how did we let things get this way

[Autumn Daze]

38 Chevy coupes are great. Do ya have any pictures John? What kind of motor?.....small block? Wait a minute B gas...Hemi?

[Big D]

Small block Chevy, bored 1/4", stroked 5/8" for 352 CID. Initially had Giovanni Cam. Later, Hilborn Injection and and Isky Roller. Giovanni cams were best known for the promotional decal which had a gal with a short skirt riding a camshaft, ala a witch on a broom

No pictures, unfortunately. Car ran in the mid Atlantic area in the late 50's, early 60's. Was painted white, and was called "TNT"

[Dean Romig]

I've always liked the Rigid Tool Co. calendars with the monthly "Miss Rigid Tool"

A Chevy small block 301 cid was one of my early favorites (high-revving screamer) and was easy to build in the garage or basement. Then GM caught on and put it into the very first Z28 Camaro's in '66 if I'm not mistaken

[Bill Murphy]

John, they are Giovannoni camshafts, not Giovanni. Don't want to insult the California Mafia.

[Autumn Daze]

Wow! This thread is outta control....This is great! Anyway..Back in the day we used to take Chevy 327 blocks and put in 283 cranks and viola a 301 motor! My buddy and I used to run a 63 Nova gaser with Hillborn Injection What a pain in the ass that setup was. Later on we went to a tunnel ram with Holley carbs and ran better times.

[TARNATION !!!]

Mopar Garage Car - another get around to it project. Completely original - may need to change that. Outta control ? Nah, just folks jawin' From wheat to woodiies and beyond in a few seconds more than it takes for a slightly modified deuce coupe to run the 1/4.

[Bill Murphy]

Ray Giovannoni had a shop in DC on Maine Avenue and left town for Florida before I got involved in cars and racing. His name was left behind and he was a topic of discussion here in DC for years after he left. Strick's Automotive was the race car shop in downtown DC in the sixties. Linda's aunt Bernie still owns Strick's Bar and Liquor just over the DC line in Maryland on Pennsylvania Avenue extended and has for more than fifty years. I don't know what the connection is, but I will ask Bernie next time I see her. Strick's is the music venue that gave Jimmie Dean, Roy Clark, and many other big namers a start.

[Big D]

Bill - You're right on the spelling. Here's a copy of their logo:

[Old and Reliable]

I'm not a "motor-head" but what a wealth of information, possibly because Mr. Murphy was kind enough to mention that I caught the proper reference to "Deuce" in my ? about the real words of that Springsteen song-

Never had a performance car- owned a 1958 Harley Sportster (with the shift peg on the brake side) first car was a 1951 Chevy Coupe with the stick and the old Blue Flame 6 (216 CID??)- ran great-I usually drive a Ford Ranger pickup or a Jeep Wrangler- both with stick and 4 cyl. stock engines- but loved the discussion of the performance "goodies" great stuff indeed-

As to answer Mr. Dallas' question- About 4 years ago this coming Fall I flew down to central FL. as part of a Church outreach- this was after the Four Hurricanes had hit FL- we stayed in Avon Park in Citrus Co.- about 125 clicks due South from Orlando- my first time ever in the State

My "roomies were two gents from SC- both active in their Church and Habitat 4 Humanity- Bob is a retired Lt. Col. USAF and flew fighter missions in Vietnam and flew with the legendary pilot Col. Robin Olds- He is the source for my understanding of the term "The Whole Nine Yards" as coming from the WW11 era- the length of the .50cal MG belts in the wing mounted guns of that era- We still send each other Christmas cards, so if you have a different version of the meaning you be kind enough to share here, I'll be glad to send it along to Bob for his perusal (like my friend Buck Hamlin- he doesn't have a computer)-

No questions (so far) about the Hobson's Choice bit- so we'll leave a sleeping doggy at rest with that- BUT- Bob also told me what the pilot's term "Balls To The Wall" meant- the H shaped throttle handle of WW11 aircraft- they added rubber balls in the groved metal section to keep the pilots from smashing their knuckles when they shoved the throttle handle all the way open (against the firewall) of the cockpit apparently-

[Dean Romig]

WOW! That pic lends a whole 'nother meaning to "bump stick"