Haulin' Drag Cars In The '60s
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- This video shows how race cars were transported to and from the race tracks back in the '60s. Most of the race cars, even some of touring professionals were carried on open trailers, ramp trucks, or pulled with tow bars. Today, 90% of drag cars are transported in enclosed trailers. Gone are the days of seeing beautiful race cars being towed down the highway.
Truly the golden age of hot rodding. These guys were the real innovators.
Yeah back when tuning was more than clicking on a computer
I could just see myself back in the 60's and 70's. A hot Saturday night, the smell of burnt rubber and nitro, and the noise. Memories forever etched into the memory of this now 63 year old man. I'd give up the rest of my life to go back for just one of those Saturday nights when I was young. Thanks for the memories.
Thank you for that heartfelt comment. I know exactly what you mean. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
John
You don't need to die yet. There is some crazy fast stuff out there still that you can afford to build and drive.
@@NH1969GOAT Yeah, I know but this was about the birth of drag racing and the era.
@@plainwornout3964 you're only as old as you want to be and there's still plenty of street racing drag cars that's affordable and fun I'll never stop racing it's in my blood and I'll do it till the day I die
It’s not the same as bulding what u could drive on the street and race on the track it’s purposely bulit or factory bulit mega dollars machines over1.000 hp
Back when you did something because you loved it.... not for the money!
And you did it any way you could money or not!
66-67 Chevelle pulling a Anglia on a trailer, those were the days.
Seeing cars, station wagons, pulling weighted trailers is rare or uncommon
My favorite racing photo is a shot of Bill Jenkins '67 Camaro on a trailer being pulled by a 2 door Pontiac Catalina.
Wow, I bet a lot of these cars are sitting in barns just waiting for someone to love them again
No such luck, probably destroyed in towing accidents
Work all day then get home and work on the car. Race on Saturday night and make it to church on Sunday. Good times.
Good ol days haul hay allday shower go to drags,whatever happen good clean life we once knew so sad they turn to drugs forgeting your roots
@@walterfactor4617 drugs was just as bad then everything was hidden back then but today it's normalized by everyone and nobody has any hobbies these days it's just horrible I want to go back to the late eighties and early nineties myself
Mickey S. AS A NATION WE HAVE LOST OUR MORALITY.
@@noahdunaway If we're being honest this nation was rotten and ungodly from the very beginning... It's just obvious now.
@@siervodedios5952 I DISAGREE, SURE IT WAS NOT PERFECT WHEN FORMED, BUT GOD BLESSED THIS NATION BECAUSE OF THE MANY BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS SERVING THE LORD AND TRYING TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. ALSO I BELIEVE WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS IN WHICH THE BIBLE SAYS THAT PEOPLE WILL BE BLINDED.
Awesome, A time to be remembered, I believe this to be the greatest era of Drag Racing.
Thank God i have the Playground of Power (BYRON ILLINOIS) in my backyard. I've been a witness to this lifestyle since 67 and still get to see it all summer long.😎
R.I.P. Mr. RON LEEK
Race In Peace
Some killer old footage and pictures thank you for the time and effort involved in making this video and sharing it with us
Thank you for watching and commenting, Lisa.
Thank you. That was fully enjoyable. I kept forgetting to look at the trailers.
Back when folks had Crager S/S on the trailer! Good old days. :)
We grew-up in the BEST of times. Joe Acock
We sure did brother. We sure did.
Damn right Bob mcdickbigger
Great Times , back when a car had a good transmission in them for towing. Remember seeing a lot of that back when I was a kid. Union Grove , US 31 . Great video man.
Union Grove, when Broadway Bob owned it. What a track!
Best part of F/C in those days was you could tell one manufacturer from another,
Yeah. Cars were definitively distinguishable from one another. Now these cookie cutter clones all look alike. Like shit !
Remember so many of these cars from when I was a kid ❤
When there wer no saftey rules today but people drove more safely in 60s-70s than they do today
It was safer because the cars was definitely slower and built a whole lot tougher
@@jonathanlawson4667 You guys are looking through rose-colored glasses, the roads are safer than they've ever been percentage-wise.
The 60s and 70s were when accidents were at their worst.
Here's a chart if you're curious.
injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/
@@bigredc222
This may be all well and true BUT, today's drivers seem to have a self centered mentality and have no respect for others on the road. Along with distracted driving playing a factor.... i.e. cell phones, info-tainment center in the dash, etc. Turn signals and dimmer switches I THINK have become an option on vehicles built the past 20 years or so.....
Sure the cars of today MAY be safer in regards to 'deaths' but I wonder how a lot of accident participants would fare IF none of the safety equipment, i.e. air bags, anti-lock brakes, skid control, traction control, collision avoidance systems etc. were on the vehicles??
It is of my opinion we are simply protecting the incapable people which don't ACTUALLY KNOW how to drive and are simply plopping into a vehicle to commute. Unfortunately actual drivers share the roads with these 'commuters' and have to drive for them also to AVOID getting into an accident.
@@russdavis1960 Looking at it that way, I agree with you 100%.
I can vividly remember being allowed to sit in dad's Pro stock Mustang in the 70' while it was on the low loader ,going to or away from the strip and being rewarded for not sticking my head up above the window line with an ice cream at either end of the journey. I was around 7.
MAN I CAN SMELL THE FRENCH FRIES FRIED ONIONS HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS AT THE TRACK NOW. PLEASE TAKE ME BACK TO OLD DAYS WHEN THE ONLY THING THAT WAS IN A HURRY WAS YOUR CAR
Pulled those trailers and drove those haulers with drum brakes!
And alot of the time not even power assist.
Hey....that's all we had back then...
The good ole days of cheap high octane gas, and people weren't a bunch of dumb asses, and the big 3 were still puttin out quality automobiles! My dad was right when he told me that was the best time to live in!
In the early to mid 60's my dad had 30's something dodge coupe with later model hemi, they drug it to the track with a 54 Chevy pickup, using a tow bar one night on the way home they blew radiator hose on the pickup my uncle drove the pickup my dad fired up the race car (hemi with straight pipes coming out from under doors) pushed the pick back in to oklshoma city at 3 o clock in the morning, lol I'm sure the neighbors where happy!
Robert Choate. That's sweet. Now days all your shit would get impounded arrested and stuck with a huge fine and a suspended license.
Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago are the ones who started stuffing big blocks into everything they sold. All you had to do was walk in and pay for it. Mr. Norm knew what people wanted and Mopar took the hint.
TV Tommy Ivo said back in the 1970s , closed trailers will ruin racing. I remember Dad following the haulers to find the track.
the good, old days. Memories in the past. Hearts, in our soul. thanks. love it. Mike.
My uncle bumper pulled a 55tbird gasser for 15 years to Englishtown NJ
Great video , what memories this brings back.
Kelly Chadwicks wife was the librarian at my elementary school. Great people.
Towed my 57 Chevy with a tow bar, hell even raced the tow truck.
I remember reading an article about the man who painted the original A.C. Cobra prototype for Carroll Shelby. He said they came to pick up the car and take it cross country with a trailer he said that he wouldn't carry the car across town on. People just didn't worry as much then about the looks of the things.
Big rigs, enclosed trailers, !!! yeah the rich outfits do but the small guy is still useing the old fashioned trailer but a little more high tech now than of old,+ theres still the kick of having an open trailer & people admiring your car as they go by giving you the thumbs up.Ime now 73 & decide to call it a day after years of pushing cars down the fire up road & this video brings back all the 'fun' days, early mornings,bruised knuckles, forgetting that one needed item.but great racing, thanks for this compilation.
I used to ride in the race car on the open trailer. My uncle was so cool to take me racing with him.
Cool uncle things like that can do so much for a kid. Good clean fun.
Amazing! Look at all of the tiny details like paint, the old bias tires, the trucks, the homemade trailers, the full size cars with steel bumpers and hitches. But that real AC Cobra had me gasping NO FRIGGN WAY!!!
In 1973 a friend and I went to the Gatornationals. This when everybody had crew cab dually and Chaparelle trailers. Walking around the pit area everybody wondered where's Garlits. Pretty soon here came a older black Dodge pickup pulling an open trailer with a tire rack on it. That was his transporter. If it didn't make it go fast, he didn't need it.
Man I love those old cars sure brings back some good memories!
Man did I enjoy this video. Brings back the great days when simple was Boss. Riding to an event, sleeping under the trailer in a sleeping bag, brushing your teeth and rinsing with Boons Farm Wine. Eating breakfast on a Coleman stove with eggs and hot dogs, anything to get you by. Thank God I lived and made it through those wonderful times. These days were the foundation of Americana. The young today will never experience the friend and fellowships of the 60's.
I couldn't have said it bettter, Robert. Yes, we were very fortunate to have grown up during those days. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
John
Love it!
Great video. way before my time, however; I would rather have a 60's straight axle car than anything built by today's standards. one that really caught my eye was a B/Gas 56 Chevy with a 427 Ford Wedge motor in it. Love how it used to be, any combination to go faster! Thanks Again
In the old days we spent our money to make the car go faster. You scrimped and saved to do your best with what you had at the time. Nowadays everyone thinks they are a pro team with enclosed trailers pulled by air-conditioned rvs! Wimps
Great video, Impala, Galaxies , Newports all kinds of drag cars and tow cars. Open trailers dear God this brings back a ton of memories Thank You. God bless
" Took my Cobra down to the track, hitched to the back of my Cadillac"
In my opinion, the Crager SS is the best-looking wheel ever, and it still holds up.
51 people are wimps. Thank you for your time and effort !!!!
Going to local races today you still see bracket racers running open deck trailers, even a couple single axle setups, and occasional ramp truck or roll back tow truck. At test & tunes you often see daily drivers driven to the track, sometimes they do a tire change. Many are moving to the enclosed trailers and RVs or even larger setups. Toterhomes, stackers etc... Times change so does the equipment. Considering building a ramp truck for my car...
Thanks for the video. It brought back memories of a lot of names and great times.
Something you guys left out completely is the many racers who "flat towed" or tow bar. Lots of single axle trailers back then, and the ramp trucks you showed here were the top of the heap
great video...really appreciate the time and effort you put into it ....remembering going to lion drag way on Sundays sitting on the fence after church watching them run
TY for posting this Big Smile 😊.
That era was THE BEST; it had everything, and at a much less hobbiest price. Styling, authenticity, gear snatching, uniqueness unsurpassed. U could even tell the car manufacturer from the whine and sound of the transmission, engine, and carburetor. Classic Gear jammers n VA and Carolinas r the quintessential modern day history trip.
GREAT VIDEO....BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF MY OLD DRAG RACIN' DAYS.
Hell, these were the big boys. We used to drop the driveshaft, take the slicks off and flat tow my dad's E/MP 55 Nomad everywhere.
Great video. I worked at ETown in the late 60's and early 70's. This brings back lots of good memories and good times. TFS
Great to see John Hagen's 'Cuda. I can just imagine seeing in the late 1970s into the 1980s, John, along with Greg Anderson, getting the race cars ready behind Hamline Hardware in St. Paul, Minnesota.
haul em up strap em down and on to the next town = i was a rock in roll roadie and went into cars and meetings great life if your single = great video thank you .
Makes you wonder what happened to all those beautiful cars
Hope there still around
PRICELESS FOOTAGE! Note that many of the tow vehicles were passenger cars, station wagons,etc. Also, I noted that many of the long WB. racers barely fit on the very short pick-ups.
You should see people’s reaction now days, my friend put his fastback Mustang dragcar on an open trailer. They were stopping on the sidewalks and in awe cause you just don’t see that anymore.
wow the old sox and martin, brings back wonderful child hood memories, thanx
A truckers dream. A video of nothing but Trailer Queens.
In the late 70's my dad did antique car showing. He was so proud of a trailer that he built and had custom striped. He sold it to a friend who had a construction company. The fellow who bought it sent an employee after the equipment trailer to haul a 450 Case dozer. As you can guess the Nimrodd loaded the dozer onto the car hauler.
It was about racing not showing off. Nowadays it's like everyone has to have an NHRA top fuel rigs to haul their cars everywhere.
Geez, the weekends we spent at Martin 131 in 65, 66 & 67....what a great time.......
Thanks for the video view, I'm riding in the back seat when working with Eddie in '69, this looks like it might have been Indy in '69. In the front seat was Alan Gillis the mechanic and Lynette's brother John...FS
Amazing how money, sponsors, and selection changes a really nice sport.
As fun to look back and watch your video, it is already showing the signs of the aforementioned in how it was already changing.
It is easy for me to look back and see those that drove their competition and those that pulled them by tow, and the exquisite that had the luxury of trailer, all headed to the strip.
What was once a poor man's sport has certainly evolved.
Back in the day, we actually used junkyard parts to revitalize worn out parts and honestly won money by doing so. (LOTSA NEW "TOTALED CARS" TO CHOOSE FROM)....LOL. It was very tough to by new parts UNLESS, ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Anyway, THANKS FOR SHARING
Back in the 70s when my Dad was running a front engine dragster, he had a trailer specific to that car. It was narrow and had wells where the rear tires would drop in- then just run a strap over each slick. Pretty easy to use.
A simpler time for sure and a lot more fun for sure. I was there.
What a fantastic video! I thank God for those memories... as a kid going with my brother hauling his '62 vette to Norwalk Dragway (now Summit Raceway) & Dragway 42.
And God bless you for keeping such memories alive with videos like this!!
My Dad Towed his 1940 Chevy Coupe AA/Gasser across country with a tow bar. He didn’t have a trailer.
Back tire two feet from the ground, front tire 6 feet in the air, car body level. Gotta love those old dragsters
Holy cow, that brought back memories. Those guys had trucks and trailers, almost everybody that went to the little eighth mile strip we went to in Kahoka, Mo. flat towed with a towbar. The main highway at that time went right through Wayland, Mo. and made several 90 degree turns and the cars we were towing would not straighten back out of the turn and somebody would have to jump out and straighten the steering wheel up. Thanks man.
Can remember back in 70's early 80s people hauling cars to the drags with Briarwoods, LTD's and Impala stationwagons.
Brings back good memories.
Seeing these old cars and trucks is truly amazing and inspiring! I own a 1965 mercury m700 truck that I’ve been wanting to make into a old school race car hauler! Hopefully I can get the project underway soon
Saw a car with Bo Laws Automotive, They rebuilt a 350 for my Dad's Chevelle back in the 80's. I remember seeing it sitting next to a huge drag engine and thinking how small it was.
This is excellent!
Great footage. Bring back memories of my youth. Thanks.
This is a big reason you don't see a lot of spectators at races anymore. All the kids today get to see is a big white box being towed through town or out on the interstate. They are missing out on the excitement of seeing a race car in person.
When I was sixteen I sat behind the wheel of a D gasser many times being flat towed to a track about 45 miles one way.
I enjoyed seeing the painted lettering and pix on the cars too. I have done a little of that myself.
I know a guy that used to drive his car to the track.
My uncle did that once with his 442. He said he won 2 races but had to limp it home on 6 cylinders
Great images! There were some great "gets" of famous cars; Dyno Don, Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge, Sox & Martin, Dick Landy, and Grumpy Jenkins Camaro. They were having too good a time to know they were miserable hauling on open trailers!
Beautiful cars love my Ford Fairlane 500 1967 baby
Brings back memories. I remember the whole family in a regular cab truck going far off to shows or a track for the weekend. All the quad cab trucks back then were for work crews. Never remember seeing one made for a family transporter . I wander at the cost of those new trucks in their day compared to today. I know we make more per hour now but it seem a new truck was more in grasp then , than today spending $50,000 on a modest truck. That price is just middle of the lane.
Outstanding John...thanks for bringing back some great memories!
Thanks for watching, Dave, and thanks for keeping those memories alive with that sweet Galaxie of yours!
John
I just love seeing stuff like this! Thanks for the upload! Eres El mejor!
I enjoy seeing the vintage Drag car's great video 😀
Here around Grapevine Tx. Around 1968 Dirt trackers which was my father's family side used Tow bars drug them behind car or pickups couldn't afford trailer's till later on. My mother's side drag racers Drove their cars there to tracks. The Vances were very well know around Yellow Belly speed way near Dallas Tx. Later on trailering as laws changed and their cars got more radical Like their 1957 Little Red Riding Hood Corvette which Gene Vance rode willie's all the way down the track with at start no willie bars lol
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, John. I had a tow bar...always dreamed of a trailer. Ha! Thanks for this great piece of racing history. The Soul Survivors would be proud of your version of their great hit "Expressway to Your Heart"...loved it!
Jim
I have a picture of your car with the tow bar attached! I should have included that picture! I did use some of your great photos from the '69 Nationals. Hope you don't mind. Thanks for watching!
John
John Camfferman Can you send me a link to the picture of Grumpy's Toy IV on the trailer. He is running it in B/G with the '67 front end and this is one of the best pics of it with the window decals. I have a tribute car of this and changing it to the B/G and want to place the decals correctly. Thanks!
Ed Eichelberger If you give me an email address, I'll send you a copy.
John Camfferman Thanks John! 1969nfc@gmail.com
I remember my dad had these "handy man" encyclopidias mostly about home improvement but one of them was how to build a dragster and hauler
Great footage and historic shots! I love this era of drag racing.
Mike Burkhart was one hell of a driver, and not just down the quarter mile. About 1966 in Dallas we worked all night on Mike's Sportsman Chevy II, but for some reason, forgotten now, we could not could not get it ready. Regardless, we set out for the races in Paris, Texas in the morning. We--I think there were five of us--were pulling behind Mike's 1965 Impala driver a tandem axle trailer loaded with Girard's 1964 Ford Thunderbolt Fairlane 427. That was a favor to Girard, who felt his daily car was not big enough to pull the trailer. The new Interstate 30 to Paris was not yet open for traffic, but Mike told the kid driving to go around the barricades and we proceeded to drive down new pavement unhindered by other cars. Mike was in the front passenger seat as all except the driver, who had not been up all night, went to sleep. I woke up in a hurry when the car and trailer began swerving wildly from shoulder to shoulder because the driver had made the mistake of letting off the gas on a long down hill stretch. It was immediately apparent to me that we were going to crash badly, trailer and all. At that moment Mike awoke and slid across the front seat, jamming the driver against the door, and took the steering wheel. He made two perfectly timed twists of the wheel and suddenly the car and trailer were going straight again. How the hell he did that, particularly right out of a dead sleep, I still do not know. Fun times those were.
Lost a trailer off the back of my buddies 751 1/4 ton Chevy flatbed 2wd 454 4 speed on 128 in danvers MA in the early 80s it ran up into the medium ,stuffed the tounge into the dirt .we used it to transport our demo derby cars. Good times.
We flat towed most of ours. Even the fast ones.
This is one Great video! I own and am currently restoring the Dick Landy Hauler shown in the vid and this is the first time i've seen footage of it moving!
Tom Yeager cudos for saving some classic iron, especially one with some unique history as yours! Best of luck on your resto! I would most certainly take that baby back home to the track.
Tom Yeager I would love to see how it turned out there should be more people like you. I hope you still have it and enjoy it, or at least took it to Barrett -Jackson or Mecum and got some awesome amount of money for it.
Tom Yeager oh
Very cool project. Nice to see some appreciation for the overall history of racing,... not just the cars themselves.
How’s the restore going?
Nice memories, thanks for sharing.
Not a car but a motorcycle. I rode a Harley drag bike for an older man who built it in the late 60's/early 70's, a 9 second Sportster. The back half of the frame was bolted on in order to fit the entire bike in the trunk of his car! He showed me pics from then with the bike stuffed in the trunk of a Ford Galaxie 500. By the time I was riding it in 2013 he had a nice trailer, but I always wondered about why the frame was 2 parts.
Man that was wonderful! You picked great music for the background, too. Easily could have teared-up had I let myself....as I was a 12-14yr. old kid who read about ALL these same cars / drivers in every drag magazine I could buy or borrow. Now, in '20.....I'm 65....doing the COVID19 sit-at-home. Seeing these also naturally makes me think of all my old buddies from the day....many are gone now. Bittersweet. Thank you for this magnificent vid.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Joel, it means a lot. Stay safe and thanks for watching and commenting!
John
@@jrsn2cars From the heart, Dude. You're most welcome. jbeinarizona
From the time when sex was safe and cars were dangerous. Love it!
Nice love the old hot rods i have a 99 stang that runs 7.09 in 1/8th runs on 110 octane but still has interior no cage
love the little home tracks. ours is Quaker City Motorsports Park in Salem, Ohio. of course the Baders own Summit park in Norwalk, Ohio. Awesome place.
I LOVE the music soundtrack!.. I wish I knew who it was?
I recorded the soundtrack myself in my home studio, playing all the instruments myself. The songs are "Expressway to Your Heart" by The Soul Survivors" and "Things I could Be" by the James Gang. I'm glad you like it! Thanks for watching and commenting!
John
Always enjoy watching this vid!!!! 👍👍👍👍
Ramp trucks and open trailers kinda how we’re going to Road Atlanta with vintage sports cars now. Father and son budget
Build me a time machine so I can go home 🇺🇸
Those days when men were hard working men..and no fancy stuff
That rig and set up @ 2:07 is just badass :)