A blast from the past

[ceemes]

Not bike related, but I came across this old photo of my Dad's Ford Angelia race car, number 76. Photo was taken some time in very late 60's or very early 70's, I'm thinking 71 as it was taken at the defunct Langley (BC) Speedway, aka Action Speedway.

[ceemes]

An even earlier photo, circa '67. Again my old man in number 76, not sure what the make of the car was.

[ceemes]

Damn, the things you can find on the web and FB. This is a picture of my old man, Mike Stephens and his race car from the mid to late 60's, he is in the middle.

Notice the painted sign on the rear bumper "Race car in tow". Back then, a lot the racers simply hitch their racers to the back of the family car and pulled it to the track, no fancy trailers, no brake or warning lights, no brakes even. Perfectly legal back then, today not so much.

These photo's harken back to the day where racing could be enjoyed by anyone for just a couple hundred dollars. No big sponsors, no glitz, just a bunch of weekend warriors trashing their machines around the 1/4 miles oval of the old Langley (BC) Speedway and having a hell of a good time during and after the races.

We seemed to have lost that, what with all the money and glitz. Plus the tracks are now closed up, Langley is still there, but hasn't seen a race since the mid 80's. Westwood not only closed down, but with the track once was, there is now condo's and housing. A loss if you ask me.

[ceemes]

As a kid, I remember helping the old man prep his cars. My job would be to tear out all the seats, roof linings, inner door panels, handles, nobs and doodads inside that were not needed as well as all the lights, pretty heady stuff for an 8 or 10 year old. This is the Early Late Class, so all the glass was removed including the windshield, the stock gas tank was also removed and a specialize fuel cell install in the trunk on a frame.....by specialized I mean a metal 5 gallon jerry can with a hole punched in the in the side and a fuel line brazed into place....the left hand springs were cut causing the car to lean to the left, this was done to help it corner at speed. Once stripped, a full roll cage was installed, my old man fabricated his own.

[ceemes]

The action at the track could be pretty intense, and crashes were pretty much the norm. I can only recall one person get badly injured, and even then he was more pi$$ed off that the ambulance crew had to cut off his cowboy boots in order to set his shattered legs (yes legs, as in both shattered) before being transported to the hospital. In this shot, the old man seems to have dodge a couple of pile up behind and in front of him.

[dr_bar]

Great pics ceemes. This was another time in a totally different world...

[Gummiente]

Those photos are gold! Thanks for sharing them.

[Wrider]

Those are pretty cool...

[totalmotorcycle]

....We seemed to have lost that, what with all the money and glitz. Plus the tracks are now closed up, Langley is still there, but hasn't seen a race since the mid 80's. Westwood not only closed down, but with the track once was, there is now condo's and housing. A loss if you ask me.

Thanks for sharing those awesome photos! Wow, what a time that must have been for those men and their racing machines.

You are 100% correct, it is a loss. Seems people today want to do something today not because they love it but because it pays a lot to do it. And if I may add a plug in here for TMW, I could be making a lot more doing something else than Total Motorcycle but it's where my love is and I love motorcycling and helping people and it accomplishes both those goals.

Mike

[pchast]

Thanks for the look.
Those are great memories.