What car were you driving the first time you clocked 100 mph or more?

[f569]

'73 Charger.
18th birthday, 1982.
Tappan Zee Bridge.
Too long ago to remember exactly how fast but nobody wanted a ride home with me after that.

 

[mr. b]

1975 i was 16 had a 69 road runner 383 4 speed i was racing my brother in his 69 Camaro

 

[HemiLane]

76 Plymouth Fury Sport w/318. Up against a friends 71 LeMans w/SB 400, He initially jump out front but slowly reeled him in and passed him, gotta love highway gears!

 

[67SniperHockey]

1971 Chevrolet Kingswood Wagon. Rear window was rolled up

 

[Charger72]

1976 Dodge Royal Monaco.

 

[Mackman]

1967 Fury I. Ex unmarked state police car my Dad bought at a state police auction in 1969 for $460.00. Only had 57,000 miles, and a hole in the bottom of the oil pan from something it hit. 440 Commando. It wasn't great out of the hole, but flew on the top end.

 

[AR67GTX]

The fastest I think I traveled as a college kid was in the rear seat of a friends 390 Mach 1. He had been running the thing as hard as he could right off the new car lot, manually shifting the auto as high as 6,000. It was loose as a goose and ran surprisingly hard. It was stock except for open exhaust with resonators, bigger tires in the rear, and a Stewart Warner tach. I sat in the back seat (3 in the car) watching over his shoulder as the needle approached 6,000 on the tach in third. The speedo was buried and I remember we estimated 130 mph from its position but that was just a guess since He was well past 120. A year later the springs had fatigued to where it would barely hit 5,000 rpm. No stock, hydraulic lifter 390 should be able to hit 6,000 rpm and live at that. But I always figured that high dollar SW tach should have been pretty accurate (?) so that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

 

[Don Frelier]

My first car 1977 Plymouth Fury, 360 CI, 500 CFM 2-Barrell.
I had changed out the rear end gears (Dad asked me to) from 3.21 to 2.71.
Had it up to 63 mph in 1st gear.
I had some fairly tall 225/75-15 tires on the rear.
It would go 100 mph easily not sure what top end was but I had it up to 125 mph and climbing and that was as fast as I dared to go.

 

[Ron H]

The fastest I think I traveled as a college kid was in the rear seat of a friends 390 Mach 1. He had been running the thing as hard as he could right off the new car lot, manually shifting the auto as high as 6,000. It was loose as a goose and ran surprisingly hard. It was stock except for open exhaust with resonators, bigger tires in the rear, and a Stewart Warner tach. I sat in the back seat (3 in the car) watching over his shoulder as the needle approached 6,000 on the tach in third. The speedo was buried and I remember we estimated 130 mph from its position but that was just a guess since He was well past 120. A year later the springs had fatigued to where it would barely hit 5,000 rpm. No stock, hydraulic lifter 390 should be able to hit 6,000 rpm and live at that. But I always figured that high dollar SW tach should have been pretty accurate (?) so that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Your mention of running a car hard from the dealer reminded me of an occasion back when some of us car guys would sit in an empty parking lot off the blvd after the biz was closed (blvd I mentioned in my earlier post running my ’67 GTO). The blvd ran about 1.5 miles to the freeway from our little town. Sort of a no man’s land back then before development and before the police started patrolling it like nuts due to racing. This kid with his girlfriend came in to prod a race. He was in a brand new gorgeous ’71 Challenger, window sticker still on it and no plates. Guy looked to me to be pretty young to be driving a car like that. Sure didn’t think he was 18. Well, a bud with his ’69 GTO chimes in to run him. Rode with him through two…and a half…races. On the 3rd run the Dodge ends mid-race pulling off to the side of the road. We pulled off and I walked back to this guy’s car sounding like clappidy-clap and could see lots of stinky blue smoke through his headlights. Leaned down to chat with the driver, who was seriously upset. Come to find the car had around 50 miles on it. I had to say, ya ever hear of a break-in period? My rough guess was his dad might have been an employee at a nearby Dodge dealership having taken the car home for the night or something like this. It was pretty late maybe around 11pm. This kid’s emotional reaction was pretty wild – like it wasn’t HIS car..

 

[Budnicks]

I think it was dad's 72 Pinto 2300cc 4 banger 4 speed
scary ride, had to prove it to a friend took a couple miles
it was on Hwy 50, going downhill from Placerville, to Shingle Springs
leaving a basketball game with our rival HS, ElDorado HS

I did it 100's of times in my 68 Charger R/T, after summer of '74
topped 135+ on hwy 50 also, not the smartest move, 4 friends in the car
coming back to school after a track meet IIRC, from Placerville again
almost every time I was on hwy 193 between Georgetown & Garden Valley
going to or from, I'd top 100, was sort of mandatory, as kid

my 65 Galaxie 500 240cid straight 6, 3 on the tree
wouldn't go 100 mph,
the car I had ($150) before getting my Charger in the summer

had a Chapparell go-cart with twin Mac 101's
that'd go 90+ at Sears Point roadcourse, before that

I had a 61 Renault RE POS, sort of 'dune machine',
when I was like 10-11
it only had rev., 1st & 3rd gears, 2nd & 4th didn't work
stripped down, cut of the roof & lightened up, for the dunes,
with big *** paddle tires out back
would only go like 50-55 maybe offroad/on sand

I had mini-bikes & motorcycles (mostly MX dirtbikes) too,
most of them prior to my mid 20s, wouldn't go 100
after that I had plenty of bikes that'd top 100+ at will

 

[Xp29h]

My 1973 Charger SE
The early 80’s too! I was late to a baseball game in a town about an hour away, according to speedometer I hit 110 mph(probably more) a few times on that trip.

couldn’t locate a pic but brown white top 3 little windows - Brougham
wish I still had it!

 

[dadsbee]

Our '69 Fury II, that my Sister is posing with, when I was around 15 (parents bowled on Tuesday nights! ), next car up would be that '76 Fury Sport beside it and then Dad finally let me get the Bee out of the garage and get it back on the road... that one would be the first "over 150" car !

 

[Budnicks]

I barely topped 200.1 early 1992-ish in my 27T Ford Brogie Altered
with a 526cid Blown Inj. MilodonMastadon Hemi

I had been going 6.90's @ 190+ for years in my 23T Altered
ever so close to 200

I went 6.69 @ 217 in 1993-ish, in my 92 T/A Outlaw P/S or T/S car

or this one 1992-ish in a 89 Iroc Outlaw P/S & T/S, 207 & change, on 3 kits IIRC

I also went 5.97 @ 227 in a RE Dragster in 1995-ish
Autolite Nats Sears Point T/A qualifying
blew it up in the burnout next pass, against Cory McClenethan

 

[AR67GTX]

Your mention of running a car hard from the dealer reminded me of an occasion back when some of us car guys would sit in an empty parking lot off the blvd after the biz was closed (blvd I mentioned in my earlier post running my ’67 GTO). The blvd ran about 1.5 miles to the freeway from our little town. Sort of a no man’s land back then before development and before the police started patrolling it like nuts due to racing. This kid with his girlfriend came in to prod a race. He was in a brand new gorgeous ’71 Challenger, window sticker still on it and no plates. Guy looked to me to be pretty young to be driving a car like that. Sure didn’t think he was 18. Well, a bud with his ’69 GTO chimes in to run him. Rode with him through two…and a half…races. On the 3rd run the Dodge ends mid-race pulling off to the side of the road. We pulled off and I walked back to this guy’s car sounding like clappidy-clap and could see lots of stinky blue smoke through his headlights. Leaned down to chat with the driver, who was seriously upset. Come to find the car had around 50 miles on it. I had to say, ya ever hear of a break-in period? My rough guess was his dad might have been an employee at a nearby Dodge dealership having taken the car home for the night or something like this. It was pretty late maybe around 11pm. This kid’s emotional reaction was pretty wild – like it wasn’t HIS car..

I forget exactly what the saying was back then. Something like - to run fast, break it in fast

 

[r4sedan]

My '70 Charger. 440 with 3:91's that bad boy was singing.

 

[mopar 3 B]

66 Dodge Polara not sure how fast it would go.

 

[Bold & Old]

59 Olds 88 1961

 

[Dans 68]

The fastest I think I traveled as a college kid was in the rear seat of a friends 390 Mach 1. He had been running the thing as hard as he could right off the new car lot, manually shifting the auto as high as 6,000. It was loose as a goose and ran surprisingly hard. It was stock except for open exhaust with resonators, bigger tires in the rear, and a Stewart Warner tach. I sat in the back seat (3 in the car) watching over his shoulder as the needle approached 6,000 on the tach in third. The speedo was buried and I remember we estimated 130 mph from its position but that was just a guess since He was well past 120. A year later the springs had fatigued to where it would barely hit 5,000 rpm. No stock, hydraulic lifter 390 should be able to hit 6,000 rpm and live at that. But I always figured that high dollar SW tach should have been pretty accurate (?) so that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Mach 1 for me also. But a buddy was driving as I wasn't that dumb and I didn't have a ride that would do 100. 117 indicated as I recall. Back in early '70's during High School. Definitely eye opening.

Dan

 

[joe m]

74 amx racing county cop on 495 before it opened to traffic.cleaned his clock.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have done it in every car I have driven since my first car. Hell, I still do it every day going to and from work. Speed is addictive.