I had a 71 Dodge Demon 340. I went looking for SS Novas.
Sheepdawg, we may have met, briefly, in the early to mid-seventies. I had a 4 speed Nova SS350 with a 350 HP cam, headers, and 3.73 gears. It was about midnight and I was cruising through my college town after a fraternity party.
I stopped for a red light, and a '71 Demon 340 pulled up beside me and kept revving his engine. I wasn't much of a street racer, as the penalties for racing were severe and losing my driver's license for a year would have interrupted my education.
On the other hand, being challenged by the Mopar was difficult to ignore, and my buddy riding shotgun managed to motivate me to engage in an acceleration contest. (Did I mention this was just after a party?)
The light turned red and the race was on. I got the jump on the Mopar, and kept putting daylight between the two vehicles as I rowed through the gears with my vertical gate shifter-equipped Muncie. Up ahead, the next light turned red and I lifted my foot to allow the Mopar to catch up.
It was about that time that I noticed some unusual flashing lights in my rear view mirror. What I hadn't noticed earlier was the police car sitting just one block behind us, watching the entire race. In addition, I had somehow forgotten that the red light "finish line" was also right in front of the city police building. (Did I mention this was just after a party?)
With great dread, I put my flashers on and pulled into a nearby parking lot. My college diploma and a decent job flashed before my eyes. "What's wrong with you - didn't you see us sitting right behind you?" said the officer. "No sir" I replied. "You know what the penalty is for drag racing?" he said. "Yes sir, I do, but you know I'm not one of the usual guys racing up and down the streets" I said. "This was a one time mistake I don't intend to make again" I continued.
"Well", the officer said, "I know you're not one of the street racing regulars we have problems with out here, and quite frankly, you were beating that Demon so badly I don't know if I could prove it was actually a race, so I'm just going to issue a reckless driving ticket - if you go to court early and speak with the magistrate, he will probably reduce it to hazardous driving." "Thank you, officer" I replied.
And that was the last time I ever raced on a public street. So if you remember being beaten - badly - by a Nova SS about midnight, followed by a ticket, our paths have crossed.
