When The Streets of Rockingham Weren't Safe

I thought it was time for me to try to put in writing some of my former escapades during my last year in high school driving and/or showing off my 1966 Chevelle Super Sport 396. Now, I know my story will not be as elegant and/or entertaining as my fellow classmate, Bob McDonald....especially his last story added to this website, A Legend In His Own Mind. As Bob has stated in the past, being in Ms Osborne's class must have really stirred his creative juices back in '66. For he has a knack for telling a story kinda like old Andy Griffith used to tell. His adjectives, descriptions, inserts and referrals really bring his stories to life. But he stirred my memories a little with his last story and inspired me to put my memories of this so-called lifestyle of a kid with a fast car in the '60s on paper. So, here goes....

I remember that day just like it was yesterday. My dad, with a little encouragement from me, had earlier ordered - from the factory - a brand new maroon 1966 Chevelle Super Sport 396! 4 on the floor, 325 horses, scoop on the hood, black leather interior and bucket seats! I couldn't believe it. At the time, this was a young man's dream come true.

I was on the way to school and saw it coming down the road in one of those big car carriers and turning into Russell Bennett Chevrolet on Fayetteville Road. You talk about butterflies and excitement, that was the day! I mean, I knew this wasn't my car but I also knew that I would get to drive it and it would be in our driveway for all the other neighborhood guys to flock to.....and to be jealous of! What other kid's dad would order a sports car such as this for the family? That was my Dad - he was a classy guy. He always loved bright colors and was a sharp dresser. I guess he wanted to add a touch of class to our transportation mode because I know he never had a chance to own a car such as this when he was a kid. Maybe that is why he ordered it - with persuasion from me plus he figured it was time for him to live in the fast lane, so to speak. He loved that car just as much as I did. Little did I know at the time that I would eventually take over the payments on this car and could call it my own. But, Dad might have known that all along. Maybe this was his way of kind of giving me a head start.

Dad paid $3336.41 for this car. You can see the invoice by clicking here: 1966 Chevelle SS396 Invoice. He traded in our 1959 Chevy Impala and got a whopping $589.41 trade-in allowance. Of course, during this era this Chevelle was a pretty expensive car. But it was well worth it. That Impala he traded made many trips into the North Carolina mountains on our yearly vacations to Cherokee. You can see a photo of it with my parents and brother Gary at this link: 1959 Impala.

It has taken about 43 years for the infamous Chevy icon "Super Sport " to appear in my family again. I finally broke down and traded in my foreign car Kia Sorento and got back into the American car field and purchased a 2007 Chevy Impala Super Sport. It sure feels good to sit back down in a Super Sport again after all these years. Don't know why it has taken so long to get back into the Chevy family, but it feels so right. This car is equipped with 302hp and is an automatic, not the 4 speed of past years. But it has all the power I need, when I need it. This car has extras on it that we wouldn't have dreamed of back in 1966. Heck, when I sit down and feel a little chill in the interior on my posterior, with the touch of a button, I can warm it up in no time. That is nice! My daughter Crystal's boyfriend calls it a "smooth ride". But anyway, let's get back to the story of my younger days.

Back in my high school days, it seemed that if you didn't have a nice ride, you just weren't anybody. But not everyone had the opportunity to have a cool car. I remember before the Chevelle, I drove to school every day in a '51 Ford - black...and after school each day me and the guys had to give it a shove every afternoon to get it started. But all that changed when I got the SS396.

Johnny Parker had a cool '65 Chevelle, Tommy Covington a black GTO, Bob McDonald had his infamous Plymouth Duster, Wesley Long a Plymouth Hemi, Danny Knight, a cool looking Camaro, Paul Dillman a turquoise Firebird...this was a few of the cool rides these guys had and there were others that are not included here. Others that weren't in high school had some really cool cars also. There was Alvin Blackmon and his '58 Chevy Impala, nicknamed "The White Elephant", Dean Ivey had a clean, white '66 Chevy, Tim Watts had the T-Birds and someone, his name I can't remember, had a 62 Chevy 409. As Bob McDonald recalled in his story A Legend in His Own Mind, all these guys were Legends in My Mind. They kept the streets in Rockingham hopping with action. And, needless to say, when I got my Chevelle, I felt proud to feel a part of the muscle car crowd in this town.

OK - it might not have been proudness I felt but rather, "my car is faster than yours" feeling. Yes, with this Chevelle, I had something that would match up with any of the machines in Rockingham....and I didn't hesitate to take on all comers. This car was fast. And, to prove it, I put one of those infamous racing stripes right across the back end! Also, I had what they used to call "cut-outs" installed on the muffler system up under the bottom of the car - in addition to the Glasspacks that would sound off. When I wanted to, I could take the caps off the muffler and that car would make you think motorcyles were roaring by. On take-off when I was racing someone, I would jack it up....hold the brake down as you pushed that gas pedal down and popped the clutch. This would make for a very fast jump from the line - if you didn't smoke your tires too much. But I learned to drive that SS pretty well and just about had a race lined up every Saturday night- usually in front of Tom's.

Tom & Sarahs, Pee Dee River Bridge, Cartledge Creek Rd - just some of the locations that got to see a lot of action from guys trying out their cars. I imagine there was a lot of tires left on these locations in the form of burning rubber as different people had to try their cars out on their own or against other competitors. Tom & Sarahs was located on Highway 74 - a great stretch of straight highway to show your stuff, especially when you wanted to show off because of a crowd at Tom's. The River Bridge, approx 1/4 mile long, was another straight patch of road for dueling it out with a competitor. And, Cartledge Creek Rd - right before the old Prison Camp was a nice stretch of road that lent itself to a lot of racing. In fact, I remember one time my brother Randy, whom had just purchased a new 1967 Pontiac GTO from Penegars, wanted to see what he could do with my Chevelle. It was no match. He had a three-speed and I had a four and I rode his bumper the whole way.

I remember once I was traveling down 74 and this Corvette decided he wanted to take me on. Well, I just had to oblidge him and I left him in the dust. I can't remember who this guy was but someone told me he was in the military and got demoted because the cop caught him and not me. Another time in Cherry Grove, I got nudged on by a Buick Gran Sport - at the time, they were fast cars. Alas - another one bit the dust.

There were numerous occasions such as this going on around Rockingham at the time but two competitors that eluded me. James Hinson had a '66 Chevelle Malibu - which was comparable to my SS396 in power. He had told someone that he thought he could outrun my Chevelle - if my brother Gary was driving. Well, I don't know if that would have been the case or not. Gary was a pretty wild driver. He was known for driving under the influence quite a bit - in fact, one time he was caught riding his motorcycle through Five Points - standing up on the seat! Drunk as a skunk! Plus, Jimmy Seago had a '65 Ford Fairlane GT, which was right up there with the Chevelles, as far as power was concerned. But, for some reason, I never got to compete against these two formidable foes.

There were many times I went to one of these locations mentioned above and made it through without a problem. But I was always worried that I might make a bad move on shifting and go from third to second when I was supposed to shift to fourth. But, it never happened.

I am surprised to this day that I made it through my teenage years without any injuries or bad wrecks. There were close calls for sure. But I would chalk them up to learning experiences that helped me along.

I doubt Rockingham sees this kind of action on the roads now since the age of muscle cars - my age - has passed on by. But, who knows, it might still be going on along the back roads of Rockingham, a small textile town in the South, in the 2000s'!

M