Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

For those who didn't grow up on Long Island, here;s what goes on every weekend from Memorial Dad till Labor Day. Most large towns have their own track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ZSS...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdtCT...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu6sc...eature=related

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

that is insane ,i never seen or heard anything like that ,cool !!!!!!!! gmonde

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

They used to show that stuff on "Wide World Of Sports". The best of both worlds! Of course I am a little partial! Retired now, but had 25 great years doing the best job in the world!

http://i55.tinypic.com/2ludlkg.jpg

Wade Mahaffey

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Amen Wade! 33 years for me. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Jim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipfGIW4QZUA&NR=1



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Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Hi Paul, You have many fond memories of Long Island.
All the towns still practice every week in the warmer weather. Some of the BUDGETS get a little stretched with these toys as the big blocks keep getting bigger. You have to see some of the firehouses out here now---with all the comforts of home and than some. As a fireman you always have a place to sleep at these semi hotels. LOL----John

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Retired now but thirty three years also and every day I couldn't wait to get to work. Thanks for posting.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Dear Paul, Thanks for posting this. It did bring back many memories. As a youth I was lucky enough to live in Port Washington for my first 19 years. Even more interesting was that the Lions Club Field was just behind the houses across the street. I spent many afternoons and early evenings watching the Roadrunners, the Rowdys, and if my memory is correct, the Minute Men also. The firemen were always nice to us and willing to answer all our questions no matter how trivial they might have been. The thing that stuck with me was how clean and well prepared the trucks were. Back then they were using 1950's Ford trucks modified with the prettiest red paint jobs and lots of shiny chrome. One team also had a T bucket with a bug catcher on it, man that thing would fly. I remember one year watching the competition at Bar Beach with all the other teams from other towns and all their trucks. My dad never did understand how I got into drag racing. As a kid, we would go to Islip Raceway and watch the roundy round cars. LOL.
Thanks again
John Corcoran Jr.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

I have an old early '60s Hot Rod with a story and pics of this sport....until this thread appeared, I thought "No way in hell they could do that stuff in this day and age!" I love it! Somehow, they've escaped the Fun Police - for now...

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Great Post,
42 years for me.10 yrs.Call, 16 yrs.Career, 16 yrs.permanent Chief.
Good times and very competitive
Ron Scott

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

New York State Drill Team Memories on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Yo...s/288303247035

We brought the Patchogue Forty Thieves and the Lindenhurst team to Broward County, Florida for our Firematics competion when I was a Lieutenant with the Coral Spring VFD. Still amazing stuff!

Lew

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Lew . Back in the day. We built race hemis for a couple of those guys. Don't remember which ones though. Mike Magistro got us to do them at cost.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

I think it was Patchogue that had the cut down 65 Coronet. My buddy Ken Bowers used to do the motors for Islip Terrace so I got to hang there once and a while.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Hi Paul, I remember see those Fire Departments in competition on Wide World of Sports. You broyght back a lot of good memories. Thanks.
nd to all my fellow drag racers/firefighters. Thanks for the job you did and enjoy your retirements in good health. Carreer firefighter for 31 years. YES it is the best job in the world.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Art,

They took their C-rigs VERY seriously! Eddie Akim at A&P Automotive in Port Washington built the hemi's for the Great Neck Alert's when they had the Ford pickup and the Pacer's in Oceanside (Tasmanian Devil AA/A) always built the motors for that city's firematics team. I could never understand why New York was the only State to have the motorized firematics. In Florida we just did the "old-fashioned" events. Still fun but no where near the adrenalin rush!!

Lew

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

I remember Eddie. A friend, had him do his machine work. At the time he was running a top fuel dragster

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

They brought the fueler out to Shore Drive in Roslyn one night for a "tune-up" run!

Eddie had a stroke a while back and was recuperating in a nursing home in Florida last I heard.

Lew

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

Hey John,I'd pay good money to watch "Smokey" go up that ladder.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

I had completely forgotten about those trucks. I had a 63 Dodge max wedge that I bought from Freeport Dodge. It took 14 weeks to get and I race at Islip, W. Hampton and on the street every night "Sunrise Highway". I used it to drive to work everyday from Baldwin to Bellmore and wore it out in a year. I couldn't keep up with the new parts let alone the cost to rebuild it so I sold the engine and transmission to the Hempstead Fire Dept. tournament truck. I remember seeing them on Wide World of Sports. Those were crazy wild days.

Thanks Paul.

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

i remember reading an article about a new york fire dept that bought a new 1965 cross ram 426 hemi dodge 990 car for this competition and cut off the roof and half of the rear for the modifications to compete in this wild kind of competition! I gave my magazine collection away when we moved so i can,t tell you the name of the magazine---but could have been hi-performance cars--- i sure someone else must have seen it---help me out---and of course the car was red!

Re: Fire Dept Drag Racing
 

It was one of the few that would wheelstand with the poor guys hanging on to what was a 9 second car easily, as they ran it well into the late 80s. I believe the min weight was 2250lb for the C trucks. I saw some youtubes of it a year or so ago, I'll try to find it again. I'm almost positive it was Patchogue. Back in 72 I was at one of the races and Central Islip blew the motor in their A truck, it was a 413 Max Wedge with a 671 blower. The next few weeks I spent negotiating to buy it as is from them but they decided to rebuild it, 600 dollars was the price. I would have had one bad *** street/strip 63 Sport Fury for a 17 year old kid in 72.