Fishtales
Have you ever gone on a road trip or mini-vacationjust prior to Halloween? Say, out of town, way out oftown, like...MEXICO.Your girlfriend suggested thisexcursion because of this great "ALLINCLUSIVE"travel sale advertised on TV, plus it's her birthday andyou guys should go someplace special. You reluctantly agree , because it's cheaper than a ring,and less of a commitment.
Now, that low, low price that caught your eye, was pre flight taxes. Tack on: Provincial; Federal; Goods &Service; Parking; Departure; Fuel Surcharge;Airport Improvement; Security and your Visa card ishaving a triple coronary from all the added scam taxes.
Reach your destination, and before you get to suckback a Corona on the beach, you've succumbed tothis nauseous feelingnot experiencedin the past.The kicker is as you're now being wheeled down thehospital corridor, and a familiar old lady's voice yellsout, "Hey! That's my son, where are you taking him."What are the chances of your mom vacationing in thesame location, and visiting the local hospital, at thatparticular moment of your life.
The excruciating ordeal had just begun, sparing thedetails, after a few days you return home without anounce of foreign alcohol in your system, (instead rubbed on externally for medicinal purposes),with a huge medical bill hoping all is covered by yourhealth plan.
To top it off, you pull in your driveway to notice yourhouse has been TP'd (Toilet Papered). Man, thatwould piss me off too, but at least Halloween decorations are done for the party.Asyour friend, I'llhelp you find out who the prankster is. Hey!Who took the picture of my truck in your driveway?Happy Halloween Dave!
PS: You do know Shirley works at Ben MossJewellers at Willowbrook Mall, and givesall uscarguys a deal. Maybeit would of been easier to get aring... like ...then again, maybe not.
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On the Heels of Cadzilla
I was deep in thought, miles and miles away, andmust have looked like it. But wives have a way ofyanking you back to reality. "I wonder if there’ll bebeer in Heaven?" I said. "No. And there won’t be anyin Hell, either" says Poopsie, bursting both bubbles,and reminding me why all my car buddies are petrifiedof talking to her.
I had actually been thinking about how many CadillacStreet Rods there are. Afew years ago, ZZ Top had a1948 Caddy built for them called "Cadzilla." It waswidely promoted and appeared in their videos, so itwas quite familiar. OK. Now let’s think of another one.No? See what I mean? Jim Beddow and wife Marlawere in Edmonton in 2002 when they met a string offifteen or twenty Street Rods out for a cruise. Theseed was planted.
With the kids all grown maybe it would be fun forthem to have a Street Rod now. They began lookingat the rods for sale, but there was a problem withmost of them. Jim is quite tall, and those cars werebuilt at a time when most folks were built a little closerto the ground. It was determined that a regular StreetRod was just too small. What was required was a Cadillac.
The Internet is a wonderful tool. Jim punched in"Cadillac Street Rod", and it came back with this 1940Caddy Fleetwood. The car was on consignment, andit was a running, driving Street Rod with a full custominterior from Cascade Vans. Having driven new carsfor several years, Jim didn’t require any tools to keepthem going. On the way home, the Caddy’s driveshaftsteady bearing calved out. Repairing it would requiremore than a crescent wrench and screwdriver, so Jimwent shopping. He came home with a big, heavy toolcabinet. AStreet Rodder can never be over-tooled.Next Jim and Marla joined the Foothills Street RodAssociation, which proved to be a big help. As withmost car clubs, there is an ocean of talent just waitingto be tapped.
The Caddy is well-built and features a 390 Cadillacengine and Jetaway 4-speed automatic transmissionwith Camaro rear diff. Front suspension is Mustang II,which is a little light-duty for this car. It was necessaryto replace the front springs and have Standen’s re-arcthe rear springs to raise the ride height a bit. Electricalproblems were solved by endless hours of tracing cir-cuits with a multimeter, but persistence paid off.Sometimes the solution is not that complicated.
The gauges kept unplugging from the wiring, thuscausing no end of despair. The problem was solvedby extending each wire a half-inch; somebody hadobviously measured wrong during the initial installation. Alittle harder to diagnose was a constantleak in the transmission. Although the unit had beenrebuilt twice, a leak would soon reappear.
FSRA’s president (for the past 14 years) Gary Savageis well-known for his National Transmission Shop on14th Street NW. Their slogan is "Street Rod SpokenHere." Aclose inspection revealed that the flexplatewas bent, which allowed the torque converter to wobble, thus damaging the front seal in a short time.Once everything was fixed, Jim and Marla had noqualms about cruising out to Radium for this year’s show.
This winter, the car will return to Dale (Cascade Vans& Interiors) to have the driver’s seat lowered andmoved back a couple of inches. This is, after all, aluxury vehicle. The air conditioning, power windowsand big stereo are nice touches, for sure. But whatreally sets it apart from the other Street Rods is insidethe trunk. While cruising at the Three Hills Show, Jimwould push the button for the automatic trunk to open,revealing the lighted, rotating 1950's Wurlitzer jukebox front. When it comes to a unique Street Rod, thisis One-Stop Shopping.
Fred Nelson is an accredited local appraiser whooperates Nelson Racing. Reach him at 242-3856.
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Back in the day.
Every once in a while (daily) I get into one of those,do you remember, "Back in the day" flashback stories.This time it was my youngest daughter Dani, noweleven who actually said to me, You're standing on myfoot again Dad! Do you remember when you took meand Ali down to the A& W's last night on Fraser Hwy.We walked both ways up 208th Street cause Momwouldn't let you take us in either of your S10 trucks,as they were too fast and notsafe for us to be ridingin. Why did you sell the convertibletruck, it was neat."This conversation all came about at the AbbotsfordCollector Car Show & Auction last month.We were standing in front of the beautiful 55 ChevyBelair Convertible of Linda Koropchuk. Her displaytheme wasA&W, in celebration of their 50thAnniversary.The 55 Chev convert ragtop (1 of 3) inthe Koropchuk family, as well as husband Gordy'sNostalgia Willy's Coupe parked beside it, both cameaway with best of class and people's choice awards.
A& W restaurants across Canada had a favouriteMemories contest asking for stories about thepast, "Cruisin the Dub".Where out of 25,000 entries a letter typewritten (with a manual typewriter) byLinda was picked.Without further ado, the actual letter from one of our beloved Quicktimes readers.
Location of my A&W memory: Whalley in Surrey, British ColumbiaMy favourite memory: My 47 year love affair with A&Wbegins when I was a teenager living in Langley, B.C.with a passion for roller skating. On most Saturdaynights my Mom would drive my sister, cousin and girlfriends to the Lynden, Washington Roller Rink.After a night of roller skating and before returninghome my Mom would drive us girls to the WhalleyA&W Drive-In for a Mama burger, fries and a frostedmug of Root Beer 16 Kilometres away.
These outings went on until I got my Drivers License.Now, I could drive the family station wagon to Lyndenroller skating and then onto the Whalley A&W Drive-In. Girls meeting guys, socializing and having funwhile enjoying our Root Beer attracted us on weekends. Then one special Saturday night in 1962, I noticed this Coral and Black 1955 Buick hardtopcruise in with three guys. The Driver - well what can Isay - I wanted to meet him. If he parks, my friendssaid they would go over to him and tell him I wantedto meet him. I was very excited, but too shy. Luckily they did and the very handsome Driver and Imet. Five years later after dating and a three yearengagement, we were married on June 17, 1967. I am forever grateful to the Whalley A&W Drive In whofound me my best friend, companion and loyal
husband, Gordie. It’s 39 years that we have been happily married and we still hold the A&W an important part of our life. My favourite A&W memorywill be for a lifetime and I know we will have manymore great memories as a couple who met at theWhalley A&W Drive In one Saturday night over a frosted mug of Root Beer and then were married. Our loveaffair with A&W continues today. We now have three 1955Chevrolet Belair Convertibles which we take to A&W showand shines throughout the lower mainland. In 1990, wewere a part of Langley’s A&W 30th AnniversaryCelebration and sadly it’s closing thereafter. In 2004,my Harvest Gold and White 1955 Chevrolet BelairConvertible won Mama’s Choice at the Newton A&Wshow and shine for Parkinson’s - one of my favourite A&Wshow and shines for charity. Cruisin’the Dub, Show & Shines,the awesome Burger Family, fries and frosted mugs of RootBeer and way back then swamp water (a blend of root beerand orange pop) have been and will continue to be an impor-tant part of our lives together. Wishing the A&W congratulations on their 50th Anniversary.Yours Truly,Linda Koropchuk
Congratulations to both Gordy & Linda on your 40thwedding anniversary next year. Since you didn't havekids, I'm up for adoption next year too! They will alsobe involved with the BCHRA50th Anniversary in June.Gord is one of the original members, back when acase ofbeer was $2.52.
Oh, by the wayDani,thanks for taking the picturesfor me and yes Ido remember. It was April 29, 2000when the last A& W Drive-In closed in Canada.You had just turned four, andI still have the(paper)root beer cup, which I dated.Myself and others arestill pissed aboutA&W's decision toclose a windowon history.Roger, if you have any say in it, pleaseconsider re-opening the drive-ins so our kids can writea favourite memories contest letter toA&W's 100thAnniversary starting off with..............Back in the Day.
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Mid-West Express
During the 1968 Drag Racing seasonKen Achs had a AA/Fuel Dragster match race inSaskatoon with Minnesotan Tom Hoover and hisSOHC Ford powered fuel dragster.It was through this meeting that Ken and Tombecame good friends, and it also led to Kenacquiring a new race car. Tom informed Ken that at the end of the ’68 season he would beselling his dragster. Ken had an older car so hewas more than interested. Ken wound up buyingthe 190 inch wheel base rolling chassis over thephone for the princely sum of 1200 dollars.
Don’t we all wish prices for nice race cars could be so good in today’s world? As with allTom Hoover’s race cars the car was built by thetop builders, and used only the best componentsavailable at the time. The chassis was built byLil John Buterra, who at the time was partneredwith Dennis Rolain under the name of R&B.
For the gorgeous needle nosed body TomHoover had master tin bender Tom Hanna builda work of art to cover the Buterra frame railsTom was also safety conscious so the car had a full floating 8/34 Chrysler rear end in the car.Full floating rear ends were to come into popularuse years later. Not only was the car safe it wasalso well detailed with lots of Lil John trickpieces, and even the rear end was chromed.
Once the deal was struck Ken loaded up his olddragster and set out to Minnesota to get his newride. In Minneapolis they put the 392 Chryslerinto the frame rails that held the SOHC Fordmotor. Once they were done the new car wentinto the trailer and the old chassis was strappedto roof of the station wagon and they headedback to Saskatoon.
Ken raced this car for three years all overWestern Canada with the help of RalphWefflen,and Doug Feltham both from Saskatoon.
Brent Seaman from Edmonton was a crew chieffor a year , and went on to crew chief Kensfunny cars .During the 1969 season the sliderclutch came into use , and the team figured outthe combination quickly.With a combination of54% nitro and no port nozzles the car made lesspower than most of the other dragsters, so thecar never got the tires loose, and ran very con-sistent with times in the 200-210 range.
The Mid-West express won a lot of racesbecause many of the competitors were busyoverpowering the race track.
In 1970 port nozzles, 70% nitro and 21% overdrive upped the horsepower, and the speedswent up to 220 + with times in the 6.80 to 6.90range. Again the car was very reliable and didnot use up parts which made the Mid Westexpress probably the most consistent car in western Canada.
One incident I do remember with the car was ata race in Calgary. The team had decided to travel to Calgary using a ramp truck to haul thedragster. The dragster was too long for the truckand they left the front wheels hang over theback. When they got to Calgary they horrified todiscover the front of the car hanging down andalmost completely broken off. They managed toscare up a oxy-acetylene welding outfit, andusing coat hangers for filler rod they put the carback together. Not only did they fix the car theteam put together three good passes that weekend.
Tom Hoover had since moved on to the funnycar ranks, and was selling his car, and againKen wound up purchasing Tom’s used funny car.His dragster was sold and changed into anecono dragster. Terry Mclaggan was the ownerwhen I purchased the car and brought it toCalgary. I owned the car for two years, and soldit to build an altered. It was then raced for awhile by Norm Rousseau, and finally woundbeing raced with a small block Chev as a SuperComp dragster by Mike Pople of Calgary.
About 2 years ago Ken, with the Help of BrentSeaman, got the car back and restored the carto its former glory as the Mid-West Express.
The Mid-West Express was donated to theCanadian Motor sports Hall of fame by Ken, andit can be seen proudly on display there.
Vern Scholz
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Mercury Pickup Becomes Resto-Rod
I have a Dream Job. I get to go to all the car showsas part of my work. And since this is the only hobbyI’ve ever had, I get to see a lot of really neat stuff.One of the things you look forward to is seeing someone’s unique interpretation of what a street rodshould be. It’s even better when you make newfriends along the way.At last year’s High River show I spotted this fresh new‘52 Mercury M1 pickup. It appears to be a restorationat first glance, but they always had more groundclearance..Looking closer, a Corvette LT1 engine sitslow in the engine bay, and the leather-wrapped shiftlever and clutch pedal tip us off that it’s a standardtransmission. “Is that a 5-speed?” I asked. “Six” camethe reply. Ooooh, better spend some time with this one.
Owners Gord and Elaine Bredo, from Sylvan Lakewere sitting in the shade. I snapped a few pictures asGord told me that it was his dad’s first truck. It wasalso Gord’s first truck, which he got when he was only fifteen.Having been purchased new in the Barrhead area, it had been used for the family business (transitmix). It was painted the company colors, yellow andred. Everybody drove it, and its usual duty was hauling sidewalk blocks. The pickup box was prettymuch trashed.After twelve years of service, the littletruck was replaced with a newer, bigger unit. Gord’sdad said he could have it.
First came a blue paint job and a wooden deck. Asetof chrome stacks made the little flathead V8 sound alot more macho than it really was. Mostly, the littletruck was used to haul Gord’s dirt bike around. Afterten years as a daily driver, the truck was again retired,this time for several years.
Since it was such a part of the family’s history, a couple of years ago Gord & Elaine decided it shouldbe restored.
The internet is a wonderful tool, and a new box andtailgate were purchased, along with new steel runningboards. All these parts were for the Ford F1 pickups,which are similar. (Mercury pickups are exclusivelyCanadian.) Aset of new fibreglass rear fenders completed the body. The floors originally came with a rubber mat, which retained moisture, and eventuallyrusted the metal around the gas pedal. Repairs wouldbe done by Adams Auto Body in Spruce Grove, nearEdmonton. Eric Adams and brother Glen had bookedspace for the little pickup.
Gord had already completed the rebuild of the originalflathead engine, and the 3-speed standard on thesteering column was beginning to be a novelty again.On the short, pleasant drive to Spruce Grove, Gordquestioned the wisdom of holding up traffic like hewas. He received several one-finger salutes as theyalmost ran him over. By the time he arrived in SpruceGrove, the spec’s had changed considerably. Thiswould become a street rod instead. Enough of theabuse! After disassembly, the stock frame was fullyboxed and a Mustang II suspension with tubular armsinstalled. This provided power steering and big discbrakes.
In the rear, a 9-in. Ford diff with 3.70 gears wasmounted on leaf springs. A‘97 Corvette gave up itsengine and matching 6-speed transmission. All theaccessories received the chrome treatment, and theheaders were ceramic-coated. A3-in. Flowmasterstainless exhaust system runs the full length of thetruck. These LT1 engines have a reverse-flow coolingsystem, so a new Walker rad was chosen. VintageAir and Heat were also utilized, along with a KenwoodStereo and digital dash. Arlo in Red Deer did the softleather upholstery, with a custom indent for the 6-speed lever.
Everything is coordinated and it’s a crowd-pleaser. Ina year of car shows, more than a dozen trophies havebeen hauled home. The project took about a year tobuild.
Gord and Elaine can not only keep up with the trafficnow, they can knock off 32 miles-per-gallon in doubleoverdrive. The only thing slow was the story; it tookalmost a year to get together and complete. Hey,some people have been waiting way longer than that.
Fred Nelson is an accredited local appraiser whooperates Nelson Racing. Reach him at 242-3856.
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Back in the day.
Back in June of 1965, 41 years ago, a 1/4 mile pavedand banked oval track emerged in South Langley, BC.Langley Speedway for three decades, was the placeto be on a Saturday night. Where the towns population doubled those nights as crowds of 3-5000fans jammed into the wooden stands, as pit crewmembers filled the infield, to witness what I and others now call, the "GLORYDAYS".Living in EastVan, I remember the TV ads of the earlyeighties, prior to Channel VU13's Sports Page11:00PM nightly show. "Take the 200th Street exit offof Highway 1, then head south to the end of 208th."Those same directions (before Mapquest), lead me tomove there in 1988. Even though three years earlierin 1985, if was officially shut down. The last halfdozen years had to be renegotiated annually withmajor fees and bonds put up according to promoterStan Schmidt. As well, restricted event dates, days & hours of operation, along with a new track name,Action Raceway.The (GVRD) Greater Vancouver Regional District purchased the privately owned 130 acre parcel ofland in 1969 from Craig Frazer, with a ten year continuance lease. GVRD turned it into a naturepark, which it's been for the past twenty years. Afew of us recall showing up for the last SuperSunday car show on the track in the early nineties.I've visited it often since, wondering what could ofbeen, recently with my kids for a history lesson downmemory lane.
With all the so called street racing incidents, I believe that thehorses down in the Campbell Valley Park area enjoy it, aswell as should the cars with more than 1 horsepower. It frustrates me to see less motorsport facilities for racersto participate at, instead golf courses are popping upeverywhere. Where you pay huge membership or greenfees, chase a ball aroundfor a few hours, then sit in a clubhouse getting pie-eyed for another 4 or longer, drivehome looped,but that's sociably acceptable in our society.These rules & regulations are made by narrow minded bigwigs, who do socialize with politicians, both lacking in a certain department.
Drives me as mad as those moving next to an airport,then complaining about the flight patterns and noise.It's sad how chapters of memories in the making aretaken away without a just cause.
One person who has been on a mission to not let thishappen is Bud Bussiere. For years he has tried torevitalize the track. He even had the support ofHooter's Restaurant chain, instead government beauracracy had a different agenda. Enter MurrayJones, president of the "Langley Speedway HistoricalSociety." Who after lengthy work with a group of volunteers, proceeded in having the Township ofLangley approve the location as a heritage site. Even the original track 1968 Pontiac Ambulance wasrecovered, as it spent some duty at the EagleMotorplex in Aschcroft, but in need of a resto.I applaud the Township and also disappointed at themin the same sentence. Langley is home to one ofCanada's largest car shows, the Good Times Cruise-in (see last months article). This council a fewmonths back passed a by-law where you are not allowed tohave any (unlicensed/ uninsured/inoperable under ownpower) motor vehicle on your property. Legally, that ambulance or any other project vehicle has to go. An eyesoreto some newcomer city slickers who don't realize it take a fewcars to restore one to mint classic form over a number ofyears. Ahobby not understood by many, except when theysee the finished product and want their picture taken next to itfor whatever PR or media event. Hats off to the L.S.H.S. forthe recent clean up work started at the old Speedway, morevolunteers always needed I'm told.
As of this writing, NASCAR, just purchased the CASCAR with Canadian Tire as a major sponsor,mostly Eastern Canada due to no track out hereyet..Merritt...is in the works.
Let's all get together and build more race tracksinstead of Ghost Tracks. Start making more memories,so you can say to your kids and grandchildren, I remember BACK IN THE DAY... those were theGLORYDAYS Keep on Rocking to Bruce Springsteen's Glory days for the meantime.
by Catfish
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First Fueler
It was in 1967 that Ken Achs from Saskatoon was racing a very competitive C/Dragster when Ed Nortonfrom Seattle brought his AA/FDragster to Saskatoonfor a match race.Ed Norton and driver Dick Kalovida wound up stayingwith Ken at his house and from there Ken wound upstepping up to AA/FD. Ken gained some friends aswell as winding up with a complete AA/FD operationIt was later that year Ken was to travel to Seattle tohelp Ed Norton pick up his new dragster in California.Ed did not have a tow vehicle capable of going toCalifornia and back so Ken helped out , which wasalso a good excuse to pick up his new fuel dragsterride. After a long trip from Seattle to California andback Ken proceeded to load up his newly purchasedfuel dragster which Ed had completely freshened up.
Along with the dragster Ed gave Ken instructions onrunning a fuel dragster .However, before Ken andcompany headed back to Saskatoon they took thedragster out to Arlington drag strip to get his AA/FDlicense. With an old borrowed aluminum fire suitwhich did not fit, and the experience of not being ableto see around a huge supercharger Ken made several190 MPH runs.
Not only was the experience very claustrophobic theclutch’s back then were quite stiff so Ken had to usehis left arm to help hold down the clutch pedal.Thought’s like" I don’t know if I can do this", and "how am I going to be able to see" went through his head. Only Ed Norton, Ken’s wife and the Divisiondirector were there to witness Ken’s runs during themid week session. Even though the car was unnerving for Ken at first, he went on to successfullycomplete his runs and was awarded his AA/FD competition license.
Once that was done the car and his newly acquiredlicense made their way back to Saskatoon, and eventhat was an experience. Normally the trip from Seattleto Saskatoon takes 20 hours, but this trip took themover 40 hours .It was winter up north and Ken did notsee black road until he reached Alberta.
Ken raced both the C/D and the AA/FD the next sea-son, and as quoted by Ken" the C/D was like walk inthe park compared to the fuel dragster".
Ed Norton had set the car up to run on a low percent-age of nitro (50%) with .125 out pistons, and no portnozzles. With the lock up clutch the car would smokethe tires to 200 mph runs. They raced the dragster inEdmonton and Saskatoon, and had the good luck tonot break any major parts during their first season offuel dragster racing. Not only did they not breakmuch, they also won their fair share of races.
By the end of the ’68 season Ken sold the C/D to DelPrice, and the next step was to take place for Ken.Tom Hoover from Minnesota came up to match raceKen in Saskatoon where Ken found out the dragsterTom had would be for sale. In the fall of 1968 Kenbought the Hoover car for the princely sum of 1200dollars minus motor, Tom had a SOHC cammer motorin the car, so Ken took his 392 Hemi out of his exNorton car, and put it in the new chassis. Thus theMid-west Express came to be. Next?.....Chapter-Mid-West Express.
Vern
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Langley “good times”
Every second Saturday in September signifies anotherLangley Good Times Cruise-In event, this yearmarked its tenth anniversary.When I look "BACK IN THE DAY", you could count onone hand the summers list of car shows to attend.Nowadays, there a a half dozen local choices on eachweekend, or more depending on how far you want totravel. I compliment this show as to one of the mainreasons for the influx of this "CAR CRAZY" scene, asBarry Meguiar would say.
The slight rain deterred a few non hard core enthusiasts from attending. Crowds were down toaround 80,000 and cars displayed at 1500. Few yearsback, both numbers were over 100,000 and 2000respectively.
The Friday night prior, a capacity 325 cars pre-registered to participate in a cruise through town tothe Twilight Drive-In movie theatre.
With hundreds others, just cruising around as theweekly parking lot of the Java Hut/Toy traders wasmaxed, and heavily patrolled. Bad Example Racing &Social Club members set up HQ at a local TirelandStore. Where acts of "Lightening them up", causedflashing red/blue strobes in your rearview mirror.
Festivities did not end up at my place this year for achange (Heat Score), instead another prominentmembers crib. The BBQ was fired up for the standardribs, wings, and Hot Italian Salcicia (Sausages). The garage party surrounded a 440-6 Pak four gearRoadwalker, and a certain 9 second Street HemiSuperBee...both Red in colour.
Plan your holidays around the second Saturday inSeptember for Langley, BC. If you've never been...you don't know what you're missing.
Check out www.tcsproducts.com website, for the latest events listing and calendar.
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“One fine Pick up”
In the sixties Dale Hunt from Vancouver BCbuilt and raced one of the prettiest 1940 Willys pickuptrucks on either side of the border. Arare Willys Pickup was the basis for Dale’s soon to be gorgeousracer. The Willys chassis was boxed, and as was sopopular then a tube straight axle was used in the frontwith a quarter elliptic spring for suspension.Bringing up the rear was the ever popular Oldsmobile.Cragar wheels and M&H slicks put the power to thepavement. Like many of the great gassers of the timethe venerable small block Chevy was used for power.Enderle fuel injection fed the fuel into the engine, and a Vertex magneto fired the mixture.To transfer thepower front the Chevy, a manual 4 speed coupled toa Schiefer clutch was used.
The cab was used as is, but a scratch built box wasconstructed both for light weight and for good looks.In its first edition the Willys was painted black enamel,and had a 426 wedge in it. Later it was repainted witha gorgeous red metal flake paint job, and the smallblock Chevy was installed with a drop to the B/G-C/Aclass. More chrome and detailing was also added tomake this pick up not only a racer but it also held itsown in car shows. Dale raced the little truck for a fewseasons with the mouse in it, and was always a competition eliminator threat. Many fans fromWinnipeg to Vancouver were treated to the truckswheels up launches.
As with most racers Dale had the urge to go faster, so in the late 60’s the Willys was given an enginetransplant. An injected BB Chevy and an automaticwere installed to move the truck up to the A/G or B/Aclassification. Along with the BB the truck was repainted and renamed the “King Rat”. This combination continued to entertain all across WesternCanada for a few seasons until Dale got the urge togo faster yet.
Dale then built the first Japanese-foreign funny car inNorth America. Taking a Toyota body, they built theirown stretched fiberglass copy. They also built a niceLogghe style coil over chassis. To this mix Daleadded an injected nitro burning BB Chevy. Dale racedthe car as a A/Fuel Altered until NHRAdiscontinuedthe class.
As with many racers during the 60’s and 70’s Daleand crew exemplified the ingenuity which made dragracing so popular
Vern Scholz
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Who made who?? by Turbo Girl
While I would never dream of wounding thesometimes fragile ego of a race car driver (you knowhow, ahem ... sensitive some can be) by understatingjust how important they are; there are others equallyas important. A good driver is only one factor which makes up a great race team: the fabricator, painter,engine builder and the men and women who make upthe pit crew, these are the unsung heroes or racing.Whether its straight strip or oval track these are the“behind the scenes” folks who many time go withoutmuch recognition are seemingly content to do so.While writing this I spoke with a number of membersof different race teams and the most noticeable similarity was the incredible dedication to their teamsthese people share. Think about it: After putting in afull day at your “real job” you can spend anywherefrom two hours to all night working on a race car. As Bob K. (a veteran crew chief) put it … “it alldepends on how much damage the driver did at thelast race”! You gotta think.... the only person other than thedriver who might appreciate the amount of unpaid (aside frombeer and pizza) time is your spouses divorce lawyer!All kidding aside, and excuse me while I piss a fewpeople off ….WHO MADE WHO? Who needs who ?
Yes, there are drivers who are actively involved withthe fabricating, building and maintenance of their carsbut for a large percentage of the racing communitythere are very talented individuals who get sucked in,oops, I mean volunteer their time to make someoneelse look good. Fortunately for us folks here in B.C.we don’t need to look any further than our back yardto get amazing work done.
Whether you raced or were a race fan over the lastcouple decades you knew about one of the mostfamous lower mainland “one stop race shops”: SpiritEngineering. Stan and Gord put their knowledge andexpertise into more cars than I could even begin tomention and Thursdays Pub Club didn’t suck either!Although Spirit officially closed its doors in 2005, thesemulti talented men can still be found fabricating on asmaller more personal scale, heading up pit crews atMission and Aggasiz or guiding the next generation ofracers in Aldergrove.
There are outstanding engine builders around thisarea like Richmond Engines, Ron’s Engine andMachine, Pacific Ring and Rebore, Precision Valveand Crank or High Performance Engines. Geoff out atColt Cams will personally spec your cam for you, andhe’s made quite the name for himself all over NorthAmerica. Last year at SEMAI wore one of Colt Camst-shirts and people were walking up to me in casinosto talk about cams!!
We can’t forget about Mopac and Lordco who havenot only been supplying high performance parts foryears but sponsor racing at MRP. With that said oneof the most amazing success stories out of B.C.would be TCS Performance Products in Langley. Goanywhere in any kind of race venue and theseCanadians are very well known and respected.All those guys put power under the hoods of vehiclesbuilt by the likes of Douglas Chassis, Kramer Chassis,and Chief Chassisand there’s another up and comerwho Ipredict will join the ranks of the “legends of racing”. Rob Guazzaroni, who at one time worked for Ron atPARR, can be found working endless hours at hisshop Diversified Metalworks in Cloverdale. Just askthe GTS Racing Team about Robs undaunting loyalty; asboth builder and crew chief Rob has helped the flashy greenstang go as far as the Las Vegas Speedway.
There is so much talent in British Columbia, hell in allof Western Canada like Bob Davenport out of Merritt,R & H or Lazic Automotive in Kelowna, I could go onfor a few days without ever giving these guys theappreciation they deserve. For those mentioned andthose left unmentioned keep up the fantastic work;you are the true legends of racing and without youthere would a lot more spectators than drivers outthere. And you drivers out there don’t forget to appreciate the loyalty and support you get from yourcrew members; it’s not just the folks mentioned onyour cars who “sponsor” you.
Congratulations to all of those who participated in PortAlberni. If you want to show off your truck don’t missthe 2006 Tailgaters Trucks Only show on September17th at Colossus in Langley.
You definitely won’t want to miss the 10th anniversaryLangley Good Times Cruise In, September 8-10,2006. Make sure you come early and of course stayreal late!! That’s all I got, till next time Cya at the track,
Turbo Girl
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Forgotten Gold Down on the Farm
Sunliner gets new lease on life
It is 1961, in the Two Hills area, North ofVegreville. Joe lives and farms in the area, and hasjust purchased a 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner convertible. It is his daily driver, which is not unusual.In those days, people usually only owned one car.
The little white convertible served him well until 1968,when it was getting tired. But, more importantly, itcan get quite cold in this part of the country. Joe andhis wife were expecting an addition to the family.Joe’s wife complained about how cold it was in thecar. One day they went to town and bought an icecream cone and some feed, and a two-year-oldMercury Montclair. The problem was solved. Ratherthan trade the convertible in, Joe brought it home andbacked it into a three-sided shed (no door).
Alot of people in the area inquired if the car was forsale. Joe told them that if the addition to the familywas a son, he’d give the car to him. Ashort timelater, Joe was handing out cigars; if it had been a girl,he’d have handed out doughnuts.
Fast forward 34 years, to 2002. Ron Marchuk is inthe tire business in Calgary, as he has been for morethan thirty years. Most of us know him from a string ofFords he’s restored through the years, mostlyGalaxies. He deals with half a dozen tire brands andone day he got a call from one of the suppliers.“I hear that you play around with old cars a lot. Areyou ever interested in buying one more?” Like a kitty-cat with a piece of string, there’s not a car guy on theplanet who can resist that question. Naturally, Ronasked what it was, and was again reminded that theguy was not into old cars. But his dad had given himthis thing. “I’ll ask dad to take a picture and send itdown.” When the picture arrived, Ron wondered if thiswas unfolding like an episode of “Touched by anAngel.” The supplier had been born in 1968, andended up in Calgary, in the tire business.Coincidence? I think not. Ron took that to be a sign that he should buy the car. Car guys are always see-ing these signs.) And since he used to go visit hisaunts and uncles within twenty miles of Joe’s farm,that was probably another sign that he should buy thecar. So he bought the car. When the ramp trucksucked the car out of its resting place of 34 years, itwas clear that it would need some work. The floorswere shot, so it would have to be a frame-off restoration. The frame was a whole lot lighter onceabout a hundred pounds of Northern Alberta clay wasremoved. This stuff is not unlike cement. Threegarbage bags of mouse nests were removed from theinterior of the car. Asquirrel had taken up residence inthe spare tire well. Under the seat were “SAAN Store”flyers and Len Thompson fishing lures. It was like atime capsule.
Ron welded in new floors, but the quarter panels androckers were left to the “real” bodyman. Digby Grahamwas head of the Nifty Fifty’s Ford Club, and he wasable to assist with a pair of new front fenders, and aFordomatic transmission. Joe had converted to astandard transmission because he liked to shift gears.
The original 292-V8 engine was intact, with its added-on exterior rocker arm oiling kit. Sludge used to plugthe interior oil passages, making these a common fix.If we’d had today’s oils back then, it wouldn’t havebeen necessary. But we didn’t. Ron chose yellow andblack for a color scheme, from an original 1956 Fordsales brochure. Anew full interior was purchased fromthe internet, and it matches the exterior perfectly.Thick, clear plastic covers were all the rage, so theywere installed to protect the new seats. All the chromeand stainless trim was reconditioned, including the factory optional spotlight/mirror. The only other optionwas the Town & Country radio. Except for theRemington Auto-Home electric razor that Ford used toadvertise, starting with the 1956 model (first 12-voltelectrical system). They tapped the power of thelighter socket, which is still with us today. Ron wantedstock wheels with Ford full wheel covers, but was notsatisfied with the wide whitewall tires he had pur-chased. He was tickled to discover that Goodyear hasa new wide white called the Custom Super Cushion.These are radials, and have the “Goodyear”embossed right into the whitewall, just like back in1956. They look right, too. The car made its debut atthe Spring Thaw back in April, where it was immediatelypicked for a Top Ten trophy.It was also at the SuperRun in Red Deer last month. You should have seenthe expressions when people saw that Remingtonrazor, and then their memories kicked in.
Fred Nelson is an accredited local appraiser who operates Nelson Racing. Reach him at 242-3856.
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English Invasion
Unlike today this onslaught came from theother side of the Atlantic Ocean rather than from thePacific side. However these imports received healthyV8 American engines before being turned loose ondrag strips across North America.At first the Anglia’s and Austin’s were not accepted bythe sanctioning bodies for legal gas class competition,so many of them ran as an altered or in outlaw races.Due to their popularity they soon became the mainstayof the gasser wars, and NHRAaccepted the Britishinvaders as legal gassers.
Racers in Western Canada were no exception to usingthese small light weight cars. They were the perfectgasser for the time.
One of the quickest and fastest Anglia’s to race inWestern Canada came up from Montana. “Boss Hoss”as it was named was a regular on drag strips inAlberta, and won many of the races it was competingat. With its black paint and red tinted windows “BossHoss” had a mean and nasty look to it, which helpedintimidate the competition. Acar from Calgary racedunder the name of “Anxious” gave the Montana car agood run, but it was also the stepping stone for DonKohut.Don went on to drive Canada’s quickest andfastest AA/Fuel Dragster , the “Royal Canadian”.
It was a time when race cars all had a name to giveeach one a different identity. Names such as Lil Blue,Old Timer, Old Farmer, Obsession, Pioneer Anglia,Lampschus, Mr. Pee Wee ,Agitation, Boss Hoss,Hallucination, and the Muntz Anglia all gave each carits own personality. These gassers were as popular as many of the higher class cars, and had their ownfan following.
The 60’s and early 70’s were the height of the GasserWars, and the English imports were a big art of theaction.
Vern Scholz
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ABATH AND ABLOW .......... by Turbo Girl
Yeah, I know you just had to turn back andsee what this is all about. Give your head a shake,stop grinning, and imagine a beautiful woman "makin'love to your RIDE. (yes ride, not hide).You with me yet, or are you still in the "Forum" mindset?Being around this business you get to meet"all the right people" and I recently met the womanwho's puttin' the "bling" into into the "bling bling" forthe "baddest" of the boys (and girls)!
The "Lil' Bitch" of whom I speak is a fiery little (she stands 5'1 3/4" in sneakers) chick who has theunbelievable ability to make your bike "gleem".My girl Stacey has just opened up "Lil' Bitch Detailing"in the Port Kells (Langley), B.C. area. If you want therubber gloves and Q-tip treatment without crossingpathes with an angry border guard then this is the girlyou need to see.While there are many detail shops,very few specialize in motorcycles and this girlLOVES bikes. Staceys passion is bred into her honestly (hey, hey ... not that kind if breeding, we'reNortherners not Southerners); both her folks rideHarleys. Stacey herself is the activities director for theChilliwack Harley Davidson sponsored Ladies ofHarley, Fraser Valley "HOG" chapter.Havaing watchedthis girl work her magic on a few bikes I can tell you itwould be a challenge to find ANYONE who treatsyour bike like gold and makes it sparkle beyond anydiamonds brilliance the way she does.
From crank case to tank, windshield to seats, andeverything else in between the attention to detail (nopun intended) is outstanding. Whether you want aquickie, which she fondly refers to as " a bath and ablow job" (thus the title, but the Fish didn't think it wasPC to put the whole thing on top!) or the full "MackDaddy" deal, you will leave not only with a smile onyour face but the knowledge that your "baby" hasbeen treated with "love and respect" !
While her personal preference may be a HarleyDavidson, she's not prejudiced and whatever youride, you're welcome in her shop.Staceys vision forthe future is "body jewelery" .. not piercing but adding"bling" to your bike .. think CHROME, and a uniqueclothing line for all types of bike enthusiasts.
In other words, she'll make you and your bike lookvery, very good!You can get ahold of Stacey by calling604-888-5852. Her website is still "under construction"but you can email her atlilbitchdetailing@zoomshare.com.
I'd like to wish her the best of luck, but I know shedoesn't need it as her work has and will speak foritself. So maybe once Muff passes the "orange vest"period of bike licensing he'll make an appointment toget a " bath and a blow job" too !!! Yup, I hear everything and have a public forum to venton ... BE AFRAID !!Don't forget about Port Alberni August 12 & 13th ..should be big fun !!Til next time........ , cya at the track!
Turbo Girl
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Budget Rod Built Locally
Some of the cars we feature have had a lot ofmoney thrown at them. They usually turn out prettynice, and that’s reasonable. The owners usually hangaround the podium at car shows, waiting for theirnames to be called, and wondering what their trophieswill look like.Picking up hardware at the shows doeshave a way of justifying the investment in the vehicle,as well as all the spit and polish.I wouldn’t know. I never win anything. In 24 years ofcar shows, my little red MG has never won anything.I’ve been told that it’s something to do with detailing.OK, I’ll buy that. I have no intention of spending thenecessary time to make everything look pristine.When I see a home-built car at one of the shows, I can certainly identify with it. This little green coupe is inthe same category.
Terry Myles of Irricana caught it just as it was headedfor Navajo Metals. It was a local car that had beenscrapped. The body was sitting on the frame back-wards. It was ready to be crushed and become partof someone’s new Toyota.Terry’s an aircraft mechanic,but he gave that up a while back - too much stress.He figured building a street rod out of this old heapwould be good therapy. He had a rebuilt Buick 225-V6engine (oddfire) laying around, so he figured he’d useit up. Besides, one of these days the cost of fuelwould have to catch up with everything else. Turnsout he’s a prophet, too.
Atrue car guy can’t walk past a flea market, garagesale, or swap meet if his life depended on it. At theRed Deer Swap Meet, Terry found a 5-speed trannyfrom a Blazer. He was tickled to also find a standardbellhousing for the Buick engine. When fellow car clubmember Warren Wise was upgrading the rear diff inhis ‘66 Beaumont, Terry grabbed the old one. With the 3.08 gears, it was perfect. With the driveline complete, a trip to Buck’s Auto Parts netted the entirefront suspension from a Mustang II. They torched itoff for him, and he hauled it home.
Patiently, all the spotwelds were drilled out and thesheet metal crossmember unshrouded. Terry weldedthe crossmember into the old coupe’s frame, thensand-blasted the whole thing, which stress-relieves it.It was then painted, and he had a rolling chassis. Turning to the body, a few patch panels were available, but not much. Anew tail pan was graftedon, and several measurements taken and recorded.
Then Terry bent up a bunch of sheet metal for a newfloor and welded it in. The rear fenders were with thecar, so they were rebuilt and attached to the stockrunning boards. When the APAC swap meet was heldat Mewata Armories, there were the hood and grill. At the Red Deer swap meet the following year, Terryfound the divider and chrome strip, so he happily tookthem home. Since 1938 Ford front fenders are different from anything else, and the cars had alwaysbeen considered ugly, they were just not to be found.Time to bite the bullet and buy a pair of brand newfibreglass ones.
With the body complete, Terry painted it green, andinstalled new tinted glass throughout. He left the cowlvent intact, and the windshield on this model swingsoutward. Unfortunately, it also leaked, so a changewas made to a glue-in windshield like cars of today(and the last 40 years). This is a “businessman’scoupe”, so it doesn’t have a back seat. AnotherMustang II provided bucket seats, which were mounted on special platforms. Terry built his own billet mount for the Caddy tilt & telescoping steering column. He adapted electric wipers, and to be streetlegal, it needed a defroster. Atrip to Princess Autoprovided a compact little unit, along with a gauge trio.
The Crossroads Flea Market had a set of 15 x 7Cragar SS wheels for fifty bucks. When he couldn’tfind any good ones to match, he had to spring for anew pair of 14 x 6 mates. While the wheel kafufflewas going on, the brakes were upgraded to Granada11-in. front discs and Caddy Seville discs in rear.They’ll bring it down from altitude in a hurry. The carended up looking almost stock, so Terry added a custom touch; he installed 1939 Ford teardrop taillights.
When we took the pictures for this story he had noproblem driving it down through the ditch to get anicer background. It’ll go to Radium and back on asingle tank of gas......But without any trophies.
Fred Nelson is an accredited local appraiser whooperates Nelson Racing. Reach him at 242-3856
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Hemi’s on the Prairie
In the last few years the fascination with theChrysler Hemi has grown to legendary status, and notto mention the cost of a original Hemi muscle car.
There was a time when the Hemi was a regular on drag strips in Western Canada. Prior to theChrysler factory race car Hemi Darts and Cuda’s, theHemi was prevalent in the mid 60’s Coronets and Belvedere’s.
One of the best known Hemi Super Stock race carsform Alberta was the “Old Trapper” 67 GTX runningout of the” Jim’s Automotive” shop owned by JimRonnigan .This car ran all over Western Canada andwas one of the top S/S cars in Canada. When the 70Hemi Cuda was added to the “Old Trapper “ stable.Drivers Albert Branham and Dick Panther campaignedthe “Old Trappers” all over division 6 and even viedfor world championship honours in NHRAnationalevent completion
Another 67 of note was the Hemi Belvedere of BobPapernick also from Edmonton. This car was thestepping stone for Bob into nitro funny cars. When the Old Trapper Cuda SS/DAwas for sale Gary Wolosinka from southern Alberta stepped up tobuy it. Gary had the car repainted and renamed“Tuff-A-Nuff”. He raced the car across WesternCanada , and was another of the highly competitiveHemi cars on the prairie. Gary still has the car.
When Chrysler released the awesome factory HemiDarts and Cudas, Alberta was fortunate to host two ofthese monsters. One came to Calgary, and one went to Edmonton.
Calgary’s Dart was sponsored by the now defunctChinook Chrysler dealership, and it was known as theChinook Dart. Cam Noseworthy from Edmonton racedthe other Dart. The Demented Dart of Noseworthyand the Chinook Dart were very popular cars on racetracks in Alberta. Little did we know how popular theywould become; today an original Hemi Dart or Cuda isa very desirable car. With two of these cars in suchclose proximity it was only natural to have matchraces to get bragging rights. The Demented Dart isstill in Western Canada, and it resides inSaskatchewan as the High Roller Dart. Also the other “Old Trapper “Cuda is still in Calgary,and is known as “Trap Mate”.
In more recent years a SS/ACuda from Red Deer has been making its mark. The Lee brothers have beenracing a 69 clone SS/Acar, and at one point was thequickest Hemi SS/Acar in North America.With the value of Hemi cars going through the roofthere will less of them tearing down race tracks, so itis a treat when you get to see one of these legendary cars make a pass.
Vern
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Whatcha got between your legs?
Abuddy of mine always says he has no interest in hockey,baseball, golf or any other sport that only requires one ball.He says with Motorsports of any kind you definitely need twoballs. Not too far from the truth is it? What kind of freakinglunatic straps themselves into a vehicle, although caged andtries to go as fast as he can, and most definitely faster thanall the other guys. Whether it’s oval or straight strip …. IT TAKES BALLS!!
Hell, with all these people purchasing their drivers licenses,it’s pretty ballsy just driving on public roads, never mindthose “damn teenagers” and their street racing (like we theover 30 crowd would have EVER done anything like that)!Now not to take away from the fact you gotta have cojonesto get into a car (or truck) and rip up the 1/4, or spend any-where from 20-100 laps trying to pass crazies who don’treally care if you hit a wall or fly off into the weeds … butthere is a certain group of truly psychotic maniacs who likedoing this with their asses planted on two wheels! Not onlydo they do that, but they fly through the air at death defyingheights at Motocross events.
CAN YOU GET BALLSIER THAN THAT?So my question, which came about while sipping a beerwaiting to plant my ass on the back of a buddies bike (when you’re on the back you can drink more beer, besides Iam a chick) is …Whatcha got between your legs?
My brother in law is in the midst of selling his bike whichmade me wonder what do you look for when you're buying a bike? Which manufacturer is " the one" to buy from.Naturally as a woman I’m partial to good old HarleyDavidson, you know good vibrations and all, but surprisingly there are a lot of guys AND GALS lookingtowards other motorcycle companies these days and this ishow it all started…..
In 1903 four dudes, including Arthur Davidson get together andexperiment with an internal combustion engine from a blue printwhich put an engine into pretty much a bicycle frame done byWilliam Harley … voila, Harley Davidson is born. Did you know thatthey did all this in a shed??? Funny when you look at old photosthese guys didn’t even have pony tails or “I don’t dial 911” t-shirts on!I do have to wonder if it came with a factory oil leak from day one,c’mon you were thinking it too. This company has always been theforerunner in motorcycles and even spawned companies like Buell Motorcycles which were first built in 1983.
(Hmm .. maybe something to do with the Sportster anniversary?)In 1954 the first Yamaha was put to the 10,000 km “endurance test”with it’s air cooled, two stroke, single cylinder 125cc engine. Hey,they had to start somewhere and bike #20 million rolled off theassembly line in 1982, two years after the corporate headquartersmoved to Cypress, California. Yeah I know you’re saying“Yamahahahaha”, but you can’t ignore success.In 1900 bicycle racer George Hendee and engineer CarlHedstrom got together and the Indian Motorcycle Companywas created. Their vision gave way to chain driven 1.75 HPengines that did almost 25mph. Their goal was to manufac-ture “a motor driven bicycle” that could be used everyday,this “wholly American product” is a “Holy American product”in my books.
In 1917 Bayerische Moteren Werke, an airplane manufacturer took their company logo of an “airplane propeller in the blue sky” and become known asBMW (did you catch that at the beginning of the sentance?).In 1920 their tiny two stroke, 48cc bicycle/motorcycle combination, the “Flink” (means speedy - so not true in thisfirst attempt) failed to impress. Airplane engineer Max Friz(who really didn’t think straying from airplane building was asmart idea) improved upon the “flat twin” engine and the R-32 came alive and remained the foundation for the bike untilthe introduction of the K-series in 1983. In 1920 Suzuki wasbusy manufacturing textile looms (yeah, things that make clothes)but in 1952 they broke into the bike biz with the “Power Free”. This36cc two stroke engine had a double sprocket gear system whichmeant you could pedal without the help of the engine, with theengine or you could completely disconnect the pedals and let thebike do all the work. Would this have been the beginning of the eatburgers and don’t get any exercise at all era?
With $3200.00 and a big dream, Soichiro Honda opened the HondaCompany in 1948 and in 1949 introduced the two stroke “D-type”motorcycle. In 1959 the first Honda motorcycle, the C-100SuperCub was sold in the United States and would go onto become one of the best selling vehicles with over 30 million sold to date. I’ve seen very large dudes on very littleHonda scooters and it scared me. With its incredible suc-cess in the off road business, Polaris decided to build the “New American Motorcycle”.
Their motto is “The way out”; they want you to escape thehustle and bustle of everyday life with any of their “fun machines” which includes the Victory Motorcycle. While this bike is the baby of the bunch, its snappy styling andcatchy names are sure to become as much of a legend as the rest.There are a few other bike companies out there and excuseme if I’ve offended anyone (not like that’s ever stopped mebefore), but if you’re interested in seeing how some of thesebikes perform you’ll check out the CMRDAwhen they cometo Mission,BC, Fort St. John, BC, or Edmonton just checkout www.cmdra.com. Or maybe you’re into the sometimes bone crushingMotocross which has year round events both indoors andoutdoors. I wanted to say a quick thanks to AggasizSpeedway for having me at the track on June 10/06. Asidefrom an “unfortunate racing mishap” it was a great day. {See Dave, I really can be politically correct}Well that’s all I got, till next time.. CYAat the track.
Turbo Girl
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Three Hills like Everest, Only Flatter
I thought I had enough hot rods, but apparently not.The ‘57 Chev Wagon with the mail-slot windows is inthe body shop, suffering from stress cracks. And I’vefinally heard, for the last time, the words “too badabout those windows.” The Street ‘n’Strip truck withthe blower and laughing gas is still in winter storageat Shorty’s. The NLRTNTV TR7 is back in my garage,nearly ready to go, but I don’t have time to work on it;the appraisals take all my time.
With the Three Hills show being the largest of theyear, I just figured I’d start up the trusty little red MGand cruise out early in the morning. Unfortunately, thework kept me busy until about 7 PM Friday night,when I decided to see what was splattering the MG’swindshield. It turned out to be anti-freeze.
The thermostat housing was leaking. Probably justneeds to be tightened, I reasoned. The old Corvetteengine doesn’t require much maintenance, and itdoesn’t get much, either. It’s the 24th year for the MG.It was easier to crawl in and out of that roll cage 24years ago. But, I digress.
Turning the wrench a full turn on one of the bolts, itquickly became obvious that it was stripped. Now itreally leaked. I put together an impressive string ofexpletives to describe my plight, but that didn’t reallyheal anything. I began to think of excuses to miss theshow entirely, but I had promised the guys from theRod Shop that I’d be there to help sell tickets on theWild Rod raffle. Wheeling the company station wagoninto town, I parked by the hotel.
Justin had the ‘37 Ford Wild Rod sitting on the corner,and was selling the odd ticket. I wandered around allday and told everyone I saw that they should go gettheir ticket, as it’ll be a car person that wins. Thedraw is only a couple of weeks away.
Naturally, I got tons of smart remarks about not beingable to show up with a hot rod. It’s one thing to perpetually dish it out, but another thing to be on theother end of the stick.
Being relieved from kibitzing with the crowd via myrubber chicken and fake (environmentally-friendly) oilspill, I did manage to get a lot of good pictures.
There were just short of 900 that registered, and acouple hundred that just parked on the sidelines.Sunday, there were people arriving, figuring that theshow had been moved from the traditional firstSaturday in June..........It hadn’t.
With the reduced numbers, however, the cruise wasmuch improved. Instead of the usual “cooling systemshoot-out”, the cars didn’t get grid-locked.
And one thing that was much appreciated was themore relaxed attitude towards the odd entrant givingthe throttle a blip, much to the delight of the crowd.They exert considerable peer pressure! It seemed thatthere weren’t enough guys to go around, either. Isnapped a picture of a couple of tender young girlscruising in their black ‘69 Mach 1.
Heidi and cousin Amy smiled when I told them to giveus that “come hither and let’s go cruising” look for thecamera. Yes, their Mustang is a 428 Cobra Jet withthe Shaker hood. Eat your hearts out, guys.
As usual, the food was ample, and delicious. At theend of the day, I was exhausted, and fell into my nicewarm bed and relaxed. But after only one cheeseburg-er-smokie-Hawaiian pizza-hurts-your-eyes-side effect,I was banished to the couch. Well, it was a long day.
Fred Nelson is an accredited local appraiser who owns &operates Nelson Racing. Reach him at 242-3856.
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The”Milk Truck”
Although Bob Reisner is credited with the build anddesign of the “milk Truck”, he actually purchased theshow car from Dan Woods of California.Originally the show truck was pearl white with purpleaccents, and had a 6 -2 barrel carb set up on it. Bob had the show truck repainted a Lavender pearlwith candy purple accents Another big change wasthe addition of a 6:71 supercharger with a Hilborn 4port injector. While the 6-2 barrel set up looked goodthe supercharger gave the milk truck the look Bobwas looking for.
The chassis for the Milk Truck was a typical 2x4 rec-tangular tubing “T” street rod type of chassis. In the rear Dan had used a Ford rear end with coilsprings to suspend the car .Achromed tube front axlewas utilized on the front end, however instead of aleaf or 2 coil springs a single coil spring gave the MilkTruck a unique look.
Dan chose a Pontiac engine and a Turbo Hydromantictransmission for the power train. The body was a oneoff fibreglass creation. When Bob got the show truck itwas also reupholstered in purple crushed velvet.
As with the other models in the Reisner series it wasfirst released in the late 60’s by the Eldon toy company. Eldon was next to release the model, andfinally Doyusha released the replica.
Like the Invader, Milk Truck, Pink Panther, Bath Tub,and the Out house the bodies were good scalecopies, but when it came to the drive train and chassis components they needed help,
First to go were the not so good wheels and tires. To replicate Risners version a 6:71 supercharger anda Hilborn 4 port fuel injector gave the newer MilkTruck look.
As like the real show car a Lavender pearl wassprayed on and candy grape accents finished thepaint. The interior received purple flocking to replicatethe real “Milk Truck”.
Like the other models in the Eldon, Testor, Doyushaseries the detail is not there, but it can be added, andwhen the Mickey Mouse wheels and tires are replacedthe finished model is a very respectable piece. As withmany collectables the most common place to find oneof these gems is on E-Bay, however they are climbingin value.
Vern
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