I like old cars and dirt bikes. Raced the latter for a while.
Contents:
Fat Boys on Harleys – https://azrockdodger.com/2025/08/09/fat-boys-on-harleys/
Cybertruck Blues– (Poem)- https://azrockdodger.com/2025/03/22/cybertruck-blues/
Desert Race- Essay- https://azrockdodger.com/2024/09/08/desert-race/
-Pinned- (Essay) https://azrockdodger.com/2024/04/10/pinned/
-Balcom- (Poem) https://azrockdodger.com/2024/02/24/balcom/
-Rat Rod-(Poem)- https://azrockdodger.com/2023/07/14/rat-rod/
-Freddy’s Diesel Racer (1952 Indy 500)- https://azrockdodger.com/2023/05/27/freddys-diesel-racer/
-Hitler’s Mercedes?– https://azrockdodger.com/2022/08/07/hitlers-mercedes/
-Indian Racer- a poem- Indian Racer – Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies (azrockdodger.com)
-Joyride– a poem- https://azrockdodger.com/2021/12/30/joyride/
-Ford Blue- https://azrockdodger.com/2021/12/17/ford-blue/
-Bearcat Boogie- a poem- https://azrockdodger.com/2021/11/06/bearcat-boogie/
-Moped- a poem- https://azrockdodger.com/2021/10/29/moped/
-Ford Has a Better Idea! Transmission fiasco https://azrockdodger.com/2021/07/17/ford-has-a-better-idea/
-Big Block a Poem
-Dancin’ in the Dirt A Poem
-Hole Shot A Poem https://azrockdodger.com/2021/08/24/hole-shot/
-Blowout- A Poem
-Hot Rod Ford
-Flathead Ford
-Necropolis of Steeel– A Poem https://azrockdodger.com/2021/09/05/necropolis-of-steel/
-1958 GM Design Catastrophe (Click Link) https://azrockdodger.com/soapbox-ugliest-cars-ever/
-100,000 Miles at 100 Miles an Hour: Caliente Means Hot https://azrockdodger.com/2021/05/15/1000000-miles-at-100-miles-an-hour/
The “Laid Down” Engine at Indianapolis-1958 https://azrockdodger.com/2021/05/30/the-laid-down-engine/
-Wilbur Shaw’s Maserati https://azrockdodger.com/wilbur-shaws-maserati/
-Royal Enfield Bullet: The Bike That wouldn’t Die https://azrockdodger.com/2021/06/04/royal-enfield-bullet/
Big Block
Roaring, roaring down the strip,
Hit the gas, and let her rip.
For nigh unto thirty years,
We hooked it up in all four gears.
Full serve gas was just a quarter,
And those lines were so much shorter.
Chevy’s first was the Three Forty-Eight,
Waitin’ for Ford to take the bait.
Ford came up with a Three Thirty-Two,
Wasn’t long before it grew.
Then Chevy made a Three Ninety-Six,
Dual Four Barrels just for kicks.
Awesome Hemis powered the Dodges,
As they thundered forth from their garages.
A Three Ninety-Two wasn’t enough,
But a Four Twenty-Six had the right stuff.
Dearborn built the Four Twenty-Seven,
To seven grand they were revin’
The Four Twenty-Eight came a bit late,
The MOPARs to annihilate.
Catchin’ Chevys is quite a feat,
F E fords could not compete.
From Lima came a brand new mill,
Makin’ Ford King of the Hill.
Called the Boss Four Twenty-Nine,
Belchin’ flame as it left the line.
The Sixties came and the Sixties went,
Those Big Block cars were heaven sent.
Then along came OPEC and Mr. Nader.
To put them all in the Auto Trader.
Get a Dodge Charger for a song,
Nah, there ain’t nuthin’ wrong.
Buy yourself an itty-bitty car,
Gallon of gas takes it far.
LDT 1998
Dancin’ in the Dirt
Dancin’ in the Dirt
I never made the big time, nor raced the Astrodome.
Just did my best like the rest, and loaded up for home.
It didn’t matter where I was, on Sunday I’d be racin’.
Stand on the pegs and gas it, no matter where yer placin’.
In the desert South of Vegas, or the piney Jersey Barrens.
No, it ain’t the suit nor tie, it’s just the trail that beckons.
The dust and mud that leads to freedom, will take away the hurt,
And all I ever want to do, is go dancin’ In the dirt.
LDT Oct ’20
Blowout
Blowout
At the lake and bored as hell,
Head for town, might as well.
Fifty-One Olds, an Eighty-Eight,
Got an overhead mill to motivate.
Buddy Tom mashes the gas,
Ain’t no car he can’t pass.
Winds her up, a Hundred Ten,
All a blur where we have been.
“Pretty fast,” I tell him so,
“But I got a car that’ll really go.”
It’s my Chrysler, New York Deluxe,
Bought it for a Hundred Bucks.
Hemi power under the hood,
At makin’ tracks it’s mighty good.
We take it out on Eighty-Seven,
Hope this trip don’t lead to heaven.
That Hemi was a ton of fun,
As the engine I did gun.
I call the speed as it winds up,
Let them horses out to gallop.
‘fore too long we hit a Hunert,
Watch the needle, stay alert.
I’m about to call One O Five,
Man this car has got the drive!
Somethin’ pops, there’s a bang,
At the wheel, I just hang.
Leaves the road, hits the ditch,
Hang on tight, I don’t twitch.
Pass between the power poles,
Missed ‘em all, car just rolls.
Pasture fence on the right,
Open field could solve my plight.
Aim it for the harvest wheat,
Still my heart it will beat.
No combine cuts a cleaner swath,
Than a Chrysler’s ragin’ wroth.
Sixty miles an hour, I tap the brake,
Maybe now my fear will slake,
Rear end tries to swap around,
Makes my heart start to pound.
Just let it roll ‘till it stops,
Hope no one calls the cops.
White as snow, I look at Tom,
He’s sittin’ there a’ lookin’ calm.
“Pretty good, but mine is faster,
Yours’s is more like a disaster.”
Well that’s the story and it’s true.
Car’s too fast for me and you.
Lucky it didn’t make me dead,
Traded it in for a MoPed.
LDT Nov ‘20
Hot Rod Ford
Hot Rod Ford
Drove here down from Phoenix, the radiator leaked,
This car was kinda’ slow as ‘neath the hood I peaked.
Pretty nice Ranchero, but it hasn’t got the go,
It’ll haul the bikes, but I don’t like the slow.
Lookin’ at my Fairlane, sittin’ there forlorn,
Had a lot of changes since it left Dearborn.
Engine from a Galaxie, tranny from a ‘Stang,
Four-Eleven gears, takes off with a bang.
But that deer I hit sort of bunged the hood,
Once it caught on fire, inside don’t look good.
Then my face is lit up with an evil grin,
I’ll never take that Fairlane for another spin.
I can fix that ‘Chero, it really ain’t that hard,
All the stuff I need is waitin’ at Murphy’s Yard.
Seven trips to Tucson, a rental hoist to pull,
Then that engine bay is lookin’ mighty full.
Fire it up and take a ride, better than I thought,
Little ford Ranchero is really kinda’ hot.
Now in this town there was another ‘Chero fast,
Pullin’ up beside him, his reign it cannot last.
He’s got a Two-Sixty, four speed on the floor,
But I go more cubes, I’ll surely slam his door.
As our engines rev we’re waitin’ for the light,
I’m gonna’ pull a hole shot on this fateful night.
At first we’re pretty even, engines they unwind,
Soon my taller first gear leaves his truck behind.
For one night on the street, Ranchero is the King,
If only I could get her back, I’d give most anything.
Flathead Ford
Flathead Ford
Nineteen-Sixty, got my first job,
Feelin’ like a teenage snob.
Work my shift and get a check,
I start lookin’ for some old wreck.
Spotted me a fine machine,
All decked out in Seafoam Green.
Two hunnert dollars and it was mine,
Soon I’m running down the Hi-Line.
Flathead eight runs so smooth,
Can’t even hear it ‘til you move.
A pair of Smittys is all it took,
To terrorize all of Chinook.
Strip the caps and paint the wheels,
Drop the clutch and rubber peels.
Thought I’d try her on the strip,
Some old Chevy I did whip.
Banged her up a time or two,
Patched it up with tape and glue.
Burnt a valve but she still ran,
Filled her from a Casite can.
Leaky heater core is no prob.,
Move the hose an easy job.
Radio playing that K’MON station,
All the tunes that rock the nation.
Syphoned gas don’t need no station,
Makin’ do was my occupation.
Time would come when I must go
Sold that car to get some dough.
Lookin’ back, I wonder how,
That old car is lookin’ now.
LDT Sep ‘20
100,000 Miles at 100 Miles an Hour
Caliente Means Hot
In the Fall of 1963, most of us were focused on the British Invasion, led by the Beatles. At Daytona Speedway, another event was taking place. Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury Division was engaged in a spectacular stunt to prove the power and endurance of it’s sporty 289 V-8 equipped Comet Caliente. Five Comets would attempt to circle the high banks of Daytona Motor Speedway for 40 days and nights at over 100 miles an hour.
To accomplish this incredible feat, Mercury fitted its version of the Ford 289 “D”-Code engine with a slightly larger 4 barrel carburetor. (Ford would not allow them to use its more powerful solid-lifter “K” Code 289. Though the Mercury engine fell short of the High Performance Ford HiPo engine’s 271 horsepower, they called it a “K”-Code anyway.) The five cars used in the record attempt were equipped with beefier suspensions, roll bars and heavy-duty 3-speed manual transmissions. They pitted for driver changes and maintenance every two hours. Four of the five Calientes managed to complete the 100,000 miles without incident. The fifth had a broken valve spring, causing it not qualify for the record. It was repaired and set its own record for 10,000 miles at 124.421 miles an hour. The trial was slowed by two tropical storms in the area. About a hundred people; drivers, mechanics, timers and NASCAR officials participated in the affair. Mercury followed up the achievement with an ad campaign touting the slogan, “100,000 Miles at 100 Miles an Hour!’ (Actually, the fastest car averaged 108 MPH.)
Ford made its fabulous small block Windsor engine as used in the record-setting Comets from the 1962 model year to 2002. Displacements ranged from 221 to 351 cubic inches. The most desirable versions were the high performance units like the Ford’s “real” “K”-Code” 289 engine with its 271 horsepower. These are mostly found in 1964 1/2-1967 Mustangs. Carroll Shelby modified the “K”-code to 306 Horsepower and fitted them in his Shelby Mustangs. Another highly sought after version of the Windsor engine is the 1969-70 Boss 302. This engine featured the better breathing cylinder heads from from Ford’s Cleveland engine series. It was rated at a modest 290 horsepower due to insurance considerations. Another great performance version of the Windsor was the High Output 5.0 used primarily in Mustangs from 1987-1993. These engines were very popular and helped end the “Malaise Era” where American cars suffered from a lack of performance. Sadly the miss-labeled “K”-Code engines used on ’64 Comets aren’t really all that desirable unless they are in one of the five 100K cars.
I have owned a bunch of Windsor small-blocks: An original 221, two 260’s, two 289’s, three 302’s, an HO 5.0 (302 CID) and two 351’s. One of the 289’s powered three different cars. The Achille’s heel of the early versions of the Windsors were their wimpy timing chains. They stretch and fail beginning at about 80,000 miles. This was made worse on the early engines which had a resin-fiber bottom timing gear to reduce engine noise. Typically, a worn timing chain will jump one tooth on start-up. The engine will still run, but the ignition and valve timing will be off. If not replaced it will jump again. This time the valves will collide with the pistons leading to a catastrophic engine failure. I got really good at replacing timing sets on all those Windsor engines. One of the few that never needed replacement was the High Output 5.0 on our ’89 Mustang LX. If you find an early Windsor small block with the original timing set, be careful when you change it. Early engines had a spacer on the front of the cam that is not used with most aftermarket timing gears. Neglect to remove it and your new timing chain will eat up your aluminum timing cover. (Don’t ask me why I know this.)
Wilbur Shaw’s Maserati
For me, one of the most beautiful and significant race cars of all time is Wilbur Shaw’s Maserati. He won the Indianapolis 500 in the car in 1939 and 1940. Shaw led the race for 107 laps in 1941 before crashing due to a misplaced defective tire. I learned about the car in the 1950’s when I read Shaw’s biography, “Gentlemen Start Your Engines!” In 1974 we stopped by the old Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It was in a small dilapidated temporary building. As we walked in a gorgeous car painted in an elegant amaranth caught my eye. It was the very same car that Shaw had driven for the win in ’39 and ’40. Restored to perfection, it literally took my breath away. Shaw revered that car, and was probably responsible for its preservation. Though he never raced again after his 1941 crash, Shaw was also responsible for rehabilitating the badly neglected track after WWII. He died in an airplane crash in 1954. Because of cars like this and men like Shaw, we call Indy “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
More on the Boyle Special Maserati:
Another look at the Boyle Maserati 8CTF | Mac’s Motor City Garage (macsmotorcitygarage.com)
The Maserati engine was 3000cc with double overhead cams and dual carburetors. It made about 350 horsepower.
Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies 