The "Pleasanton Cam"

Not sure why but I got kind of nostalgic about the mid and late '80's in my old hometown of Pleasanton CA and my formative years in this hobby. Think this was all sophmore, junior, senior years in high school. Lots of free time to make up reasons to make dumb hot rodding decisions, or follow others that had, because I (we?) weren't wasting precious bench racing time on doing well in school or impressing the opposite sex. Many a night were spent in stone cold and smelly garages threatening one another with lots of pie in the sky daydreams, fogged over with half truths and "if only's". But a few guys actually kept their word. Years ago here I told anybody who was crackers enough to follow old threads, about the guy that taught me how a VW could hold its own at the burger joints and street races.... the guy that sent the ass end of his yellow, eight spoke late model sideways in a shroud of tire smoke and enthusiasm one afternoon while I was perched on my Schwinn Sting. I had belittled and berated this guy to no end in class (10:15-11:30 drafting class) about what a waste of time it was pouring his adolescence into a horrid little VW Bug and he "ought to wake the f- up and get real." In my mind there was no way (prior to the smoke show) this guy's passion for his "fast" VW was anywhere near reality. I had plans on buying a MG Midget (of all things) and showing this guy what for. Boy how clueless I was!
Part of this guy's speed secret was what some of would later discover was "the" cam. He was running a 90.5 x 69 with worked 041's and the locally renowned "VZ25." So anybody that knew this guy, and was smart enough to listen to him, soon was standing around in cold garages at 10pm telling his buddies "I'm gonna run the VZ25, like Dan is." It was like a plague. Anybody with dirty fingernails, a Bug and experience in "chirping 2nd" was under the spell. Within a few months another one of my older buddies (by a year) had somehow gathered together the stuff to build an NPR 90 x 82 Scat with 041's, 44 Webers and of course, the VZ25. This mill was bolted (solidly) into a gutted, and quite ugly little primered '64 Bug. I have to say, I still remember with great fear, many a ride in this car and getting out of it shaking, literally. Part of thatr might be that we rolled the thing one night. Anyway, by about 8 months later, I had resorted to "keeping up with the Jones'" by building my first little attempt... a 1641 with 041's 12 lb flywheel, full flow, 9:1, HD valvetrain crap, and because I lived in Pleasanton, and did not want to be outdone, the mighty VZ25. I know many of you are holding your foreheads in your hands, in disbelief and disgust, but the thing ran hard and went like hell, all the time. It earned me quite the reputation amongst the detroit iron boys and the local gendarmes. It was a lot of fun pissing off everybody with four wheels with an underdog. If the V8 meatheads at school didn't like me before, they really resented me "post VZ25"
Good old days

Anyway, hey everybody, just checking out what's new here, been awhile. See ya

Jim