R.I.P. A Blvd. Legand
Please excuse the personal and indulgent post, but I got word that one of my early teen hero’s passed about 10 days ago…
Larry Dixon Sr. was THE coolest guy on the Van Nuys Blvd in the early to mid ‘60’s …. Hands down !!!
(You might know him as the father of Larry Dixon Jr. renown Top Fuel racer)
The first time I saw Larry cruis’n Van Nuys I was about 13 driving with older friends… He was probably about 25
He built and drove the consummate ’55 Chevy Belair two door post street/strip car. It was without equal…
Larry’s family lived nearby me and I’d see the ’55 not only on the Blvd, but also in the neighborhood…
At the time Dixon worked as the lead mechanic for B&M Hydro just East of the Van Nuys GM Fisher Body plant. Of course the ‘55 had a Hydro in back of his 327 small block. The car had radiused rear wheel wells (with the Belair chrome trim stopping and starting) and M&H Racemaster Slicks proud of the body just a little. It eventually had a double sprung front end with Halibrand wheels in back and American’s in front. Larry’s ’55 was early ‘60’s Cadillac ‘Firemist’ Green, with a black tuck’n’roll interior. He also mounted (in the right direction) a big Ford truck small hood scoop. He also took the colored Chevy inlay out of the front emblem but left the bowtie frame. (he did this for a number of friend’s Chevy’s)
If this setup seems a bit familiar it could have arguably been the template for the ‘Two Lane Blacktop’ and ‘American Graffiti’ ‘55’s that came almost a decade later....
While cruising with the Hydro, Larry had a free right arm to put over the shoulder of his beautiful girlfriend, later to become his wife, and Larry Dixon Jr.’s mom. Larry would cruise about 3 days a week like the rest of us, but then take the car to the San Fernando drag strip almost every Sunday. With Larry behind that B&M the car would run consistent times to the tenth !!! Around 107 in the high 11’s… Not bad for a street car in the ‘60’s...
Larry went on to drive fuel dragsters for a few sponsors and finally won the 1970 Winternationals !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-uLh0EzgX8
One Sat. night when I was about 16 I helped clean his dragster’s slicks for a run at Lion’s dragstrip …
Back then, if you had a pit pass you could somehow get to the starting line…... and loose part of your hearing forever...
In the late ‘80’s I ran into Larry and his wife at a Canoga Bob’s cruise in, they were in Larry’s ‘new’ two tone ’55 with a big block and stock body work, but with a tubed chassis and huge slicks all inboard. (I believe it was a Popular Hot Rodding Project X builds) I came up to him and said I was one of those kids on the Blvd. and wondered what ever happened to the green ’55 … He said ‘That old thing ?… probably in a crusher’
Sorry for go’n on and on…. But, to a bunch of teens of the '60's that are still around, he was THE MAN !!!
R.I.P. Larry …. You were a legend...
- Larry Dixon Sr.
- Sr. and Junior
- An early shot of the ‘55
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