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Goodies Speed Shop, Goodies, Jason Colby, Drag Racing, Official Website of Goodies Speed Shop, Power, Drag, Speed, Race, Racing, Funny Car, Altered, Dragster, Hot Rod, Rat Rod, Colby, Drag Strip, Horsepower, Competition, Bracket, Engine, Transmission, Turbo, Torque, Machine Shop, Carburetor, Carb, Drag, Fuel, Alcohol, Nitro, Gasoline, Gas, Supercharger, Fuel Injection, Camshaft, Piston, Accessories, Parts, Tractor Pull, Hop-up, Modify, Slicks, Go-Kart, NHRA, Winner, Win, Goodies, Goodies Speed Shop, Drag Racing, Funny Car, Hot Rod, Goodies goes back to 1962 when the shop was focused on compact cars like Falcons and Corvair. The shop widened its inventory in 1964 to cater to drag racers and car builders of all kinds, soon expanding to other Bay Area locations and also opening a shop in Salinas, California, to serve the drag racing community there. Throughout the 60s, Goodies was a sponsor on a number of local drag cars that frequented the Fremont Drag Strip. Goodies founder Richard Guess sold the business in 1971 after moving Goodies across the street to a larger facility he had built. Soon after the move and the sale, all four Goodies locations were closed and Speed Merchant took over the space in San Jose. Speed Merchant was in business at the same location, selling speed parts and keeping gearheads and drag racers supplied until it too was sold in 2007. Speed Merchant’s new owner, Tracy Edmonds, found that the Goodies name was available, and began restoring the shop to its 1970s glory. Today the shop has a full stock of speed parts for all kinds of cars, several lifts and service bays for tune-ups and restorations, and even a bright orange Dodge shop van to carry on the tradition that began back in 1962 with an orange Corvair shop van that supported the cars the shop sponsored at the local Fremont Drag Strip. When I was growing up in the late sixties early seventies I used to ride my Schwinn Stingray over the rubber hose ringing the heck out of the bell. After a while that really pissed him off. For those of you that don't know he ran funny cars then and I think actually had the original Bud sponsorship before Kenny Bernstein? Any way lots of really cool cars bodies always just lying around in the parking lot. Could you imagine driving by some where today and seeing one of Jim’s cars or the Frantic Ford body or the Bud mans at a gestation lot? Jungle was from nearby West Chester and a lot of his bodies ended up at the shop. Roy used to fire them once in a while and I and my friends would always be nearby to listen. I always heard these stories of him testing one of the funny cars one night real late. After that my first shop hangs out was the old USA1 Hanks. That location later became one of K&G speed shops Stores. I spent a lot there over the years. It later became Pokes. He stayed in the business until a few years ago. Lots of fast north east stuff was associated with them back then. I grew up in Malvern Pennsylvania the home of the Grump. A good friend of mine works for him today. I was fortunate to have lived in an area with such cool stuff over the years. The owner was a young man newly married with a really knock-out wife that I probably had too many dreams about. He also had a 1951 with a 292 cu in Chevy engine with 3 deuces on a manifold and a set of headers he made himself, with a 3 speed tranny with a floor shift he made from a column shift shifter. It had inside a Sun 8,500 rpm tach. I hung around him as often as I could because I was fascinated at the way that powerful engine sounded with those 3 dukes when he nailed them open and how bad to the bone it idled with that huge Danto 097 Camshaft and Fueled Heads. Because I was always hanging around occasionally I got to go for a ride in it which was for me a huge thrill. I know I was a pest but that guy was kind to me and we ended up being long tem friends for many years until time and mileage separated us. One day I was hanging out there as usual after school when a light pale green 1958 2 door coupe Biscayne Chevy came in that was overheating big time. He and Bill worked on it and I saw a strange looking device where the distributer should be and had no idea what it was. That car also had a Clay Smith Racing Cams Woodpecker on both side windows and an intake manifold with 8 tall stacks or tubes sticking up and no carburetor. As soon as I got a chance I asked Bill if his car could beat that car he was working on. He laughed in friendly humor at my lack of knowledge and experience, and let me know that Ed Just that guys Vertex Magneto costs more than my whole engine, and I imagine his Fuel Injection costs more than my whole car. He let me know that the car we were looking at had a roller cam and was a bad boy. With my new found knowledge that my new buddy Bill Baden's Ford was not the fastest thing on the planet I was crushed but walked away with a little more knowledge about hot rods. When that car left the station he nailed it and with his 4 speed shifter spun the tires all the way down S.E. 44th street for at least 2 full blocks. I was in awe.
