Get Out There and Drive It!

There's an old saying: "You can't rule the tarmac unless you get out there and drive on it!" This solid statement applies to more than just driving your classic vehicle on your Main streets, back roads, and highways. It's also appropriate for drag strips, circle track, as well as road courses. As I'm writing this, I'm taking a short breather from a day chock full of 4th of July festivities. Being a typical gearhead, one of the highlights of this celebration of our country's freedom are the vintage cars that cruise in parades. One cool aspect about the semi-rural coastal area I live in, is ALL types of vintage iron are welcome in our local parade - not just beautifully restored vehicles. As I mentioned last week, I've heard numerous people tell me over the years, "...a car is only original once." While that's true, a car is also like a muscle - use it or lose it. In my opinion, people have to exercise their hot rods, muscle cars, and antique vehicles, or we run the risk of losing more and more vintage iron.

But regardless of my ranting, let's say you just don't want to risk driving that rare 1969 Dodge Daytona equipped with the 426 Hemi engine every weekend. Fair enough. But maybe - just maybe, you could pony up enough coin to screw together a really cool alternate hot rod. It doesn't have to be stellar, just functional. It also doesn't have to be a rather expensive 30's era street rod or whatever, just something off-beat but cool. Like a late 70's Chevy Malibu wagon with a ripping big block. Or maybe a 1964 Ford Falcon with a turbo small block. Or perhaps an early 70's 4-door Olds Cutlass with a mild 455 cubic inch V-8 between the fenders is more your speed. The bottom line here is that it shouldn't matter - even if one of the above rides is your only summer toy and it's "not done yet" - get out and drive it! (Photo above left courtesy of Car Craft).

Don't have a weekend or summer cruiser just yet? One of the best experiences you can have is enrolling in a performance driving clinic. Companies, organizations, as well as the manufacturers hold events like these from late Spring through late Autumn throughout the country, usually at killer road racing courses. Not only do you learn some valuable driving tips from true professionals, but at almost everyone of these events, participants get to drive modern muscle cars. Too bad our drivers education class in high school wasn't set up like this!

I will give in to the fact that driving, no matter where you do it, be it public roads or racing venue, does involve a certain amount of risk. That risk can involve other drivers and/or equipment. One of the greatest stories out there is when "Big Daddy" Don Garlits (as well as other drivers) were given 426 Hemi motors by Chrysler with the intention of replacing the older 392 Hemi engine in their Top Fuel dragsters. The problem was, none of the drivers knew how to tune the big Elephant engine so it would reach it's full potential, thus resulting in slower quarter mile times and speeds. At first, Garlits hated the 426 Hemi. The story goes, that he got so fed up trying to work with the new Hemi, that he was going to blow up the motor on a quarter-mile run, ship the destroyed engine back to Chrysler, and walk away from the entire corporate sponsorship.

How was he going to accomplish this? Garlits set the engine timing to 40 degrees advanced. Every Top Fuel driver knew that setting the timing on the 392 Hemi above 32 degrees resulted in split blocks - so Garlits thought the same regarding the 426. Simple right? Well, not so fast. Garlits ran his race - and won. He also set a new world record in the process in regards to his trap speed. After the race, Garlits and his crew opened up the motor expecting damage. There was none. According to Garlits, they didn't even change the oil before the next run. His curiosity running wild, Garlits advanced the 426 Hemi engine in his Swamp Rat dragster to 50 degrees. He remembers thinking he just had to know how much this new 426 Hemi motor could take. He ran his next race - and won that one as well. And set another miles per hour trap speed world record. This would have never had happened if Garlits didn't get out there and drove it.

I was too young (heck I wasn't even born yet), to be around for the inaugural Daytona 500 back in 1959. This was the first year the race was run on the new track as opposed to the beach. It was also the first major milestone in NASCAR history. Nearing the finish, Johnny Beauchamp and Lee Petty battled for the lead. The two cars crossed the finish line side-by-side for a photo finish. Officials deemed Johnny Beauchamp the unofficial winner, and he drove to victory lane. The results, however, were protested. After examining photographs and newsreel film for three days, Lee Petty was declared the official winner. The controversy kept the race in the news for several days. That style of racing - never lift, just drive it - has kept fans coming back year after year.

Finally, I received an email a few days ago asking how young I was when I first got into cars. According to my Mom, I loved riding in a car when I was as little as 5 months old. Here's a photo of me on my Mom's lap back in January 1964. While the vehicle was a counter-culture (for then) side door Willy's Jeep, dig our neighbors car - you can just make out the tail end of his big block 1959 Ford Galaxie. Thank God for cool neighbors...

Until next time, get out there & drive it!
Dave