MovieChat Forums > The Van (1977) Discussion > Who Drag Races Vans?????

Who Drag Races Vans?????

posted 18 years ago by StLouisAssassin
8 replies | jump to latest

I was around (back in high school) back in those days. I remember seeing photos in magazines of tricked out vans with airbrush paintings of fantasy battle scenes on them. But(at least in my part of the country) that was something you almost never saw in the real world. I never seen (or heard of) anyone using them to drag race with.

where I come from, if someone drove up in a tricked out van (that wieghes a ton) and tried to my offers to drag race ...we would have laughed at him. We did drag race in those days, but we raced Trans Ams, Camaros, Ford Mustangs, and hot rod Mopars (not those large,clumbsy,heavy, bulky vans

I never understand why the producers chose drag racing as this movies climax.

[–] RobBase086-1 17 years ago

Where I grew up at the main strip was known as Eldorado St. and if you had a vehicle and as long as it rolled and you wanted to race you could do that you know.

Check it out: http://deefilmroll.com/usa-uan/

[–] BPD1586 16 years ago

Were tricked out vans popular back then?

[–] gmoore44 16 years ago

They were indeed.
"Shaggin wagons", as they were nicknamed, were all they rage.
Every late teen, early 20's male wanted a mobile bedroom on wheels.
And everyone wanted a huge mural on the side, and all the cutomization they could afford.

[–] smerd_70 16 years ago

"Were tricked out vans popular back then?"

Yes indeed. I remember 2 in and around my neighborhood growing up back then- One the guy was obviously a Santana fan(I remember it had Santana in big letters on the side), the other was fantasy themed(big wraparound scene of a wizard fighting a dragon)

I collect dead pigeons then I press them between the pages of a book.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] RobBase086-1 15 years ago

I was a kid back during the 70's so it was not until like the late 80's that I got to cruise down the main strip where I grew up at. Drag racing was the main thing to do along Eldorado Street in Decatur, Illinois. They would race anything and everything back in the day and now Eldo is just a main street., I do not see any teenagers parked along Eldo to pick up girls and guys like I remember as a teenager. It is due to all the crime and shootings that we have around here. Everyone is scared to cruise along Eldorado now.

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[–] YankeeDood 11 years ago

You're right, I was a kid in the 70's and never saw Vans drag race either. They were more for cruising and seeing the country. But Trans Ams, oh man, I remember those badboys were all around!
Recently I saw two cars drag racing last week, no cops in sight, fortunately. I think drag racing may come back.

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