Stupid Pit Tricks

[Dion Hildebrandt]

I got time for one more, way back in the day we had a trailer to tow the family race car. it was a mobile home axle with a fabricated deck that was low and went up over the axle,not high tech by todays standards but then you either drove your car or flat towed it . Now the ramps were way too short ,about 2 feet long if i had to guess. The ole boy is backing the car off, and gets the chevy II headers hooked on the trailer, now the pits at Saskatoon were gravel and actually still are, the slicks spun a little as he tried to go back up. The spin was enough to dig a hole and make the situation worse the headers now are bent, I think dear old dad spent all day saturday and most of sunday trying to get the headers off the car thats how bad it was stuck. Instead of fixing the car after we drove the 8 1/2 hours home dad spent the next week fabbing 5 foot ramps for the trailer. Dad still talks about that one.

[Dwight Southerland]

Another one . . . The very first points race I ever went to in Jackson, MS. Same '65 Chevelle SW 283 but a year earlier when we had to run treaded tires. We tried to set the record on Saturday and made three passes dead on, but could not go under. We took the car back to the motel (back in the day when you could not leave your car at the track) and decided over supper to retard the cam to try to control some wheelspin. Back to the motel, back the car off the trailer and do our adjustment. Since this was the "first big race", we had a circus of friends with us - talking trash, drinking beer, being hosers - and we were having a big time. When we finished, it was late and we did not want to disturb the motel by driving the car back on the trailer so we got the crew around and pushed the car on. Next morning, we drove the five miles or so to the track, into the pits and find our parking place. My partner was driving the truck and borrowed trailer and I was directing him where to put it. He pulled into a nice place between two trees and then backed up to straighten the trailer. When he braked to stop the backward motion, the car just nicely rolled backwards off the trailer, bounced as it made the leap from the ramps to the ground and came to a stop with the front wheels at the back edge of the trailer. Seems in our testosterone delirium of the night's activities, no one bothered to cinch the car down after it was on the trailer!! How it happened that we got to the track without losing the car on way is still a mystery to me.

Incidentally, on the first pass I went a full tenth under the existing record and went on to win the race!

[Robert Swartz]

[QUOTE=Tod Lane;167998]

Originally Posted by Robert Swartz

As well, learned, DON'T check the spark of an MSD-7 with the coil wire held by your fingers. That hurt! Nuff said.
QUOTE]

Hey, you said "Bump it"...lol
Seems I recall you sizzling on the end of a plug wire attached to a 67 Mustng once....

Da&$, now you got everyone else picking on me, LOL! Ah well, it's a sorry man that can't laugh at himself now and then. Not to mention you're picking on my old Mustang again, too. I guess, come to think of it, there weren't any "GOOD" stories associated with that car!

That was with that trick Accel electronic ignition system I had on that car. Really a pretty neat set up, actually a forerunner to the MSD systems. Real nice distributor, it had a spark box and those big Super Coils. That was a tach drive system as well. Looked really cool with the Moroso tach sitting up on the dash. You have to admit, that old 67 Mustang had some really nice parts, just didn't have enough of them. Funny that we just sold all those old Liberty transmission parts a few weeks back. Still can't believe that guy from Ohio wanted that stuff!

[mtkawboy]

Saw a guy at a Div 2 points race in Orlando in the late 70's that had just bought Marty Snowballs CJ 69 Torino that was so excited after his first pass that he pulled the top hose off to run the water hose in it & cool the motor down. He unfortunately neglected to remove the pressure cap and drain the existing 220 degree water first and emptied the motor & radiator full of steaming hot water straight into his crotch. We were all speechless and it was very ugly. It was nearly a month until he could put a pair of pants on again. He shall remain nameless, this is funny now but wasnt then.

[Tod Lane]

[QUOTE=Robert Swartz;168116]

Originally Posted by Tod Lane

Da&$, now you got everyone else picking on me, LOL! Ah well, it's a sorry man that can't laugh at himself now and then. Not to mention you're picking on my old Mustang again, too. I guess, come to think of it, there weren't any "GOOD" stories associated with that car!

That was with that trick Accel electronic ignition system I had on that car. Really a pretty neat set up, actually a forerunner to the MSD systems. Real nice distributor, it had a spark box and those big Super Coils. That was a tach drive system as well. Looked really cool with the Moroso tach sitting up on the dash. You have to admit, that old 67 Mustang had some really nice parts, just didn't have enough of them. Funny that we just sold all those old Liberty transmission parts a few weeks back. Still can't believe that guy from Ohio wanted that stuff!

I was just glad the doors still locked on the stang, you were kinda worked up over that one lol

[Tod Lane]

I remember a buddy of mine selling a front motor dragster to a kid that had never driven anything faster than a 13 second street car.
It wasn't a particulary fast car, one of John Weibes spare chassis with a really mild 396 in it.

We told him "Take it easy, the car does things a LOT quicker than your used to!"

He didn't listen... He mashes the pedal and the car really launches, I mean REALLY left hard... His girl friend heads down with the three wheeler, no quads in those days. When she gets him back after what seemed like a long time to us, he jumps out of the car and runs off to the trailer

We are kinda anxious to talk to him so we ask her where he went in such a hurry while she is staring at the car with a funny look on her face....
She points at the seat and says, I swear to God this is true, "That isn't lemonaid! I ain't cleaning it up! The f-ing p*^ssie can call his momma to clean up after him!"

I didn't stop laughing for about an hour, he didn't come out of the trailer for two.... We finally threw oil dry in the car to dry it out... He swore us to secrecy, which we of course violated the instant he wasn't standing next to us.

I don't think he appreciated us suggesting he paint the car yellow

[Chris "drooze" Wertman]

I just read it to my dad about 15 minutes ago, hes still laughing, walking around and a chuclke comes out and he says....yellow....lol....

I think that may be my reaction first time I lauch the Chally......gonna make sure to go before i saddle up

Originally Posted by Tod Lane

I remember a buddy of mine selling a front motor dragster to a kid that had never driven anything faster than a 13 second street car.
It wasn't a particulary fast car, one of John Weibes spare chassis with a really mild 396 in it.

We told him "Take it easy, the car does things a LOT quicker than your used to!"

He didn't listen... He mashes the pedal and the car really launches, I mean REALLY left hard... His girl friend heads down with the three wheeler, no quads in those days. When she gets him back after what seemed like a long time to us, he jumps out of the car and runs off to the trailer

We are kinda anxious to talk to him so we ask her where he went in such a hurry while she is staring at the car with a funny look on her face....
She points at the seat and says, I swear to God this is true, "That isn't lemonaid! I ain't cleaning it up! The f-ing p*^ssie can call his momma to clean up after him!"

I didn't stop laughing for about an hour, he didn't come out of the trailer for two.... We finally threw oil dry in the car to dry it out... He swore us to secrecy, which we of course violated the instant he wasn't standing next to us.

I don't think he appreciated us suggesting he paint the car yellow

[Dion Hildebrandt]

Originally Posted by Tod Lane

I remember a buddy of mine selling a front motor dragster to a kid that had never driven anything faster than a 13 second street car.
It wasn't a particulary fast car, one of John Weibes spare chassis with a really mild 396 in it.

We told him "Take it easy, the car does things a LOT quicker than your used to!"

He didn't listen... He mashes the pedal and the car really launches, I mean REALLY left hard... His girl friend heads down with the three wheeler, no quads in those days. When she gets him back after what seemed like a long time to us, he jumps out of the car and runs off to the trailer

We are kinda anxious to talk to him so we ask her where he went in such a hurry while she is staring at the car with a funny look on her face....
She points at the seat and says, I swear to God this is true, "That isn't lemonaid! I ain't cleaning it up! The f-ing p*^ssie can call his momma to clean up after him!"

I didn't stop laughing for about an hour, he didn't come out of the trailer for two.... We finally threw oil dry in the car to dry it out... He swore us to secrecy, which we of course violated the instant he wasn't standing next to us.

I don't think he appreciated us suggesting he paint the car yellow

Reminds me of the first time I took an actual race car down the track for the first time. It was dad's mid 11 second chevy II and it would lift the wheels, I was used to my 15 second chevelle street car.Dad kept saying be careful this is something your not used to, and me being a 17 year old punk knew it all 'yea yea dad I've driven fast cars before!"........well the light turns green and I bury my foot into the floorboard and all i see is the roof of the car!.......I forgot about the wieght of the brain bucket.....I did manage to get the car into 2nd gear before I lifted still managed a low 12 second et........ good times.......

[cj92345]

loaned my brand new truck to a buddy, he needed to go buy a part, unhooked my flatbed trailer when
he came back he backed the truck up to the trailer but did.nt hook it up, i come back after
like third round, whip that baby right on the trailer and "bam" front of the trailer goes 6ft
in the air but did'nt move foward luckliy, i put the car in park, slowly got out and moved
the truck away, than slowly let the car roll back

[Bimbo Jones]

The first time I ever fired up my dragster was an eye opener. First off it should have been on jack stands, but no it wasn't. I was at a buddys house and we had just finish putting everything together. This car was fuel injected and I never had experience with that type of fuel system before. We fire it up with me in the car. All went fine and it was idling along as I put it in reverse to move it out of the way. Well the motor stumbled so I taped the gas peddle a couple of times like it had a carb on it and boy that motor zinged up and I went flying down the driveway backwards. Without seat belts strapped my feet were forced hard on the peddles. I barely stopped before I put the dragster into the fountain in his circle drive. It's the only time I'm been frightened in that car. I learned a bunch of no-no's that day and was very lucky.