Runnin’ Moonshine: How Real Racing Began; The Birth of NASCAR

Hopping Up the Cars
The cars the Moonshiners drove had to look as stock as possible so they wouldn’t attract attention while on a run. This meant that the car could have no pinstriping, no flame paint jobs, no loud mufflers, no chrome or anything else that would stand out and make the car distinctive from other cars on the road.

Typically during delivery, a car would have to be able to carry 100 to 180 gallons worth of white lighting during every run.  During most of the runs loads would be carried inside of mason jars which would be loaded into the trunk of the car. Sometimes all of the seats would be removed besides one bucket seat for a driver so there would be more room for mason jars.

A few of the cars were “Tank Runners” which were cars that could carry a bigger load and could hide the white lighting in a hidden tank. The cars would have a large tank full of liquor that could be hidden under the floorboards or put in place of the rear seat and covered with upholstery to blend in. Sometimes the tanks were even hidden inside of the cars gas tank!

In order to be able to carry these heavy loads while driving, the rear suspensions had to be stiffened. Extra leaf springs were added to the rear suspension, this would lift the car’s rear up in the air while it was empty and it would be ad normal height while it was full. This suspension not only allowed the cars carry the heavy loads, but it allowed for fast driving while carrying the load.

A powerful mill was a driver’s best friend! If the revenuers spotted him, he had to rely on his car’s engine power to get away. He made sure his engine was hopped up and ready to go in case that moment every happened.




Typical mods made to a runners motor included tunnel ram intake manifolds to increase air flow, more than one 2 barrel carburetors or even a 4 barrel carburetor added for more fuel, ported cylinder heads, and bigger headers on the exhaust.

Another exterior mod that was commonly used by the runners was, they would install a switch on the dashboard that allowed them to turn off their taillights but leave the head lights on, to help them get away from the G-Men chasing them. Some drivers had a similar mod, where they would install a switch that turns off the rear brake lights; this prevented the revenuers from seeing where the drivers braked on the turns.
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