18 year old + 500hp car - very bad mix

[Bret]

Ah “18” - the memories. I took me mom’s 69’ Firebird to the senior prom and at the end of the evening the valet brought the car up to the front of the hotel – I’d just buckled my date & myself in turned to look at all the other prom goers standing at the curb waiting for their rides or the valet to bring their cars up – I couldn’t resist slamming the auto all the way into first gear & leaving about twenty feet of rubber in the hotels driveway to the cheers of my fellow students.

Of course my date was less than impressed & slugged me in the arm when we reached the stop light a block from the hotel.

Stupid? Oh you bet ya – I’d probably kill one of my kids if’n I ever caught them doing something like that.

 

[DrEntropy]

Yup. I remember ME at 18, hence the brutal restriction rulez. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[tomshobby]

I remember those days too. My friends were always safe, they wouldn't ride with me. The 50's and 60's were very deadly times for young drivers. Cars got faster and faster and we kept buying them, and not to just keep up with traffic either.

 

[Sherlock]

Wow! What a sobering story to read, reminds me of the many young people I encounter here, with that "need for speed" and it's scary how much power can be packed into cars these days.

And while all the young guys are enthralled with their fast cars, and their bragging, the mere mention of a low-powered British sports draws yawns from them, as if speed is the only thing.

 

[tomshobby]

Not saying it was smart, actually far from it, but that was how it was. And I did get bored with it all and got my TR4 in '65 and in '68 a GT6.

 

[terriphill]

My husband and I have reservations about our 19 year old having a Turbo Supra that he has tweeked into arond 270-280 HP. I think the biggest diference between kids like you Cam and my son is that you both BUILT your cars. (You were not handed the keys to a $75,000 monster with no idea how it was being used) I know my son has been under his more than he's been in it. We don't pay for parts or repairs. We carry only liability on it, so he wrecks it, he loses it. AND...its parked in our garage while he's at school. He can come home to visit it, but he doesn't need it at school.

 

[Camshaft]

With liability only I'd be afraid to drive the car, just because of all of the OTHER drivers...

Actually, having the BGT on campus keeps me out of trouble because I'm too worried about being stranded to go much of anywhere. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

 

[AngliaGT]

They way we drove back in High School -about
1/2 of shouldn't be here.
And to see the kids today with 3+ times the HP
scares the heck out of me!

- Doug

 

[Camshaft]

They way we drove back in High School -about
1/2 of shouldn't be here.
And to see the kids today with 3+ times the HP
scares the heck out of me!

- Doug

Dang, my DD Jeep has 125 ponies...I wouldn't mind 3x the horsepower, just so I could merge with freeway traffic comfortably...

 

[anthony7777]

70herald, years back i did some work for a guy in Kentucky he had a horse farm with a full size horse race track and a privte 6000 foot runway he just got his totally restored mid year big block corvette he knew i was into cars took me out to the runway and said you drive, i can tell you that the end of a 6000 foot runway comes up on ya real quick like.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Back in the late 70's you could buy a GTO out of the yard cheap...

There weren't DUIs and the drinking age was 18...

We lost something like 1 out of every 100 kids.

It was insane.

 

[DrEntropy]

A brutal way to 'cull th' herd'. Now it's meth. <shrug>

 

[aerog]

One thing I noticed about roads out in that part of FL during this time of year. They (the roads) get SLICK after sun down...

Yeah...except he was on a private airstrip and never even slowed down.

I have to admit running the Miata at the airport a few times. Not looking for top end, just having fun on the runway and taxiways. They used to drag-race out there too, years ago.