch of the family, had a 54 Ford PU with a 460? (I am getting forgetful). This creature was called THE SCREAMER and it did! It was also pink. Their jaws hit the floor when I count off the cool cars that he drove and that his hobby was pit crew for NASCAR for awhile.

I gotta nephew that I get to teach what a 68 Mustang can really do, he's been driving it like a Volkswagon. I got in it and blew the carbon out of it for him. He hasn't looked at me the same since. I said "Aww come on, your Mama used to drive a GTO!"

Yeah, Hoot, I think the Lord enjoyed it with us and provided the fun times we had. I do think we got on his nerves and pushed the grace thing too hard during those airborn times, but he carried us safely through them. For this we owe Him everthing. I give thanks to Him daily for sparing me from my wildness and stupidity so that I could have a deeper relationship with Him so that I could also teach others about Him. For guys, under the hood of a good machine is a great place to talk about who's important.

Thanks for the memories, Hoot. Memory lane is a good place to walk and look back and see that God was with us all those times.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.