July 2022 Featured Car

Charlie Mincey’s 1939 Ford “Trip Car”

Here we have a 1939 Ford owned by Charlie Mincey, who began hauling whiskey in it in 1945…when he was 14 years old! He went on into organized racing in 1950, at age 19, and raced in various series until 1980. Between the ages of 14 and 19, Mincey said he ran the illegal brew once a night, seven days a week. In five years as a moonshine runner, he never once lost a load.

The 1939 and 1940 Fords were, historically, the most popular cars for bootlegging. They were cheap, plentiful, inconspicuous, and the flathead motors were easily hopped up for more power–though by the early 1950’s, bootleggers were beginning to prefer Oldsmobile 303 and Cadillac 331 swaps. Some were equipped with a two-speed rear axle for high-speed driving. Charlie’s car ran up to 69mph in low and in high his top speed was around 120mph.

Charlie would haul up to two hundred gallons of shine inside his 39 Ford by placing them on the floor in the passenger foot well and back seat floor. He would remove the back seat and trunk brace in order to load more shine all the way to the trunk lid. He preferred cans over jars since jars were susceptible to cracking on harsh road surfaces.

In order to haul that extra half-ton of weight, helper springs were added to the rear of the car. Unloaded the car sat at normal height but once loaded the helper spring provided stability to maintain ride height. The added weight was a disadvantage when trying to outrun the Revenue Man. Even with a hopped-up engine these drivers had to rely on pure driving skill and knowledge of the back roads to evade the man. The best getaway tactic was to mash the throttle to outrun a car following you and then utilizing side roads to evade them. Another maneuver Charlie used involved dropping the rear axle from high to low at speed, instantly spinning the car, then driving straight at the man. A game of chicken heading head on to see who flinched first. Since most moonshine hauling commenced in the early morning hours, the cars were equipped with switches to turn off both the taillights and brake lights. An unsuspecting chase vehicle might lose control of their vehicle around a curve if relying on the moonshine hauler to brake first.

RIP Charlie Mincey 1931-2016

The 46th Annual Mountain Moonshine Festival

You have probably never heard of Dawsonville, Georgia, but this town of 2,500 residents, located about an hour north of Atlanta, holds a serious place in motorsports history. It was once dubbed “The Moonshine Capital of the World”, serving as it did as a launch point for moonshine “trippers” who burned down Highway 9 into Atlanta, evading revenuers as they hauled their nightly loads of moonshine to thirsty customers in the big city.