Harry Gant's Trophy Room & Car Collection: Living NASCAR Legend Still Working Hard at 83

It's It's kind of dirty in here. I work in here on a lot. You know, I come in here sometimes, once a year maybe, and just look at some of them here cuz I can pretty much play it back. You guys know we've wanted to talk to Harry for a really long time. And it finally happened. Like most of these older guys, he can't hear that well. So to ask him a question, it felt like you had to yell at him. And that felt kind of weird. But it ended up not mattering because whatever he chose to talk about was just really cool. It was worth listening to. We didn't really have any questions because he would he's such a great storyteller that you just want to pull up a chair and listen. And that's exactly what you guys are going to do right now. And we hope you enjoy it. And I I usually drive one of these to walk. I go walk over my daughter's house at farm 2 miles. So I carry a jacket. You don't never know it's going to be too cold. I like to walk in cold weather. I don't run. I just walk fast. go two miles and about 34 minutes and I come back home. The mo is it 15 minutes a mile? That's that's not far off from what I walk when I go walking. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I just But I got where I could just do it really easy, you know. When it started raining, I was about about two tents away. And I found out I could run a long way if you need to. But uh I work hard at the farm doing stuff. was hanging a door at the hut. See, that's I stuck a nail here, a nail, a head of a nail, big nail in the barn. And we got a big uh shed down through. Got a big barn over there. And put these big nails in here to hang drop cords and things on. Had a rollup door on that front of that other window. So I said, I just get another rollup door. So I just got it hung and got it going here. And I was in there dark. I didn't have a lot of lights on in the main part. I'm coming up there real fast. Male head come right here and jerk that back. It's just now scab's gone. So it's white. And I said they said you're walking too fast. The 57 is I've had it the longest. I've had it since ' 67. Wow. Really? And uh we've changed the suspension on it and it's got a co GTO rear end so you can get gears and it it's a little wider. This is Camaro front end. Do you do the restoration yourself? Huh? Did you do the restoration yourself? I can't hear real loud. Sorry. I can't hear either. It's okay. I talk soft. Did you restore it yourself? Yeah, but it it really didn't need it. Uh, I didn't rub it that much, you know, like I got it like saying ' 67 and uh, as you see, I drive it now. Got bugs and everything, but it, uh, I had one of these in 57. I bought a new one in 1957. And so I changed the engine in it, and it's got a crate engine now. They come all together. And, uh, it's a lot more horsepower, four-speed in it. in n in I guess it was 91 uh my son-in-law he works on cars up here and a friend of mine had a fit and he had restored it beautiful well mine looked good but his looked better than good you know recchrome the bumpers and all but I didn't have to do much uh I just polished most of them and that piece of gray in this panel that's all the stuff was changing You can this old stainless steel, you can polish it and get the little pits out of it. My son-in-law, he painted it. And I didn't I was I was wanting to get a regular paint job cuz he don't paint nothing but race cars. And he he paint I said, "Well, I got to go to race this week and paint the hood and uh I'll come back home and see how it looks." And I did. back on back. And man, it looks sharp. It's I mean that's 91. That's been a long time. Yeah, that's a really nice one. See this one here? It was restored in 1980. It It's a a local car. It's It's original. This was in the museum at Daytona. And I trade that man a race car for it. Really? Yeah. See, it's all new. It's a various too, but this one's not got it had 150 miles since it been restored. Was in store restored in North Carolina, Greenville. And this is all original. I mean, I've replaced it. You can get all this stuff for Chevrolets headliner and all. See, that's got the crate engine in it. And Oh, yeah. You drive this thing a lot. Yeah. Love to see it. This one's all stock. Stock everything. No power steering runs off the back of that generator. Now that that know got alnator. Okay. I went down to it's in Daytona Museum and uh we was racing Daytona last year 94. a guy that he'd get he'd get us rooms down to Daytona. Here's your main drive going in. Daytona's on the right. You go over street back there and they got all these houses that the pilots own and they rent them out speed week and we had a house ring with a guy that sort of in charge. He knew the man that owned the museum down there right there. It used to be Mark Martin Museum. I don't know what's the name there now. And so what they done he we he took us up there after practice at Daytona. So we got ready went up there on the man on it. Beautiful museum. This thing here was sitting uh up here a big wall a big picture of Daytona uh stands. I mean a mural that's biggest thing you ever see. This thing was cocked up on one side sitting on a racetrack like this. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah. And it had a ribbon around there said do not touch. And but it just on and on. So we was just ready to leave and the guy that was showing us he said we got some more race cars back here. Went through the door. Man, they had indie cars, everything you think of, big drivers, AJ Fort and all them people. I couldn't believe it. We was leaving. Him and his wife met us as we was coming out the door. He said, "You see anything in here that you like?" And I said, "Yeah." He said, "What's that?" I said, "That red 57 sitting up there." And so he said, "What it is that people take them there and leave them and if he can sell them, if they want to sell them, he'll sell them." And he said, "Uh, yeah." I said, "I didn't know you had all them race cars back here." And I said, I'll trade you a race car for it cuz I that's going to give me the last car at the at at the end of race, but we only had one car. So we had to run all season. That was February. We got to go and SL had a Daytona car. Then woman ran ever, you know, now they got 25 cars, you know. So he So he said just laughed and left. Well, the next day at the racetrack, the little guy took over. He said he checked with whoever owned it and they said do it, you know. So he said, "I got that all fixed up." Well, I'm still letting it, you know. So come back home and I had a letter and it's from down there as a contract to sign that I give him number 33 race car and I said now I had put this in this contract if I crash it. I don't I ain't won't have one to sell and but was lucky go all the way and we was working at the farm. We've been painting and all and uh I got to get the car. We finished the race and we had another car and but next year there's going to run Monte Carlos anyway and so they had this and ready. Oh, not we. We go to Asheville, borrowing my brother-in-law's uh trailer enclosed and truck. We take off up there and it was so cold, man. It was It was a a day before Thanksgiving, I believe it was. We had a So, you go out there and it it didn't crank. There was no fuel cell in it. So, we had to put that thing in. It was cold and it's getting later and uh we was going to come home and change clothes and all, you know, and going to Florida. We heading back down 40. We coming down there just to get it, you know. And man, it's getting late. We passed a sign said Tersville. I said, Wayne, I think we look well enough. Let's just keep on going to Florida. So, we just went on down to Florida. We got there about 2:00 hotel right out there off the interstate and the got us a wake up call for 8. And so we got ready to go out there at 9:00. ESPN was out there, you know, and the guy that was there owned this car and we unload that race car out of there. It's full running full race car. We just all they done is painted it up a little bit. Had the same motor and all it. So I I bocked it out of the trailer and I went all the way around at that at his museum hall and come back around, parked it and they was filming it. So then I got in this one and I went all the way around and come back and drove it up into the trailer and had a more little deal. He give me the keys and all, you know, when I'm done that before running around the house. And so we come back up the road with him and got back here and that's that's I've drove it uh it had 150 miles on since it been restored and I think I got about 1,000 now. I I go out this road through the caution light. I go out to highway 16. It's 8 miles two10 right here. I go down and turn and come back here. Sometimes I'll go down 64 up highway 9ish used to be the main road right here. The railroad tracks go out there. Sometimes I'll go down to Staceville. It's about 15 mile and turn and come back the old way to make it makes the tire smooth out and everything and keep it running good. Yeah. I kind of try but I really hate to do it. Got look front end like that. If you see, I've got a few bugs, but I don't wipe them down much when I come in. And it's here. Mercury right here. It's got a This is original car. It's not been painted or anything. Original motor. Uh, it's a flathead. That's cool. You know what a flathead is? Yeah, we like flatheads. Yeah. All I done is took that big old oil bath off. That's all I've done. And put this battery off. I mean, this air cleaner, I put these headers on it. Hey, little story goes back here. When I got 16, uh, I had to get a car and, uh, I just had got my permit, started looking around. I was looking at a 50 Ford, 50 Chevrolet around places. My dad, he had a 55 O's Mobile and I got a place back over here we called dog cross and it's you race for about two miles and and meet there every Saturday night. So when I got my permit you could back then you could have a licensed driver with you. And so we had that brand new Omobile and we went to dog crossing as a Ford and Chevrolet lining up there to race. I said, "I'm going to follow you." But I had follow him very long. I passed him and I I come on home and it was ever the next day. They said, "You're going to have to get you a car." That new Omobile mobiles would it would do over 120. And so a guy in Taylor'sville had one just exactly like this car, green. My dad he said I know him real well. We used Dad was in the lumber business some and I helped some old sawmills and we raised cotton. Went up there he said my friends got this car for sale was just like this everything even the keys like it. And so went up there and looked at it. Well is a plain Jane. uh wasn't too cool looking for 16 year old. But anyway, it didn't have no miles on it. He lived right there in town and said this three-year-old car. People didn't run 100 miles on a year. So, we got it and it would just fly. I'm telling you, it would just fly. And it's same as this. Same color, same everything. Interior, everything. car and copy this thing here and I had that thing for about a year and a half and uh I was coming out this road to to to school. I picked up a friend of mine. I couldn't see and I said, "Gail, can you see on your side?" And I'm just rolling along just nearly to that store and there's a big old sawmill there and he said, "I probably can." So I can see the edge right here. I'm doing like 20. Boom. hit my face. I'm telling you, it knocked me crazy. I thought one of them big trucks hit us. And golly, that door flew open and uh my foot got hooked between the clutch and the brake and I'm pedaling with this foot here. That's how slow I was going I could keep up. But there's a barb wire fence there that went in that crack in the door and it I was hanging to the steering wheel way out here and it just tore my britches. Not like them. You wore dress clothes in schools, you know, in high school. And man, my nose was hurting. I didn't I this guy standing there. I said, "Who hit us?" He said, "Well, you hit me." And I said, "How can we hit you?" And he had a 98 O's 1952 Omobile four-door. That fence opened the back. Big old fence gate. and he parked it and the it's right in our side. The wheel was right there, white line and I hit him at about 20 just I wasn't ready, you know, and and I didn't know what it didn't go about 25 ft out there. This thing's got the biggest frame I've ever seen on any kind of car. Even race cars ain't got frames this big. They got the big crossmember here. Then it it's got a what they call a gusset, you know, the exhaust pipes go go through it back here. It goes all the way back out here to a a crossmember and it's got three crossmembers in it. You see where them exhaust pipes, if you can see. And the back's the same way. Yeah. It's heavy frame. But see back then, nobody had frames straightened it. You It looked bad. The hood was up like this. the horns blown and the headlights are smashed out and the bumper bent, but I could probably have fixed it, you know. And they pulled up there where they take the nationwide insurance cars and the so they took it up there and I was sick, sick, sick. I went in there and the adjuster come out there and looked at it. He went all the way around on I washed it every day and I waxed it every day and kept the motor original paint. Everything on was original. But they they give me like $1,150 for it. And so at 1,200 I get I had $50 deductible. So I went straight up there the Chevrolet place and 57s was out but they wasn't out yet. Like October they come out in in 56. They had six down there in the showroom. They kept them hid till about November or so. You'd slip around and go see what your new cars look like. And but uh we had they had a 57 up there and the same boy bought this same time I bought bought he bought this same time I bought mine just a lot and but anyway we uh went up there and bought a 57. But ever since then I see a one of these for sale. It's really a good driving car, a riding car. And these things get gas mod as as good as a four cylinder does now. And we left here one Friday night. Four of us going to or five going to Myrtle Beach. And 1956 and filled up the case. And we head to Myrtle Beach. Well, naturally going to get stopped there in Jefferson somewhere. What? That bypass wasn't there then. So that cost us $35. Well, that took the bulk of our money. We went on down to the beach and you rent was nothing there. Then just little houses up through there. No furniture, no mattress here and there, you know, and the road then ocean and downtown. Uh they the old roller coaster was still was there then then. And but just sand dunes, weren't there hotels? Nothing. And we rented that thing for $5. for uh Friday night and Saturday night and we'd cruise around and spin the wheels, you know, and all playing football out there and I would go in the ocean. So, we come back home Sunday and come all the way through Charlotte nearly to uh Morrisville before I put any gas in. Wow. Could you believe that? Golly. Well, this here seemed like it's the same way. It's got that overdrive. This didn't have overdrive. Mine did, but I put it in here. I saw say I work in here. You know, I built this a transmission. We trade it. I found a another that's older transmission, but it's the same thing. And it's overdrive. So, it's in here now. And I put that deal exhaust. My other one though that I bought from my old guy, it must have come that way cuz he he wouldn't have changed anything. I really like it. But see, the tops are high. They're high on 50s Ford Chevrolets. And uh this thing was in a museum. It come from St. Louis but was in museum in Wisconsin and we was up there to a friend of ours funeral that ride the cow petty ride every year and he worked for Manheim auction so he used to sponsor the bush car I drove and they he passed away and it's been about 3 or 4 months and his wife wanted to have a deal for the all the riders and so that's pretty good crowd. We went up there and I and a friend of mine saw this on eBay. So he told me I looked at the computer and uh man that just like the one I had and so I called up there. I said I got to be there Friday. I went in there and I walked in. You had about 75 cars. You know, you can see this thing tops higher. But the deal is all them old cars. See that right here? This right here's the window up. It's you got from the window up. See here, you know, it's roughly, you know, something like that or so. Well, see this here, you once you pass this, it goes higher all the way back cuz everybody wore hats, felt hats. You watch in movies on TV and that think cars and food made America, everybody wore hats. That's funny. But, uh, I like it. I I done this like I did my car. I got my car. I put mirrors on it with no mirrors. I put fender skirts. And I put some 55 O's mobilebile spinner. And so far, I hadn't got that changed. And these tires here, uh, see, it's kind of yellow looking. I had to put new tires on it cuz, see, this is a portal wall. See? Uh well that was the story of that thing. See I put new tires and the numbers that it had like back in was like a 670 680 you know wider and bigger. Well then yet the numbers now is a whole bunch of numbers. So he mounted up one the OD the same but it's a little wider. The tars used to be three and a half wide. These are wider. And so I just went ahead and got four cuz I had a new these are new set here. It had set on it and a set in the trunk. Hadn't even been used it white. Four new tires. I pulled that thing back and it the old tire was rotten. So come out on it. Had a big split in it. I was messing around here one day and I said, "Man, I hate taking things over and take it apart and mount them tires again and all. I'll just get me some paint." And I called Lowe's and they told me I said I see there some paint that'll stay on rubber and say I went down they mixed me up a quart and man they ate this shine. You could kind of hold that back and put you and go around. You just had to watch. I ain't never got to time to paint the rim there yet. It that's pretty dull red there. And but anyway, and it looked super and then it started getting brown and I worked and I worked and I worked. I I sanded one whole day with sand paper. Nothing will take it off. No chemical will take it off. And so I finally a little old stool. I jack up one wheel at a time. I finally got it white and it looked good. Well, it takes it about 3 months and it started coming up back to brown again. I just jacked it up and done it again. Well, that's the last time I done it because a guy come in here, a friend of a friend of mine knows everything about cars. Knows everything. The smartest person I've ever talked to. He He knows history. He said, "Well, when wait when when they come out with white wall towers back in so and so year back then, they had this, this, and his. What makes them?" Well, then, and I can remember this, you go buy a new tar at ESO station, they had a real good deal. You bought a expensive set of tires, but you paid so much a month and they'd come wrapped real tight in paper and you you'd throw them down real hard to bust that paper off. real hard paper like tape like a and you put them on your car. Well, this guy's told me that's when they come out when they quit using that paper on and they started making these newer guitars like this here. He told me what they had in it and it will burn through a portal wall. H but the back back there ain't as it's not as bad but uh it that's what it is. And so I said if I'd paint them one more time maybe it'd be so thick maybe it could. But but you know who would ever thought that they compound that they done in rubber but you talking a long time ago. Yeah. You know 50s you know the portable ball come out. You can get them in 50 1954 you had port that's probably what these like I say he had 75 cars. This one you could see the…