Connecting Highway

[Liteweight]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

cammer427,
From your Hemi Helper friend, Paul\
68' Hemi Dart; Code; LO23
68' Hemi Cuda; Code BO29
Good questions, and great thread going on here. The 'Brookyln Heavy'
Dart sure looks like the Mutt Brothers car. In 1971, lots of Hemi guys were going to the Tunnel-Ram and the monster Holley's, and abandoning the cross-ram with the 770 Holleys. Better atomization. So it is possible that the 'Heavy' car is one-and-the-same.

On Manhattan Speed Shop. Yes it did exist and they did sponsor a
72' D/G Vega (owned by R & R Construction) around 74'/75'.
The other location; Manhattan Speed & Power Equipment was located on 232 West Broadway.
As for other sponsors, Manhattan Speed Shop sponsored a Hemi Dart,
in 69' ?. I have a photo of their Dart versus Charlie Castaldo's SS/BA
car (his second Dart).

Amazingly, the only original Hemi Cuda that ended up in New York
(original factory order) was Ed Miller (SS/B) out of East Syracuse.
Paul,,,more to share

Bringing up an old post due to new info on my car. Paul, .head on over to my thread for the latest .
Paul, do you have this picture still available?

liteweight

[mopar68]

Originally Posted by Paul Precht

Hi Ed, were you there at the E town Nats that misty Friday night when George almost hit the wall. Knowing how unmolested that one owner car is could anybody guess what it's worth, Paul.

Worse than almost hitting the "wall" was that George cut-up an un-cut, original factory 'Cuda for SS/A! I can see someone doing that in the 1970s and to a lesser extent in the 1980s--but the early 1990s? Don't get me wrong, I like George, he's a very personable fellow. Why, oh why, didn't he cut-up a wedge or six-cylinder A-body???

George told me and a buddy (circa 1991) during a Mopars at Englishtown event about the car. So intact and original it was, he said Chrysler offered him $250,000 for it (for their museum) but he declined; so he definitely knew what the car was worth before the transformation began.

Oh well, it's his car...



M68

[cammer427]

Originally Posted by mopar68

Oh well, it's his car...
M68

Mmhmm, I'd be saying that through gritted-teeth, too.

[cammer427]

I know a lot of famous street racers from NY/NJ ended up buying famous race cars to race professionally themselves, but I'm not sure how many of these cars actually saw time on the street. I'm fairly certain Tab Talmadge's '65 A/FX 427 SOHC Mustang he purchased from Dyno Don saw a lot of big money street action. Other cars that may have been raced on the street during the early-mid-'70s: Levi Holmes purchased Bill Blanding's 1969 "MiMi" Camaro, Tab Talmadge purchased Dyno Don's 1965 A/FX 427 SOHC Mustang, James & Will Smallwood purchased two ex-Sox & Martin cars (were they just "shop" cars, built and sold by S&M, I wonder?) which were a 1969 "Notchback" car and a '72 Barracuda, Willie "Cam Rod" (sp?) Campbell purchased Hubert Platt's (Platt & Yates) '70 Maverick, "Fast Earl" Mitchell's '69 Camaro was possibly owned by Wally Booth before he purchased it (the engine was at least Booth-Arons-built).

[hemicop]

You have to understand & remember that "street" car was a VERY broad term. These high-dollar races were usually set-up during the week & come the week-end, the car flat-towed to the location & ran. If the race was near one's shop, so much the better or if you were smart you'd set-up the race, tow several miles from the spot, then unhook your car&race your "street" car against a guys track car, often asking for a spot since "all" you had was a street car. Some guys "scouted" the drive-ins with their tow-car, set up a race then go get the car.
Now slower guys like me or a few others mentioned here did have legitimate dual-purpose cars and we didn't try running guys like "Heavy" or the others. We knew what they had & couldn't afford their kind of race. But other's like my friend who owned the speed shop DID have the bucks & would run for a grand or so with "backers" driving the bet up to five figures or so. But the average guy would only run for what his paycheck could safely tolerate.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Hemicop,
Also, some street-racers would buy a race-ready track car, sand off the lettering and re-paint it with primer or paint it badly (usually black).
Pull off the mag wheels, and pop on steel wheels. And almost always, pull off the front bumper.
The goal, to make it look 'ratty'. Bait your opponent for cash.
THEN BLOW HIS DOORS OFF!
I think the term used for those cars was 'suckermobiles' or 'sucker-cars'
Paul

[RJDUDEK]

Originally Posted by cammer427

I know a lot of famous street racers from NY/NJ ended up buying famous race cars to race professionally themselves, but I'm not sure how many of these cars actually saw time on the street. I'm fairly certain Tab Talmadge's '65 A/FX 427 SOHC Mustang he purchased from Dyno Don saw a lot of big money street action. Other cars that may have been raced on the street during the early-mid-'70s: Levi Holmes purchased Bill Blanding's 1969 "MiMi" Camaro, Tab Talmadge purchased Dyno Don's 1965 A/FX 427 SOHC Mustang, James & Will Smallwood purchased two ex-Sox & Martin cars (were they just "shop" cars, built and sold by S&M, I wonder?) which were a 1969 "Notchback" car and a '72 Barracuda, Willie "Cam Rod" (sp?) Campbell purchased Hubert Platt's (Platt & Yates) '70 Maverick, "Fast Earl" Mitchell's '69 Camaro was possibly owned by Wally Booth before he purchased it (the engine was at least Booth-Arons-built).

I had a long -time friend that was very close to Earl..and yes that was Booth's car..I was in Paterson the day the hauler showed up with it. That car had some history. And prol kept Booth in "green"..long after the fact..better than when he campaigned it.!

[Paul Ceasrine]

Hopefully someone will get it correct.

The quarter-million dollar race.
1969,,,,,,,,

The Mutt Brothers (ex S-K Dart)
426 Hemi 4-speed (SS/B)
re-painted black

vs.

Super John 1969 Camaro,,,,,
427 w/tunnel ram,,,an A/MP car.
painted white with red