– Summertime Friday night fun times at the “Cruisin’ Grand” gatherings
– Local Mopar® muscle and collectible vehicles regularly attend
– Nitro-fueled HEMI® engines light up the night at annual “Nitro Night” events
Escondido is a sleepy little town in the San Diego County region of Southern California and the name in Spanish means “hidden valley,” which helps explain the location as being 18 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and 30 miles northeast of the city of San Diego. Back in the early days, all that was out in Escondido was a bunch of avocado trees and citrus groves; however, today, while there’s still the fruit-bearing trees to be seen, it has grown to what many people believe is just the right amount of small town friendliness mixed in with a small helping of big-city buzz.
Grand Avenue is Escondido’s downtown region’s main street and years ago the city of Escondido approved the running of weekly street cruises (in the summer months) and they are called “Cruisin’ Grand” events. Filled with hot cars and combined with car enthusiasts, it has had a stimulating effect in the historic business district. And we’ve been there to cover the action, which obviously includes some choice Mopar vehicles!
QUALITY MOPAR VEHICLES OF ALL ERAS
The street cars that regularly attend these events range from “mild to wild” and for Mopar fanatics, this 1965 Dodge Super Stock A990 tribute sounded wild! A real race HEMI engine rests in the engine compartment, the car was built several years ago when the rare parts (like the cross-ram intake) were easier to find.
Another powerful B-body seen in Escondido, this one a “Pro Street” style ’66 Belvedere, Indy powerplant, tubbed and full cage. A serious street performer!
No shortage of pristine A-body cars, ’69 340 Dart droptop, ’69 383 Formula S Fastback Barracuda and a 340-cid ’69 Hardtop Barracuda. Great representation and selection!
SOMETHING FOR EVERY TASTE
In this Cruisin’ Grand photo with a Gen I HEMI engine-powered ’32 roadster alongside a ’69 Charger fitted with a Gen III HEMI engine, it’s an example of just how beloved the Chrysler hemispherical powerplants are today.
Old Dodge pickups are known as true workhorses, be it for private use, farm use, plus their wide-spread use as government vehicles over the years! Looking close at this vintage ’60s long 8-foot bed example, it’s a “Camper Special”, which were equipped to haul around a slide-in camper unit. And this one has survived all the years!
2024 MOPAR NIGHT
No shortage of sweet B-body muscle Mopar vehicles lined up on this July 19, 2024 evening in Escondido, California!
SUPER BEE 2/68 – 268
Purchased new from San Diego’s Pedder Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep®, it’s the #268 of the 2023 Charger Super Bee! An enthusiastic married couple (that both enjoy driving the powerful car!) joined in the Mopar fun in Escondido.
Matching outfits help show the Dodge loyalty. The numbers of this car, the original 1968 Super Bee, and the owner’s birthday all combined have special meaning!
Beautiful 1970 HEMI Challenger and a quick walk-around revealed the “R” on the VIN, Dana 60 rear axle and the absence of an antenna, confirming it’s a factory “no radio” car!
Painted FY1 Lemon Twist Yellow, here’s a 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda HEMI “tribute” done up with Shaker hood. Everybody loves the E-bodies!
“Almost crushed…to reborn classic!” is how this fully documented V-code (440 Six Pack) is presented, now with 19-inch rollers and a new lease on life!
Gorgeous ’69 Dodge Super Bee Coupe with W21 Road Wheels, a 383 car with V9W White Bumblebee stripe. These were “budget” muscle cars from Dodge that had the same ingredients as the Plymouth Road Runner.
1968 was a fabulous year for the Plymouth Division, and the new model they released, the “Road Runner” was what drew a lot of car enthusiasts into their showrooms! They ended up selling some 44,000 of them and did great things in getting Plymouth popular with the youth market. This particular “dog dish” car has a factory HEMI powerplant and is expertly restored from front to rear. Red Streak rubber provides the off-setting color special visuals!
FLAMES ON BROADWAY!
Once a year, the Escondido Friday night cruise event gets a special treat in the way of a drag-racing themed show held on Broadway Avenue, known as “Nitro Night.” These annual get-togethers celebrate especially the “golden age” of front-engined dragsters, and very well represented with truly historical cars. After these big supercharged HEMI engines are fired up, there is still a fresh aroma of CH3NO2 racing fuel in the streets, providing ground-pounding action just like the glory days of drag strip action. Everyone is truly entertained by the sights and sounds … and oh those sounds are fantastic!
This famous Cook & Bedwell recreation is owned by Ray Lake and was created in the nearby Fallbrook shop of the late Dode Martin, a legend in early drag racing himself. The car is a spot-on masterpiece in every way, carbureted early HEMI engine included!
Sonny Messner brought the “Swamp Rat III” down from Acton, California; the original car was campaigned in 1961 and had set the then all-time records of 7.88 seconds and 198.66 mph in the quarter-mile. Yeah, THAT Don Garlits.
Ronnie Hampshire in the Poison Ivy thrilled the fans, this car is a museum-quality piece and one that could make a pass at the track with the only thing required being the installation of the driveshaft (removed here for safety). Dig that detail!
The late Ron Johnson had the “Barnstormer” Ivo car recreated, and the flawless machine was built with Ivo’s blessings and input. Besides seeing action on drag strips across the country, the original Barnstormer car was also featured in the movie “Bikini Beach” starring Annette Funicello.
On April 24, 1960, “The Greek” Chris Karamesines ran an incredible 204 MPH speed at Alton Dragway, and this car forever was known as the first rail to hit 200 mph in the quarter-mile. Truly a historical vehicle and the Escondido crowd enjoyed the opportunity to see it perform all these years later!
In between the firing up of the cars, the huge “big screen” was showing a large assortment of great photomontages — featuring historic film from the good ol’ old days — along with music from the era. These historical images were provided by veteran trackside shooters Bob Plumer, Tom West, John Ewald and Ron Lewis.
Astro Enterprises sponsored this car, the Magicar, and it features a Kent Fuller chassis. This car now belongs to Bill Pitts who is a leader in the California Cacklefest scene.
NITRO IN THE AIR
Besides new people seeing the historical vehicles doing the drag race starting line simulations, old timers with a passion for the past were also in Nirvana throughout the evening. This was simply a great way to showcase some cool old competition cars and special thanks goes out to the City of Escondido for all the organization and planning that went into the staging of the event.
LEGENDARY FUNNY CAR
The Marv Eldridge “L.A. Challenger” is a perfectly restored nitro Dodge Challenger Funny Car car that raced the Coca-Cola circuit in 1970, and it’s powered by a Mike Kuhl-prepped 392 Chrysler Gen I HEMI engine. This fiberglass-bodied Mopar vehicle is “period correct” in every detail with credit for that goes to the owner/restorer John Robertson. Marv Eldridge was the owner of Fiberglass Trends, a big supplier of aftermarket products back in the day.
Author: James Maxwell
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