I hardly ever go to shows anymore but back in the day I'd always get some dirtbag coming up and pointing out stuff an why theirs was better. You could just tell that they didn't have a pot to piss in. I'd ask where there car was and their stunned silence said it all. They either walked or rode a bicycle. 🙄

 

Yes, the old 3/4 race cam stories and how it raised tires of the ground (with 235 size Radial TAs and stockish suspension). Then there are the late night around the beer keg stories where their car should run 11s (though never been to track). I was guilty of that in the early 1980s then I took my car to track and realized I was 1.5 seconds off in the 13s direction and its not as easy as everyone thinks. Then in 1989 I put a dyno proven 604 hp 468 in car and realized "oh, this is what it's suppose to be like".

 

3/4 race cam

This is how you know someone means business

 

They were all cooler than you... Just ask them and they'll tell you.

I've heard the same "jump a coke can in a parking lot" and "hundred dollar bill on the windshield" stories so many times.

Car shows are kind of a joke, and anybody can claim anything. Last fall, the guy I parked next to "ran 9s" on a stock 10-bolt in his 71 Chevelle but couldn't remember his 60' or his trap speed. When I said mine ran 12.210 at 115, his response was "that's it?" Funny thing is, I'm pretty sure I'd smoke him.

I prefer to hang out with racers, at racetracks... we've all been humbled at some point.

 

Lots of guys talking about what they had. I just let them BS and feel good about there memories… even if they are fictional, maybe it’s all they got?

 

Exactly...What's that saying...the older I get the faster I was 😁

 

I get just the opposite... I hear a lot of "you run 11's on those tires?"
I did have a guy at a local cruise tell me his very clean 1980 Camaro w/ 355 SBC with Edelbrock heads run high 9's at the track..so I said "in the 1/8 ?"
He said no, " in the 1/4"
I asked him about the 60 ft. and MPH..said he didn't know, his friend drove it.

 

I asked him about the 60 ft. and MPH..said he didn't know, his friend drove it.

Those details must get harder to remember the faster you go.

 

I swear I always get guys coming up to me and my car and want to start a conversation and it always leads to what they used to own, and I swear 95% of the time it is exaggerated BS.

I'm not talking about the make or model of the car, but how much power or how fast it ran. It seems that all these cars during the late 70s or early 80s all had 600 hp and ran low 12s or deep 11s, if not faster. Go to a car show and most of these "day 2" type street cars could barely run 13s. Performance parts of today vs what was available in the late 70s are massively improved, and yet these guys claim to be making the same or more power than engines of today. Was everyone Bill Jenkins or something?

Seems amazing how many ppl were pulling crazy fast short times with stock rear ends and stock suspensions on tires that are massively inferior to today, and most having a stock manual transmission to boot.

It's from inflation, 12 seconds in the 70's is the same as 14 seconds now.

 

its hilarious that we've all heard the same tall tales, i live in wyoming and use to race in South Dakota and it was all the same exact stories, $100 dollar bill nobody could ever grab, and wheel stands on street tires. Even to this day every time i stop for gas someone always approaches and says i use to have one just like this.......wish i never would have sold it.........its a 69 aint it.

 

talking to a guy the other day and he remembers how his 69ss 396. chevelle would wheelie when the stoplight in the middle of town turned red. now my car picks up the tires about a foot at the track with 800 ponys and a 4.10 gear. but there is no way it will do it at the stoplight, all i get is tire smoke. i guess back in the 70s cars musta been a little quicker.

 

talking to a guy the other day and he remembers how his 69ss 396. chevelle would wheelie when the stoplight in the middle of town turned red. now my car picks up the tires about a foot at the track with 800 ponys and a 4.10 gear. but there is no way it will do it at the stoplight, all i get is tire smoke. i guess back in the 70s cars musta been a little quicker.

Simple explanation: Better asphalt in the 70's.

 

This is why I only go to a car show if it is attached to a swap meet.....

To much

 

Everybody thought they had this back in the day:

 

Awesome pic! 👍🏻

 

Yeah - it's not just car shows, it happens at the race track too. Apparently EVERYBODY had a 65 Impala at one point. About a month ago I had this guy, 65-ish, overweight, rides up to me in the pit area on a golf cart, with his wife.

HIM: I sure do like that Impala
ME; Thanks!
HIM: Is it for sale?
Me: No
HIM: I'm serious, I buy lots of nice old cars
ME: Cool
HIM: So what would it take to buy it?
ME: It's not for sale
HIM: Would would it take to buy it today?
ME: What's your offer?
HIM: What do you want for it?
ME: If I had a for sale sign on it, it would be up to me to name a price. If you're going to keep on after I said it isn't for sale, you need to give me your all-in, no-negotiation, best price you'll pay. I'll give you a YES or NO.
HIM: (rides off on golf cart without another word)

Just another day in the life of an old car owner.

 

I'd say $500,000 (or more) just to see the look on his face. 🤯

If he says OK, then go buy yourself a new (old) car and wait for the next dummy to come up like he did...

My dad and I were talking the other day about this stuff and I said "everything is for sale, if someone offered you $500k, you'd take it" - Mind you, he is the original, only owner of his car - and he hesitated...
I said you could buy a new one and drop it off at (fill-in-the-blank) shop, have it done any way you want and still have money left over.
He said "I probably still wouldn't..."
Just goes to show how sentimental cars can be.

I wouldn't sell it either.

 

In the late 80's I had a 1980 malibu with V6 and an open diff that would do burn outs on a hard right turn. Hard to believe I know.

 

Plenty on this forum act the same, so there's that.

 

Nice way to make some friends. Welcome

 

.

 

Don't care if a stranger tells me HIS story about HIS car. Just don't start telling me what I should do with MY car.

I know MY car cuz I do all the work on it MYSELF and make all the decisions about it MYSELF for MY own reasons.

Period - Dot - End.

I do come here though for advice when I can't resolve ambiguities and appreciate the assistance.

 

I used to have a corvette back when they had metal bodies. 🥴 I’ve heard that at least a half dozen times

 

I never understood the guys that always tried to one up you. They choose to come up to us (the car owner), perhaps make a compliment, perhaps a suggestion, or even a complaint. But then they go on to talk about the car they supposedly used to own that made more power and is faster than our car. I didn't ask, they don't have any proof, or even enough knowledge to make it believable, so what's the point?

 

Make them feel like they are somebody

 

I don’t think most people can come to grips with how SLOW most 60’s era muscle cars actually were, even some of the hot ones, but I guess they WERE fast compared to the 50’s land barges they drove before or the choked down smog turds they drove after. People used to see that a “stock” LS6 could supposedly run 13.1, and pretty soon every 325 HP automatic with 3:31’s was running 13.1’s too, at least to hear the owner tell it, even though the closest he’s ever been to a drag strip is the grandstands. Me, I’ll come right out and say it. My engine and drivetrain is a budget build, and my car is PAINFULLY slow compared to probably 85% of the cars on this forum, maybe more. I have owned my car since 1988, and I have never ONCE claimed it could beat anybody’s car. I know my friend’s 2012 V6 Camaro would leave my car in another zip code…..

 

…pretty soon every 325 HP automatic with 3:31’s was running 13.1’s too, at least to hear the owner tell it, even though the closest he’s ever been to a drag strip is the grandstands.

I had a 66 El Camino, original 325HP block and heads. I ran 13.1, Maybe it was 13.4? (1/4 mile) at about 111+ ( been quite a few years), with a 1-legger, on skinny whitewalls! I recall 60-ft were over 2 seconds

of course the car had 4:10s, TH400 with 3800 rpm stall, solid cam, big tube Hooker headers, and I left at idle…. If I tried to flash the converter it was nothing but tire smoke…. Actually won a few bracket racing trophy’s…

I bought the car as an ex-racecar, but not sure why it had an open rearend with 4.10s. Original 12-bolt though.

I bolted in another 12-bolt (4.10 posi), but never made it back to the track…

the car, with Rally wheels borrowed from Moms 68 Corvette

 

What use to bug me was the New Mustang Owners at the Cruzins
have not been to one in 3 years because of Covid
who would say their New Mustang would do 10s ... 11s in the 1/4

I would say when was the last time or times you were up to our Local Track
Reply " oh have not been to one and will likely not ever "

That is when I say well I have a old 67 Chevelle that I would like to Line up with you at the Track
as I have not lost to a New Mustang since most of them will not run against me when they have their
Annual Mustang Challenge at our Track / they will only run against their own kind

How ever did lose to a 66 Mustang Coupe once that was a Pro's Race Car
/ Trailered & with big Slicks
he did the 1/8th in 6.262 Seconds on a 6.25 DialIn
I did a 7.41 in the 1/8th on a 7.90 DailIn
So Broke Out by 0.489 Sec
And his Reaction was much better than mine
I am guessing that Old age is starting to finally catch up to me

 

I did a 7.41 in the 1/8th on a 7.90 DailIn

I could outrun you with the 265 powerglide 55 Chevy I had 50 years ago.........

But seriously, my 7.4 second 55 gasser gets beat by Mustangs more than I like to admit...and I hate it.

 

Do you don’t believe the guy how had a buddy that went to school with his friends cousin who bough lt a 67 SS chevelle brand new with that factory 427 that could do 10’s in the 1/4 and you could never touch the windshield at every stop light Or I had one of these just like this out of school but only it was a different color and a four door and one year older. Or my wife’s uncle has this really rare (insert car here) in his garage that hasn’t the seen the light of day in 40 years and we just saw one go though a auction for 2 million dollars.

 

I like it when they tell you something that’s not period correct…the car has almost no period correct parts. One guy told me that my headliner was not original.. lol I told him the whole interior is aftermarket. Just like the rest of the car. And the headliner is the only thing that looks like a 69 original interior.

 

This stuff is indeed a PIA to put up with, same is true for those who gotta pic every car apart. This happens at shows and I happens here on the board. I just don't get it. If someone doesn't like hearing this "I had....." , "my car ran.......back in 1966, etc etc etc etc then JUST IGNORE IT and move on! Same goes for the BS about "the cigarette lighter is incorrect, it has incorrect air in the left front tire.

Rehashing this BS doesn't stop the BS and it doesn't make the BS easier to listen to. I say "Move on".

 

I could get low 15's out of my '69 SS 396 (325HP) Camaro 'back-in-the-day'. Turbo 400, probably 3.42 gears. No better that that. But I had fun!

I also had a '69 Z with a 4.11 rear; that car had a holeshot! But I never ran it on the strip -- but I could use 3rd gear from a stop without bogging the motor. Bet it made that dubious 11 second mark! (Just kidding!)

 

I had a guy at work telling me last week about his brother's Dart that would pull the front wheels off the ground in front of his parents house when they were young. I just said cool. 🙄

 

What year is that? (if they saw the back)

What IS that? (if they saw the front or side)

I (or someone I know or am kin to) had one just like it, only...

We used to... and it would...

Yeah hey shove it pal, go 'way.

You mind if I:

look inside it?

take a picture?

Light 'em up! Lets hear it!

Get. Away. From. Me.

These things make the infinitely redundant in passing... Nice Car or Love Your Car (depending on clarity of gender) tolerable if'n they juust keep it moving.

Everything I ever had was junk. Never even achieved a 14 flat.

 

What year is that? (if they saw the back)

What IS that? (if they saw the front or side)

I (or someone I know or am kin to) had one just like it, only...

We used to... and it would...

Yeah hey shove it pal, go 'way.

You mind if I:

look inside it?

take a picture?

Light 'em up! Lets hear it!

Get. Away. From. Me.

These things make the infinitely redundant in passing... Nice Car or Love Your Car (depending on clarity of gender) tolerable if'n they juust keep it moving.

Everything I ever had was junk. Never even achieved a 14 flat.

I almost forgot the "light it up" shout from goofballs, hahahaha, if I went for that every time I herd it I'd need new tires every month. At 300 each that would start rivaling the gas I would go through.