Dis is My Ride!!!

WOW PAT!!!

I have spent the early part of the morning reading your stories and I am totally enthralled! Please keep them coming.

I have been in love with Mopars and Hemis since I took a ride in a 4 speed Hemi Cuda back in 74. Wow what a ride! Even on the street/highway it hooked like a bat out of hell, I will never forget it.

I have a 68 Barracuda coupe 383 4 speed that I built last year, with the help from a good friend, and am just starting to learn how to shift. Everyone at my track,

www.mhdra.com

tells me to go to an automatic because I will never beat anyone with a 4 speed. I just tell them to take their automatics and stick it! The "old" racers really love what I am doing and encourage me to keep grabbing gears!

Many years ago I helped a friend build a blown 440 71 Cuda in his garage, we did everything including the paint and I learned a whole lot from him. It was still registered and insured, he had a great insurance agent!
Anyway that summer we entered every car show we could and he took home 3 1sts and a 2nd. You can see pics of it at

www.bolgermotorsports.com

Anyway we were at the Calgary Show and Shine and just standing around enjoying the fine weather when this guy walks up and starts going over Lens Cuda with a sharp eye. Then he comes up to Len and they start talking about the car and everything that he did to it. The guy sure knew his stuff that was for sure.
After about 1/2 hour of talking he shakes hands with us and says goodbye. I look at Len and he is smiling ear to ear and I remember saying, "man that guy looks familiar" but I couldn't place him.

Len just laughs at me and says, "I was watching you look at him and you had this look on your face that told me you recognized him but wasn't sure"

He just kept smiling and after about an hour finally told me who it was.








Big Daddy Don Garlits!!



By that time he was gone and I couldn't get his pic or his autograph. Oh well. At least I can say I met him and talked to him for a while.

I guess because it was in Calgary, Alberta Canada it never dawned on me that he would there.