#761  
Old 01-11-2013, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer View Post
Another youtube video is a tribute to an old time street racer Norm Ruby. He is racing his late model Mustang Fox body. Norm had some strong running Fords. There is a photo at Detroit Dragway in 1962 lined up with Norm in his '61 Ford along side Jim Wangers '62 Royal Race car, Bill Sidwell's '61 Pontiac Cat and a '62 Chevy 409.
The aforementioned "4 wide" photo:



K

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Old 01-11-2013, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Keith Seymore View Post
The aforementioned "4 wide" photo:



K
Keith,
Thank you. That is the shot. I can never remember the name of the owner of the '62 Chevy 409. But you have Jim Wangers in the '62 Royal race car, Norm Ruby in the '61 Ford and Bill Sidwell in his '61 Pontiac "LegaL Stocker".

I have a picture some where of Sidewell out in front of Dave Strickler in his '62 Chevy at Detroit Dragway. I may have posted earlier. It has been too long a thread to remember that too! LOL

It was about this time that the guys found that having their hoods just slightly ajar at the cowl they got heat out and more air in and found they went faster. It was later deemed illegal to have your hood above the cowl vent for safety. Look closely at the back of Norm Ruby's and Bill Sidwell's hoods, they are lifted up just a little. At first people though they did not have time to put the hood right...LOL This was the begining of cowl induction.

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  #763  
Old 01-11-2013, 04:37 PM
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I found this You Tube race on French Rd neasr Detroit City Airport. The red Mustang convertible in the far lane looks like the Mustang Brian Ballish built. Watch how that convert reels in the other car.

Brian brought the Mustang convert to the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2011. It can be seen in a few pictures parked behind the Black Bird in the Fresard Buick parking lot.

Brian is the person who originally built the Black Bird and maintained it when Jim Wangers owned the car. Brian also worked for Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac for a number of years.

Brian now works at Whites Racing and Marine on 9 Mile Rd near Hoover. It is no that far from Detroit City Airport. Hummm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBpmxUYv_V4

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Old 01-11-2013, 04:46 PM
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Ford was in on the raised hood in rear also. I remember seeing these cars at the small shop across the street from the dealership in Decatur GA where I grew up. The headlights were taken out and had round hoses to the air cleaner too.
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  #765  
Old 01-11-2013, 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by GETRIDAONE View Post
Ford was in on the raised hood in rear also. I remember seeing these cars at the small shop across the street from the dealership in Decatur GA where I grew up. The headlights were taken out and had round hoses to the air cleaner too.
Welcome.
I wasn't leaving any one out. That is why I mentioned to look at Norm Ruby's black 1961 Ford. His hood is wedged open at the rear. As you see form youir pictures of some great old Ford lightweights the hood thing caught on. But so did the sacutioning body that made the rules...LOL

The Detroit street cars tried to look as stock as possible. Other than Wangers' '62 Royal race car the other three where always on the streets of Detroit waiting for those unsuspecting saps. LOL

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Old 01-11-2013, 05:19 PM
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For those looking for a taste of Detroit during the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise week. Watch this one all the way through. There is even some I-696 Racing near the end. Watch and you'll see how we would back up the several lanes of traffic to let two guys go at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTCtX1TC-KU

A little bit for the northern end in the City of Pontiac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqY4R...ture=endscreen

This one, 2012, starts in Birmingham and turns the camera off just before coming across the Black Bird on his left side on Old Woodward where we are parked on each side.
Then he heads to the main strip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4VMleQHWpc

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Last edited by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer; 01-11-2013 at 06:02 PM.
  #767  
Old 01-11-2013, 06:39 PM
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Gee, where are you finding these photos?

This old war horse/museum piece is too old to terrorize any of those 1,000 HP Mustangs or Hennessey Vipers. But it can put on a good show don't you think?
Eric this was meant for the 70's - 80's nostalgia etc. for now put one of those Pontiac 535 ci. Single turbo units in like this from Bankbook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQwddY_pbI then you would clean house .

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Old 01-11-2013, 08:35 PM
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Neat stuff Dr. Schiffer! I love this street racing history. Thank you for sharing the stories.

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  #769  
Old 01-14-2013, 09:54 PM
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Dr. Schiffer- thanks for sharing the stories. It compliments Glory Days well. I read through the first 10 pages this thread and now have to get to bed (early day tomorrow). It's like a book I can't put down!! I can't wait to revisit it and eventually get caught up!

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Old 01-15-2013, 09:44 AM
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Neat stuff Dr. Schiffer! I love this street racing history. Thank you for sharing the stories.
I've always liked those American Racing 200S wheels. They look great on your T/A.

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Old 01-15-2013, 10:02 AM
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Those wheels look great on any "Blue F Body" even the newer ones like my Formula
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  #772  
Old 01-15-2013, 03:30 PM
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Those wheels look great on any "Blue F Body" even the newer ones like my Formula
Your are absolutely correct...they do look great on your car too.

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Old 02-01-2013, 05:04 PM
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That is great. You should post the pictures of what Joe Ruggirello's old Mustang looked like from the time you got it, right up to current condition. After all Joe and this car are a great part of Detroit's street racing history. Not just a flash in the pan.

If you look back through this post I have some pictures of the thursday night High End gathering almost a year ago to honor Joe's 80th birthday. Joe has a CTSV prepared by Lingenfelter. But his daily driver is a MKS.

If you have some of the old magazine articles of the car that would be great too. It would help people understand the types of cars that raced the streets of Detroit and as part of the Thursday night High End Club.

I hope we can see the car at this years Dream Cruise too.

I can't wait to see it. By the way has Joe ever returned your calls?
Eric,

Sorry its taken me so long to get this done. This is the first appearance of the Ruggirello Mustang II in a magazine, showing it in its original configuration under construction. Check out the window sticker still in the drivers window! Car was bought new at Fred Grande Ford in Richland, MI, May of 1975. Originally a 2.3, 4 speed car with no options to speak of, other than comp suspension, leather wrapped steering wheel, sport mirrors and tinted glass.


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Old 02-01-2013, 05:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Eric M. Schiffer View Post
That is great. You should post the pictures of what Joe Ruggirello's old Mustang looked like from the time you got it, right up to current condition. After all Joe and this car are a great part of Detroit's street racing history. Not just a flash in the pan.

If you look back through this post I have some pictures of the thursday night High End gathering almost a year ago to honor Joe's 80th birthday. Joe has a CTSV prepared by Lingenfelter. But his daily driver is a MKS.

If you have some of the old magazine articles of the car that would be great too. It would help people understand the types of cars that raced the streets of Detroit and as part of the Thursday night High End Club.

I hope we can see the car at this years Dream Cruise too.

I can't wait to see it. By the way has Joe ever returned your calls?
Eric,

Here is the second appearance of the car in Super Stock and Drag Illustrated really giving details on how they built the car. The engine really was a mild setup considering how radical they could have gone. Likely, with the light weight of the car, it was thought to be plenty An amazing amount of fabrication went into creating it though. The more I've worked on and under this car, the more I find they did to create it.

I've spoken to the author of this article, Michael Uno. He said he was sent up to the Gapp and Roush shop to do a story on them and took quite a bit of film on this car while there. Mr. Uno is now a professor of cinema at USC!








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Old 02-24-2013, 07:07 PM
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This is a great thread. I believe it was mentioned earlier in the thread that a Chevelle that belonged to a Mr. Mair running a 505 can-am motor had beaten the Silver Bullet. Do you guys know of any pictures of that car and or know what became of it?

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Old 03-03-2013, 02:15 PM
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This is a great thread. I believe it was mentioned earlier in the thread that a Chevelle that belonged to a Mr. Mair running a 505 can-am motor had beaten the Silver Bullet. Do you guys know of any pictures of that car and or know what became of it?


I would like to hear more about this car as well. Some pictures would be great. Speaking of pictures, what I would love to see are some pictures of street racing action taken on Woodward during the 60's-70's. I know it's a tall order and probably impossible but some actual photos of Woodward Ave. on a Saturday night taken as 2 cars lined up to "go at it" would be fantastic. I live less than 1/2 mile away from one of the big car hang-out/street racing spots of the NYC area in the 60's. Over the years I have met lots of guys who were there every weekend watching the races or doing the racing. Not one has any photos or knows someone who has any. It's a shame no pictures were taken. I guess it would be the same for the Detroit area. It's not like today where you can take a picture with your phone.

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Old 03-03-2013, 03:04 PM
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This is a great thread. I believe it was mentioned earlier in the thread that a Chevelle that belonged to a Mr. Mair running a 505 can-am motor had beaten the Silver Bullet. Do you guys know of any pictures of that car and or know what became of it?
The very last post in this thread over at the Chevelle Tech forums mentions the car. The poster seems to know a thing or two about it and apparently knows the original owner. Perhaps he can help-
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/show....php?p=3577966

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Last edited by Greg Reid; 03-03-2013 at 03:11 PM.
  #778  
Old 03-03-2013, 03:24 PM
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The very last post in this thread over at the Chevelle Tech forums mentions the car. The poster seems to know a thing or two about it and apparently knows the original owner. Perhaps he can help-
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/show....php?p=3577966
Interesting; I love how these stories come back around (and tend to support each other).

Just a couple comments regarding the knowledgeable poster on Chevelle Tech:

a) Most of the cars with the "Mom's Headache" were associated with Danny Scott (Hot Rod Magazine's 1994 "Fastest Street Car Winner"). Not sure if he is confusing the name or if there were more out there that I am not familiar with.

b) The GM Desert Proving Ground was in Mesa Arizona, not Masa AZ as noted.

K

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Old 03-04-2013, 03:31 AM
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http://youtu.be/HcxhIxhCdKQ?t=1s Not Woodward but Connecting highway,Queens,NY. And its a GTO.

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Old 03-04-2013, 10:12 AM
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http://youtu.be/HcxhIxhCdKQ?t=1s Not Woodward but Connecting highway,Queens,NY. And its a GTO.


Thanks for posting that video Goatman. I've seen it before as there is a website dedicated to the Connecting Highway. That was probably the most famous spot in NYC for street racing. Other spots in Queens were the Conduit and Francis Lewis Blvd. In Brooklyn there was Fountain Ave., Second Ave. and Mitchells. Staten Island had South Ave. I'm sure there were more spots that I don't know about. The spot I was refering to in my previous post was Mitchells. It was a burger joint with a parking lot. From what I was told on Friday-Saturday nights the lot would be packed along with every parking space on the street for blocks around. Races would take place right out in front or a few blocks away on the expressway coming off the Verrazzano Bridge. Like I said, lots of local guys hung-out there including Nunzi and nobody took any pictures.

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