DISCLAIMER:  I was a young fool when all this took place.  I DO NOT CONDONE STREET RACING IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM


1971
35 years ago.  new '71 2.0 , 4spd. , dark green metallic.  $2465.00 out the door.  3 months later at about 9 pm I'm driving out the gate from work having just finished installing the turbo and welding up the last joint in the exhaust pipe.  Heading up toward home and Whittier Blvd.  Going to see how it stands up to American V8 iron on a weekend night.

At a stoplight and a Plymouth Roadrunner pulls up in the left lane next to me.  I didn't have a hood on the car at the time and the passengers take a look and laugh.  A few choice words right back at them and the light turns green. He hits the floorboard with the throttle and I bogged it off the line....recove r and slam 2nd gear at the crosswalk on the otherside of the intersection as I pull a 1/2 car on him just like that. 

The whole thing lasted about 150 yards but he was about 50 yards back.  Never saw him again.

1972
At a stoplight on the blvd again.  3 lanes; me in the center.  early 'Vettes on each side.  One is a 396 the other a 427.  These guys know my car.  427 is quick but heavy and I got them both by about a 1/2 car out of the gate.  3 cars on them before we hit a red.  2 more times that night and the result is the same.  The last time I grabbed 2nd at about 7 000 and took the flywheel of the end of the crank.  All the bolts sheared right off flush with the crank hub.
A trip to Velascos Crankshaft in Downey (i think it was downey) to have it dowel pinned and the hub modified for SAE threads and high tensile cap screws..car is down 1 month.

1973
While recuperating after surgery to my back I gutted the car in my garage at home.  No carpet. No sound deadener.  Plexiglass rear 1/4 windows and door glass and rear glass.  Back seat out and an aluninum panel in its place.  Dropped the car to the ground.  New larger 2bbl carb off a Ford truck that I jetted down and messed with the emulsion tubes and idle circuits.  ( I was having trouble with melting pistons) End cylinders were running lean under pressure.  Got ahold of an equal runner length FORD factory intake manifold at the same time and put it on and rigged the stock distributer to blow pressure into the back side of the stock vacuum retard port  to back off the timing under boost.. Man what a difference.  Had a VDO boost gauge that had an upper limit of 20#s on the dial.  Buried the needle when warmed up even in 1st gear.  Took it to (old) Irwindale Raceway one Sunday and got off a 13:43 at 106 at 6500 in 3rd gear.

1973 (later)
New plugs and points changed the oil and checked the timing.   Took it out to a street by the house couple of miles away.  Hammered it from a red light.  No traffic at all in front of me for almost 2/3's of a mile and NO side streets.  7000 in third at about 105 and I touched the clutch to grab 4th.  Clutch friction disc blew up.  Coasted 1 mile to within about 100 yards from home.  Took it apart and there was NOTHING LEFT between the rear face of the block and the front of the trans. 

I'm getting old but I do remember...mor e to come

1973 again...

About a month after exploding the clutch assembly I had the Pinto running again.  The car was stripped to nothing and after a day watching football with a buddy of mine (he had a wagon with the windows on the sides replaced with panels) I took off.  Near his house there was a railroad crossing that the street had to go up and over.  I had about a 100 yard run at it, foot to the floor, and at the top of 2nd.  The car started hammering hard (detonation), sounded like someone was hitting the windshield glass with an army of ball-peen hammers!  Backed off after catching a little air over the crossing and took it easy going home.  Didn't really notice any damage; it ran really good.  Found a vacuum line off that I was sure was making it run lean.  Put it back in place and cured that problem but there was a very faint vibration at about 2000rpm that would come and go.

It lasted like that until about 3 weeks later when I was waiting for a green light at a left turn signal.  Light goes green I start to pull away easy and the motor just STOPPED.  Wouldn't even turn over.  Damn!!!  Towed it home looked it over and found some oil dripping out of the motor just under and to the rear of the distributer area. (pretty sure...it's been a while)  stuck my fingers down there and found a hole in the block about the size of a walnut.

Well once again, motor out and in the garage, pulled the pan and found the #2 rod broken in 1/2 !!!!

Seeing as how my bank account was severely limited from the previous escapade; I elected to put in a carbureted motor.  Sure did miss the power but it was still a gas to drive.  This is when I started to run slaloms and some local sports car club races at Riverside Raceway (may she rest in peace)