Discarded warrior

black mamba

I've driven by this car countless times over the years, going to the old mountain house. The old man who owned the place was a very pleasant character and I bought firewood from him for years. He had a son who raced this thing on dirt tracks around the area. The son died at a very early age ( 21 years old ) from cancer and the old man parked the car where you see it. It has been sitting there for over 40 years. Those folks were very poor and I never understood how they could support any type of racing.

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El Gato

Off-track, dirt track, racing the hollers...truly contributing to the birth of the early years of pro racing as we know it today.

A nice piece of history albeit it with a sad story.

Nice set of images Tom!

black mamba

Thanks, Gato. I appreciate that you take time to include comments. Relative to this car, there are a couple of observations : Save for the front left, the tires still appear to be holding pressure well. That's pretty amazing considering how long that thing has been sitting there and the freezing weather it has endured. Notice that there's no glass, including the windshield. I imagine that the screen he has in its place might keep out larger debris chunks but on a dirt track you can bet the driver is covered with grit and grime.

Your first statement is so true. Years ago, I had an opportunity to experience one of the most memorable afternoons of my life. Through a friend.....first let me say this; friends are so instrumental in opening doors for me. They have helped me enjoy a range of things that car nuts, like myself, would give anything for. I try and do the same when I can. Up in those hills, I was invited to sit in for a BS session with 5 guys who all ran moonshine ( now most often referred to as " apple juice " ) from the early 30's into the mid 50's. These guys get together monthly to recount stories and incidents. One of them used to rub elbows with Fireball Roberts. Another one was poised to be an early NASCAR racer. A wreck ended his career before it even got going. Aside from the countless stories I heard, equally interesting to me were discussions about the mechanical changes they would make to their cars. The power train, of course, was the most modified feature....followed by the drive train and suspension mods .Early NASCAR was made up of guys just like the ones I was talking to. The manufacturers began to pay attention to this wealth of knowledge generated by this somewhat nefarious group. Of course, as universally expressed to me by this austere group of guys, they were just trying to simply keep supply and demand in balance, as any good business man would. I would pay good money if I could experience another session like that one.

redleash

Such history captured in your words and images. Another piece of the American story. Happy New Year, my friend!

black mamba

@redleash said:
Such history captured in your words and images. Another piece of the American story. Happy New Year, my friend!

Gosh, it's great to hear from you, Lady. Any time you can showcase your work with the rest of us, we'll be very appreciative. Happy New Year to you as well, my friend.

Stumblebum

Fabulous find Tom! This can keep one busy for a while!

black mamba

@Stumblebum said:
Fabulous find Tom! This can keep one busy for a while!

Good to see your back in action. brother. I've tried several times to get an abstract from that truck that I can apply my rust treatment to. So far, I haven't been able to get anything I like from it.

Dogdots

Great title for your picture! Sad story behind it, but good to see the Dad kept it.

black mamba

@Dogdots said:
Great title for your picture! Sad story behind it, but good to see the Dad kept it.

Hey, Mary. Good to hear from you. I hope we all can have a better time this year. I had promised you some shots of rickety old wooden bridges. Well, my favorite ( and I think I have mentioned that to you ) got destroyed by floods, my second choice was damaged enough to require significant repair. I never got close to my third choice, a real jewel that I mentioned in a prior post. I doubt that bridge made it but I'm not sure of that. At the time, I couldn't get close to its location because of serious dirt road erosion in that hollow. Take care.

Dogdots

@black mamba said:

@Dogdots said:
Great title for your picture! Sad story behind it, but good to see the Dad kept it.

Hey, Mary. Good to hear from you. I hope we all can have a better time this year. I had promised you some shots of rickety old wooden bridges. Well, my favorite ( and I think I have mentioned that to you ) got destroyed by floods, my second choice was damaged enough to require significant repair. I never got close to my third choice, a real jewel that I mentioned in a prior post. I doubt that bridge made it but I'm not sure of that. At the time, I couldn't get close to its location because of serious dirt road erosion in that hollow. Take care.

Sadly nature has a way of reclaiming things. Yes, I do hope this year is a much better one - we all need that.

Juano

@redleash said:
Such history captured in your words and images. Another piece of the American story. Happy New Year, my friend!

i agree, good story and shots.

black mamba

@Juano said:

@redleash said:
Such history captured in your words and images. Another piece of the American story. Happy New Year, my friend!

i agree, good story and shots.

Hey, Cristóbal. Good to hear from you. Stay safe.