My brother bought an engine and tranny from a wrecked 56 Pontiac interceptor out of state. He brought it home and we swapped into his 56 Pontiac. Talk about a sleeper rolling up next to you. We had dumps with slides for that extra drama when the light changed. Crazy kids, but good times.
Yep! My uncle had a 59 Ford with a T-Bird interceptor in it. I wrecked it for him. Hit the county sheriff on a one lane country bridge.
That didn't turn out well, I'll bet.
I found this ride a few days ago. While a 57 Ford Ranchero would not have been my taste, this 57 Tribute reflects many of the custom ideas and accessories that would have been popular in the 50's and early 60's.
See how many changes you can notice.
https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/0031-phx/1957-ford-ranchero
See how many changes you can notice.
https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/0031-phx/1957-ford-ranchero
Ah Ha, yep the memories of mid 60's street racing in Tulsa. Very nicely written post, thanks.
I had a 56 Chevy 2dr post (two tone green in case your mem is really sharp )that started out as a 265 powerglide with a transplant to a 300hp 327 with a 2.56 low gear M20 muncie 4 speed and a 3.70 posi and every thing I could scrape together for extras for the motor that got several thousands of miles put on it between Cottons and Boots in Tulsa the mid 60's. All my money and thoughts went into it.
Girlfriends quickly learned to spread their legs to avoid bruises on their knees durning the first to second and the third to forth gear shifts.
I thought up my own "Cram Air" long before the big three started making ram air popular, putting a 4in flex hose hole beside the radiator up into an enclosed air filter box, had a copper coiled container filled with ice between the fuel pump and the Carter 780 AFB on an Eldenbrock, found a pair of totally worn out front shocks for weight transfer on clutch dump, found I could use a smaller clutch disk with a stout pressure plate to ease forward on gear changes rather than just rattling the drive train chirping the tires before slider clutches existed, ran 2in exhaust pipes into quiet mufflers, things like that.
If I had put that much effort into my education, I most likely could be a retired brain surgeon by now. Ha Ha
I commented not long ago to a friend that I have been 125+mph off all four directions of the 11th and Sheridan light by the bakery at one time or another. I viewed every stop light as a potential drag race. I was even known to go through a green light and make a U turn just to go back to catch a red light candidate going the opposite direction. I was on a mission back then. There is more traffic now at 3AM around there than back then on Friday and Saturday nights.
For people of that era in the Tulsa area, my dad and I were the ones that marked of the 1/4 mile with a 100ft tape measure when the Mingo Vally Expressway ended just south of 46th street north. The silver paint F for the finish line was still visible on the north bound center bridge support until just a few years ago when they redid the bridge. TPD would come out and watch us race as long as everyone was behaving.
I did get to mechanic Jim Whites nitro FC with Bob Crietz in 87. That was a fun deal also.
Yep, thanks for sparking the neutrons, sometimes us old guys forget what to try to remember that will give us a smile on our face.
I won't even get into the motorcycle thing except for #41 which I still own and is a 1972 250 Husquvarna 250WR that is still stouter than i am now, and my 1998 Goldwing, damed near getting too heavy. In my life I had purchased the second H2 750 3cy Kawasaki sold in Tulsa and made good use of it and a 450 Husky desert racer. That was back when I was tough and invincible.
Yep, have been very fortunate to have enjoyed life in many ways, again thanks,
SdoubleA, going through some tough times right now, i needed that smile reading your initial post from a while back.
I had a 56 Chevy 2dr post (two tone green in case your mem is really sharp )that started out as a 265 powerglide with a transplant to a 300hp 327 with a 2.56 low gear M20 muncie 4 speed and a 3.70 posi and every thing I could scrape together for extras for the motor that got several thousands of miles put on it between Cottons and Boots in Tulsa the mid 60's. All my money and thoughts went into it.
Girlfriends quickly learned to spread their legs to avoid bruises on their knees durning the first to second and the third to forth gear shifts.
I thought up my own "Cram Air" long before the big three started making ram air popular, putting a 4in flex hose hole beside the radiator up into an enclosed air filter box, had a copper coiled container filled with ice between the fuel pump and the Carter 780 AFB on an Eldenbrock, found a pair of totally worn out front shocks for weight transfer on clutch dump, found I could use a smaller clutch disk with a stout pressure plate to ease forward on gear changes rather than just rattling the drive train chirping the tires before slider clutches existed, ran 2in exhaust pipes into quiet mufflers, things like that.
If I had put that much effort into my education, I most likely could be a retired brain surgeon by now. Ha Ha
I commented not long ago to a friend that I have been 125+mph off all four directions of the 11th and Sheridan light by the bakery at one time or another. I viewed every stop light as a potential drag race. I was even known to go through a green light and make a U turn just to go back to catch a red light candidate going the opposite direction. I was on a mission back then. There is more traffic now at 3AM around there than back then on Friday and Saturday nights.
For people of that era in the Tulsa area, my dad and I were the ones that marked of the 1/4 mile with a 100ft tape measure when the Mingo Vally Expressway ended just south of 46th street north. The silver paint F for the finish line was still visible on the north bound center bridge support until just a few years ago when they redid the bridge. TPD would come out and watch us race as long as everyone was behaving.
I did get to mechanic Jim Whites nitro FC with Bob Crietz in 87. That was a fun deal also.
Yep, thanks for sparking the neutrons, sometimes us old guys forget what to try to remember that will give us a smile on our face.
I won't even get into the motorcycle thing except for #41 which I still own and is a 1972 250 Husquvarna 250WR that is still stouter than i am now, and my 1998 Goldwing, damed near getting too heavy. In my life I had purchased the second H2 750 3cy Kawasaki sold in Tulsa and made good use of it and a 450 Husky desert racer. That was back when I was tough and invincible.
Yep, have been very fortunate to have enjoyed life in many ways, again thanks,
SdoubleA, going through some tough times right now, i needed that smile reading your initial post from a while back.
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.....and it was for just those reasons I did. While not all memories are good, it is from the good memories we can smile as we drift back to another time and place.
Thank you for reading my story, and for your reply.
Thank you for reading my story, and for your reply.
