The Cal-look Lounge

There has to be some great stories about cruisin the blvd.  I don't know when the cruising started but it had to be in the 50's or early 60's and went all the way up to the baracade of the late 70's and then the lights went out some time in the 80's.
I lived by the shell station on strub, the cars cruising north would turn up my street and turn around at my house which was on the corner of a cul da sac.  Those v8's would rattle the windows of my bedroom, the kids would be partying and having a blast,  couldn't wait till i could join in.  It could take over a hour to travel about 2 miles on a friday or saturday night.  You never knew what would happen those nights, street race between signals, full on drag races on santa fe springs rd, meet some girls, do some partying, get in some fights, etc..
jim

(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/smitty59/scan0156.jpg)

here's the only photo i have of those days, summer of 1978 dkk club at ralphs on colima and whittier prior to going for a cruise.

Very educational photo: bras, Rivieras, Buggy bars and Type 3 panel... Cool 8)

nice photo.  Let the stories and pictures flow please!  :o

couldn't agree more with you this time.

Oh, yeah, I cruised Bob's Big Boy (Slob's) from '66 to '75ish starting from La Habra and turning around in Pico Rivera somewhere. Burned up a ton of gas on that street. I still have my Bob's car hop menu from 1967 in my office (95 cents for a Big Boy combo)... Lotta races (and tickets) going back towards Beach Blvd, as we passed Stick City. Very few fast VWs around that neck of the woods back then. Got into a massive accident late one Friday afternoon, driving towards Whittier, on Whittier Blvd., in my Mom's 1963 Buick Station Wagon. I was picking up my 1835cc short block at Jay Steele's shop, when some lady pulled out from a cross street and I T-boned her big time! Smashed the Buick up to the windshield, and creamed her driver's door. She continued on and smashed into Lee Wood VW's front showroom plate glass. No one was hurt, but screwed up traffic for hours, and didn't do much for the 'ol Buick either. The guys at Lee Wood were cheering me on!

Hi Deano was just Reading this and Saw you Mentioned Jay Steel  I dont know how well you knew Jay But he just Passed away two Weeks ago he had been sick over a year he was a Great Guy and knew his shit when it came to machine work he did all the machine work on my 67 nova 327 and  some of my Vw stuff.

No, I did not know that sad fact. Jay always took the time to explain things lot to me, even when I was more confused then ever. He helped me a lot in those early days.

I remember stick city, they were on the corner of whittier and ocean view.  they had some cool muscle cars back then. They moved out toward's la habra accross from the whittwood mall, at one time they had a few super birds on their lot, I remember checking those cars out thinking they why did they ruin a bitchin looking charger and make that thing with the wing?  I think they were selling them for 2500.00 at the time.  Street Rods moved into where Stick City was, and I remember they had some real bad ass cars in there. 
One night in the summer of 78 I was cruising the blvd. in my red 70 bug (riviera's, zenith carb, ss header, buggy bar), when a bunch other cal look bugs were going the opposite direction,  jeffery hickens waved for me and my buddy (he had a red 70 chevelle with a 396) to follow them, so I did a u turn and caught up.  We went to santa fe springs rd, where these 2 bugs were going to race.  A yellow late model vs a primer blue early one.  prior to when they started there were 4 head lamps facing us, but when the race began 2 disapeared, I still remember wondering what happened to the other set of lamps, when they started bouncing.  I don't remember who won the race, they raced a few times that night but the hook was set with me for wanting a fast bug.  Neither of us could believe what we had just seen and talked about it for the next couple of weeks.  the guy with the blue bug was trying to get his bug into the 10's, which he eventually did, then he followed up on his promise and cut it up into a baja.


blue car, jim bell, got me my job at auto craft machine in la habra
tan car, i think is jeffery hickens
other blue car is ken white's 55
panel at the end is steve vale's.

stiick city was IT.. you would see a straight axel 55 chevy to blown t-buckets there. Spent many a night there cruiz'n,especially during the "van" days. How about the famous stories of the hot chick in the vette that said on the lisc plate frame," If you can beat me your can eat me...." great cruiz'n time when there was ALOT of hot cars on the street.bill

TGFYM

 gosh darn it all to heck,I'll tell you what.....



classic.    carry on please.

I lived just a few blocks from Whittier Blvd.  I started crusing back in 1967, even before I could drive.  I had a friend with a Triiumph Spitfire and we'd go there almost every nite during the summer.  That was my first real exposer to VW's and VW Clubs.  Der Volkswaffe and the Volkschargers were the two major Clubs in the area, with Der Volkswaffe being the larger of the two.  Back then they had 100 cars in their club. 

I got my first VW in 1969, and jojned the Volkschargers.  If I rememeber correctly, Der Volswaffe had a age limit of 18.  I was still 16 so went for what I though was my only other option and joned the Volkschargers.  Had no idea of all the other clubs just a few miles south in the OC.

Crusing Whiitter Blvd back then was huge.  It was on every nite during the summer months, and any weekend, year round.  It was really the hub of car culture activity in So Cal back then.

Hey Deano, are you missing a bowling ball? >:( ;D ;D

Great Story Fred!! Question authority!!

Hey Deano, are you missing a bowling ball? >:( ;D ;D
[/quote]

Oh, boy, that's a story in itself... a new application for rental bowling balls. We were lucky that we didn't kill someone or get thrown in jail!

Oh, boy, that's a story in itself... a new application for rental bowling balls. We were lucky that we didn't kill someone or get thrown in jail!
[/quote]



Go ahead and tell the story Deano! (Remember to change the names to protect the guilty ;))

~DR.

Okay then.... There was this guy  ;D, who hung around some other guys  8) who all had nothing to do one Saturday night in La Habra then to get into trouble. About 10:00pm, someone, somewhere hit a telephone pole (not them) and took out the power in most of La Habra, especially around the 300 Bowling Alley (Whittier Blvd, and Cypress). So, this gang decided to visit the bowling alley to see what everyone was doing with no lights on. Once inside, all they found was a bunch of drunks, so these guys decided to steal some bowling balls. One guy grabbed a few balls, while the others opened the main doors, so they could be "bowled" out into the parking lot... Get the picture? The balls were then loaded up into the get-away car, a 1969 Chevy 396/4sp/375hp Chevelle (fast car!). With balls and gang on board, they drove around looking for places to deposit them. The first move was to throw a ball out the side window about 40mph on Imperial Blvd. and Euclid Street, near a construction job site, where it shot right through a wooden shack like a hot knife through butter. Nice. Then, ball #2 was thrown out on Harbor Blvd. going about 50mph where it hit the curb and bounced back and hit the S/S hub cap of this same car! Ouch! Driver was not happy. So, they decided that there needed to be more speed for the third and final ball toss. With that, they blazed up Fullerton Road at full speed and threw the ball out the driver's side window (going about 65mph+). The ball quickly passed the Chevelle, tore across the opposite lanes, hit the corner curb (on Arbolita Drive) and shot up in the air, and cleared the roof of this house! This 16-lb. ball went out of sight into the darkness.... Our gang got the hell out of there in a hurry. They later wondered what those people did when they found a bowling ball in the backyard, doing untold amount of damage.... Of course, this is only a wild tale that was told in third person, and did not include anyone from this forum....  ;D

HOOLIGANS!! :D

that's funny!  thought you were going to say you rolled em down euclid though.  that's probably what I would've done.

here's another story, involved a buddy of mine on his way to cruise with his girl friend.
My high school buddy was going to get rid of his mini truck and was trying to decide what to get.  I was trying to tell him he should get a bug and cal look it out, he continued to tell me vw's couldn't beat a v8, noway  no how, and they were too slow.
He ended up buying a used datsun 240z (this was 78).  Anyway this particular night he is driving up beach on his way to cruise, he had just picked up his girlfriend, washed the car etc.  he pulls up to a light, on the other side a cal look bug pulls up, and on the other side of his car a baja bug pulls up.  they were going to race at the light, and weren't even looking at him, so my buddy decides he will join in and make them look foolish.  well they both blew his doors off!  They then all 3 pulled up at the next signal (the vw's were ignoring him), and figured this time he would get on it and show them.  well they blew his doors off again. 
The next week he found a 68 sunroof bug and put a 1776 in it, and we made it a cal look.  With in the year, he swapped out the 1776 for a 2 litre with 48's.

I wonder why people dont just cruise their cars for fun anymore. It seems like there is still a large number of young people into fast cars and classics too. I know that people used to cruise El Camino in the SF Bay Area back in the 60s and 70s.

So what was it? Was this the only thing to do then? I cant believe that all young people were interested in cars at that time. Im very curious. It would be very cool to have a huge scene like this to take part in every weekend.

Whittier Blvd,  I spent so much time up there I don't know where to start. Besides all the DKK memories I remember the racing, the girls flashing, ditching cops, fights and drinking way to much. I remember cruising down the blvd in my 66 bus at about 40mph right on the tail of Paul Chee and his 66 bus. And I mean right on his tail, I kept tapping his rear bumper with my front bumper! I also remember tossing a empty beer bottle over the roof of my '59 Ghia and having it bounce off the roof of a patrol just as he was passing me on the right. Ended up driving away with just a $20 littering ticket! Jim, I remember the DKK member with the primer blue oval with the big motor but for the life of me I can't remember his name. That car was sick!

I saw cars slam into other other cars, I saw a To#¤ta mini/monster truck roll over on the blvd, a drunk guy on a dirt bike slam into the back of a car so hard that he flew completely over it rolling off the front hood and the freaked out gal in the car continued driving down the blvd with the bike embedded into the rear of her car. After the rider came to the first thing he said, at the top of his lungs, was "MY BALLS!" as he held his crotch. With club members we spent alot of time parked watching this rolling freak show. I had alot of great memories.

I don't know if there is anyplace like that anymore. Here in Jersey we have some pretty cool local cruise nights, with alot of awesome cars but it just isn't the same. I'm glad I was there to experience it first hand.

-jeffrey

Jeffery,
were you with me when the girls were flashing us out of that van?  they would pass on one side of the street, then we would run accross the street so they could flash us on the return trip.  I remember there were 3 of us, and those girls flashed us for quite awhile.

I agree there was no better place to be at that time.  I got in a fight one time at the police station, while drunk coming back from the fox hunt at ocir.  I did a jim rockford move with my power wagon, hit a 65 impala and then went down a side street (the guy was trying to run me off the road), the next morning when I checked out my truck my wheels were all blue, with a little dent below the gas filler.  Mark, let this be a lesson to you, the guy was from Lakewood, he got the fighting in public charge, and I got nothing.
There was another time I rode down the boulevard and back on the hood of a ford granada.  lucky I wasn't killed, especially since it was a girl driving the car.
I got in many races, especially with ford mustangs, for some reason they always thought their cars were fast (I think they still think they are fast).  It was even better when they would have their girl friend with them.
Then there are the stories of all the girls, I believe you stayed late one night to give me back my keys since I had left them in the ignition of my bug after being picked up by some girls.  good times!
jim

Jim & Jeffrey.... wish I could have been a little fly on the windshield to witness all of what you just posted.  Great stories! 8) 8)

I'd be glad to have survived it...some crazy stories! 

Cool stories
I only one I have came from the owner of the shop I worked at.
He lived in Whittier, and in 1967 he bought a brand new bench seat Chevelle w/SS 396 running gear, drove it around for a few days (200 miles) and then tore the whole front end out, to put a straight axel in it, then headers and dual quads. Brand new 67 Chevelle Gasser!!
The center of the universe was cruising Whittier Blvd. he said someone would challenged someone to a race, pull on to the street, lay way back and then drag race to the next signal.

Pretty heady times - wish I could of been there 8)

Could have been, but my focus wouldn't have been on what they were driving ;)


Yea, those were good times

-j.

Jeffrey,
couldn't tell you the year, make or color of the van, just that it had enough room for one girl to flash her tits, and the other to ba us.  with that happening I was very focused on what car they were in.

as far as drag racing light to light.  that was how the initial race's would happen, if you wanted more, you would go over to santa fe springs rd, it was an industrial area and have better races.  In fact my grandfather even got into the racing.  it was 68 (i was 8) and he had just got a new olds cutlas and he and i were going somewhere (probably the store), when we were sitting at a light (first car), a group of teenagers pulled up next to us and started reving their engine.  my grandfather looked over at me and asked should we?  I said take'm gramps.  Ol gramps beat the teenagers in a light to light race.  He is 92 and we still joke about that one.

That's cool,a grandfather who races cars.I like it.   ;)

I remember going with my dad to Sacket & Peters on a Friday night before they closed. Stoped at Colima Rd. When there's this loud rumble and a whineing sound pulls up next to us. Turns out to be Big John Mazzmainian in the Candy Red Willies coupe. Dads jaw 'bout dropped to the floor as he left rather quickly. Spent many a night there after I'd gotten my own license. Wish I still had that '55 F100.

Hey, welcome to The Lounge, Brian... good to see you here!  Speakin' of Maz's Willies, a guy named Richard Sirounnian (Maz's nephew) used to drive that thing back in the day along with the candy red Vett.  One day a while back I was working the front parts counter at CVW and had a customer who wanted to order a part.  I looked at the name on the order and it turned out to be Richard's older brother... small world! :o

I was in High School with Big John's son, Vic.  He had a jet black 68 Dodge Charger.  Pretty cool car back then!  (today too!)

In the early 70's DRA had it's clubhosue up on Whittier Blvd, so we were there pretty much all the time.  One of our members also worked at a 76 station on the north side of the Blvd, near the Quad, (local mall).

speakin of gas stations, remember the gas lines.  my buddy worked at the chevron on colima and whittier.  after hours I used to get to go in on any day and fill up the power wagon.  It was a real bummer when he or the manager wasn't working, I 'd have to go get in line.
One night I was at bully beef, don't know how i got a ride, but this guy had a amx, man that was fast.  took me for a ride in it, i was in the back (no back seat) holding on to the front seats, when he punched it I thought I was going to end up plastered against the back of the car.  I had friends with alot of fast cars but this one was the fastest.
my buddy with the 2 litre and i would go looking for someone to race all the time.  at first we could find mustangs, camaros, newer vettes, chevelles etc.  but by the end of the era it got to were we would be racing other bugs, very few v8's would race us.

How long is whittier boulevard?  ???  Are we talking about 1 mile or 10 or ...?  We don't have something similar overhere so I don't have a clue.  When I search on youtube I can find some really cool lorider stuff...  What about those in the 70's?

Actually, Whittier Blvd is quite long... it starts in La Habra and runs through Whittier, Pico Rivera, Montebello, and into East LA.  The part with all the stories is only a mile or so out front of Bob's Big Boy Hamburgers.

and every "scene" had his part on the strip?   For example the lorider scene was located in east-LA, or was everything packed on this mile?

Your right the lowrider type guys hung down on the LA side It was all ways fun to go down there, Got some dirty looks. It was alot of fun on the la habra side. People were bumper to bumper ,sometimes just idleing along at a snails pace, If you were into cars, there was always something bitchen hanging out,  I would hang out at any random left hand turn lane in the center of the street and weight for traffic to stop, Then talk to any girls that might stop. I was 18-19 years old and lived every friday and saturday night at whitter.First time I saw the DKK guys they were hanging out there. Even met my Xwife there.

in the early 70's you could cruise and turn off the blvd. anywhere.  In the mid 70's they put up barracades along the blvd. which meant you had to stay on the blvd. for app. 2 miles, from Colima to Painter.  On weekday summer nights kids would cruise from Strub ave to Gunn which was about a mile.  I used to hang out either at stafford studios (photography) accross from Bob's Big Boy, or with some buddies at the winchelles donut shop closer to painter. 
In 79 I went up to Van Nuys Blvd, but thought Whittier was just as good, and Sunset and Hollywood was a joke, except for the freaks walking the sidewalks.

Here is an actual menu from the Bob's Big Boy on Whittier Blvd, taken back in 1967! Check out those prices.... Enjoy. I'm getting hungry just looking at it. By the way, my wife and I ate at a new Bob's Big Boy just last week. Still good.

man does that bring back memories, me and my buddies would walk there and have lunch on the weekends.  Looks like I got everything I wanted for about $1.40
sad day when they tore that place down.
Mark, reminds me that we would also go in get a drink and a receipt, that way no loitering.  also had to make sure you had some change in your pockets otherwise it was vagrancy.
but those laws only applied to you out of towners, hehehe.

Lookin' at those menu prices reminded me that during that time, I was making maybe $1.75-2 per hour. So while paying $1.05 for a Bob's Combo Deluxe is cheap, it still took 1/2 hour of work to pay for it. Today, if you make $16-20 per hour, you still have to work 1/2 hour to pay for it today ($6.95+ tax).

Actually I think the portions are still the same, just some of us have gotten bigger!  ;D

-jeffrey

Ok, we have lots of storys from Whittier Blvd., Mark already asked when it all started. But what was the reason for "closing" Whittier Blvd.? Or do people still cruise Whittier Blvd.?

Good point, John. There is only one thing to say: Reality beats fiction BY FAR!
Sad to see so many kids living in virtual realitys.

I don't think that is right everywhere. Go to VWVortex and search GTG [get together]. Here in Jersey there are weekly gatherings of the eurotuner crowd and you'll get crowds of 500 guys who gather, cruise, and shoot the shit about their cars. Also, here in Jersey, during the summer there is a cruise night about practically every night of the week in a different town. These are small towns that have 1/2 mile downtown main streets that the township will reserve parking for the cruisers along the street, as well as allowing cruising up and down the main street. Mosty populated by 70's muscle, hot rods and other street cruisers. A handful of our club goes down to our local Friday night cruise often and we have a special night where the city reserves special parking for our club and we'll get 30 or 40 of our club cars to attend. The age range is shifted though 40's - 60's however there is a younger crowd still present, but only about 30%.

The street life still lives, it just has changed over the years.

-jeffrey

By the mid- to  late '70s, Whittier Police began to close off key side streets to discourage U-turns and turn-arounds, which forced cruisers to drive all the way down to Pico Rivera to make a turn back to the east. Even though most businesses were closed by the time the crusing started, and mostly on weekends, I do not think they were the ones complaining. Muscle cars began to get a bad rap in the mid-sevenites, with the first gas "crunch" and gas prices heading upward to 75 cents per... So, public view of all this horsepower was not exactly positive. Bring on the K-Cars. Mini trucks really began to invade Bob's in the late seventies as well.

I recall cruising Bob's one night in my buddy's 1967 Impala 427. We removed the hood and installed a set of injectors sticking out of the hood. We made one pass, and got as far as Colima before two cops pulled us over. They did not like the tall Hilborns, and demanded that we take it home now! It was fun while it lasted. But you couldn't buy a street race with those sticking out of the engine compartment!

Okay, for those of you that are unfamiliar with this cruising Whittier, and how long is the street, etc...  Think about the movie, American Graffitti and multiply the sheer number of incredibly hot, fast, cruising cars by about 50 and extend the street length times 10.  It could take up to an hour to go from one end, turn around and make a full cruise back.  I could'nt resist this thread.  I read the first page and skipped to here.  I'll go back later and see that I hopefully didnt repeat too much.  I grew up in Brea.  Brea basically bordered next to east Whitteir.  I remember taking my first car (my Moms), a 69 Pontiac Lemans (cheaper version of the GTO), got into so many races and ended up burning the rear tires bald after only having my license 7 months.  My Mom took the car back to Sears and said something was wrong with the tires as there was no tread left and they were only a few months old.  Ha!  They gave this nice ol' gal new tires.  Too funny.  I never told her.   I then bought a 67 Fastback and we would pile 5 or 6 people in it sitting on laps, etc, and cruise the blvd.  Scotty's Drive In was our place.  Across the street from the Plush Que pool hall.  Our main goal was to street race for decent money and two of my bros both had 1970 Oldsmoble 442's (4 barrell carb, 4 speed, dual exhaust).  Looks like your grandmas car all low in the back and kinda lame, but the 70, vinyl top and hub caps, was one of the 10 fastest production cars ever out of Detroit.  A few mods and these cars were screamers. 
Okay, a non VW racing story.  We snatch a race with Mr Chevy Nova guy.  He spent tons of money and we heard the car was a pig.  $150, standing start, on Greenleaf Ave 11:30 p.m.  No problem.  We cheat...... we win.  Its that simple.  So, we arrive on time and there were literally 200 people lining Greenleaf that all heard about this race somehow.  Turns out the Nova dude works at Whittier Speed Shop (V8 hot rod shop).  The three of us rallied up and my bro Ritchie took the $300 in hand and we dropped him off at the finish area.  I came back to the start and said I'll start the race Hands Up style.  They agreed.  Hands up is simply, both arms in the air and when they come down.....GO.  (just like the guy on Pinks...simple).  Now, the 442 is a dog off the line(tires break loose too easy to hit it hard), its ALL top end and midrange.  We had done this many times before.  We cheat... we win.  So my bro in the 442 stages and then he knows to look for my hands, not my arms. The signal to hit it for us was when I closed my hands, then...... my arms go down.  Hole shot, game over.  He wins.  We thought, no problem.  Well I am at the start, Ritchie is at the finish and this massive crowd starts getting really aggressive about us hiding nitrous, and that we ran the gas on em' and didnt tell.  Stupid people, we cheated the easy way.  So I ended up running down the middle of Greenleaf avoiding traffic with 50 people chasing me.  They were yelling to attack my boy Ritchie and HE starts running towards ME!  The 442 goes sideways across Greenleaf, slides in hot near us and we both DOVE into the open windows and bailed out of there yelling and laughing.
We were not able to take that car back to Whittier for quite some time.
Hope I was'nt too long winded.  (and non-VW)
The really sad part is, there are SO many stories about that place it could fill a book.  It was BY FAR.............THE place to go.  PERIOD!

This is my two cents, I cruzed the other end of Whittier Blvd. back in the day with my 67' Camero Rally Sport W/327ci W/factory heads. But when my foot felt a little heavy, I was off to Whittier. And now I live in Whittier, and love it. Last year looks like at Rubys Dinner, they started a cruz night every Friday with no problems with the police. But these car are American musle cars only. Why couldn't the VW crowd do the same thing at a spot in Whittier on Whittier Blvd. My wife and I went to Rubys for a burger and there was a flyer for the cruz nights to start up again next month. I called and was told that it was open for American pre 74' cars only, NO VW's. But I agree, be nice to get a few guys together, take a friendly cruz down Whittier Blvd. to a spot and just hang out and talk about the old days.  :)

Actually, when around the time I started driving (mid 70's) they started putting up the baracades on all the side streets from coliima to painter. At that time you could only drive on the blvd, and couldn't exit (2 or 3 miles).  Then in the early 80's I heard the city of Van Nuys shut off their lights on cruise nights, which ended cruising in that city.  Whittier followed and that is how they stopped the cruising.  I remember coming back home and visiting my parents driving down whittier blvd. with all the street lights out, that was wierd.
John is right about the bar accross Edmaru (which was the street Bob's Big Boy was on the corner of). I don't when they put that thing in, but it was there when I was a kid.
I know in the late 60's and early 70's the residents were getting tired of vandalism occuring, my parents house was no exception, the kids would throw beer cans, bottles, trash, etc. on our front and side yard and sometimes into our pool in the back.  My dad one time was approached by Whittier's finest and asked if they could park in our driveway on occasion, which my dad ok'ed.  The city would have motorcycles cops hide in our driveway on some Friday and Saturday nights.  Those cops would have a field day popping kids for illeagal u-turns and doing burnouts.  I'm sure the businesses who weren't open at night also complained.

Worm, I've been waiting for you to chime in, I knew you'd have some good stories.   Plush Cue, I forgot about that place, I used to hang out there as a kid, my stingray was stolen from that place.  use'd to get stoned and play foosball there all the time when I got a little older, in fact some of the guy's from the club would hang out there with us.  Scotties, used to be bully beef, corner of ocean view and whittier, huge crowds would hang there as well if I remember right that is were the muscle car crowd would be.

These stories are great guys! Wish I could be there. Time to built a time machine :P.

I'm 21 now and among my friend one of the few who has an (old) car and loves to drive. There aren't a lot of cruise nights here in the Netherlands. There are some get to gathers but everybody is just parked the whole night. No cool driving etc. That's really bad..

The only place I can remember which is about the same as you guys describe is the DFL meeting in Hannover on the 30th of April. It's at an oldskool diner and there is some cruising, great atmosphere.

Can you guys post some pics of the early days?

Here's some more interesting reading..... I like what HOTRODDON had to say (scroll up a bit)  8) ;D

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3691294

heard this event is closed to foreign cars isn't it? (vw's, honda's etc.)  I  would be up for this maybe April 10 or 17.

How about a thread on how you cheated to win a race?  Ooooooh theres one for yah.

After the hand close cheat start I wrote above, I thought I could share another silly old guy "secret"

In the hot rod V8 days back at Whittier Blvd.  One of our boyz had a Chevy Malibu that had a TON of torque in the small block and hardly any top end.  He was solid stoplight to stoplight, but top end he ALWAYS had his doors blown off.  Fun, in your face races took place at the traffic lights, but serious money races were always held where you could air out those motors in a decent distance.  Tired of losing money, this sneaky little bastard knew he pulled the hole shot every time and was always ahead of the car next to him until that car opened up and smoked him in the distance.  So he (this is great) installed a toggle switch on his dash that went directly to his tail lights so when he blew ahead of his goat and was in front, he immediately hit the toggles and the brake lights went on!!!!!!   And 9 out of 10 times the other guy would freak and hit his brakes as well, thinking that the police were about or something.  He stayed on the gas and kept a goin' and started winning money regular like. 

If yah ain't cheatin; yah ain't tryin'!

I'll quit if I have done too much but truth is I have a ton of these stories.......

Worm-O-Matic

X2!!

Bump this back up. Back in the day I dated a girl who lived just off Whittier to the west of Bobs. At this time I drove a '62 T-bird with S/S Creagars and Bellflower pipes, blocks on the rear. White boy in a lowrider   ::)  Like waving a red flag in front of a bull, cops would fallow me into her driveway wanting to know where I was going. She was used to it, but I didn't last with her or getting rousted.

what year was this?

'Bout 70 or 71. The barracades hadn't gone up yet and I was shooting pool at Black Jacks at that time. Or we sort of met at the coffee shop a Uricks. She waited tables there to get through school. I'd some times get to take her the long way home.

man, when I did an all nighter  ;) ;) I used to go to jack's for breakfast.  also went to high school with a urich kid, he was a year older.  always had nice cars.
you and your girlfriend were a little before my time (mid to late 70's).

I was urged at Nick's to keep this thread going, so here's another story.
begining the summer after high school my parents would go to europe for 3 weeks, i would come home from college just before they left and would have the house to myself.  anyway I would sometimes throw a little pre cruise get together on friday or saturday night (it helped to be in the right state of mind in those days).  We would usually start it up in the early afternoon, this particular evening some of my friends were in the house, while me and the rest of my friends were out at the pool.  Out of nowhere we here this car screeching it's tires as it drives around the corner of my house.  We all take a look over the wall to see an abandoned yellowish/gold datsun b210 in the street.  That's when we started hearing the siren.  Now in those days I remember there being 3 stages of partiers.
1.  the paranoid one,  they all started pannicking and running around.
2.  the mellow one, that was me, but it was my house.
3.  the one who doesn't think he appears altered.
so now we see whittier's finnest pull up at my house and check out the car, the cop looks around and decides to come and inquire if we know or saw the driver of the car.  Well, prior to this we decided I would have to confront the cop, as well as the guy who thinks he's fine (everyone else ran for cover).  The cop rings the door bell, of which I have to answer, when I open the door you could see the look on the cop's face and he kind of took a step back.  luckily he ignored what was going on, and just asked if we knew the owner of the car and his where abouts, which we didn't.  we had walked outside with the cop (quickly), and now I was trying to get my buddy away from the cop, and let him get on his way, but no my buddy wants to just bs with the cop. Just one more lucky event.
not a cruising story, but we did go cruising afterwards.
jim

I lived in Whittier 'till '74ish or so. Kid I ran around with had a nice '61 or '62 Impala 2door hardtop. This was in '68 when Jimi had released Axis Bold as Love. Kelly had a Muntz 4track with that tape ONLY. Don't want to remember how many times it got played on cruise nights. Hated to listen to that one until I recently started playing guitar again.

i'm 27 years old...and my greatest sadness is to haven't ever seen Jimi Hendrix... only you can really know...but i think that 60's and 70's were  a great age to live..
better than today...and if it isn't true...i like to think that...
(sorry for my english)

Fabio

You're not alone  ::) :D

Van Nuys movie trailer from youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3MOXwdkJp8

yup, just like I remember it..... ::)

-jeffrey

Whittier Blvd!!!   Where do I start?
I've piloted several cars down the Blvd on a weekend night.
I (and everyone else) would wait in line for an hour just to cruise through the Bob's car service. Of course, you wanted everyone to notice you so you had to do a burn out while looking cool and then just chug out the exit like it was no big deal. I had a corvair powered bug which got a lot of attention but after waiting so long in line I got a little anxious when it was my turn and punched it a little too much.......almost hit a car hop and nuked the trans. It's not cool trying to push a broken car out of the way while everyone is laughing at you!
For a while (different car) I would take out my steady date and after dropping her off would head up to Whittier
Blvd and if I couldn't find a party or get into some other trouble would pull into Bob's just before 1am (when the car hops got off) and give one of them a "ride"  <grin> I was such a bastard!

Anyone remember Howard Muse's (supercharged "Mouse Trap") cruise car? He basically took an H gasser and hung lights on it and went looking for some action. The Whitter Blvd traffic jam wasn't a good enviroment for a race car, though. LOL

At 10:00 the police would start walking the Blvd and busting people for curview and loitering. Someone in our club knew the owner of Marvin Reality which was on the blvd and we all had notes saying it was ok to be there on their property........pretty cool.

I could go on and on.......most of the time I got into trouble, it started on Whittier Blvd.....sigh!

Marc Buehler

nice, I have to say it again, very good topic!

I'm gonna search van nuys blvd on dvd, like the trailer.

I dropped by Johnnie's in the 1980s when it was being revived as a 'cruising spot' – all organised parking and sh*t like that...
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/CalArch036.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/CalArch035.jpg)

There was even a sign saying "No Volkswagens", but there were still some cool cars...
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/CalArch034.jpg)
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/CalArch033.jpg)

NO ALCOOL? NO ANIMALS? (people.. ???=) NO LUOD RADIOS? NO BURNOUT?
what kind of boring cruise was it??? >:(

they block every fun??? >:( >:(



 ;D ;D


no VW :o

Yeah we used to say Howard Muse had a trap door in the car and when the car didn't run as well as he had bragged, he would open the door and toss out a few parts to blame the lackluster performance on bad parts!
Actually Howard was very creative and wasn't afraid to do something different. His downfall was his constant bragging and pulling stunts like the magneto adjustment.
I once spent an all nighter at his shop helping him get the Mouse Trap together for the races the next day. I'll be dammed if I can remember why or how I got there. The guy doesn't sleep! I was dragging my ass and he was going warp speed. He had his own way of doing things, the inside of the motor case was polished a high lustre, He ran an old split trans and originally had the Paxton supercharger pusihing air through a pair of 48s.
He became the laughing stock of the VW community with his outragious actions and his constant bragging but I have to give him credit for not being afraid to step "outside the box".......oh, and that he did!
I wonder what ever happened to him?

And now back to Whittier Blvd. Some one was asking when the cruising started, I don't have that answer but I started in '64. I had a 1940 Chev 3/4 ton panel truck that I paid $30 for (that gives you an idea of what condition it was in) I had built a transmitter using war surplus stuff and had a whip antenna from a tank. Everybody used to listen to the radio station KRLA (I think that's right) and on game nights (High School football), everybody headed for Whittier blvd after the game. I would park my truck down the street from Bob's Big Boy, fire up the transmitter and flame the visiting team. My setup was so powerfull and "dirty" that it didn't make much difference what station you were listening, the only thing you could hear was my voice and as I look back on it now, I said some really stupid childish things. I was afraid the FCC would find me so I only pulled this stunt a few times but everyone was talking about the mystery voice..........and I thought that was cool.



Marc

That is cool - Pirate Radio

Can't get away with that kinda shit nowadays!!

Marc, that's awesome! :D :D :D :D

I used my Dads Corvair on occation that had a factory FM Stereo radio in it to cruise Whittier Blvd. I remember listening to KPPC in Passadena and KMET out of Orange County. KPPC exposed me to a lot of music. There was a record store/head shop I bought a lot of music from on the south side just before Colima Rd. Got rousted pulling out of there a few times. Wonder what they were looking for then.  ::)

I (and everyone else) would wait in line for an hour just to cruise through the Bob's car service. Of course, you wanted everyone to notice you so you had to do a burn out while looking cool and then just chug out the exit like it was no big deal. I had a corvair powered bug which got a lot of attention but after waiting so long in line I got a little anxious when it was my turn and punched it a little too much.......almost hit a car hop and nuked the trans. It's not cool trying to push a broken car out of the way while everyone is laughing at you!

That tradition carried on to my days.  there was one time this van was at the shell station and started to light em up on that smooth cement, when i guess he hit one of the filling covers, anyway busted his driveshaft, that van sat behind the shell station for months.

I used my Dads Corvair on occation that had a factory FM Stereo radio in it to cruise Whittier Blvd. I remember listening to KPPC in Passadena and KMET out of Orange County. KP
only remember a couple of those head shops, one up town painter, one by the quad, and music plus out by the whittwood.
(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/smitty59/oval8.jpg)
what was it paraquatt kelly used to say back in the 70's?

Question for you old timers he he he, how bout nixon's drive in, was it up and running when the cruising started, or had it been shut down by then.

Cool thread!

--louis

(http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/smitty59/oval8.jpg)
what was it paraquatt kelly used to say back in the 70's?

Question for you old timers he he he, how bout nixon's drive in, was it up and running when the cruising started, or had it been shut down by then.
[/quote]



Your license plate gives the answer 8)
... "Little bit 'o heaven, 94.7, KMET, tweedle-dee"

~DR.

Your license plate gives the answer 8)
... "Little bit 'o heaven, 94.7, KMET, tweedle-dee"

~DR.
[/quote]

Wow haven't heard that name in a while "parquatt kelly"

when he did the weather he would rattle off the name and temp of each city .....and instead of saying Simi Valley
it would be Simi, touch me, feel me - loosely pulled from the Who song

...and rember the fish report? tuna facial smelt?   sorry... I digress, guess you had to be there ;D

THe fish report -- the one-eyed trouser trout -- went to school with Cynthia Fox -- announcer for KMET

Anyway -- I was part of the San Berdoo crowd that cruised and raced E Street (remember Super SHops started as San Bernardino Racing) -- I started hitting E street in '67 with a '49 Chevy panel and worked my way up from there -- Before I went into the navy in '72, I had a '60 Ford F100 pickup that I had stuffed a Blown Ford 427 SOHC (cammer) motor into -- The whole motor was hidden under the hood and other than all the noise the motor made it was a sleeper. Use to buy High Test for it for 25 cent a gallon and would run thru 10-15 gallons a night cruisen and racing at such places as Cajon Blvd and Riverside Ave. Wish I had that motor back, I could retire. Occassionally we would go down to Whitter or Van Nuys or OCIR to pick on people -- made a pretty good living racing that truck and never had to work LOL.

When I got back from the Navy in '77 -- started living on E Again -- Had a '71 Mach 1 mustang with 351 cleveland 4 speed -- numerous 2180 VW's and some VERY FASTmotorcycles -- We had such a reputation people who come from all over to race our group -- and sometimes we would go to G street in Ontario where the BIG money races would occur -- I had a '51 Austin Pickup with a 540 ci BBC in it 14 x 32 slicks, glide, etc. -- I'll post a link of a pass I made at Riverside raceway where I did a 11 sec pass with no high gear -- but I raced some dude that came out from New York for $5k in '82??? But all the cruise scenes were being closed down about that time  and we all moved on with our lives LOL -- Still miss those days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgt4ziwljzw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR5EcN7fzEw

People started figuring out how fast the Austin was when they made me line up with the Dragsters -- blew my cover -- never got a street race with it after that LMAO

VW story from this same era -- --

about 79-80 the VW's were getting a reputation as being sneaky fast and it was getting harder and harder to hook up street races with V-8's LOL

Well, John Sanders about this time was one of the first to put together one of the really large autocraft motors -- man that thing with 48's on it sounded like no other VW at the time and it Hauled ASS -- He put this motor into a white '67 Cal-look and went street racing -- one look under the deck and no one would race him -- So John finds another VW with a license plate number just one off from his white one and builds it to look indentical as the fast one but this one is a total stocker with just a header so they look similiar. Soooooooo, I'd drive out the stocker to the street races and John would park a little way aways -- I'd act the asshole (pretty easy for me LOL) say I had this wicked fast VW set up the race even showing the stock motor to these guys set up a race for a couple Hundred dollars and these guys thinking they had some easy pickings would jump on it -- Then I would say I wasn't a very good driver and was it ok if a friend drove my car for me since it was for so much money -- So everybody would run back to the cars -- we would switch cars -- run them -- beat them -- take their money -- come back park a few cars behind the stocker -- they would come running back to look at the motor again we would stop at the stocker again and they would be scratching their heads -- we did this to alot of guys for over a year before somebody finally caught on -- But it was fun while it lasted LMAO

Wasn't that Jim Ladd? And wasn't it spelt Whoo-A?

I was actually more of a KNAC guy back then.

(http://www.cjvws.com/hosted/knac.jpg)

-jeffrey

Cool story's fiatdude,keep them coming.
BTW,that Austin pickup is f#@kin' awesome.  ;)

fiat dude,
man those are some great stories.
jeffery, pk said it, at the time he couldn't even get the plate cause it was already taken and such a popular phrase.  I've just kept it for nostalgic reasons now, it's on my 69 elky.

used to love the fish report, forgot about all the sexual inuendo's they would throw into the daily fish count, and then the sound of the hellicopter they would use to transition to the traffic report.

what about dr. demento on sunday nights? fish heads?

Some night when I'm lit up I'll tell the story of us going done to Van Nuys and racing the Blower Bike -- the race didn't happen but the trip still brings smiles to the faces involved --