In Shut Down, there’s a line about “two cool shorts sitting side by side”
What is a short?
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2003/jan/23/beach-boys-puzzle-old-car-freaks/
This claims it means short wheelbase dragster.
Interesting. I guess the label art department didn’t listen closely to the tune, 'cuz that has neither a flathead Ford nor Lakes pipes.
All these years, I thought that line was “two cool sharps”.
I don’t know ANY men of any age who futz around with cars, young or old. Once upon a time in the 50’s, maybe someone’s uncle would be out in the garage on weekends poking around an ancient Ford, like the Fonz. Husband can replace a dead battery and clean a sparkplug, that kind of thing, but not lately - he says 'why would I, that’s what the garage down the road is paid to do." My father, husband, neighbors, and boyfriends of our children get in their cars and go - if it needs work or breaks down, they call the AAA.
Thus passes another era. I used to be a gear head, until computers ate my engine. I think the last vehicle I owned that I regularly did all the work on was a '72 Dodge.
Is that (or was) a California thing? We (Iowanians) used to get the vehicle registration in the form of carbon paper copies, about 3"x5", iirc a blue and pink one. Maybe the courthouse had a white copy. For some reason they were stored or displayed on the steering column, and they would sell little wallet deals with a plastic cover, sometimes people kept them in a similar deal on the sun visor.
But registration is just that, it’s not the title. Did California issue pink titles at one time?
I was way into cars in my younger day. All I have now is a slideshow file with a gazillion pics of cool cars, mostly mid-late 60s musclecars. Coolest car I had was a '66 GTO. Had it for 12 years, sold it around 1986.
When automobiles first came out, one had to prove they knew how all the parts worked and how to repair them should they break down before the State would issue you a drivers license.
Car mechanics came later.
Yes, they did, before 1988.
I’ve no idea what the actual colour was, but they were called “pink slips” when I was a kid in Michigan (1960s).
There are still plenty of car enthusiasts doing the same kinds of modifications to current day engines. The GM LS series of engines are still entirely serviceable and modable.
My 15 year old Trans Am with the 5.7L LS1 engine has never been returned to the shop for any engine or running gear work, once I took it to a modern hot-rod shop for exhaust work, otherwise I do it all myself and over-maintain it in my own garage.
Still a huge after market for parts and guys (and girls) still soup them up for track night at the drag strip.
LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion is a popular forum where you can find out all you need to know to do whatever you want to your GM.
For lo these many years I thought it was sharks, and that’s still the way I sing along.
Well, that’s basically what I’m asking. What in the world would a “big slip” be, since slip isn’t what you would want while drag racing? I’ve heard them called limited slip, lockers, detroit lockers, Positraction, LSD (which aren’t all the same thing, but they’re all to increase traction), but never that.
If you’ve got any contemporary examples to the song of “big slip” being used to describe traction enhancers of the time, I’d read them.
The first one which comes to mind is the famous HM Ambassador which has been manufactured in India for 50 years. It is a copy of the Morris Oxford from Britain.
I think Fiat make one too.
And…F1 racing cars have column gear shifts. Dang. 
Does anyone have access to the lyrics from an original Beach Boys record with the song on it? While I am not saying it can’t be “pink slip”, I’ve always heard it as “big slip”, and I don’t know why having the “pink slip” would make a car enthusiast flip their lid. The whole song is about how hopped up the car is, and “big slip” would be one more example of that.
I have none and I’m not especially convinced by what I’ve found through google. I just saw your comment and wondered if you knew something.
As a musician, I’m sure you’ll agree that the song was written and arranged to make that line the be all and end culmination all of why the deuce is the car you should envy: It’s the last line of the bridge, the shuffle rhythm reduces to three quarter note stomps and the singers drop their harmonies and shout that line in octaves and unison. If all that portentousness was used to announce that the car has some kind of performance diff it would be really silly.
I’m quite convinced that he’s actually written the line that way to announce his confidence in the car through his willingness to race for pink slips and I apologise for the hijack.
Edited to add: I just noticed that, in my time zone, you post was submitted at 4:09 am. Well played!
The original LPs don’t have lyrics printed on them anywhere, either the cover or the liner. Other than in this thread, I have never heard of anyone who thinks the words are “big slip.” Not in 50 years. Not in any cover version.
I just listened to it and there’s no doubt in my mind the first part is “I got” not “she’s got” and I’ve always heard the rest as “the pink slip, daddy”.
Totally agree, and nice analysis of the dynamics of the line!
Once again, fortune conspires to make me seem more clever than I actually am. 