Fire Dept Drag Racing

[Dallas Kelly]

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

[john corcoran jr]

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.

[Paul Merolla]

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...

[Ronnie Scott]

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

[Lew Silverman]

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

[art leong]

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.

[Paul Precht]

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.

[DMann0825]

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!

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by DMann0825

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!

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.