I'm taking a trip out there this spring for a week or so, to visit my friend who moved to Carlsbad from San Diego. I was wondering if any of you are from the area.
Chris - I'm down in Del Mar, CA which is about 15 miles south. I know we have someone in Oceanside, CA which is just a few miles to the north of Carlsbad. When are you coming out?
That would be me. I live in Oceanside (moving back to Carlsbad the end of the month). If you are here on a Satuday and have nothing to do then see if Carlsbad Raceway is open. Drag racing all day, cost you $10 to get in, $15 if you wanna race (bring a helmet). The track has been around since the 60s and looks it. It's days are sadly numbered since everyone wants more tract houses. That and the beach, many good places for food (hope you like mexican). Let us know when you are coming out, perhaps we could have an imprompteu meeting of the San Diego Buick folks.
Wow, that would be great! I'm looking at May right now. You guys almost make me want to drive out there. Almost:laugh:
COFFE IS ALWAYS ON Our shop is just over the hill from the race track. Come on by for a cup of coffee and some bench racing.
Again, lots of thanks! I'd love to visit the shop, Skip. I wish there was a cheap way to get my car over to Cally...I was going to look into shipping it out there, to surprise my friend, you know, "hey, let's head on out to this address, I need to pick something up..." But it's cost prohibitive. Oh well. Someday I'll make a road trip out there. Until then, checking out the local Buicks is just as good:TU: Now I suppose I'll have to find my photos...I think I still have some undeveloped film from my rebuild. I'll have to do some digging :beer
I didn't know Carlbad raceway was still open. My home town is Escondido and we used to go there back in the early 60's. We saw the very first funny cars and the first rail cars like gentleman Joe Shubek, The Dodge Ramchargers, and way too many to mention I still have pictures somewhere of some of the legends of drag racing. There was a team from Escondido named Sear and Hopper who had a top fuel Dragster that would battle the best of the sport including Don Garlits. Thanks for the post, it really brought back some real good memories. Bill Bailey
Yup, Carlsbad Raceway has a really rich history. Do a quick internet search and you will come up with all kinds of vintage pics of Carlsbad in it's heyday. A few friends and myself approached Don (The Snake) Prudhome at his shop a stones throw from Carlsbad Raceway. Considering we are no one to him he was very friendly and accomidating. We discussed at length the history of the track and why it should be saved. He agreed that it should be spared demolition but the problem is bigger then even his pockets will allow. The track used to be in the middle of nowhere, in the flighpath of Palomar airport. Well, civilization has crept up on it and now all the owners of the yuppie box tract houses overlooking the track have their panties in a wad over the noise from the cars. They also B*tch about the airport and would love to have that shut down too. The cities of Vista and Carlsbad (the track sits across the boarders of the two towns) are probably gonna go eminent domain on the property under the auspice of finishing a road that is actually about a 1/2 mile west of the starting line of the track. When it goes, there will be no more permanant quarter mile dragstrip in southern California. They wonder why street racing is such an epidemic here. The only other outlet for us is the 1/8 mile temporary dragstrip that they set up in the stadium parking lot. However that is geared more towards the ricer set. Either that or make the trek up to Palmdale. I am just glad that I got to make a few passes down the track before it faces the wrecking ball. I also went to a few drive in movies before those dissapeared. Things to tell my kids about (if I ever have any)......... Party at Skips shop :grin: I will bring the donuts. :TU:
DONUTS Donuts? I have a gas bbq at the shop. The San Diego branch of the SoCal GS Club meets there on occasional Saturdays for burgers and/or dogs. Let us know your schedule as soon as it is set. Buicks at the shop now include a 72 GS455, 70 GSX, 67 California GS (600hp injected), a 53 Skylark convertible (Kustom Kar), my 67 CGS (waiting paint strip) and 68 GS350 that needs a drive shaft so we can use it for a parts runner. There is a 68 400 motor on a stand a 430 block and 455 block/heads in various corners and a complete 455 in a crate in another corner. The 400 belongs to Lori, Buicklark66's main sqeeze (better 3/4?), and is destined to go in her 67 4-dr Special Q-ship.
Before, I was missing my friend very much, and was anxious to get out to SoCal right away. Now I REALLY can't wait to get out there. I will finalise my plans ASAP. I am currently without the need to schedule a vacation with an employer, which is a doublespeak way of saying I gots no job:laugh: It would be a very nice afternoon indeed if I could meet up with a bunch of Buick guys on their club meeting bar-b-q. I am looking forward to it!:beer Plus, my friend won't feel she has to be the entertainment commitee if something like this was on, which is another huge plus. You guys are the best. Hopefully, I'll see you in a couple months. I'll put together some form of photo album of my ride so she can be there in spirit if not the steel, so to speak.
Sounds good, we will be here. If it makes you feel any better, my car will be unable to attend since it will probably be in a million pieces by that time. As soon as I move into my new house it is getting torn apart and I am gonna get serious on it (I hope). Right now the poor thing is sitting in a field in Vista (my apartment manager evicted my car) . At least it has a cover on it, but I wanna tear into it. I said it was gonna be presentable by this summer but I don't know if thats gonna happen now. Hey, if you are around on a Friday night we can head out to cruise night in Escondido. Always a lot to see there, even a few nice Buicks from time to time.
