Local legends and urban myths

[Ghoste]

I'm just sitting here thinking about the cars that influenced me growing up and I'm pretty sure the rest of you have similar experiences.
I grew up in a small town and the one car that I recall as being the "do NOT ever race" car was a 69 Coronet.  It wasn't an RT it was just a plain old 440 trim Coronet.  It was black and had a red interior with one of those early 70's style Mopar Pro Stock hood scoops on it.  I have no idea what was in it for an engine.  I only remember that his reputation was so fierce, that no one would try him.
The funny thing is, I don't ever recall seeing him race anybody or knowing anyone who actually saw such a thing.  I don't even recall him getting on the car really hard.  Little bursts but no sideways through town antics.

[XXSpiralXX]

    When I was a kid I wasnt into cars, but I hear stories of all the "unbeaten" cars. Blue angel is one that I remember cuz I heard about it today. I think it was a 56 bellaire that ran in brooklyn. Couple of others that are still on the street.

[1970440RT]

       My old man.   West end of Pittsburgh.   1970 Panther Pink Hemi Challenger.   He did two tours in Vietnam in the Corps, came back, and used his combat pay to purchase the above car.   Galen Govier says this car does not exist but I have pics of him and the car in front of his mother's house and in Camp Lejeune.   I fell in love with the car from the pictures as a kid, but never heard stories of my dad tearing it up until I went out drinking with him and his buddies after my graduation from Parris Island.   He never said anything about street racing when I was growing up,   but his buds more than made up for it that night and after.   When they were stationed in North Carolina towards the end of his time, they made the trip back to Pittsburgh in record times, average speed 90 to 100.   Stop only for gas.   Their best story was the trooper that pulled them over only to race them to the next exit.   After he got out of the service, they said he didn't race because people knew not to try.   Mostly he pulled up and watched.   

      I had a new found respect for my old man after that because most of us would brag about this stuff, he held back for my benefit.   Probably the same reason why he never talked about being overseas.  Much to his dismay, I still joined the Marines, came home to camp couch and bought "only" a 440 Challenger!

[Ghoste]

Cool story and I wouldn't fuss too much about what GG says doesn't exist.   He seems to miss a lot of stuff.
My dad used to race too but he only talks about it a little.   Not bragging, just storytellin'.   He wouldn't be able to keep it too closely guarded cuz I witnessed some of it.
His only real notoriety came from trying to jump a ditch in his dad's car and landing one bumper on each bank and folding the car in half.   He has an upper plate because the steering wheel knocked out most of his upper teeth.   Mom never lets him forget about that one.

[andy74]

these stories are great,should put some over at krhyons site too.
i remember when i was a young teen ager,there was a guy in our town with a gremlin,really hopped up,and no one would race him-had big fat tires on the rear,and would jerk the front wheels from a dead stop.i always wondered what happened to that guy?

[Chryco Psycho]

there was a Black 70 R/T Charger, Hemi the used to roam the streets  , it had a Gator grain top & Centerline wheels & a burnt orange interior  , the guy who drove never was shy about using the power , I remember it going sideways down the street with smoke puoring out of the wheel wells , 1 day it disappeared , I didn`t see it from around 1979 , I asked a lot of people about the car no one knew where the car was , around 2000 the car showed uo at a car show , with the same tires , wheels everything , I got talking to the owner who turned out to be the brother of the guy I knew , as it turned out he had been killed & the family had stored the car & never changed anything on the car ,overall it is a shame but the car is still awesome & in perfect condition

[Blown70]

there was a Black 70 R/T Charger, Hemi the used to roam the streets   , it had a Gator grain top & Centerline wheels & a burnt orange interior   , the guy who drove never was shy about using the power , I remember it going sideways down the street with smoke puoring out of the wheel wells , 1 day it disappeared , I didn`t see it from around 1979 , I asked a lot of people about the car no one knew where the car was , around 2000 the car showed uo at a car show , with the same tires , wheels everything , I got talking to the owner who turned out to be the brother of the guy I knew , as it turned out he had been killed & the family had stored the car & never changed anything on the car ,overall it is a shame but the car is still awesome & in perfect condition

I swear I have heard of that car.......where you located state?

[Chryco Psycho]

Alberta Can , the car is still here

[moparguy01]

nobody would ever race either my 64 dodge polara i drove in high school or my black charger. neither were that fast, but i guess compared to a rice rocket, they would move alittle bit quicker. the 5.13s in the polara helped alittle though.

[694spdRT]

When my dad was young in the mid 1960's he played for a local softball team. One of the other players ordered out a brand new 1963 Fury 4 door with a 426 Max Wedge and automatic.

The car was their family car and it was left totally stock including the hubcaps. Quite a few musclecars saw the taillights of that car. One particular race was with a 1962 Ford with a 406 4 speed...my dad held the money in the back seat of the Fury. They were stopped at the next light before the Ford got there.

That car impressed dad enough that he bought a 1963 Sport Fury with a 383 4 speed. The only car in the area that came close to staying with him was a 1965 Olds 442 and the Sport Fury started pulling away at 130mph. That car was stock except for a homemade cold air induction setup and it turned a 13.2 quarter mile at Union Grove raceway.

[mustanghater]

Their was a guy my dad told me about who had a black  4-speed duster that would race every now and then and it always won. One night a car ran a red light and took out the front end of the duster.A few weeks later the same guy shows up with a blue duster with a hemi auto in it.After a couple of races the car was never seen again. Later that night my dad has to pickup a blue duster that was hit by a train, everyone thought it was the duster that raced that night so they thought it was the end of another good race car.It was sad to say the driver of that car was killed.Few years later about 88, my dad goes to look at a blue duster.He opens the  car door to reveal black paint.The front end was all fiberglass and it had a hemi auto under the hood. It was also tubbed in the back but didn't have drag tires.He was told by the guy it was a factory drag car, My dad wasn't falling for that one but he still liked the car. The price was too much for my dad at the time so he passed on the car. 2 weeks later they are called to the house to tow away a duster body.The owner had striped the car for parts and sold them off.

['CUDA360]

I drive one of the local legends from back then.
It had a 426 HEMI with a 833 and the typical n-50s on slotted mags. The guy popped the engine and sold the body minus the drivetrain to another guy who let it sit in front of his mom's house. It sank into the blacktop for years. I saw it and started buggin his mom about it. Couple years later they called me to come pick it up for $250.00 but it had been tagged by a drunk driver.  I had to change a fender and the grille but not too bad for the money.

Course now it's just a small block with an automatic but it still has the long wheelstuds and SS spring hangers from back in the day and lots of little scars underneth from the floor jacks and quickie modifications.

[MTPOCKET]

More 

[rare69]

back in 65 my dad was based in the air force in mooses lake washington and his room mate was a kid with money. his parents bought him a new car. a 65 plymouth belvedere A/FX car to be exact, it was baby blue with a 426 hemi 4 speed he said it looked pretty stock just sitting there until you saw a normal one along side of it. anyway he said they won all there beer money for three years with that car and never lost a race.

[Blown70]

I fogot about his.  Our neighbor had a 1969 Charger 440 with NOS, Dana, auto.  BANNANA YELLOW with black top and stripe..... SHE WAS PRETTY.  Black interior.  He basically redid the whole car.

It was for a long time the Fastest car in town until a guy hopped up  a Torino.... with a larger NOS kit.  However The YELLOW charger then got a larger one.... However they never raced.

I had a ride in the charger,  LET ME TELL YOU THAT IS ONE OF THE FASTEST cars (street) that I had ever been in.   

The BURINOUT on MAIN STREET WAS PRETTY COOL!!!!!!

Car was sold to south WI...... STILL DRAG RACING FROM WHAT I AM TOLD....

[GTX]

We drove a couple of the local legends back in the day and that tells you how really sad it was here.

I had a friend from high school who drove a '70 Bee back in the late 70's. He was a real nice guy- no attitude and his car looked too damn nice to be as fast as it was. Most of our cars were primer or old paint since we put all of our money into the engines but his was a beautiful B5 blue and cherry in and out, he also had the hottest girl around too.
He never challenged people but didn't back down from a good race either and used to apologize for being faster than everyone and tell us he was just lucky etc. He worked at the local 2 bay garage up the street and we used to see him and his buddies in there working on it late at night.
Many a night we ran balls out on 23rd East between 6200 So and 7000 So on that long flat stretch for any local guys.
Everyone tried and everyone lost to him and we were no exception although our '70 Challenger came very close a few times.
He seldem allowed anyone a look under the hood but he let us once and told us that he had NOS plumbed under the manifold. Maybe just talking smack since I never saw any lines or anything anywhere. Of course, that was the first time I had ever even heard of NOS - 1977/ '78.
He never allowed anyone to see inside his trunk. All I know is that car ran like a scalded cat, it took us probably about a year to get so we could even give him any kind of run and we were not slow. 
I remember well looking over and seeing the blue door on his Bee straight across from us as we went through the gears and then watching it pull away.....again.

[rare69]

don't think you could call him a legend but i thought it deserved a spot here.my good friend mark (AKA) dads69.used to live here in port Angeles,WA had a 69 SE charger with a 383. And a couple other guys bet him a 12 pack of beer, bad idea!, that he wouldn't blast past the A&W at 100 MPH on the main drag in town.! he was drinking free beer that night. 120. a little crazy but times were different. and beer was cheaper.(GOOD TIMES)!

[troy.70R/T]

Sometimes I wonder if the good times are really over for good?

[NMike]

there was  a guy near me. in the late 70's ealy 80's he had a gold colored 66 coronet. 383. he peeled the badges off of it and raced it on the street during the week nights. on the weekend he raced another gold coronet for money, this a the identical car except for a hemi in it. he only opened the hood during the week, and took the money and ran on the weekends.

[C_stripes]

there was a Black 70 R/T Charger, Hemi the used to roam the streets  , it had a Gator grain top & Centerline wheels & a burnt orange interior  , the guy who drove never was shy about using the power , I remember it going sideways down the street with smoke puoring out of the wheel wells , 1 day it disappeared , I didn`t see it from around 1979 , I asked a lot of people about the car no one knew where the car was , around 2000 the car showed uo at a car show , with the same tires , wheels everything , I got talking to the owner who turned out to be the brother of the guy I knew , as it turned out he had been killed & the family had stored the car & never changed anything on the car ,overall it is a shame but the car is still awesome & in perfect condition

Is this it?  I think I got these pics from the 70 charger registry???

[Ghoste]

there was  a guy near me. in the late 70's ealy 80's he had a gold colored 66 coronet. 383. he peeled the badges off of it and raced it on the street during the week nights. on the weekend he raced another gold coronet for money, this a the identical car except for a hemi in it. he only opened the hood during the week, and took the money and ran on the weekends.

There was a similar car in Hot Rod or Car Craft years ago.  I still have the story cut out and saved about a guy in a Hawaii with a pair of 70 Challengers.  He wold cruise around with one and let everyone check it out thoroughly and go get the one set for kill when it was race time.  I have to try and find the article but I'm thinking it was mid 70's so I wonder if the Coronet guy saw the same magazine?

[hemihead]

Around here in the 70's / early 80's it was fun . We had a black 70 Charger that was hot, a 71 Challenger R/T 340 car , a Ford nut that took his 351 C out of his Torino and put it in a Pinto . But THE most embarassing thing was the son of a local Chevy dealer who comes around with a cherry 66 Hemi Satellite . What a dog that thing was ! Seems the wonderful GM mechanics didn't know how to adjust mechanical lifters . My buddy's 72 Charger , 318 with a cam and 4.56 gears ,  beat the snot out of it . Left a very bad rep for Mopars here that lingers to this day .
   Moral of the story boys and girls : NEVER , EVER let Chevy people near a Mopar !

[joflaig]

Back around 1980 near Reading, PA (Maple Grove!) there was a guy with a GL replica. This was a big deal as the show was still airing new episodes.  We actually had a class trip to visit the car when I was in Kindergarten. I slammed the door of the car on my friend's hand. Anyway, I always asked my mother to drive by that house!

[superduperbee]

A high school buddy of mine in the 70s had a 69 charger in Utica MI. It was Olive green metallic and had flat black flames painted along the bottom. It had a 440 built to NASCAR specs, and a full cage.  He got the first set of Centerlines made for a Mopar. The car never lost a race. Eventually he couldn't get any races and the cops were all over him so he sold it. A week later the new owner killed himself in it. He hit a tree head on and the transmission tailshaft was sticking out of the trunk!

[andy74]

my kids told me that my car is becoming one of the urban legends around here! i guess a bunch of high school ricer types were talking last week about a blue old mopar that they saw coming off a corner sideways,tires smoking! i dont know where they ever got that idea :angel:but it sure is funny!

[68charger383]

I think the cooler part of these stories is how many of these local legends had some influence about what's in your garage today. Its also funny how a lot of these stories are kind of similar, I guess no matter where you grew up it was basically the same.

For me, when I was 14-15 and just prior to getting to drive, we would all hang out at the pizza parlor in NY. Since kids were hanging out, the slightly older kids would cruise by in their cars. There was a guy who had a candy apple blue 68 charger with a 426 wedge in it. He worked at a local speed shop and no one would race him....not that he raced someone who was totally malled by the car, but just like others have said, he just had the rep of being untouchable so no one tried. That car was painted like a show car and sounded perfect...while everyone else was driving primed or driver quality cars.

One night, the day after a snow storm, I was walking my dog after the sun had melted some of the snow causing some icy and dry/wet roads. This was the early 80s so people drove their cars rain/sleet/snow. I heard him pull up to a corner, he floored the car around the corner and after about a 100 ft of spinning the tires, he hit a patch of ice or wet pavement and the car just went sideways and became a slight U on a telephone pole. That was the last time I saw the car.

However, the memory of that car definitely was one of the influences that made me decide to get a charger.

[JimShine]

I had an uncle that I was close to that was a die hard GM fanatic. He went through more cars in a month than most people do in their lives. This was the late 70's, when things were cheap. There was a guy he would encounter on the streets from time to time and they would race. The guy drove a blue 1968 Charger. Years go by and this guy always gave my uncle an ass kicking. Around 1984 my uncle bought a beautiful 1967 Pontiac 2+2 that was a fast SOB. One night he went out drinking (which was rare for him) and on the way home on a desolate highway he spotted that old Blue 1968 Charger. He figured this was his shot to finally beat that Charger. They raced for a couple miles and my uncle blacked out and hit the cement of an overpass, totalling his 2+2. The car went end over end a few times, engine ripped from the car, trunk pushed to the ground. When I went and saw the wreck the entire cabin of the car except the area around the drivers seat was destroyed. I still don't know how he lived through that. To this day he still talks about that elusive blue 1968 Charger and how he always wanted to beat it and the one chance he had he blew it by being drunk.

[ereru7]

I was a legend until i sold it. Beat many Gm street cars. sigh

[Ghoste]

And there's that old Mopar Pro Stock hood scoop.  I love that scoop. 

[Dodge Don]

there was a Black 70 R/T Charger, Hemi the used to roam the streets  , it had a Gator grain top & Centerline wheels & a burnt orange interior  , the guy who drove never was shy about using the power , I remember it going sideways down the street with smoke puoring out of the wheel wells , 1 day it disappeared , I didn`t see it from around 1979 , I asked a lot of people about the car no one knew where the car was , around 2000 the car showed uo at a car show , with the same tires , wheels everything , I got talking to the owner who turned out to be the brother of the guy I knew , as it turned out he had been killed & the family had stored the car & never changed anything on the car ,overall it is a shame but the car is still awesome & in perfect condition

That car was COTM at the 70 Charger Registry awhile back and is in the Special Interest Chargers section of the 70 Charger Registry (pictures/story)

Very cool car

http://1970chargerregistry.com/page7.html