As you know, we love the classic auto thrill shows. Here are the kings of the craft, Joie Chitwood and crew, beating up on the 1952 Fords.
George Rice “Joie” Chitwood (1912-1988) was not just the top dog in the golden age of the auto daredevil shows. He was obviously a talented businessman as well, for he had multiple stunt teams criss-crossing the country at the same time to perform at local race tracks and county and state fairs. He also managed to secure prestigious sponsorship deals with both Chevrolet and Ford—though probably not both at the same time, we presume. By far the best-known of the thrill show impresarios, Joie was the inspiration, it is said, for Evel Knievel to become a daredevil himself.
We can’t get enough of the old thrill shows here at Mac’s Motor City Garage—they’re pure automotive Americana—and we’ve featured Chitwood’s work every chance we get: You can view Joie and his crew stunting with 1956 Chevrolets here and 1966 Chevys here. In this video we see the Thrill Drivers performing all the classic tricks with a fleet of 1952 Fords, and there’s also a brief interview with Joie himself.
The 1952 Fords were both new and the tried-and-true. The exterior styling was completely fresh with simulated air intakes in the rear quarters and stylized Jet Tube tail lamps. Yet under the hood was the familiar flathead V8 introduced way back in 1932, now displacing 239 cubic inches and rated at 110 hp. The trusty flathead was nearing the end of its life and would be replaced by the overhead-valve Y-block V8 in U.S. passenger cars in 1954. But as we see here, it was still getting the job done in style in two-wheeled driving, or “skiing” as they call it in the stunt biz, and the ramp-to-ramp jump. Video below.
Auto thrill shows were probably responsible for more ER visits. I remember the old man, who had a flair for the dangerous, coming out of Dubja, Dubja, 2, der, like most, and took us to see them at Wisconsin State Fair. Thrill shows, demo derbies, figure 8s, all hoping the cars would crash. Not sure it was Chitwood, probably the most famous, but many local hooligans wowed the crowd with antics we, as kids, just had to replicate on our bicycles. We took many a lump, but was all in good fun. As driving became more and more nuts, auto thrill shows faded, as real world driving gave the same entertainment.
In 1962 or ’63 I got to see the Rotroff All Girl Thrill Show. As a 10 or 11 year old I was mesmerized. My uncle was a Ford dealer and took me. Yes, in no time I built a ramp for my bicycle and thankfully no injuries. I always wanted to try all those stunts when I was old enough to drive and actually still do.