# Car people, can you explain "Little Deuce Coupe" lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841 "2017-01-10T22:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/121 "2018-02-20T02:14:34Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Made in the USA, but with Chrysler’s Patented European Styling! I had a 64 Dart named Betsy by the previous owner. I always wondered what European car they were trying to emulate. > > I bought a new 1971 BMW Bavaria while I still had the Dart. Both had “slant-six” engines of similar displacement, but you couldn’t find two more dissimilar engines. > > Dennis What was the BMW engine like? Yeah, the Dart had some of the Polara styling. What were they thinking? I had one, too. I remember a columnist in Car and Driver complaining that the Chrysler slant six was so reliable, he would still have to see Darts on the road for decades to come. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/122 "2018-02-20T02:31:58Z")
> [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > Yeah, but that wasn’t my point. In the song, the Corvette wins. Not only does it win, but it does so in the least likely manner. When driving a more mildly tuned street car against a race car, one might expect to pull ahead from the start, then lose ground as the race car reaches higher RPMs. While I don’t expect perfect historical accuracy in a pop song, the Beach Boys knew enough about cars to know better. All this drag racing talk reminds me of a race I had once in my youth. I was the proud owner of a '68 Pontiac Firebird that had a 350 hp, 400 cubic inch engine. It was devoid of power anything and had no A/C. All the power went straight to the differential. Also had a Trubo-hydromatic transmission that could be shifted manually. (That transmission actually won me a couple of close races as the car would actually lurch forward with each shift when the car was under maximum power. The guys I raced always lost a couple feet at least when they’d shift manually.) Anyway, I’m sitting at a traffic light one day when this big, green Dodge sporting a 440 Hemi pulled up next to me. It was raised and had cheater slicks and sat there going harumph, harrumph, harrumph as it idled. He started goosing his engine as we sat there and I began to do the same. The light changed and we started off kind of feeling each other out, then got going faster and faster until finally I floored it. Got about a length and half on him when suddenly he came roaring up next to me, hung there with me for a moment with my foot still on the floor, and then roared off like I was standing still. I couldn’t fucking believe it! My Firebird had been clocked a few weeks before at 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, and that guy blew me away like it was nothing! Clearly he’d had a lot of high-end professional work done on that thing and it was _fast_! Anyway, that’s the only loss my little 'bird ever suffered, but man what a loss it was. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/123 "2018-02-20T14:45:50Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Made in the USA, but with Chrysler’s Patented European Styling! I had a 64 Dart named Betsy by the previous owner. I always wondered what European car they were trying to emulate. Why would anyone name a Dart anything other than D’Artagnan? ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/124 "2018-02-20T23:41:10Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > All this drag racing talk reminds me of a race I had once in my youth. I was the proud owner of a '68 Pontiac Firebird that had a 350 hp, 400 cubic inch engine. It was devoid of power anything and had no A/C. All the power went straight to the differential. Also had a Trubo-hydromatic transmission that could be shifted manually. (That transmission actually won me a couple of close races as the car would actually lurch forward with each shift when the car was under maximum power. The guys I raced always lost a couple feet at least when they’d shift manually.) > > Anyway, I’m sitting at a traffic light one day when this big, green Dodge sporting a 440 Hemi pulled up next to me. It was raised and had cheater slicks and sat there going harumph, harrumph, harrumph as it idled. He started goosing his engine as we sat there and I began to do the same. The light changed and we started off kind of feeling each other out, then got going faster and faster until finally I floored it. Got about a length and half on him when suddenly he came roaring up next to me, hung there with me for a moment with my foot still on the floor, and then roared off like I was standing still. I couldn’t fucking believe it! My Firebird had been clocked a few weeks before at 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, and that guy blew me away like it was nothing! Clearly he’d had a lot of high-end professional work done on that thing and it was _fast_! > > Anyway, that’s the only loss my little 'bird ever suffered, but man what a loss it was. I love racing stories. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![chefsal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@chefsal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefsal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/125 "2018-08-28T18:05:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yes, they did, before 1988. > > [Vehicle title - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_title) Pink Slip is now ‘slang’ for title. Back before the late 80’s, your registration was your title. In NY State, any care older than 1980 still does not receive a title, only a registration. During the days before a separate title, your registration could be signed over to another person (the owner of the car that beat you) and they would now own your car, no separate title involved. The slang “Pink Slip” got started because from the early 60’s to the mid-80’s, it seemed like every form was filled out on carbon duping paper in duplicate or triplicate, and the pink copy always went to the consumer (yellow to records or state, etc, white to business or service provider). Finally, as others have pointed out, the lyric is “Big Slip Daddy”, slang for the GM/Chevy LS Diff that was a popular upgrade to older open diff hot rods. Definitely. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/126 "2018-08-28T18:30:16Z")
> [@chefsal](#): > > Finally, as others have pointed out, the lyric is “Big Slip Daddy”, slang for the GM/Chevy LS Diff that was a popular upgrade to older open diff hot rods. Definitely. > > Cheers! And those people are incorrect. The line is, “I got the pink slip, Daddy.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/127 "2018-08-28T18:31:31Z")
Welcome to the Dope! Too bad you are dead wrong on all counts. But thanks for playing! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/128 "2018-08-28T21:40:25Z")
It’s most definitely “I got the pink slip, daddy.” I can still remember the first time I got a pink slip. Because it was more or less the definitive proof of ownership, I was terrified someone would steal mine. Not a realistic fear, for the most part. 🙂 Registration slips used to be kept on the steering column. You’d _never_ keep your pink sip there! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/129 "2018-08-28T21:48:43Z")
No one in the history of hot rodding has ever called a limited slip axle a “big slip daddy”. Aside from being stupid sounding, it’s bass-ackwards. The limited slip (posi traction) slips less, not more (or “big”). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/130 "2018-08-28T22:08:33Z")
And people wonder why the fight against ignorance is talking so long. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/131 "2018-08-29T01:04:09Z")
Y’know, I know almost nothing about cars. It’s actually a joke amongst my friends. But I understood 90% of these lyrics. So kudos to Brian Wilson/Roger Christian/Roger’s Car Buddies for using “car talk” that’s slang-y enough to sound cool, but logical enough to make sense to the average listener. ---
**Author:** ![doctordemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@doctordemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordemo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/132 "2019-03-16T21:35:06Z")
New guy here, I just found this old thread and wanted to add my two cents. I very strongly believe it is “Pink Slip” I have had and do still have California DMV issued pink slips. The other point about" the top end floored" I have always heard it and thought it was: top end blowered, meaning that there was a supercharger on the engine like the album cover shows even though it isn’t the right engine. I have been a car guy “gearhead” all my life and I have been in California since the early '60’s. I have never ever seen or heard the term “big slip” used before finding this thread today. Steve ---
**Author:** ![Prismonic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Prismonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prismonic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/133 "2019-05-19T09:40:04Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Couple more things. > > “Pink slip”. Probably more legend then fact, there has been lots of discussion on this over the years on various car forums. Who in the heck is going to run in a claiming race against an unknown car? Seems like the fastest guy would end up owning all the hot rods in town. > > Dennis When he says “I got the pink slip, daddy,” he’s just been describing the car. He’s just adding that he actually owns it, no payments. I didn’t know this was strictly a Cali thing, but we still call it a pink slip and you don’t get it until you own the car outright. Anyway, sure you’d take a chance on winning or losing a car because the gearheads were always trying to make theirs the best/fastest. Gambling. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/134 "2025-09-24T22:11:21Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Lake pipes, exhaust pipes that run down the outside of the car instead of underneath and are usually just straight through with no baffles Sorry to bump this old thread, but I ran across this info about ‘lake pipes’ today and it made me think of this thread. Make of it what you will: "They are called “lake pipes” because early hot rodders used them on their cars when racing on dry lake beds in the 1940s and 1950s, making them a necessary modification for racing in these remote areas. Purpose and Origin: - **Dry Lake Bed Racing:** The original function of lake pipes was to route exhaust out the sides of the car. This was done to allow for a lower suspension, which was essential for land speed record attempts on dry lake beds. - **Eliminating Restrictions:** By bypassing the traditional undercarriage exhaust system, lake pipes eliminated restrictions and increased engine power, further improving performance for high-speed racing." ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841/135 "2025-09-24T22:31:13Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Somehow, a DJ writing the lyrics doesn’t fill me with confidence either. Maybe Roger’s brother was into car culture like Dennis was into surfing. FWIW, Roger Christian also wrote the lyrics to “Dead Man’s Curve”, “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena”, “Drag City”, “Schlock Rod”, “Hot Stocker”, “Bucket T”, “Shut Down” and about fifty more songs in the genre. Roger knew his cars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-can-you-explain-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics/776841.md?page=6)