Just the Unusual

This week went really fast especially after posting the AHRF story one day late. By mid-week, the S.C.T.A. had posted last weekend’s race results so it was time to do a little captioning of photos. Let’s look at a few.

JMC_5024 shows us that Dave Bennett of the Road Runners is getting a handle on what it takes to be a dry lakes racer with his Henry J (Kaiser-Frazer). He had shown up at the May meet and didn’t get a chance to run as mother nature decided to grace El Mirage with to much wend. This time (June 22, 2014)) he got to run. His Class D Classic Gas Coupe ran through at a speed of 94.972 mph.

Next up, the Kennedy Boys, Bill, Dean and Dave are ready to present their car at Inspection but were hanging out in their tow-truck waiting (JMC__ in Class C Grand Touring and is after the 198.013 mph record. After making it through the inspection process on Saturday they went out the next day and ran a lap at 186.497 mph. They will be back.

It seems part of the deal to run at the lakes is to wai5026). The Corvette runs in Class C Grand Touring and is after the 198.013 mph record. After making it through the inspection process on Saturday they went out the next day and ran a lap at 186.497 mph. They will be back.

It seems part of the deal to run at the lakes is to waite (JMC_5023). That’s exactly what the BMR-Ferguson Racing Class XXF Blown Vintage Gas Comp Coupe and the Ferguson-Macmillan Class F Blown Fuel Streamliner are doing. Soon enough Neil McAlister took the Deuce Coupe for a ride through the traps at a speed of 169.552 mph to break the old record of 161.169 mph. Don Ferguson III completed his lap with a speed of 221.781 mph to up the class record of 211.180 mph. We can assume that the wait was indeed worth it for both teams.

The Camaro Z28 known as Big Red waits in the pre-stage line at El Mirage on June 22, 2014 (JMC_5025). It runs in Class AA Classic Blown Fuel Altered and is looking to capture the class record of 225.00 mph. Driver R. J. Gottlieb had a few problems and coasted through the lights at an embarrassing 74.581 mph. The team will fix that for sure at the next meet.

We also finished up scanning all the underexposed GNRS negs this week and are now diving into the prints. There are some cool cars as you know and we can even identify a few like our next image (GHC_210). Doug Stroming from Merced entered this sharp-looking Chevrolet at the 1966 GNRS. The bodywork was as smooth as glass with all body seams molded and the fender wells were fitted with Stainless inserts for an extra touch. Under the hood was a 370″ Chevy V8 that fed a Vette 4-speed and inside featured a rolled and pleated interior. Doug picked a pearlescent Mint Green for the paint color hence the car name Jade East.

When we were at Bowling Green, parked right behind our booth was Jim and LeaAnn Robinson’s 1953 Guy Maybee Drilling Special. For you youngsters here is a shot of the car and a little description of it (HMC_119)We see the car at Bonneville in 1953 before it went out and grabbed first in class at 194.07 mph and then set a new Sports Cars Open class record of 203.105 mph. Driver Joe Maybee gained entry into the Bonneville 200 MPH Club and became the sixth American to do so and was the first to do it in a sports car.

We chatted for quite a while with Jim and LeaAnn and when we got back home we dug out a few pictures from our assorted collections and passed them on to them to fill out their car’s history. If you look closely at the attached picture you will find that the chassis was constructed by Denny Larsen and the engine was built by Ray Brown, one of the AHRF’s original Board of Directors. During the week we received a mystery package from our new friends and the contents just happened to be some audiotapes of Denny, Ray and Bruce Gross recorded about 13 years ago. All we can say is “Way Cool”. Thanks much.

We always keep the scanner and computer busy with goodies like our next two items. TNC_1004 is a retouched scan of some Steve Swaja artwork done for Tony Nancy showing a concept of his first Railjob that he would call the Silverfish. it had two folds right through the car that we’ve managed to make go away. JSC_074 is what the New England Hot Rod Council used to use as an NHRA Drivers License at the Sanford, Maine strip.

On Friday night to keep me in trouble it was riding down to Orange County with S.C.T.A. President Scott Andrews and Ron Main to attend the monthly S.C.T.A. Board Meeting. Never a dull moment as they say.

Sunday was a tough one as there were two places to be at the same time that were about two hours apart. One had to go so by Antique Nationals at Fontana and hello to the Literature Fair at the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo. 

JMC_5022 shows just a portion of the score. We have close to fifty different Annuals in our library now that we use as reference materials. Being a sucker for magazines it was easy to add 36 more old ones. JMC_5021 shows us Volume 1, Number 2 of Motor Guide published in October 1956 by Motor Publications out of Washington, DC. On the cover of this “little pages” magazine is a flopped drawing out of Chrysler’s design department headed by Virgil “Mr. Fin” Exner. It was supposed to show what a futuristic turbine-powered car was supposed to look like circa 1960. It didn’t happen, thank god.

Charles Fazio from Brookland, New York was the owner of the mild ’49 Merc seen on the cover of Volume three, Number six of Car Speed and Style from June 1959 (JMC_5020). Charles did the bodywork and had Carl Barbato do the stitchwork while Andy Southard, Jr. did the 15 coats of white paint and laid on the blue scallops and linework.

To sum it up, it’s just another unusual week in AHRF land.