Cook

Cook was one of the girls that I helped. She was 5'4", about 110 lbs. She was hurt by a lot of guys. Sometimes I had 5 or 6 girls riding around with me. I fed them, gave them money when they needed it. Cook would turn out to be my favorite when I was looking to race!

There were 3 girls beside me, and 4 in back. The front seat was wide, but with the shifter I had room beside me for one leg. Cook was beside me, and I said "Straddle the shifter". My Hearst shifter was a short throw spring loaded shifter. Under the dash I installed a small light to light up the pedals on the floor. Different people drove for me, and some who were not used to stick liked the light at night. I had a tachometer on the steering column that lit up your face like in the movies.

Cook had just turned 16 and did not have a driver's permit yet. She asked me to teach her how to drive stick, I said yes. I told her, "Put your hand on the T handle". It had finger ridges on the knob so your hand would not slip off. I went out in the country, a dark straight road.

I had my slicks on, extra wide, soft gummy compound for traction. I stopped. and said, "You shift, I'll help you". I told the girls in the back, "Sit back! You cannot believe the thrust." The special tires grab like they are coated with glue. The racing shocks, 50/50 out back instead of going down, extend up to push the axle down when you first move, and give the tires traction. The front  shocks 90/10 push the front end up when you start, so the weight of the whole car puts pressure on the rear tires.

I had practiced a lot to find the best way to launch. I pushed the gas pedal, watched the tach, keeping engine RPMs between 3,000 and 3500 RPM. The 2 carbs front and back are the big thirsty ones. You set the linkage when they kick in. You run on the middle carb, and as you push the linkage you hit a spot where you must push harder. The front carb kicks in next. Then the back carb kicks in. The back carb has a hole to the intake that you can pass silver dollars thru, I was told. I adjusted it so at 3500 RPMs all three kick in.

If you see a muscle car driving slow, he probably has 3-2's or 2-4's When I let out the clutch the front end jumped up, the three two barrel over-sized carburetors were spitting fuel and air as fast as they could. In about 2 seconds the tach was at 6,000, I just pushed the clutch pedal about 2 inches in and yanked the shifter straight back. About 4 seconds later we were at 6,ooo RPMs again. I was in second gear. two more to go. It took about 4 seconds to hit 6,000 RPMs and touched the clutch again we pushed forward and to the right we were in third. This the longest gear to wind out. At 6,000 RPMs again we pulled straight back, my foot touching the clutch again.4th gear, pedal to the medal. Less than 13 seconds, 1/4 mile. Zero to 120 mph goes quick.

The girls in the back were screaming. There were only 3 seat belts out back, so none of them strapped in. And all four hung on the back of the front seat. Guess where they were?

The only thing that comes close to that feeling, for me was a twin prop 8 passenger plane. I worked 8 years for a guy that flew me around to fix things at his 13 companies. We sat on the strip, brakes on full. When he released the brakes, that feeling returned.

I know Cook was impressed, she was breathing hard. She and I practiced about 4 evenings till she was confident shifting. Everyone on the loop knew my Pontiac was 4 on the floor. Cook would wait for me at the sub shop near her parents apartment. We would cruise the loop. She would scrunch down so you could not see her head. I painted the side of the small light bulb in my tach so no light went toward Cook. She rode around with me for 4 or 5 months. She got real good at shifting.

I would drop Cook off at the sub shop with money to eat from me. Then I would stop at the places we could park and talk. The guys came over to my Pontiac. They looked under the hood, under the body, shift the trans and ask, how are you shifting with both hands on top of the steering wheel??

Cook and I never, ever told! After a couple months Cook stopped showing up. I asked several girls, they said they didn't know where she was.

I saw her one more time. I was working at the gas station across from the Golden Arches of McDonalds. Her husband asked to use the lift. This was about 4 years since she had stopped waiting for me. I remembered him from years before, so I said, "Sure". Cook was standing outside  the garage door. I walked up to her, she put her finger to her lips and whispered, "He's very jealous!!" She was very pregnant. I hope she had a good life.