https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/...street-racing/

Not an Oldsmobile, but holy smokes what a story. It first appeared on Hagerty a couple of months ago, but I do not recall anyone posting it before (and I did a forum search, because I hate being *that* guy).

Since we have all seen how Mopar Hemi car prices can go to unbelievable heights, I wonder what this car would hammer at auction? Would this be a 7 figure, or just a 6 figure car? We will likely not know the answer to that for years, if ever, but:

• Hemi 4 speed w/ 4.10 gears
• Triple black (with the unusual gator skin top)
• SE trim
• Survivor
• Original paperwork
• NOS uninstalled shaker hood
• Provenance of the lawsuit against the dealership opening up the ability to order the aforementioned shaker hood

You have to admit, there is a lot to make a person weak in the knees when watching the documentary video that accompanies the article. Set aside 40 minutes and give it a watch, best car-related anything I've seen in years. Would be great to see any old 8mm film or something pop up with the car in action all those years ago, but then that would somehow alter the mystique that went along with the car's history and the street racing legend that it had.

 

That is a fantastic story! Thanks for sharing.

 

A great story about a monumental man--and car.

 

Very very cool story and car. Has to be literally one of one. Those who don't know the story it is well worth the look.

 

Here you go

 

That was really special! Makes me really miss my dad.

 

About halfway through it. This is good. WABX, his station in Detroit, moved to Evansville and is on on my radio right now.

Edit: that's about the best car video I've ever seen. There's something about inheriting old cars and keeping them running.

 

Wow...what a great legacy.

 

Great story, thank you for posting!

 

Era and time that can never be repeated.

I miss those days. We would put in a full tank and run up and down the highway. All over town.

 

I read about that a few months ago. It is a great story, it's a shame I missed seeing it at MCACN, but I was mostly looking at GM stuff and hanging with the Buick/Olds crowd.

 

Aaaannnndd, the other side of the coin.


Great story and legend, but I, for what little it’s worth, lean towards Uncle Tony’s assessment. That car, fully optioned, is a phenomenal specimen and a heavy hitter on the street. BUT, if it was an executioner in street racing, it was only competing against the truly showroom stock weight class of stoplight racing, like 13-14 second cars as most were if tuned and driven well. It certainly wasn’t a modified sleeper & Dad, as the story tells, may not have been a competent mechanic, while he knew what to check on an order sheet to suit his pleasure, a guy ordering a “street racer” likely wouldn’t have checked half that many boxes. The heavy hitters were driving 10-11 second cars and the big money racers, faster than that. This car never ran against any similar, top of the pyramid, ie LS6, ZL1, L88, BOSS 429, SD, RA, GS(X), W30, earlier homologation specials, etc, specially and carefully ordered cars if it always won races.

I think a lot of people bought into the “tall tale that kept getting taller” hype and someone fleeced themself paying that big money, but that’s what the auctions are all about and that is truly a specimen worth a premium, just not a 3-5 time multiple of value, in my lowly opinion. I hope new owner is happy with the car and the myth doesn’t get busted.

​​YMMV and rightfully so.

​​​​​​….

 

Wow weird take. Sure there may have been faster cars. Times were different then. It wasn't full on street racing like it is now. Ten and eleven second cars weren't just rolling down the street. Any of us that grew up in those times knows this. I am the last of seven. I grew up with older brothers and their friends. Horsepower all day. Fastest cars in our city were right right in front of my house. To think this car didn't crush 99 percent of the cars on the street back then is a foolish take. Hindsight is 20/20 always. Cool cool fast *** car. ******* it now? Weird take.

 

No one is ******* the car. The story makes no sense: it's a fully loaded car driven by a cop.

 

Not so much ******* it, I just think there’s a hefty measure of hyperbole mixed into the story. My contemporaries were a few years late for this by 5-8 years before we were buying these used muscle cars around ‘77. Our older brothers and friends had been at it before that. The cars that ruled our streets and won races without being outrageous were modified cars that typically ran “Street Heavy” at the strip and could be street driven, 12.0-12.5 cars, which tended to be a ratty mannered car, not like it is today. That was in central CT with the area’s top gladiator arena being the Berlin Turnpike of Steve Magnante’s fond memories. These were the heavyweights among the “rest of us” and would have eaten the Black Ghost’s lunch, took his lunch money, threw his tied together sneakers up on the power lines and left it with a wedgie. These, mind you were the middle to welter weights, the heavyweights were race cars that lived nearby or were trailered for higher stakes races. This was CT! Hardly the beating heart hot bed of street racing compared to Detroit.

It’s an awesome car, an absolute dream car, an awesome guy, awesome back story, awesome conclusion, but it seems a bit far fetched to think that this car was eating everything alive in bone stock trim. Disappearing into the night? Absolutely plausible . Yup, I had a few people do that to me in the rear view mirror on “The Pike” back in the day. Wasn’t worth chasing them for $40-50 but you hoped to remember them another weekend and set things straight in the McDonald’s or other gathering place parking lot.

Granted, not Detroit, but Detroit was as deep or possibly deeper pool. A real black ghost? Look up “Big Willie Robinson” and his car and his girlfriend/wife racing their wing cars, though in L.A. These were heavyweights. Jim Wangers testing and marketing sleepers, the Ramchargers out playing in the streets, though a few years earlier and a hundred others with modified cars being sneaky bastids.

This is a good example of the way I remember it-

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...hived-feature/

​​​​​​….

 

Reportedly, the real ruler of the Woodward scene was Jimmy Addison's Silver Bullet.

 

Car sold for just over 1 milli

 

Maybe it was hype, but, dammit, I just liked hearing about a black family from Detroit staying together with their dads because of an old muscle car. I feel more cynical knowing that car was sold. A million bucks is a million bucks, and I guess I feel fortunate to not need to sell any of my dad's or granddad's cars, but this is a money grab.

 

So much for the son keeping the car for his son. What would this car have sold for without the story?

 

In the Detroit area, during the Late 60s thru thru the mid-80s, the fast street race cars ran in the low 10s/high 9s range
Here are 3 of those cars(the ones I could find pictures of)

Late 60's Early 70s King of Woodward, Jimmy Addison's Silver Bullet

Mid Seventies Gap and Rousch Mustang II

Rat Patrol Hemi Savoy 77-85

 

Its a very very good video of the story of the Black Ghost car.. Then you got Uncle whatever his name was claiming the whole thing is a made up drama for money. It’s probably a little bit of both, car is a badass stocker but definitely didn’t rule the street for sure..... I mean how many times have you heard about someone that owned a stock Chevelle, GTO, Charger, 442 or whatever and they claim it ran low 12’s bone stock out of the dealership? Old race stories are like fish stories , the truth is lost in lore or stretched a bit..Either way its a damn cool story about a damn cool car and rare survivor.. the part about the son and his father is priceless..A friend of mines client bought the car, He has not yet decided whether to restore or simply clean it up as a survivor..

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...bullet.237077/

 

But, that's the deal: there are no race stories. It's all bull. Uncle Face brings up very valid points: no go fast parts AT ALL, ALL the options (including a trailer hitch?), and a street racing, decorated soldier, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, etc. You can defend your buddy's "client" all you want, but that fool got scammed. End of story.
The whole thing reminds me of a purple car story from a few months ago.

 

I am not defending anybody, like I said, it definitely wasn’t any sort of all city racer..if you watched the video of the car his best friend talked-about racing it on the streets, said they ran slicks against one big block vette..Did the guy get scammed? Heck I don’t know, maybe he feels the marketing this car is getting from Chrysler and possible movie about it will increase its value..Who knows..Again, cool story, how much truth I have no idea. We can disagree , but the purple car was the real deal..Most any story you here from time passed is filled with exaggeration..

 

I saw it in Detroit at AutoRama

 

Once again, fleming tells it like it is!

 

People are spending STUPID money on E bodies
$6 million on a 1 0f 12 71 Hemi 4speed Cuda
$4 million on a Hot Wheels Custom 1970 Cuda
$1.1 million on "The Ghost" This car will get rented to the Movie company for promo work, he'll earn most of his money back, and if he's lucky, someone will steal or reck the car, and his insurance will pay $1.5 million on an agreed policy. Nice return on investment

 

the story is all bullshit..the car is real.

didn’t you first wonder why the son had zero clue that his father had a bad *** car and was a street terror?

didn’t the kids talk back then about cars?

apparently the son is a film maker and story teller in real life…that’s convenient

 

you like stories, we know that.

when is your car story coming out?

 

the making of a legend 🤣

 

No one ever seen it race or beat anyone because, it’s a black ghost.

Olds needs a purple ghost W30 convertible 😜

 

You missed the probably FIRST Pro STREET car, Lusk's Challenger or Wanger Blackbird for that matter, the only car to "possibly" run with Jimmys Bullet

 

Ah the brothers Rat Patrol car. I thought it was later. I know some of the hitters in the Detroit scene but from the '90 until mid 2015 or so. NO of them have even HEARD a story of the Black Challenger...

Here, some of the old timers posted here:

https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads...2th-etc.15930/

 

He did strike me as very unmanly and not into manly things.

 

Well considering you have more exaggeration and BS than everyone on this forum combined…I will leave the story telling to Dudley Dipshit aka Canadian idiot at large.

 

Couldnt find any pictures of Lusks Challenger, or the Pro Stock Volare that used to lurk on gratiot and telegraph during the same time period

 

yep, but now he knows evvvrrthing about his dads car and what his dad did.

he won…he created a fairytale about his dads car, which upped the value significantly…cashed out and walked away.

sure did come in handy he’s good at making films and telling stories. Whoever paid that money for that car better make sure that story continues get better and better 😁

 

Just Google Steve Lisk hemi challenger. I remember the hemi Volare too. That was late 70s to early 80.

 

Got ya didn’t I 🤣

well, when’s your car story coming out? I’ll bet it’s gonna be a doozy.

i can’t tell stories about my cars because they are all documented and real. So I’m outa luck on that one. That’s the problem now with cars that have docs,, we can’t make up stories because the car has a history that can’t be bamboozled

 

Fastest car in my area back in those days was a bare bones stripped down Gremlin. It was even AMC powered by a wild 401

no interior. Glass bumpers, hood and rear hatch. Probably weighed less than 2,500 lbs