Stories from back in the day when times were easier . . .

[kiwigtx]

This story was sent to me by a member in Canada today. Please note that this is not political and not politically motivated.

Thanks to @440 4 speed *********************************************

Around the time Easy Rider Came out, 3 or 4 guys decided to go to Florida. Somewhere in I think Alabama or Georgia one of the guy’s was running low on fuel. They had been riding on the lesser travelled highways to see the countryside. They stopped at a small general store to buy gas. Supposedly the owner came out saw the Saskatchewan licence plates and said ( We don’t sell gas to Commie’s). At that time we had a left leaning Provincial Government. They drained fuel from the other bike’s and got fuel in the next State. Stuck to more travelled roads after that.

I worked with the cousin of one of the biker’s.

Some of you rider’s would know the name of a firm called

Hannigan Motorsports.

Dave Hannigan was raised about 100 miles north of Saskatoon.

********************************************************


Please feel free to add any old stories that may be of interest to the group.

 

[Car #4]

Way back when myself and a buddy were out one night at a local fair and went to a bar afterwards to help fill the evening. I had a 72 GTO and he had a 76 Charger Daytona. We left the bar in time to catch last call at the bar in the next town on the way home. We left there hoping to get the Chinese restaurant in our home town before it closed. We’re doing a buck ten coming up to a village (that was the last I looked at my speedometer) and I could see through his car that the car we were coming up on put the brakes on. Fearing I would run into him I went around him on the left, caught the gravel shoulder, came back across the road in front of him, spun around in a parking lot and went backwards down the road ditch, one side of the car up on the cement culvert and one side over the edge. That ripped up the underside of the car including the gas tank. It slid a bit further on its side and when the car came to a stop it rolled over onto its roof. I could smell gas so I’m trying to get out the window quick and when I undid the seat belt I fell on head. I got away with just a couple scratches on my arm which I got from glass crawling out the window.

 

[dadsbee]

Sorry... there's apparently no time limit on incriminating yourself on police chase stories these days.

 

[Car #4]

I think I’m past the statute of limitations.

 

[dadsbee]

I wasn't talking about you. A few that played cat and mouse most weekends with me are retired, but still alive!

 

[Kern Dog]

This story was sent to me by a member in Canada today. Please note that this is not political and not politically motivated.

Thanks to @440 4 speed *********************************************

Around the time Easy Rider Came out, 3 or 4 guys decided to go to Florida. Somewhere in I think Alabama or Georgia one of the guy’s was running low on fuel. They had been riding on the lesser travelled highways to see the countryside. They stopped at a small general store to buy gas. Supposedly the owner came out saw the Saskatchewan licence plates and said ( We don’t sell gas to Commie’s). At that time we had a left leaning Provincial Government. They drained fuel from the other bike’s and got fuel in the next State. Stuck to more travelled roads after that.

I worked with the cousin of one of the biker’s.

Some of you rider’s would know the name of a firm called

Hannigan Motorsports.

Dave Hannigan was raised about 100 miles north of Saskatoon.

********************************************************


Please feel free to add any old stories that may be of interest to the group.

It is hard to imagine people being such ******** to others. It wasn't like the bikers were child molesters or worse.

 

[kiwigtx]

I wasn't talking about you. A few that played cat and mouse most weekends with me are retired, but still alive!

Yep...the Cobra Jet driver who couldn't catch me in my Road Runner passed away back about 20 years ago now.

I never did see that HQ Holden again (after a sharp bend by a lake) chasing me through the Tokoroa forest road one dark night about 38 years ago. That Road Runner of mine was a real beast on the open road.....wish I still had it now. The 440 in that car was so well balanced, it ran like an aircraft engine on full song.

 

[dadsbee]

2:94's and a 4 gear I never stopped to see what the guy driving the LTD wanted!

 

[kiwigtx]

2:94's and a 4 gear I never stopped to see what the guy driving the LTD wanted!

I was running 3.23's and a 4-gear...... (for the Kiwi's out there who know the area...) I came storming past Tongariro one afternoon on my way to Ohakune....so fast towards National Park intersection, that when I slowed down I realised I wasn't going to stop at the line. I ended up going around that 90-degree 'Stop' at close to 30mph. Luckily, I could see there was no traffic coming my way.

I would never make the America's Cup yachting team, as my judgement on "Time and distance" has never been a strong suit.

 

[BLK 68 R/T]

I had a 1970 dodge super bee back around 2000, 383 and a 4 speed. Anyways one night I had 6 friends in the car and we were out cruising around Walla Walla, a city close to where I live, about 30 minutes away. It was pretty late, around 11pm or so and we rolled up to the stoplight at the edge of town. The road from the stoplight is 4 lanes, and flat and straight for about 2 miles as you head out of town. The next stoplight is a left turn back onto the highway or you can continue straight and merge onto the highway again up the road or keep going on the road up into the mountains.

So we are at the stoplight and a fast and furious style Honda pulls up next to us. The race was on. We both leave the light on green and I start pulling ahead. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile down the road we are going full bore. I’m doing 120+ and as we pass the k-mart I see flashing lights immediately come on from the parking lot of the restaurant across the road. F**k!

2 WSP patrol cars pull out and by the time they catch up to us we were almost to the next light. Both the Honda and I pulled over to the side. I shut my car off and pulled the keys from the ignition. Thinking I was going to jail I rolled the window down as the officer came up to the window. He looked in the car, looked at me, and said “what in the hell are you doing? With no good answer I just kinda sat there expecting the worst. He said we have you and the other car on radar at well over 100 mph in a 35mph zone. He didn’t ask for my license, insurance or anything. Just asked where I was from. I told him where, and all he said was “go home, and I don’t want to see you out again tonight. I said okay and thanked the officer and we drove off. The other car got let go as well.

Still glad I had a bunch of friends with me as they can backup my story as no one would believe it otherwise.

Yes, I won the race lol.

 

[Coelacanth]

I have many interesting and funny memories in the 80's driving my '70 Charger, I took the time a few years ago to write down what I could remember, for posterity. Here they are:

-We were racing a Camaro along Stony Plain Road in the west end one night when suddenly we passed a cop in the oncoming lane. Sure enough, he pulled a U-turn behind us and the cherries flashed on. I think the Camaro actually slowed down, but I immediately hung a right turn down a side street, flicked off the headlights and randomly drove back and forth through side streets and back alleys to make my escape. I have no idea what happened to the Camaro…

-We used to do stupid **** in wintertime, going down to the Valley Zoo parking lot late at night to see if there were any teen lovers making out in their cars down there. Usually there was. We’d drive up and flash the high beams at them, laughing when their heads popped up like gophers popping out of their holes. Sometimes we would do a U-turn, flooring the accelerator pedal while passing some ***** teens’ car, spraying it with snow and gravel, then fishtail it out of the parking lot and back up the street out of there.

-This one time, my buddy, driving his similarly puke-green 1971 Charger with a 340 and me in my 383 Magnum Charger, saw 2 cars lined up at a stoplight, I believe they were both ricer imports, they were clearly itching to race each other. We were positioned in the 2 lanes behind these guys. The light turned green and they began to race. The funny thing was my buddy and me passing BOTH the ricers, first overtaking the slower of the two, taking the lane in front of him, and passing the faster car next. 2 puke-green Chargers beating a couple of imports racing in front of us, starting from behind them, passing them one-by-one...it was pretty funny.

-I had to replace the original front bumper on my Charger because I hit a shopping cart driving through a parking lot at night with some buddies...another idiot moment: we were driving by some girls who were walking through the lot and I MIGHT not have had my eyes on the road ahead; there was a sudden flash of chrome and BANG! I clearly remember and it still makes me chuckle today, hearing one of my friends exclaiming "You punted it...you PUNTED it!" Anyway, the bumper had a slight bend in the bottom and tiny scratch on the top, but I'd already bought another straight one many years ago so that one got installed back on the car. I remember going back to the parking lot the next day to see what happened to the shopping cart; it was all mangled up and the rear flap part that's supposed to push forward when stacking the carts together, was pushed way out the opposite end.

-Another time, we were driving around downtown and witnessed a drunk driver hit a parked car and try to do a hit-and-run. We followed him, never letting him get away, until he finally stopped somewhere and my buddy got hold of him, we pinned him down until the police came to arrest him.

-I remember driving to a friend’s house one day, my car had an exhaust issue; one of the pipes had split in front of one of the mufflers. The car sounded like a Nascar stock car. This friend lived in a fairly posh neighborhood. Well, you know you’re loud when people mowing their lawns stop to look up and see what’s coming and making all the noise…

 

[Runcharger]

I was visiting a friend of mine in Red Deer in my 67 GTX. We stopped at a light behind a Ford pickup with ricky racer stickers in the back window and something else. They both sounded a bit worked. Anyway the light turns green and they go for it. I remember saying "gee I guess they're racing" and wooded the GTX, I flew by the car in the right lane then changed lanes and easily took down the pickup as well. I had a carfull of friends so we had a pretty good laugh about all of that.

 

[kiwigtx]

Back in the mid-eighties, my buddy Roger Haycock was a franchised Glamatex Applicator - textured ceilings - when that was all the rage in housing. His business partner was a loose unit also..... the two of them used to bash into each other's cars sometimes for fun..... old crappy cars so a dent here of there didn't matter.

One day I am driving down the Pakuranga Road (built by the Americans during WW2) and see these two guys ahead of me. They were actually playing bumper cars at about 30-40 mph on the road. It was funny as hell to me - and them....but must have frightened a few other motorists.

Roger did see me on the road, and he was laughing his *** off as usual. He was one hell of a fun guy to be around. Sadly, he passed away months before I could catch up with him again in the States while he was visiting friends in the hills around San Francisco area. But we always had fun when he was around.

Roger was the one who invited us to a House Wrecking party one night - he said "Bring your beers and a sledge hammer" It was a blast that night - we had the Club BBQ trailer parked up cooking sausages and steaks all night. Cops made a brief stop around midnight asking if anyone knew who had been skidding up the road. LOL.....nobody saw a thing..... LOLOLOL...... yeah we did, but everyone stayed quiet. . Roger was the one who introduced me to the Glam Rock music scene - in particular the band Slade. Great times.

Another night five of us cruised on down to Hamilton (about 90 miles south) in my Road Runner - just for an ice cream. Managed to hit the high notes on our southern motorway....... lucky there were no cops out that night. What a trip that was. Those days are long gone now.

Here's Roger in his Corvette driving along that Pakuranga Road another time......

Roger was also the very proud owner of a 440 powered Jensen Interceptor..... he had louvred the hood and the paint just sparkled in the sun - like a B5 blue it was.

Unfortunately, after he passed away, his family squabbled over his toys and fortune....and it was like they never cared about the man he was....just all out for the money. Very sad.


Here's the house a few days after the party...... that excavator bucket was through the roof of the lounge and served as a massive ice-bucket for the beers. BTW, it wasn't me skidding up the road....although I could have done it. And that's the tail of my RR in shot.

 

[Shenango]

Late Summer 1970, I had about 7,000 miles on my new Swinger 340 4 speed. I stopped at my girl's house to visit and she wanted to go see her brother and his wife about 10 miles up the freeway. Her 12 year old sister wanted to go so we all piled into the Dart and made the short trip. After an hour and a half we headed back to their house. When I hit the on ramp to the freeway a 69 Mustang went by us at about 60. I wasn't having any of that so I hammered the Dart and when I got beside him he wasn't in the mood to let me by. We raced for about 2 miles fender to fender well into three digits with the little sister screaming in my ear to go faster then we both let off to use the same exit. At the house we went in the kitchen door and little sis ran into the living room and yelled, " Jerry was going 140 mph and we could have beat that red car if we didn't have to get off the freeway". My girl said you better get the hell out of here and I'll call you later.
My banishment lasted 2 months and the first time I went back to her house the father gave me such an evil stare words weren't really necessary.
I married that girl and we both did a lot of growing up while I did 4 years in the Air Force.

 

[kiwigtx]

My banishment lasted 2 months and the first time I went back to her house the father gave me such an evil stare words weren't really necessary.

I know that feeling very well.....similar thing happened to me many moons ago.