Wintery Mix

[Owen S Quirion]

It is the middle of the winter here in New York and as usual we are having one of our patented days of perpetual “wintry mix”. For those of you southerners and left coasters that haven’t a clue what wintry mix is, it is a nice mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that coats everything with a thick glaze of ice so that you can’t walk, drive, or even ski too good. Inevitably, thoughts turn to all the projects that I intend to complete on my racecar before the first time out in the spring and then I think, “nah, the shop is about 20 steps out the back door and that’s too far!” This pattern will repeat itself day after day, week after week, and month after month until the entire winter is gone and birds are chirping outside. After another off-season of procrastination, I’ll take a look at my list, pick one item that I can complete in one afternoon, do it, clean the car, change the oil, start, and load it into the trailer. All of this will happen the day before I need it. I like to call this process “just in time waxoilstartloadification”. I justify my actions by subscribing to the theory that if I slip and fall on the frigging glacier outside then I could theoretically be paralyzed and unable to race for the rest of my life. I like all the debate over global warming; I am going to shovel about six inches of that warm stuff tonight.

So I thought that instead of complaining about runner sizes, ECU lists, or valve seat angles; I would reminisce about my first car and the things that we did to make it faster on the cheap. I grew up in a small town in Maine and I didn’t have much disposable cash so everything that I spent my money on was really important to me. I was fifteen years old and worked part time in a gas station pumping gas and doing the crappy jobs that no one else would do. I earned $1.80 an hour and worked about 25 hours every week, mostly on nights and weekends. I know all of you mathematicians and historians are feverishly trying to figure out how much per week and what year it was so I’ll help you out. The weekly money was 45 bucks and it was 1973. Anyway, the accountant that did the books for my boss drove a 1966 Malibu Sport Coupe with a 283, four barrel, and a 4-speed that he bought brand new. It had dual exhaust, some sweet glass packed mufflers, and Marina Blue paint. He would come by every Saturday and do paychecks and when he decided to sell it, I was first in line. I spent every dime I had, all 400 dollars, on that car and it was love at first drive.

One of the benefits of working in a service station in those days was that the mechanics were usually gear heads and loved to make cars faster. It was sort of a pride thing among guys that worked in different shops as to who made cars the fastest. I had plenty of guidance and help but hardly any money. So I had to resort to doing things that were free, traded, or really inexpensive in order to fit my budget. One of my best friends back then had a 1969 GTO Judge that was the undisputed king of the streets and with the Ram Air 400 and a stick it really was fast. If you haven’t figured it out already, beating the Goat was my highest priority! The first order of business was to get the motor flowing more air. A trip to the local junkyard yielded a set of 461 heads and the intake manifold from a 327. The intake had the Holley square pattern and a 750 CFM Holley bolted right up. I inherited an old solid lifter Crane cam and kit from a local guy that raced stock cars. I had no idea what the specs were but whatever they were, the little small block sure woke up. Eventually we spun the pistons around on the rods, recurved the distributor, and port matched the heads to the intake. The car had 4.10 gears and a posi. I did buy new Hooker Headers and a big Accel coil. I used to race the car at Oxford Plains Dragway by forging my mother's name on the release papers. The Malibu ran consistent 9.30's. The Malibu only beat the Goat one time when he missed a shift but I always pasted him out of the hole.

I am sure that most of you old timers have similar stories, how about sharing a few. Happy New Year!