In The Beginning

[dykstra]

Love these stories Ziggy, keep ‘em coming!!

[Chevelle SS 396 L78]

Originally Posted by ZiggyL78

......
So after I sold the SS I went looking for a new ride When I was in high school I would always see this guy in a black 68 Nova waiting to pick up his girl friend. It was a black on black bench with a 4SPD. It had tinted glass, dog dish hub caps and the optional chrome package. But no SS option. It had a serious idle and I thought it had a built motor. Turns out the car was dead stock except he had pulled off the resonators added dumps and a Hurst shifter. Compared to the Camaro it sounded amazing! I asked the owner if it was for sale? He said he had just setup a For Sale Ad for the weekend. ALL RIGHT!!! I bought the car for $1800. Some of my buddies said I paid too much until they went for a ride! I would wait for for a passenger to start talking and then hit it. If they kept talking I guess they weren't impressed. Most people didn't keep talking in this car. They usually pushed back into the seat and said HOLLY ****. I'd power second & third and that really woke them up. Don't forget it was early 70s and a lot of guys had never been in something fast. Most of them thought that there Dad's 283 Impala was a rocket. "Ya man.It spins THE TIRE in the rain."EmojiEmoji

Boy does that bring back memories! Did you ever do the cash on the dash trick? I won so much money...put down a $5 or $10 and bet the passenger he couldn't grab it when I shot out of the hole! I never lost! HOLY****! was a common response! LOL!

'67 Chevelle SS 396 L78, 4-speed (M20), 4.10 Posi:

[CamaroNOS]

Originally Posted by EZ Nova

Well since I'm STILL in Brantford, I know those guys you named. It was Al Proctor's Vette we took to Weston & Finch. That was also THE ONLY CAR to beat my car that ran those streets, BLACK GTX ragtop. Al now plays with motor cycles and a Late model COPO Camaro he races. Mark Radawicki got out of the scene pretty much after the Duster. Ya he had the '79 Blue Z28, but it wasn't a fast car. I bought the shell from marks Duster and parted out the body parts around '87.

Ziggy with the Arrow was Rodger Zigmond. Nice guy and still around. He was a good painter and painted Eddy Stern's Candy Blue '68 427 Firebird. Roger is out of cars now. I worked with him back in 2004 and still see him from time to time before covid. Eddy still has the Candy blue firebird, but now blown and street tubbed.

If you were around you should remember Greg Teasdale. He is getting back into it as he has a few car one being a LS6 70 Chevelle. But also bought a fats '68 (??) Camaro.

So back then I had the BLACK GTX rag, 440 4sp Dana. Fast car back then and I was only 16. Only had it 4 yrs but found it last yr out on east coast in the USA. Spoke to the owner and going to try to buy it in about a yr depending on life.

I DO still own Gord Sipost's old Red '69 Nova SS. That was a stupid fast back then. I seen it beat Al's Vette AND Ziggy's nitrous Arrow out on Oak Park rd. AND he mis-shifted 4 times against the Arrow, he missed 3rd TWICE that run, and still put a car on the 11.70 Arrow.

Doug from here (427 Strato) is also from Brantford.

Man those were fun days.............

John

It’s a small world John.....I took the liberty and reached out to a few friends of mine Al, Greg and Tim regarding your version of “the facts” and here is what I learned.

Its funny that you referenced Tims GTX rag top as Tim and I went to school together back in the day. I remember spending time in that car as we would head out to Hardy Rd and Tim would gladly show you how fast that car was as he ran the car through the gears and down the marked out quarter mile. I distinctly remembering the car running through the end of the quarter at 100 mph, time after time, like clock work. Based on those numbers, that pegs the GTX about a 13:30 car which we all thought was crazy fast, back in the day. So here is my delima, how were you able to take on Al Proctor’s Corvette which ran a 11.60 with a 13.30 car and have that to be the only car that ever beat you. If I understand the facts correctly then, that would have meant that you only raced your GTX against Al’s Corvette because there were a ton of faster cars running the streets in Brantford with much better times than your 13:30.

And to add some more mystery to your story, Al confirmed that he never ran your GTX. If you really do know Al well, you know that he is wicked sharp and smart as fox.There is nothing that man forgets……nothing.

Yes, Gordies Nova was quick with a 427/4 gear/4:88’s but once again, Al Proctor never ran Gordie……ever and Al also confirmed this as well. Not on Oak Park Road as you mentioned, not on any road. Nobody ever knew how fast the Nova was, even Gordie didn’t know because he never raced it. And you know why……

Regarding the Nova running Ziggy’s Arrow, it must have quite a night for you to remember because nobody else remembers it. If the Nova took the Arrow by car length after missing all of those countless shifts, that news would have spread like wildfire through Brantford. Funny how that story was also kept quiet.

So, at the end of the day, I am perplexed after reaching out to all of my friends, the guys who actually ran the streets of Brantford only to find out all of your discrepancies. If there is anything you would like to verify with my facts, please feel free to call Al, Greg or Tim and you can quiz them.

Paul

[EZ Nova]

Originally Posted by CamaroNOS

It’s a small world John.....I took the liberty and reached out to a few friends of mine Al, Greg and Tim regarding your version of “the facts” and here is what I learned.

Its funny that you referenced Tims GTX rag top as Tim and I went to school together back in the day. I remember spending time in that car as we would head out to Hardy Rd and Tim would gladly show you how fast that car was as he ran the car through the gears and down the marked out quarter mile. I distinctly remembering the car running through the end of the quarter at 100 mph, time after time, like clock work. Based on those numbers, that pegs the GTX about a 13:30 car which we all thought was crazy fast, back in the day. So here is my delima, how were you able to take on Al Proctor’s Corvette which ran a 11.60 with a 13.30 car and have that to be the only car that ever beat you. If I understand the facts correctly then, that would have meant that you only raced your GTX against Al’s Corvette because there were a ton of faster cars running the streets in Brantford with much better times than your 13:30.

And to add some more mystery to your story, Al confirmed that he never ran your GTX. If you really do know Al well, you know that he is wicked sharp and smart as fox.There is nothing that man forgets……nothing.

Yes, Gordies Nova was quick with a 427/4 gear/4:88’s but once again, Al Proctor never ran Gordie……ever and Al also confirmed this as well. Not on Oak Park Road as you mentioned, not on any road. Nobody ever knew how fast the Nova was, even Gordie didn’t know because he never raced it. And you know why……

Regarding the Nova running Ziggy’s Arrow, it must have quite a night for you to remember because nobody else remembers it. If the Nova took the Arrow by car length after missing all of those countless shifts, that news would have spread like wildfire through Brantford. Funny how that story was also kept quiet.

So, at the end of the day, I am perplexed after reaching out to all of my friends, the guys who actually ran the streets of Brantford only to find out all of your discrepancies. If there is anything you would like to verify with my facts, please feel free to call Al, Greg or Tim and you can quiz them.

Paul

Paul,

He is some more info you can ask your friends. Al I haven't seen or talk to in 6 or 7 yrs and your right, Gord didn't race Als Vette, it was another guy from Simcoe or Delhi that came in with Ian and the 67 390 fastback mustang. It was an out of town car. I tired to run Ian a few time, just never happened. That's why I can't say if I was faster or not. I tried to race Ron Bennett's 71 T37 with the 455 HO. He wouldn't race.

As for me running Al? Yes I did at Oak Park. Al was right lane and I was left. I even went over more to the left so I wouldn't slid into his car. Al asked to me to run as a tune up test because the next day, we went to Sparta and Al won the Covette meet. I had no business being beside that car but there was no one out that night as fast as me, so Al asked me just for the hell of it. In fact, the next day after Al won at Sparta, the 10 of us went to Fluffys Pizza in London.

No as far as Gordies Nova. It was actually a standard bore 402/4sp w 4.88s. I still have that engine sitting after Jeff Chatterson rebuilt it. Yes the only time I ever seen that car run, he raced that one night. I was at the finish line with Todd Stebbe. And Gord beat Roger. After the race, we were at the line and Bob Sinden asked Gord about a scattershield? Gord said he didn't have one! Bob said YOUR FEET ARE FUCKED UP ALREADY ANYWAY!!! Gord even said he missed 3rd twice. That car then went to Dan Bellhouse who's wife took a hammer to the quarter panels and trunk. Dan sold it banged up to Russ Savage, who inter sold it to me after he crashed his motorcycle. Bellhouse to the 4.88s out and had 3.55s. Russ to out the 3.55s and put in 4.56s. Car now has a 785Hp pump gas 69 052 blocked ZL1 with a T400 and 66 Nova 12 bolt with 4.10s.

I only lost to Al. Never got to race Ed in the firebird and I think Ziggy was done by then. Only Al Ed and Bob were the top guys then. I was going to race Bob but cops showed as we were at the line. Bill Ambeau had bought Ziggys Arrow and purchsed the 302 out of the 69 Camaro from Competition auto. And Rod Daviault has Don Douglas do the bb Mopar stroker for a Monza?? That one fuzzy because I always thought Bill and Rod should have swapped stuff as the engine bodys were the way they were.

I haven't talked to Tim since I bought the car. I don't think he was ever out running the streets after he sold me the car as he didn't have another street car.Greg I spoke to last yr but nothing about cars it was boats. And YES I was a test pass for Al the night before we won the Sarta Corvette meet.

I do not have Als number, but if you PM it to me, I will call him. Or can pm you my number to give to Al. Also, my car was a CLONED GTX built by the guy from Simcoe who now lives out by Burford. I never powershifted that car with the little supershifter under the dash. It did run 13.60 at 108 FIRST 2 times down the TMP 1/4 mile. Then went through a wheel bearing in the Dana. Car was set up by Ed Van Der Tuin.

John

[EZ Nova]

Paul, do you know Danny Bratinna? He had the stock 69 Nova SS 396/375Hp stars n strips. He told me that car 11.70 STOCK but open heads, recurved distributor and slicks. Carb was probably jetted too, but that I don't recall 100%.

[ZiggyL78]

Sun, Mar 13 at 1:53 p.m.

So the next morning I checked for any damage. I looked down the carbs and couldn't believe what I saw. The throttle blades were bent at a perfect 90 degrees. It was like someone bent them on a brake. I've seen all kinds of damage from nitrous backfires but never anything like this. I knew there was a Holley booth at the fairgrounds, so off I went carbs in hand. Luckily it was early and they weren't busy. I figured they would say forget it and sell me new carbs. One of the tech guys takes a look down one of the carbs. Are you kidding me!!! Hey Mike. Check this out. He was just as startled. I figured these guys had seen it all. What the hell happened? I've never seen anything like this before. I started to tell them the story. Mike says. Are you the guy with white Vega that blew his scoop off? Ya.WOW! I heard the story. Did the cops really try to take you away? Oh ya. He said you should go to the dog track and place a bet. Funny. I had already planned a trip to the Grey Hounds before we left for home. I didn't win. lol. So the tech guy tells me to come back at noon. I stopped at a parts store and picked up a piece of gasket material. During the backfire, the gasket between the 2 piece tunnel ram had blown out. I was all back together and running fine that afternoon. We had a great time.

The closest track to Toronto was in Georgetown. You could drive there without getting on the highway which was great for us nut bars that drove on the street with a 4.88 gear. There were many stories about that place. I was in the tower talking to the guys one night when I saw a 69 Camaro pulling up to the line. I knew the car and it was pretty quick for a streetcar. BBC 4 SPD I think it ran high 11s. He pulled into the water up to the lights and staged. It was a big meet that weekend and the rosin was down. As the lights came down this guy brought the revs up and drops the clutch on the last yellow. I kid you not. I saw his generator light come on when the car bogged really bad. I instantly heard a cling of something hitting the window on the tower. The guy blew his clutch and a piece of the clutch disc hit the window!!!. Even the track owner had never seen that before.

So after the track had been closed for a year we decided to drive by on the way home from our other track. There it was. So sad. Weeds growing up through the asphalt and remnants of the bleachers all broken up. One of my friends jokingly said. Hey. We have our cars here. Let's make a couple of passes.lol. Another guy says. I hope you're strong enough to carry the cars over the barricades. The cement barriers were blocking the entrance. I said I have a pretty strong tow rope. Another friend had a diesel dually. We actually pulled the barriers out of the way. Crazy. Everyone pulled into the pits and started to put their slicks on just like a regular Sunday. I wish I had more pics. Everyone was having a great time except me. There was no one for me to run. Boohoo.
Everyone pulled into the pits and started to put their slicks on just like a regular Sunday. Some other guys arrived. I have no idea how these guys found out what was going on. No cell phones back then. They showed up with a couple of cars. I think they lived in the area and heard all the noise. Within an hour more cars arrived and there were probably over 100 people. I should have charged $20 ahead. I was getting nervous as anyone driving by would have easily seen and heard all the commotion.

A white Nova came in on a trailer. It was a big tire car and was all lettered up. I knew the car and it ran 10s. It was called the Polar Express. And of course, my bottle was empty. As you can see in the pic he was sleeping and I got him by about 2 lengths off the line. I couldn't see him but I did hear him as he was right on my rear bumper at about half-track. He started to pull me in high gear and passed me right near the end of the track. I didn't admit it at the time but I think he got me. The Cops arrived and that was the end of that day. I ran him 1 year later at the track. Instead of a street motor this time, "I was loaded for bear." LOL. Does anyone remember that saying! I now had Shafroft long rod 327 tunnel ram with NOS. I had also picked up a built 2SPD Powerglide with a brake and race convertor. Fairley new stuff for 1978.

The Glide and Brake really make things simple. I wait for the starter to guide me through the puddle and onto the edge where it is wet but not a puddle. The starter gives you the sign to spin the tires just enough to get them wet. Then he directs you 1'or 2' ahead and stop. As soon as the cars that just ran are off the track he gives you the OK to do your burnout. You step on the brake put the line lock on, let go of the brake and put the car in high gear and nail it. Some guys think if you do that the car will overrev instantly. It won't. It's hard to explain but imagine your car has rear tires that are 4' tall. You can't get the car to over-rev instantly. If you have short 26" tires and use first gear, sure. So after hitting it, you let the tach get to around 4000 the starter should signal you when the tires are smoking and to pull up. You let go of the trans brake ease off the throttle and let the car slide out onto the dry pavement and let right off once you are on the dry pavement. The car will slide about 2 feet and then squawk just as the tires bite. Even though you are now off the throttle the inertia of the tires spinning will keep them going until they bite. Back into first and you are ready to stage.

Back soon!

[CamaroNOS]

Originally Posted by ZiggyL78

Jim (RIP) was one of my best friends. He passed about a year ago alone. It was very sad. Such great guy. He lived 2 blocks from my place on Warden Ave. I stayed with him a couple of times in Kentucky were IBM sent him for a year. Jim's Z was fathom blue. I'm not sure but I think Zedder bought the car. He will probably jump in here soon. I'll put a post together soon of the guys I knew back then. Thanks.

Sorry Ken, I just read your response to my question.

Jim sold the 69 RS Z/28 (Belmont Chev Olds car) to James Copeland in 83 and I purchased it off of him in 94. I purchased it in parts and pieces and stored it away for many years. Once I completed the restoration, I brought it to MCACN to get judged (989 pts) and left the Camaro with Nickey Performance (Stefano) and it was sold to a buyer in Chicago. The car is now in California and owned by a member on this site.

Here are some pics you will remember from the days......

[ZiggyL78]

[QUOTE=useless tony;1585640]I just remembered, I was a kid and riding my bicycle on Van Horne near Leslie and stopped to chat with a guy who had a primered 68-69 GTO in the driveway (his parents house). While I was there, a friend of his dropped by with a white '68 Runner with the Hemi badge in the hood. Was supposedly a hemi car but had a 383 in it at the time. I remember the guy with the GTO saying he and his buddies would go street racing. The GTO guy also had a '69 Camaro that he painted at the house (candy red) and as I recall, he had issues with the clear coat 'yellowing' the white stripes he had painted.

I can't help but wonder if these two were part of the Warden/Shepp, Weston and Finch, Harvey's Hot Ones crowd.

Sorry, Tony. I don't recall any of those cars.

[ZiggyL78]

We were setting up the suspension here to run this Stan guy in Oshawa. If I had to run anyone who I thought was a contender I would always test the car where we were supposed to run the day before.

[ZiggyL78]

Originally Posted by CamaroNOS

Sorry Ken, I just read your response to my question.

Jim sold the 69 RS Z/28 (Belmont Chev Olds car) to James Copeland in 83 and I purchased it off of him in 94. I purchased it in parts and pieces and stored it away for many years. Once I completed the restoration, I brought it to MCACN to get judged (989 pts) and left the Camaro with Nickey Performance (Stefano) and it was sold to a buyer in Chicago. The car is now in California and owned by a member on this site.

Here are some pics you will remember from the days......

Sorry for the late response John. I have so much on the go now. So Jim's car was originally orange? Have you got any pics of the car when you finished the restoration? It must have been amazing. I have some of those pics. Tom Wilson who owned B&T is still around. He's on Facebook. Thanks.