Nickey Building Demolished

[427TJ]

From Chevy Rumble magazine.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/BE427TJ/NickeyDemolition.jpg

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Xplantdad]

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[hvychev]

Wow.....So long.... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[markjohnson]

A piece of history that is now gone forever. A very, very sad day.

[Salvatore]

Yea, That is a shame. Too much motorsports history to wipe out. Should have been declared a historic site. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[TimG]

I was in that building a few times when I was a teenager.
I bought some hi-performance parts for my car there. I remember the Nickey sign, you could see it from the highway.

[kwhizz]

That's about as sad as when Riverview was demolished http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[Belair62]

...or when Skips Drive In was demolished.....hey I would love to see some old pics of Skips ..any of you guys got any ???

[Blade4444]

I wish I could have gone there befre they demolished it, my dad worked at Hoskins right down the street back when it was still open.

[Belair62]

And here I thought Hoskins was in Elk Grove forever !

[Blade4444]

I think your right, but I remeber him saying right down the street, Ill have to ask him about that later.

[Belair62]

It would make sense...Elk Grove had to be sticks back then

[Jonesy]

Pics I found on the net showing the building earlier this year, before it was demolished to make way for condos. It housed Comcast Cable. http://jkauto-sales.com/photos/jksales%20047.jpg http://jkauto-sales.com/photos/jksales%20048.jpg http://jkauto-sales.com/photos/jksales%20049.jpg

[TimG]

Riverview....what memories. A longtime friend lives by where Riverview was, I believe it is called Riverview shopping center now.

[mrtimstik]

The local paper did a story when Skips was demolished and I sent the article to Hot Rod magazine and they published it. Sorry I don't remember the year. I wouldn't even know where to start looking for the magazine I saved. I got my name in the story too!


[ QUOTE ]
...or when Skips Drive In was demolished.....hey I would love to see some old pics of Skips ..any of you guys got any ???

[/ QUOTE ]

[kwhizz]

[ QUOTE ]
And here I thought Hoskins was in Elk Grove forever !

[/ QUOTE ]

I bought my Marina Blue SS L79 car from Hoskins back in April of 66........(19 years old and I knew everything)
Put a set of Headers on and borrowed a set of slicks....went to the Grove and ran a best of 13.12....back then a 12 sec street car was really something......so close.....at this time I had recently married and was an apprentice Tool & Die Maker.......so the next logical thing was to make the car faster, so instead of paying the rent and buying comfort items......I did the logical thing and went to E&R on Belmont and Racine??? and had them go thru the short block, bored .030, balanced, Sig Erson Cam and do a three angle valve job to the heads......I also bought a "Rubber Drive" pressure plate from them.......anyone remember that hot item......reworked the trans to "Crash Box" standards.....4:88's........crossram....etc
Went out to the track and ran a best of 11.78......went to the Grove on weekends and U.S. 30 on Wednesday nights.....there used to be a lot of Street Racing down on Clybourn and Armitage on Friday and Saturday Nights........anyhow after racing in the same class as Tony Christian with his 57 Chevy( he was running 11.50's).....I took off the crossram and put on a holley 3 Barrel set-up I got from Bill Bretz (anyone remember him) after the switch the car would run 12.10 all day long, but I now ran a different class than Christian........after a season of racing the family thing started and racing went out the window.........I had this L-79 car that was barely streetable (for the time)........so using all the intellegence that I had at the time.....I sold my built L-79 engine for $300 and bought a 396-350H.P. turbo 400 combo and spent the winter of 67-68 putting that assy in the Nova......built my own headers etc as nothing was available at the time.....it was neat when the trans shifted gears as it would chirp the tires.......but the headers were so inefficient that the car wouldn't get out of its own way......but at the time it was neat....The little lady finally had enough and it was her way or the highway........I sold the Nova to someone on the South side of Chicago and never saw it again.....Got out of cars for twenty years and now I'm making up for lost time......and it all started at Hoskins Chevrolet on Irving near Lincoln......Anyone remember the Pie Pan in Lincolnwood???
Didn't mean to be so long winded..........

Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[Mr. T]

[ QUOTE ]
http://jkauto-sales.com/photos/jksales%20047.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif I just love those Nickey and 427 emblems mounted right on top of the SS hockey stripe.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/mistermister1/nickey-4.gif

[Charley Lillard]

Cool car Ken. Do you have any paperwork with the vin or plate # ? Have you tried a DMV search ?

[Mr70]

Wasn't the Pie Pan on Cicero & Peterson?..I remember a fence running around it.
Dick Hoskins Chevrolet http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif
http://www.hoskinschevrolet.com/images/Default%20Pic.jpg

[hvychev]

Ken VERY COOL story! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif I know that now you are a cheese head but did you start life as a Chi-town warrior? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[kwhizz]

Charley......I have nothing but memories of the original car.........Rick......How can a young guy like you know about the Pie Pan.....Yes that's where it was........Frank......I grew up around Wrigley Field....

Here are some pic's of the Nova that I did as a tribute to my "Yute".......found the car in Bradenton, Fla in 1987.....finished it in 1990..... It sat in the Garage for 10 years after I started my own business and started playing around with it at the Drag strip in 2000 ....ran 13.80 with it the first time out and got beat by a rice burner.....That was the start of my quest to get it into the 12's, then the 11's, and finally into the 10's on street tires......last time out I ran 10.92 @126...without a cage I was told not to come back....that's when I started to get into the factory correct cars....when i did my Gold 70 Nova I was not yet aware of this site and just did it the way I thought it should be as it came from the factory if it were a L89 car.......today I would probably have saved some money and not done the L89 thing..........Yada, Yada..........anyhow.....here are some pic's of the 66 at the track

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/nova.jpg http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/DSC00126.jpg

Ken

[hvychev]

Ken do you have any vintage pics?

[kwhizz]

[ QUOTE ]
Ken do you have any vintage pics?

[/ QUOTE ] I wish I did............When you are young and having fun.......you think it's never gonna end....so why take pic's

Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[Blade4444]

Well, I asked my dad about it, and he says Hoskins moved to Elk Grove in about 69. He told me that he used to run right down the street to get parts from Nickey.

[Belair62]

[ QUOTE ]
and it all started at Hoskins Chevrolet on Irving near Lincoln

[/ QUOTE ] Yep...and they have a really cool dealer sticker too..

[mrtimstik]

Hey Ken,
Do you need a winter project? Because my car looks so much like yours, maybe I can secretly switch them in the middle of the night and you can do that 12....11....10 thing all over again. Or should I wait till the altzheimers kicks in? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[kwhizz]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Ken,
Do you need a winter project? Because my car looks so much like yours, maybe I can secretly switch them in the middle of the night and you can do that 12....11....10 thing all over again. Or should I wait till the altzheimers kicks in? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif

Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[TimG]

The Pie Pan was there, I was born about 1/2 mile from the Pie Pan. My doctors office when I was a kid (Dr. Gilmore, no relation) was next to the Pie Pan and when ever I'd get a shot, we'd go there for a shake. I remember all the animal trophies hanging on the wall.

[kwhizz]

Before Skips was the Hot Spot.....The Pie Pan is where the street racers hung out......when a race was set up they would go out and sort'a block off the Edens expressway and race right there... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif....that's before all the traffic.....

Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[TimG]

I would have been racing my tricycle.....

[mrtimstik]

[ QUOTE ]
...or when Skips Drive In was demolished.....hey I would love to see some old pics of Skips ..any of you guys got any ???

[/ QUOTE ]

YES I HAVE IT!!! An article published in Hot Rod Magazine. I sent them, from my local paper, the pictures and text and they put together this in their April 82 mag. Had to keep resizing down to post the image, If you want a larger image to read let me know.

[Belair62]

I'd love to read that article !!!

[hvychev]

My dad grew up on the West Side of Chicago and anything west of Cicero Ave might as well have been on another planet to them but even his guys had heard of Skips and went there often in the 60's! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Bill Pritchard]

[ QUOTE ]
I also bought a "Rubber Drive" pressure plate from them.......anyone remember that hot item......]

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy cow, the "rubber clutch"....that's something I had totally forgot about!! What a practical thing for a street driven car....it was either engaged or not engaged. No such thing as slipping the clutch with one of them. Weren't popular for very long, 'cause most everyone who bought one usually started breaking all other driveline components shortly afterwards http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Thanks for the memory, Ken http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[Belair62]

Never knew John Prine worked at old Skips...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Belair62/wheels/Picture001.jpg

[Mr70]

We went up there around 1979-80 to see what all the Rhubarb was about..
Today we attend Skips Fiesta Swapmeet/Carshow in Grayslake Il. every Spring/Fall,as an Ode to it,but nothing in common with it really.

[mrtimstik]

That copy of the article looks like that because it survived the Des Plaines River flood of 1987. I lived on River Road just south of The Thirsty Whale and came home from work that day to 2 feet of river in my kitchen. Tried to dry out all things important as best as I could and this was one of them. Let's see if anybody has pics of Skips in it's heyday. That would be great viewing. Thank you Belair for posting the scan.

[Belair62]

Hey...did you help Steve pump out River Grove auto parts that day ?

[mrtimstik]

Actually gathered up some personal belongings and left the area till the next day. Came back to even higher water and waded thru my house picking up the things that were floating around including a 1/2 bottle of Jack I had lost previously in a drunken stupor. Lost alot but FEMA did compensate. I bought car parts from Larry's on Grand on the east side of the river. Don't know if he flooded as he was quite a distance from the river.

[hvychev]

Ok, so I'm trying to figure out EXACTLY what year the Nickey building was torn down at 4501 W. Irving Park Rd. in Chicago to make way for the condos that are there now. Was it in fact 2005 when this thread is from?

[dykstra]

Frank, I see you are from Darien. My brother(RPOLS3) and I grew up in Darien. We went to Hinsdale South. I was class of 91’ and he was class of 88’.
Sorry for the thread hi-jack.
It would be great to see old pics of Skips and Nickey Chevrolet.

[Jonesy]

Ok, so I'm trying to figure out EXACTLY what year the Nickey building was torn down at 4501 W. Irving Park Rd. in Chicago to make way for the condos that are there now. Was it in fact 2005 when this thread is from?

Yes I believe it was Late summer of 2005

[hvychev]

Frank, I see you are from Darien. My brother(RPOLS3) and I grew up in Darien. We went to Hinsdale South. I was class of 91’ and he was class of 88’.
Sorry for the thread hi-jack.
It would be great to see old pics of Skips and Nickey Chevrolet.

Ha, small world! I just moved there 3 years ago from Berwyn.

[hvychev]

Yes I believe it was Late summer of 2005

Thank you.