Gone, gone, gone...

It's that time of year again. Speed Week beckons. Funny, the salt appears so pristine, but in reality, is more evil than heroin - drawing in unsuspecting knuckledraggers like myself, who stop by to pay homage and leave swearing never to return to this miserable place. That was my first experience and despite myself, I was planning my return trip well before I ever crossed back into my home state. Insideous stuff. That was many years ago. Since then, I've spectated, crewed and raced on the salt at every opportunity. If you've been there, you understand. If not, you're out of luck, as no words, photos or film footage can begin to convey the salt experience. Sorry.

This year, the incentive is to photograph and interview several racers for a book on overseas racers who come to the U.S. to run in a variety of motorsports. I've been corresponding with these people for months now and am looking forward to getting some in-person insight into why these speed gypsies feel it's worth the shipping costs and passports. It should be a rush to record the culmination of their long distance quests. I'm stoked, to say the least.

My brother Wayne is presently driving from his home in Nebraska to Oregon, to load up my old '36 Ford pickup cab (our dad's last resto project and my last drag car project). This Saturday, I have a book signing at the local Barnes & Noble, then we're off on a banzai blast to B'ville, hoping to catch the premier of the Boys of Bonneville film on Sunday night in Wendover. Wayne and the '36 will head east after that and I'll be in Utah with no room, no ride home and no money. A leap of faith befitting any salt quest.

If I survive and return, I'll post my adventures here. If this crusty hitch hiker is splattered to the winds by a Freightliner on I-80, just know that I appreciate all who stopped by the blog for a look. I hope you left here feeling better than when you arrived, in some way.

Here's some images of Bonneville adventures past, to tide you over and/or inspire your own salty pilgrimage. Kicking off with shots of the Sodium Cyborg Tour of 2007, when Chris Clark and I ran my Morris at World of Speed (see Blast Across the Salt in the July 2008 Rod & Custom).

L-R: Freckles (Jerm's Porsche), Wayne, his son Jerm, Me, CC. Freckles went about 17 MPH faster than the Morris. They whipped us, fair and square.

                                          Sweating bullets at Tech-In.

                                      With CC, happy to pass tech...

                     Unwittingly heading toward a funhouse spin at 137 MPH. 

                           CC, waiting to be waved off on a 140 MPH run.

    And he's off! The freeway is just over the horizon. Interesting, as the      Morris goes good, but doesn't stop worth a #%*$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

       Freckles and Lil Zilla going at it, at an undisclosed location. I lost again.

Photo by Jerm, at speed......................................................................................

                            Crewing for Sid and Erik Johnson in 2009.

                    Pushing Erik off on his first run in the little Berkeley.

                                   Wayne's '41 Pontiac taking a break.

     Our buddy House crewed on this 500+" Caddy powered A-bomb in '09.

And finally, some random salt sillyness. Lots more of this stuff in upcoming books. These shots are all out takes - I'm saving the good stuff...

                                             See you on the salt???

Banned! Steve Curry's Mopars

If Steve's name seems familiar, you've been tuned into the good stuff. He and old pal Bob Furry teamed up on a canary yellow straight axle '57 Chevy street/strip sedan that graced the August 2000 cover of Hot Rod magazine. Gray Baskerville was nearly killed getting that shot and the story behind it is a hilarious epic, still in heavy rotation at racetrack pits and burger joints around the globe.

Steve's been a mover and shaker on the local scene for many years and is still into it, up to his eyebrows. In the opening years of the New Millennium, I was doing a lot of musclecar stories for Car Craft and Steve's Mopar fleet seemed like a natural. When I first submitted this tale, Steve Magnante was saturating the (then) Primedia pages with Pentastar lore and CC passed. I shopped it around to all the other titles, who also waived it off, probably because of my amaturish photography (performed on a freezing day with numb fingers), but all insisted they'd get back to it. None of them ever did and it's been sitting in a cardboard box gathering dust, until today.

                              Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

By Scotty Gosson

Photos by Scotty Gosson

                                                               

To the point. Surgically clean. Tastefully understated. Brutally honest. Viciously fast. The anti-bling. Why don't we see more of this? Here are three different approaches to building killer street/strip cars out of pedestrian sixties iron that the megabuck collectors passed on. There are no rules in this game, so why aren't more people playing? It's an inside deal - you either get it or you don't. Get this:

                                                              

'65 Coronet

Originally built over twenty years ago at "Moshers Musclecar Motors" in Monrovia, California, it's still holding up very well, thank you. These build ups are pretty much routine for Mopar guru Bobby Mosher: Blow car completely apart; strip everything to bare metal and rub on everything until it's perfect; stab in a relatively mild big block (440 with 426 wedge decals on the valve covers and a crossram intake for style points); cam with plenty of hair on it, and earthquake exhaust to add interest; prep a 727 automatic for battle and match it with an appropriate torque converter; make sure the 8 3/4 rear is bulletproof and loaded with a 4.10 gear; delete rear seat and replace factory bench with Dodge van buckets; garnish with period correct Sun tach; repaint body factory color.

Simple, huh? There are no trick parts, and no sleight of hand or anything cute about the build-up. The hard part is not getting sidetracked or carried away - a little restraint goes a long way here. The Coronet blows minds on the street, with audio to match the visuals. The combination is a traffic jammer ("Grab your ankles, there's a Super Stocker in the other lane!"). And it runs easy low 13s in full street trim, with cat pee in the tank. Best of all worlds...

                                                                   

                                                                

                                                                          

'68 Valiant

A no brainer. The Valiant spent it's childhood as a Pacific Bell fleet vehicle. These cars came with 6 cylinder/automatic combos (with the light torsion bars.) More light comes from nifty fleet options like heater, carpet and undercoating deletes. A 380 hp 360 crate motor with a 100hp shot of nitrous and an 833 4-speed replaced the anemic factory drivetrain, and viola! Instant funmobile. Shumacker motor mounts made the swap a sleepwalk. The combo was refined with a steering column and clutch pedal assembly from another A body, 3.91 gears and a Sure Grip in an 8 3/4 housing, and a Mopar rear spring relocating kit (3" inboard) to make way for the 275 series BFGoodrich tires and steelies (widened to 8" in back). They look great under there, enhancing the vibe without being distracting. Traction is still iffy though. It can pretty much disappear in traffic (if you're deaf), and goes 12.20s at the track. It's dipped into the ultra-low 11s on the juice. Fun and easy...

This conversion was performed by Gary Streuter and Bob Schiller of Irvine, California, back in 1997. Nothing has been changed since then, except the oil and a few sets of rear tires...

                                                                 

                                                                

                                                                

 '68 Dart GTS

The Dart came with a more common form of weight reduction: genuine midwest rust. Therefore, the price was right, and since the numbers all match on this one, out came the sawzall, and in went the N.O.S. floors, rockers and quarter panels. The chassis remains stock, save for subframe connectors and a 3.91 posi pumpkin. The wick was turned up somewhat on the original 383 with the obvious bolt-ons, but nothing that would take it past the point of no return, if a resto were ever desired. Exhaust cutouts are the most exotic pieces on the car. The original interior was deemed adequate, and left as is. Again, the wheel and tire combo defines the cars personality, with the rear steelies and front American Torque Thrusts telling you everything you need to know about this car at a glance.

The plan from the beginning was to make it a daily driver, and so it is. We've spotted it at the grocery store, the parts houses, and every joint in town that serves lunch. It's a regular at cruise nights, and the drag strip, where it runs very consistant 13.20s (and has flirted with 12s on ocassion). A reality ride with true balance. Proof? The owner is always smiling...

                                                          

                                                                

                                                              

                                                            

The Owner

With one foot planted in the Super Stock wars, and tongue in cheek, Steve Currie has his own private Mopar battallion to rule the streets. Only one of his street warriors came from the factory with its current equipment, and Steve rolls his eyes at the purists who think that it matters. He has a few "chalkmark correct" cars that live pampered lives, but these three get driven. With a wink and a grin.

Collections like this don't happen overnight - there's years of horse trading behind the scenes, and in fact, Steve keeps so busy juggling factory muscle that he doesn't have much time anymore to build his own stuff. The three cars shown here were originally built by three different shops, found their way into Steves hands, and are now tweaked and maintained by the staff at Heritage Motors (Steves company) in Medford, Oregon. We know, "sounds tough". Get over it. The point is, these cars represent the very spirit of "Affordable Street Performance". All three embody common sense ideas, executed with taste and attention to detail. We can all learn from these cars. Our junk should look and run so nice...

The Details
Car: '65 Dodge Coronet
Owner: Steve Curry
Engine: Dodge 440 production block, stock bore and stroke; Keith Black hypereutectic pistons, stock polished rods w/ ARP bolts; polished crank w/ oil holes chamfered, by Dales Place in Baldwin Park, California
Heads: Stock cast iron, mild porting, multi-angle valve job
Induction: Factory cast aluminum cross ram intake w/ (2) Weber (repro AFB) 650 cfm 4-barrel carbs
Exhaust: Doug Thorley headers w/ 2" primaries, 3 1/2" collectors, 3" exhaust w/ mystery mufflers
Camshaft: Mopar Performance hydraulic flat tappet "509 purple shaft" w/ 248 duration @ .050", .509" lift, 114 centerline
Transmission: Dodge 727 automatic 3-speed w/ 10" 2700 rpm stall A&W converter, stock column shifter
Rearend: Mopar 8 3/4 housing, SureGrip 3rd member w/ 4.10 gears, stock axles
Front suspension: Stock w/ 90/10 drag shocks
Rear suspension: Stock w/ Chrysler Super Stock leaf springs, 50/50 drag shocks
Brakes: Stock factory drum, front and rear
Wheels and tires: Stock steel narrowed to 15X4, w/ 205/75-15 radials, front; stock steel widened to 15X8, w/ 275/60-15Firestone Firehawk radials, rear
Assembly: Bobby Mosher at Mosher Musclecar Motors
Paint: Factory red re-spray
Upholstery: Repro vinyl by Quality Upholstery in Irwindale, California

Performance: 13.32@103.20

Car: '68 Dodge Valiant
Owner: Steve Curry
Engine: Mopar Performance 360/380hp crate motor; cast iron block, 380hp@5300 rpm, 410ft lbs@4400 rpm (without nitrous)
Heads: Stock cast iron w/ 1.925" int./1.625" ex.
Induction: Mopar Performance M1 manifold w/ Holley 750 cfm 4-barrel, NOS 100hp nitrous plate system
Exhaust: Hooker Super Competition headers (1 5/8" primary pipes, 3" collectors) w/ 3" exhaust and X pipe, Magnaflow mufflers
Camshaft: Mopar Performance hydraulic roller, .501"/.513" lift, 288/292 advertised duration
Transmission: Chrysler A-833 4-speed w/ Hurst shifter
Rearend: Mopar 8 3/4 w/ SureGrip 3.91 gears, stock axles
Front suspension: Stock
Rear suspension: Stock
Brakes: Stock drum, front and rear
Wheels and tires: Stock steel, narrowed to 15X4 1/2" w/ 205/70 - 15 BFGoodrich radial TAs, front; Stock steel, widened to 15X8 w/ BFG 275/60 - 15 BFGoodrich radial TAs , rear
Assembly: Gary Streuter and Bob Schiller
Paint: PPG copy of original "X code" fleet color
Upholstery: Stock reproduction from Legendary, installed by Mission Viejo Interiors, rubber floor mats

Performance: 12.20@103 on motor, 11.24@120 w/ nitrous

Car: '68 Dodge Dart GSX
Owner: Steve Curry
Engine: Dodge 383, bored .030", Keith Black hypereutectic 9-1 pistons, stock rods and crank
Heads: Cast iron 906 castings, mild portwork, multi angle valve job
Induction: Edelbrock Torker manifold, Holley 750 cfm 4-barrel
Exhaust: TTI 1 3/4" headers, TTI 2 1/2" exhaust w/ crossover, Flowmaster Delta series mufflers
Camshaft: Mopar Performance hydraulic flat tappet, .484" lift, 241 duration@.050", 108 centerline
Transmission: A-833 four speed w/ factory Hurst shifter (modified w/ fabbed shift plate, etc)
Rearend: 8 3/4 Mopar w/ SureGrip, 3.91 gears, stock axles
Front suspension: Stock
Rear suspension: Stock, w/ pinion snubber
Brakes: Stock drum, front and rear
Wheels and tires: American Torque Thrust, 14X6 w/ 175/70-14 radials, front; Stock steel 14X7 w/ 26X9.50-14 Hoosier Quicktime slicks, rear
Assembly: Heritage Motors
Paint: Factory red respray
Upholstery: Original vinyl

Performance: 13.09@105.67

Source: Mosher Musclecar Motors, Monrovia, California 626-303-2427
Dales Place, Baldwin Park, California 626-851-1353
Gary Streuter and Bob Schilling, Irvine, California
Heritage Motors, Medford, Oregon 541-772-5222

Banned! The Lindsay Bros. Roadsters

Here's a piece from about six years ago, concerning a couple of characters in my little racer's peer group. Their situation is unique and so are their cars - cleanly executed examples of period lowbuck funnery. I try to write stories that I'd be excited to discover when turning the page and that may be my downfall - my tastes are just so out of touch with today's marketplace that I'm now amassing a collection of unsold tales.

Lesson to aspiring writers: Despite these rejections, I'm still making a go of it, plus I sleep well, knowing I did my best, on a topic I'm passionate about. Luckily for me, I don't buy into success/failure, only 'what is', at the moment. In my case, that means living my dream of writing about the life I love.

The numbers in this story are outdated and I've lost touch with the Lindsays over the last few months (we're all busy). But after reading their story, you might agree that the numbers are the least important aspect here...

IN STEREO
Prioroity Dynamics explained by the Lindsay Bros.
By Scotty Gosson

Photography by Scotty Gosson

Bob and Jim Lindsay have transcended brotherhood. The Lindsays are in synch. In stereo. And they’re not alone. The brothers from rural Shedd, Oregon are part of an amazing community of ex-drag racers who retired to the quiet fields of Oregon’s Willamette Valley to let the ringing in their ears slowly dissipate while getting back some perspective on the big picture. Getting your hands into the soil can really help one refocus on priorities. And sure enough, all of the regulars at the tiny Shedd Cafe have come to the same conclusion about drag racing: it can chew you up and spit you out without giving a damn about you or anyone else the addiction affects. Brutal stuff.

Most customers at the Shedd Cafe (the social vortex of the local population) pull up to the building in street cars they built during long rainy spells - mostly traditional pre-'48 hot rods, with a few tasty 50's cars parked around the perimeter of the lot. But the Lindsays are part of a small group who also stepped carefully back onto the 1320 with priorities intact, after a long healing period. This time around, the bottom line is amusing themselves with creating and racing their vision of how it should be. According to Jim and Bob, it should be fun, clean, fun, fast, fun, low buck, fun, unique, fun, safe, fun, period correct as possible, and uh, fun...And consequently, the Lindsay Bros always have great stories to tell at the Cafe on Monday morning - stories told with a wink and a grin and that understated farmers chuckle. True stories. In stereo...

                                    

                                         Jim Lindsay's '23 T roadster

                                                               

Jim's vision of what a drag car should be was based on the golden rule of hot rodding: Power to weight ratio. Big news in a small envelope. The fiberglass Speedway body shell weighs little more than a stack of nine second E.T. slips and the homebuilt 2"X3" mild steel frame (100" wheelbase) and chrome moly rollcage do their jobs without adding any excess poundage. Jim gets extra style points for choosing the '34 Ford front suspension (using F-1 shock mounts), 17" American 12-spokes up front and first generation Halibrand mags out back. "Thunderbird Goldenrod Yellow" paint by Fred Maxwell and chrome by Oregon Plating (in Portland) just enhance the visual impact when the "Little Big Man" pulls up to the starting line.

Jim's pals, Justin and Adam Brenneman at B&B Speed Shop in Albany, Oregon whipped up the early Hemi, backed by a Powerglide trans, feeding torque into a 9" Ford rearend packing 4.11 gears. Actually, the little T has seen a few B&B Hemis pass through its engine bay over the years: for eight years, it was a 241" Dodge Red Ram with four Strombergs on alky, running in the low 11 second range, then came a 291" DeSoto (with 330" crank and rods), pulling the car into the 9.60 zone. These days, Jim runs a '56 DeSoto 345 incher, using that Hilborn injector to spray the alcohol into stock heads, where it's squeezed by Wiseco pistons to the tune of 11.78-1 compression. A Chris Nelson (Farmington, Utah) flat tappet cam tickles a mostly stock valvetrain and remnants are removed via B&B headers. As of this writing, the new combo has run a best of 9.29@140mph, and there's still more in it, according to Jim and the B&B gang. The Little Big Man has been in the thick of the action at dragstrips up and down the west coast and shows no sign of getting tired yet. Jim says he's having a blast and he grins all the way down the track on every pass. How could he NOT???

                                       Bob Lindsay's '29 A roadster

Bob knows what he likes and when it comes to powertrain choice, he's sticking with what's been working for him from the beginning: Y-block Ford power and plenty of it! First built in '93 with a deuce frame and a bored out 312 with six twos, Bobs A-bone now dances to the tune of 340 inches of '56 Ford Y-block jazz and it consistently busts a move off the line with every panicy launch. Now the skinny (3") Halibrands jump for joy, thanks to the new chrome moly tube chassis - remember that power to weight ratio rule? It's the key to hot rod happiness! Bob also used the '34 Ford front suspension, but opted for a solid mounted 9" Ford out back with 3.90 gears in the Mark Williams pumpkin and Dutchman axles holding up yet more Halibrands. A Wilcap adapter allows the use of a full on Powerglide race trans behind the archaic Y-block (when Y-blocks and ‘glides were new, who would've thought they'd ever team up to pull a Model A down the track like this?!). The Lincoln Hoflek (Albany, Oregon) painted body is another flyweight fiberglass job (by Anderson Industries), enhanced by Pete Wards' (Lebanon, Oregon) period perfect striping and lettering.

The focal point of Bob's A-bomb has to be the Y-block tucked under the cowl. What started out as a '56 292 block has been bored to 3.830 inches and a Moldex billet crank sporting a 3.70 inch throwing arm brings the cube count up to 340. Downstairs, there's a Jerry Christenson and Virgil Hansen fabbed main bearing girdle to handle the stress of the Oliver rods and Ross pistons doing the cha cha at 6000 rpm. Comp Cams got the nod for valvetrain pieces, while B&B Speed Shop shows more of their handywork via the snarky headers. Perched atop the Jerry Christenson massaged stock heads is a Yestertech intake manifold, supporting the B&M blower. And feeding the huffer is the crown jewel of Bobs silver bullet: The rare Hilborn GMC "E" model hat injector, dumping bucketloads of methanol into the hairy little Y-block. And just how much hair does this thing have on it? Well, so far, an 8.77@151mph is what's printed on the E.T. slip tacked to the bulletin board at the Shedd Cafe. So far, that is.....

                          

The Shedd Cafe on a Tuesday evening. Bob's coupe and Jim's roadster score prime spots.

Bob (left) and Jim (right) have a reserved table, too.

Meanwhile, back at home, a farmer's work is never done...