Ok Boys and Girls it's Storytime

[regan wilson]

When I was a little boy around 8 years old my Daddy traded a McCormack Big M tractor and a sqeeze chute (cow stuff) for turquoise and white 69 chevy pickup for my oldest sister to drive . It was a dollar model , there wasn't much to it . Just a six cylinder , three on the tree , and a heater. My sis drove it till 76 when she graduated and handed down to my older brother . Well he didnt like the six so he had a 2 BBL 327 put in it and had it painted . He also added some (stylish for the time) white wagon spoke wheels and some 10x15 mudgrips(cool huh) . Well he drove it till 1979 and bought him a 77 Vette and parked the truck under the Barn . I was about 13 then and always had an interst in cars so this is how it all got started .(I know my parents wish they would have sold the damn thing). I had neighbor that was into cars that helped me get started . We put a holley Strip Dominator intake and a 750 Holley on it and a set of Hedman Hedders (did I mention I didnt even have a Drivers Licence yet ?) That didnt matter I was hauling cows with a 2 ton and a 32 ft trailer at the time lol. Well here is where it all started.http://

[regan wilson]

In 1981 I got my Licence at 15 and started driving . This pic was scanned off of an old polaroid so it doesnt look too good .

[regan wilson]

Well by 1982 I was tired of the white wheels and the crappy paint . I had it painted ( I think it cost $500.00) and got me some more stylish chrome wagon spokes ......(really cool )http://

[regan wilson]

Thats all for today . I will try to do a lil more in the next day or two .

[djracer]

Sweet Keep it coming. You need to post some pics for Liz she is doing a Poster.

[regan wilson]

Not much changed in 1982 but I wwas convinced to at least lower it a little bit . I also built a little hotter 327 and stuck Muncie four speed in it . This was when I first ran it down the strip . It would run low 15's spinning in first second and third gear .

[regan wilson]

Early in 1983 ! There was a bunch of older guys that built a louver press and I decided it would be cool to punch some in the truck . We did the hood first with three rows per side for 126 total . Tailgate skins were hot at the time but I didnt like covering up the indention on the tailgate . We made a small skin that just covered up the lower part of the tailgate with 66 louvers in it .





I also did away with the rails and funky old toolbox (better huh)

[regan wilson]

Late 1983 ! I was reading a Super Chevy magazine and spotted an ad for a 500 hp 454 from racing head service for 1695.00. I sold my three wheeler(a good move anyway you look at it ) and every thing else I could . I also traded the four speed for TH 400 . We started stripping it down and got in a solid coat of red velvet primer . Did I leave out the fact that it would run low 13's roasting the tires . By the end of the year I had outrun damn neer everybody on the street (did I say that ? I never would have street raced )



More to come later guys .

[Keith Seymore]

Does this story have a happy ending?

[djracer]

I'm diggin it Regan keep it coming.

[DragHammer]

What a great story!! and you tell it soooo well...

[team39763]

Did people think you were crazy back then for fixing up a truck to be fast? Just wondering because these days a lot of people think it's pointless to try to make a truck fast. Was it like that back then?

[Moostifer]

Originally Posted by team39763

Did people think you were crazy back then for fixing up a truck to be fast? Just wondering because these days a lot of people think it's pointless to try to make a truck fast. Was it like that back then?

In East Texas where Regan, myself, and a few others following this thread grew up, you fixed up whatever you had, and most of us had trucks. This was, and pretty much still is a rural farm/ranch area. We needed our trucks to work the hay fields, haul feed, deliver produce, and get us to the deer stand, or that hidden pond. So, it wasn't crazy for our area to see a LWB truck with white wagon wheels and the biggest mud tire you could get, on just the back, to be lined up next to a 78 Camaro with Crager SS's. We didnt care what you had, we just wanted to know if it was faster than what we had.

Thanks for the trip back in time when things were much simpler, Regan.

[shawnt]

Originally Posted by Moostifer

In East Texas where Regan, myself, and a few others following this thread grew up, you fixed up whatever you had, and most of us had trucks. This was, and pretty much still is a rural farm/ranch area. We needed our trucks to work the hay fields, haul feed, deliver produce, and get us to the deer stand, or that hidden pond. So, it wasn't crazy for our area to see a LWB truck with white wagon wheels and the biggest mud tire you could get, on just the back, to be lined up next to a 78 Camaro with Crager SS's. We didnt care what you had, we just wanted to know if it was faster than what we had.

Thanks for the trip back in time when things were much simpler, Regan.

This is still the same lol.. see an s10 with huge mudgrips on the back with bald front tires.. lol..

Shawn

[william-theglassman]

just about everyone i knew had a truck . although none were as fast as Regan but they were pretty quick. most would run in the 12s . good enough to beat all the IROCs n GTs.

[regan wilson]

That winter I tore it back down and sent the crank to Dewayne at Shafttech . He was able to save it , he straightened it out and only had to cut the rod journals 10 . So my new crank was now std on the mains and 10 on the rods . I put it all back together and was going to attempt to make my first full run at chasing the Lucas Oil points series . My first race of the year was at Houston Raceway Park . I did pretty good at that one with a fifth round finish . I also ran a best mph of 149.00 .

[Legend56BC]

Originally Posted by team39763

Did people think you were crazy back then for fixing up a truck to be fast? Just wondering because these days a lot of people think it's pointless to try to make a truck fast. Was it like that back then?

Damn How many times I heard that with my street stock truck racing the cars!
Now back to the other guys story...

[regan wilson]

Two weeks later we had our regular Lucas Oil Divisional Race in Memphis Tn. Man I was still hot too . I gave up the stripe in the finals by a few thousands.

[regan wilson]

In the Year in Review issue of National Dragster they had a little section called Quips and Quotes . It was mostly Pros but I was one of the few Sprtsman Racers that got in it . They had come by the trailer in Chicago and taken some pics . They said they didnt know what they would do with them but to my surprise they got used .





They miss quoted me but what the heck I thought it was cool .....

[aggie91]

Talked to Rany Ramo (his son Blake and my son Korbin go to school together) the other day, he mentioned that the Belle Rose event has been moved to May. His Dad mentioned your motor is still at the engine builder's shop.

Besides the motor are you doing anything else with the truck over the winter?

[royo]

OH man nice ride! Looks like a life time love affair

[chev-obsession]

cool story and nice color!

[regan wilson]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Talked to Rany Ramo (his son Blake and my son Korbin go to school together) the other day, he mentioned that the Belle Rose event has been moved to May. His Dad mentioned your motor is still at the engine builder's shop.

Besides the motor are you doing anything else with the truck over the winter?

I should be picking everything up this week . That will give me plenty of time to reassemble the motor . I got lucky , all we had to do is cut the block .005 and the heads .005 and do a valve job .(and buy 4 pistons when I only needed one) . Other than tearing the tranny down thats gonna be it . I would like to do a tubular Camaro type front sub but I dont have 5 or 6 grand to throw at it now . Since they moved the Belle Rose race our first one will be March 3rd in Houston .

[legendary]

Regan, you are living the dream - I am very moved by your story. I hope you come back to Atlanta, I want to see that baby run in person

[djracer]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

I should be picking everything up this week . That will give me plenty of time to reassemble the motor . I got lucky , all we had to do is cut the block .005 and the heads .005 and do a valve job .(and buy 4 pistons when I only needed one) . Other than tearing the tranny down thats gonna be it . I would like to do a tubular Camaro type front sub but I dont have 5 or 6 grand to throw at it now . Since they moved the Belle Rose race our first one will be March 3rd in Houston .

I'm glad you got it back running. You may want to see how Paul Baxters new front end setup works. I think it would be allot less than 5 or 6 Grand.