The Doretti
Ernie Nagamatsu sent a preview copy of his article scheduled to be in Octane magazine. Click the image to download it.
This is an article about Dorothy Deen. She imported the Triumph TR-2 and and developed the Doretti based on the TR-2.
A "No Cars" Local Event:
Films of the Fabulous Fifties
I bought this set of 4 DVDs from Al Moss in 2009, but until recently I only watched a few minutes of the 4+ hours of video and photos narrated by Al. Very historical and entertaining! It covers races at Pomona, Riverside, Pebble Beach, Grand Central, Santa Barbara and many other venues. Has anyone else seen these videos? These DVDs can be copied or possibly uploaded to an appropriate web site when copyright issues are settled. This is a short video on the only race in Glendale at the Grand Central Air Terminal:
Grand Central Sports Car Races - 1955
Cruising J-Town
ArtCenter presents "Cruising J-Town: Side Trip", featuring four iconic vehicles designed by Japanese American alumni from the College’s renowned Transportation Design program.
The exhibition celebrates the legacy of Japanese American ArtCenter alumni who have shaped automotive history and contributed to the visual language of utility and identity.
Admission is FREE and open to the public.
September 19, 2025 - November 7, 2025
Gallery Hours: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Mullin Transportation Design Center, ArtCenter College of Design, South Campus
950 S. Raymond Ave. Pasadena, CA 91103
Toluca Lake Magazine
After we had a discussion a few months ago about the first gatherings of BUBAAHS at a cafe on Riverside Drive, I contacted Jenna Anderson at Toluca Lake Magazine for information on former restaurants and cafes. She later expressed interest for an article about BUBAAHS and sent questions for us: http://www.carlibrary.org/BUBAAHS/TolucaLakeMagazineQuestions.pdf. Contact Jenna at: Jenna@911media.com
Jenna sent this late in August: "...just wanted to update you that since we have had no responses to the call for responses from BUBAAHS members, we had to send the fall issue to print without this article. However, I would still love to pursue it for a future issue if we can get the information and photos to make a story. Please let me know if you think it would be possible to pull something together within the next couple of months."
San Marino Motor Classic
Our 1969 Alfa-Romeo Spyder 1750 was shown at this event on August 24 after completing a 4+ year restoration:
http://carlibrary.org/Alfa/#Latest
Dave Wolin Signing "Turkey Night" At Autobooks
Autobooks, 2900 West Magnolia, Burbank, June 14th; 10AM - 3PM
"Dave Wolin's Tribute to Turkey Night - From Gilmore Stadium's Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix in 1934 through Gardena Stadium, Ascot, Speedway 605, Ascot again, then Saugus, Bakersfield, Perris, Irwindale and now Ventura. the complete and never before told story of midget auto racing on Thanksgiving.
Turkey Night, the third oldest auto race in the United States, is a staple of midget racing; a pinnacle many attempt but few reach. Race by race descriptions - Meet Bob Swanson, Bullet Joe Garson, Mel Kenyon, Gary Bettenhausen, Billy Englehart, Bill Vukovich, Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson and many more big name drivers who tackled Turkey Night. Tough racing, always surprising the number of drivers who don't make the show !!
590 pages, Paperback, 8 1/2 x 11, B&W photos. Comes with a DVD of all the photos, articles and videos. Autographed by the author. $39.95 and Free Shipping"
Buy it at www.racinghistoryproject.com
Ernie Nagamatsu's Reports on His Phillip Island Accident
"April 26, 2025, Melbourne, Australia
Thanks and I am working on walking more each day ...it was an incredible brutal crash/hit and I got to watch the camera footage with Officials...and was a hard hit from left rear and rotated and hit again at left front bending chassis 12" to right!!...and again, they failed to Red Flag the race with “left over” congestion from Standing Start at the fast 100 mph+ front straight with stationary Safety Car and Formula V... from the "standing Start". It was the 1st racing lap in our 1961 Corvette Special and I was leading a tight pack of cars...I did not have room and then the impact...5 car incident and the other cars got cited and fined $2,000 for aggressive 'over driving' as they wanted so hard to pass, it appeared... not focusing on the situation at hand...regardless getting angry does not help and we just carry on... getting the #00 repaired here in AU and ship back not repairing the body as we have a full "buck" mold for the #00 and Dale has that at home...
Thanks again and life is uncertain at best... so lucky to be alive and no disabilities!!! Ernie and Elaine"
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"April 2, 2025, Melbourne, Australia
Song of the day… “I’ve been through the desert with a race-car with no number”
Day 24 journal: I am grateful each day and to truly be able to say, “I am lucky to be alive!” … having survived a most brutal, savage racing accident on March 9, 2025 Phillip Island Historic Races. In the 1st racing lap, I was leading the tight front pack of race cars, coming around a long ‘suspension loaded’ high speed ‘sweeper’ to the left with a slight rise, which entered the ‘blind entry’… highest speed section, the ‘front straight’ with concrete walls on both sides. There were no red flags waving at that high- speed corner at the 1st racing lap!! There was a parked ‘Safety car’ and disabled Formula V in the middle of the Front Straight…from the F1 style 5 red light ‘standing start.’ At high speed, I abruptly faced the stalled 2 cars with no room to spare. As I slightly “checked up,” our #00 1961 Corvette Special was brutally hit at high speed at the left rear corner, which rotated the #00 which took another savage impact at the front left. Everyone was sure that Ernie could not survive as he did not move for a moment, but when assisted out of #00 and when he stood assisted...everyone cheered!
The vicious impact twisted the seat and the ’trussed’ ‘chrome-moly’ chassis twisted over 12 inches to the right and the metal attachments to the FIA Hans device were bent!!! That ‘flagging’ irresponsibility resulted in a horrific 5 race-car crash with only Ernie sustaining injuries… leading to a Helicopter Air Lift to Alfred Trauma/ ICU Intensive Care Center Hospital in Melbourne. The pain was huge, requiring ‘bad boy’ Oxy’ meds.
April 1, 2025, Melbourne, Australia
· Ernie is now slowly walking with Elaine as his “spotter” and lack of stamina…pain in upper back…and black and blue bruises
Should Ernie be angry, furious? Every right to be but he said that would erode the spirit and soul…and will to carry and live."
Kern County Motorsports Hall of Fame
Press Release: "The results are in, the votes are counted and the nominees for the Kern County Motorsports Hall of Fame, in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments and achievements in motorsports in Kern County .are (in alphabetical order), the Bowser Family, Marion Collins, Kevin Harvick, Ernie Hashim, Marshall “ Digger” Helm, Terry Henry, the Huth Family, Owen Kearns, the Kurtis Family, Steve McGowan, Rick Mears, Rosie Roussel, the Schweitzer Family, Frank Secrist, George Snider and Marion Whittington."
www.kerncountymotorsportshof.
Willow Springs Sale Pending?
See Hemmings February 28 story!
Dave Wolin: AARA Meeting on March 1
Members of the ARRA, Auto Racing Research Associates, Tom Schmeh and Jim Thurman, will be joined by Harold Osmer, Dave Wolin and Dick Woodland for a round table discussion regarding past, present and future motorsports research projects. This will be on Saturday 3/1/2025 in the Ken Clapp Annex of the Estrella Warbird Museum/Woodland Auto Display from 12:00 to 4:00.
We encourage anyone in the area who would like to visit the Estrella Warbird Museum/Woodland Auto Display and is interested in motorsports history to drop by and enjoy the afternoon.
Pete Vanlaw: "The McAfee Mystery Tapes"
Another great story - just click on the photo!
"McAfee Mystery Tapes - For the Life of Me"
Retro Racing Reports
Harold Osmer sent his latest Report: "Great racing images from prior races in this short video. Hanford is another one of those troublesome what-if speedways."
"Gordon Johncock wins": https://youtu.be/sNiQv9srgZY
The Petersen Museum
Interesting article in Autoweek about the Petersen by Mark Vaughn:
"Has the Petersen Lost Touch with the Clubs that Once Filled Its Cruise-Ins?"
At the end of the article, Mark describes the Petersen budget shortfall that seems to justify these charges. As I've written previously, if the Petersen had not used the cash reserves left by Robert Petersen to the museum for the grandiose exterior and interior construction, perhaps it would have remained well-funded.
Auction Scheduled for 1952 Frazer Nash Sebring Winner
Rupert Banner (Goodings Auctions) announced this car for the upcoming Amelia Island auction: "We're shortly to offer the 1952 Sebring 12 Hour winner at our Amelia Auction and are currently preparing the auction catalogue for this":
1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica
The auction sale of this Frazer Nash was cancelled and I was later contacted by a east coast car museum for more information on this car as they were apparently considering purchasing it for their collection.
We met Andrew Hall years ago at Monterey. He is a Frazer Nash specialist in England and had been searching for the car for many years - even had a detective looking for it.
This Frazer Nash was lost for many years until I was emailed through my Frazer Nash website by a relative of the owners. After several years of receiving odd emails from Florida, I put Andrew in contact with the family that owned it. He bought it for what I believe was $350,000. Then Andrew had it restored in England - probably very expensive. Sale price will be "interesting".
Also interesting - Jerry Saubers, the owner of this car after the Sebring event, traded it in Florida to Perry Boswell for the Frazer Nash Mille Miglia that I bought in Hawaii in 1975.
National Association of Automobile Museums
"Beyond the Garage: Driving Automotive Museums Forward"
April 1-5, 2025 – Petersen Automotive Museum
The 2025 NAAM Annual Conference will be hosted by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California from April 1-5, 2025. Conference organizers are seeking session proposals in both lecture and interactive/roundtable formats.
The theme for the 2025 conference is "Beyond the Garage: Driving Automotive Museums Forward". NAAM strongly believes that automobiles are a high-profile representation of humankind’s material culture offering an infinite array of interpretive possibilities. Despite this prominence, museums and cultural institutions struggle with how to collect and interpret automotive history. Our goal is to give automotive museums the means to properly showcase and document the automobile as a true cultural and artistic treasure, deserving the same recognition and prestige as other forms of art and material culture. By highlighting its value and significance, we aim to elevate the standing of automotive museums, making them more appreciated by visitors, donors, and the communities we serve. This effort also reflects our commitment to adopting professional standards and best practices, ensuring the future growth and success of our field.
Pete Vanlaw: "Automobile Racing"
Pete's website/blog has much more than the two-part "East Coast Chronicles" which was put on this site a few months ago. Look at his tribute to Tim Considine and you will find "A Tale of Two Careers". That page has links to “Memories of a Millennium” an amazing and entertaining movie that roughly trces the history of auto racing.
For a completely different video, go to Pete's page on its background "Blaze Glory" and then watch the video on TouTube.
Alo on Pete's website is a great tribute to Ruth Levy: "Ruth Levy Raymond aka “Mamaroo”. "She was an artist, a cowboy poet, a singer, and an author of children’s books. But beyond that, she was best known as a world class race car driver and competitor in a man’s sport."
Malcolm and Mary: Remembering Two Off-Road Trailblazers, RIP
Ron Cummings sent a report about the recent passings of Malcolm Smith and Mary McGee: "Make sure you see the entire Motorcycle Mary film trailer to see her interview."
Back to the Coral Cafe
The December 7 breakfast will return to the long-standing location - the Coral Cafe. We are open to suggestions for an alternative.
Dave Wolin Book Signing "FIFTY YEARS OF SPEED"- December 14
"The Long Beach Grand Prix 1975 – 2025
The complete history of the Long Beach Grand Prix – Race by race – From the 1975 Formula 5000 race, won by Brian Redman, through the Formula One years, CART and up to the 2024 Indy Car race; plus the Toyota Celebrity Race, Trans Am, Historics, IMSA and more. – Results, photos, magazine articles, stories. Everything you ever wanted know !!
Comes with a DVD of all the photos, magazine articles and more."
Irwindale Speedway is Closing
IRWINDALE, CA (October 29, 2024) – Irwindale Speedway & Event Center Inc. (ISEC) has announced that Irwindale Speedway and Dragstrip will close following the 2024 season, ending a quarter-century as a beloved motorsports hub in Southern California. Since opening in 1999, Irwindale has been home to NASCAR races, demolition derbies, street-legal drag racing, and the iconic Formula Drift events at “The House of Drift,” along with numerous car culture festivals. Its final event, Irwindale Speedway’s Farewell Extravaganza, is set for December 21, marking the close of a significant chapter in racing history.
https://irwindalespeedway.com/7402-2/
The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum (ADM) is Closing
Hemmings reports: "Southern California’s Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum will be closing to the public on October 27, the museum has announced in a post to its social media accounts. No reason was given for the closing of the museum, which was founded in 2002 with a mission to 'collect, preserve, exhibit and ride in historic vehicles.'
The Zimmerman announced: “We are saddened to be leaving, and grateful that we made so many lasting connections in the automotive community,” the museum said in its announcement. “We look forward to our last month open, and welcome everyone to come check us out one last time.” The museum will be open from Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will continue its trademark Sunday Rides every Sunday in October. Event rentals will continue to operate through the end of December, and the Bayside Cafe will remain open on weekends through December 29.
Dr. David F. Scully
Helen Hutchings sent an email that one of the original BUBAAHS organizers, Dave Scully, passed away on September 21, 2024, just short of his birthday - October 31, 1939. No further details currently.
Paramount Ranch
From Ginny Dixon:
"Hi Fabulous Fifties Folks!
Our friend, Ranger Tom Young, has been working diligently to keep Paramount Ranch historically alive following the devastating fire which completely destroyed the old Western Town as well as the Pavilion where we used to have our Fabulous Fifties events. I was happy to hear that the Pavilion is now being restored and may be operational before too long.
Ranger Tom has arranged for a special PBS So Cal educational short film shoot featuring Paramount Ranch as a little know "ghost" track in the Los Angeles area. This will take place on Thursday, November 14 from about 8 AM to 2 PM. He is hoping to have race cars that did race, or could have raced, at Paramount during the 1950s. They will set up the cars on the remaining portion of the track for the shoot and do some coordinated interviews.
If you or anyone you know is interested in bringing a car to Paramount Ranch for this event, please be in touch directly with Ranger Tom at: pontiactom@ix.netcom.com.
We hope this is a successful day to promote Paramount Ranch.
I will get back to you all when the Pavilion is completed and we can schedule another picnic. Tom can bring us up to date as how the renovation is progressing.
Regards to all,
Ginny Dixon (Cell: 310-993-5642)"
The New Breakfast Location - Lancers in Burbank Reviewed
We met at Lancers for the October gathering. We did not get the large booth which we thought had been reserved for us. The food was good, but it was too noisy. If we can meet in the lounge and get food served there, Lancers will be a good spot.
The September breakfast gathering at the Coral Cafe took place in very hot weather - it's likely the two of us who showed up missed each other. This was a reminder that Pete, Earl and Dave had met in June to suggest a new location for the Saturday breakfast.
Dave offered a few suggestions and Lancers seems like a good location. It's a place similar to the Coral Cafe on Victory between Magnolia and Chandler with a large parking lot.
I went there on September 28 and told Marissa about our monthly breakfast for 5-12 people. She showed me a very large round table to the left from the entrance, away from the main seating area. She said several tables can be pushed together nearby as needed.
https://lancersfamilyrestaurant.com/
Check it out! We will meet there. The BUBAAHS history mentions the other breakfast locations since 1987.
Autobooks-Aerobooks Book Signing, November 16 , 11:00 – 3:00
"The Other Side of the Fence" by Bill Warner
"The Other Side of the Fence: Six Decades of Motorsport Photography" is a collection of motorsport photographs spanning six decades shot by Bill Warner, Founder and Chairman of The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
From his home base in Jacksonville, he traveled the world photographing the drivers, cars, and racing action from Daytona to Le Mans including Indy cars, World Championship of Makes, IMSA, NASCAR, and Formula 1.
His images have graced the pages of Road & Track, Sports Car Graphic, The Atlantic Monthly, Automobile Year, Car and Driver, Autoweek, Automotor und Sport (Germany), Classic and Sports Car, and Thoroughbred and Classics (UK), and a host of other motoring publications from Australia to Eastern Europe.
He is the recipient of the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Photographer of the Year and won recognition from the Los Angeles Art Directors and the Creative Arts Yearbook. His work is on permanent display at The Brumos Collection and has been on featured at the Petersen Museum and The Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance
Frazer Nash Auction
Our 1952 Frazer Nash Mille Miglie was in the Bonham's auction at the September 7 Goodwood Revival. The Bonham's website listing is: 1952 Frazer Nash Mille Miglia Sports Roadster. It was sold after the auction.
Earl's Jowett Jupiter
Earl Gandel wrote about his fiberglass-bodied Jowett: "Attached are some pictures of my Jowett Jupiter, from about 1964, before and after it was put together and painted for its first trial outing, a run at Riverside where they were running drags on the then-long straight, in the opposite direction. We'd run the quarter, then return for the next one all the way around the track. That way we got to do some turns and a little varied driving to wring it out. We got a trophy, because it was the only under 1500cc sports car that day. The only race we saw was at Del Mar, where the front suspension broke during practice. That was the effective end of the Jupiter's racing career."
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Bothwell Ranch
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that a public hearing by city planning officials sought comments before approving plans to allow the new owner of the the Bothwell Ranch to build luxury homes on most of the property. Many of us remember Fabulous Fifties annual visits to the Ranch to meet Ann Bothwell and see Lindley Bothwell's collections of historic race cars and model trains. All were auctioned after Ann passed away in 2016. This is the story:
Final orange grove in the San Fernando Valley is likely to give way to luxury homes
Two Los Angeles TV stations also reported on the plans to develop the Bothwell Ranch.
A Grand European Adventure
Pete Vanlaw has shared a two-part story of 1950's racing - and travel:
"I'm sharing with you my latest story I recently posted to my blog. It's called “East Coast Chronicles”. The story is split in two parts, and so have included the links to each part below.
I’m also sharing the comment from Will Edgar, John Edgar’s son, who was of great help to me as I prepared to write the story. His review is quite marvelous! It’s right at the end of the two links below.
Enjoy the story!"
And comments from Will Edgar:
"Pete Vanlaw is a longtime friend and motorsport colleague, a fine writer and historian, and prolific blogger. Pete's newest post, his 2-part "East Coast Chronicles", is a joy to read, first narrative note to last. Written in a casual flow of his story's recalled days and nights, it has the easy conversational tone of making me think that it might have been told over drinks, and coffee, at a booth in New York's Sardi's or Hollywood's Musso & Frank Grill, in a late afternoon, the room quiet, and Pete's voice with humor and charm bringing it all back from a period in sports car racing that is so nostalgic through my own presence in those long ago times. So, thank you so much, Pete, for this marvelous capture of the details and moments that made your summer of 1956 the delightful adventure that it was, and the memory of which will always be cherished. - William Edgar”
Another Burbank Car Show - August 3
"I'm Dave Bethany from Village Church, we are thrilled to sponsor our 4th Annual Car Show. This community event is a highlight each year, and we're delighted you are registered for the Car Show. I'm eager to see you and see your good-looking car. And I have included a few of our volunteers, too, please, check out the important details below.
Here are some key details about the Car Show:
Location: Village Church, 3216 W Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505 (please use the rear entrance)
Date: Saturday, August 3rd, 2024
Time: Arrive at 7:30am; Car Show runs from 8am to 11am
Registration Cost: FREE
Refreshments: Enjoy complimentary coffee, juice, and donuts. We also offer the Best Breakfast Burritos in Burbank for $5 (according to popular opinion).
Your only task is to bring a clean car and be prepared to share your car's story! Please invite your family and friends to come, it’s a great time. It will be warm and sunny next Saturday, small umbrellas are acceptable.
For any inquiries, feel free to text me at 818-445-4971 or email me directly.
Looking forward to seeing you bright and early next Saturday! Thank you for being a part of the Car Show,"
June Burbank Car Show
The 33rd Annual Road Kings Charity Car Show at Johnny Carson Park (400 S. Bob Hope Dr., Burbank) from 8 am - 3 pm on June 9 was very enjoyable even though I was not able to show my 1955 Vespa with an Allstate sidecar as I got it there in 2022 and 2023. Jay Leno came with his aero-engined race car from Argentina.
Change of Venue?
Earl Gandel sent this message:
"Pete Vanlaw, Dave Wolin and I had brunch last week and we got to talking about BUBBAHS meeting place. Our meeting was at Paty's in Burbank, and the thought occurred that it might be a good alternative to the Coral Cafe, which lately has been sometimes difficult to get a good table in the back room. I don't know if Paty's has an appropriate back room, but it's very big so they probably do. Parking is easy and more convenient than the Coral, it's centrally located next to Bob's, the food and service are comparable, and Dave tells us that the current or former owner is a race driver; don't know who, but Dave does.
Anyway, just a thought that might improve our turnout. Tradition runs strong at the Coral, but we're not sure they appreciate our loyalty that much."
Send me your suggestions and comments!
The Bruce Kessler Story
This was an email from Dean Kirkland:
"I was shooting a documentary on the Scarab with Bruce Kessler in 2020. I have not finished the documentary but I did write a book from the interview with Bruce. Here is the link on Amazon if you or the Fab 50s guys are interested."
"Full Throttle - The Bruce Kessler Story: Shifting Gears: Bruce Kessler's Journey from Racetrack to Film Set"
Ernie Nagamatsu sent this to us in April:
The ‘Grandeur of Goodwood’
Goodwood Members Meeting Races April 13-14, 2024
Grandeur: The noun grandeur is used to describe something that is splendid or magnificent, such as a lofty idea or an impressive building. Derived from the Old French word grand, meaning “great,” the word grandeur is used to describe things that are distinguished, extraordinary, and impressive in scope
We were humbled to have been invited to race the 1959 ‘Old Yeller II’ Buick Special at the 2024 April 13-14, 2024, 81st Goodwood Members Meeting Races. The Goodwood Racing events are considered to be the “World Cup” and pinnacle of Historic Racing. Goodwood racing is a special curated, ‘by invite only,’ sold-out U.K. race event, staged by the Duke of Richmond. The Old Yeller II was invited to the September 2023 Goodwood Revival Meeting Tribute to Carroll Shelby as the Old Yeller II was raced by Carroll in 1960 at Santa Barbara and Road America. An invitation followed to leave the Old Yeller II in England and race at the April 2024 Goodwood Members Meeting Races. We arrived at Heathrow and it was a “Rassemblement” of our U.K. support crew and team, as Mike Lillywhite picked us up. In the year 2000, at our first invitation to Goodwood by the then titled Lord Charles March, we were instructed to provide our own personal petrol drums or containers. We met Mike in Emsworth and he readily went to his Sailing Club to bring us clean ‘Jerry Cans’ for our race fuel. This year, we booked a house in Havant and it was once an historic Tanning building, as there was a fresh percolating fresh spring in the front area. Our first stop was a short trip to Chichester for the famous ‘Turners Pies’ with favorite being the ‘steak and ale’ choice. It is a long, when hungry, 20 minute wait if a hot pie is wanted, as it is oven heated for you. Grandma Eva Turner started making the Meat Pies 90 years ago and also available are the legendary Pork, Apple, and Black Pudding Scotch Eggs. Sean McClurg has been our prior U.K. crew/Race Shop, who joined us in the classic “esprit de corp” feeling and also Erik van der Schaaf of NL joined us. Erik is a ‘Pro’ Photographer and he assisted us at the 2000 Goodwood Festival of Speed Event. John and Sandy (niece of Bruce McLaren) Chalmers, our “New Zealand team” came to join our U.K. team.
Friday was “Tech” Day and the Tech Scrutineers checked the OY II and our driving gear for International FIA Certification with a special check of our driving shoes and helmet. We had to mount and have “Spec” Dunlop hard compound tires, costing over $3000 for a set of tires. Seat belts were outdated... we scrambled and got it right. With all of the required ‘stickers’ on, including a ‘nomex’ fireproof ‘event’ patch to be sewed on with the needle and thread provided! New thin FIA Nomex undershirts are now selling at $200! We had a special invitation from the Duke of Richmond for a ‘Black Tie’ Dinner at the Goodwood House on Friday evening.
The Old Yeller II was in the Peter Collins Trophy Race Group. Racing at the iconic, hallowed Goodwood circuit is a… “bring your best game,” with laser focus and sensibility. The Peter Collins Trophy grid is a recalling of ‘the thrilling days of yesteryear’ and the epic Sports Car Racing era of the Le Mans 24 Hours, among other sports car races, following World War II. The selected grid included some of the rarest cars, which included the rare D’ and C’ Type Jaguars, Aston Martin DB3S and Maserati 300S. Peter Collins raced cars of this era, racing across Europe at the top of sportscar racing events.
Saturday: The Peter Collins Race was next to the last Practice/ Quali’ session of the day. All of the Race Cars in the session were blindingly fast. It was puzzling as the last race for the OY II was at the 2023 Phillip Island in Australia and it was compliant in handling… and the handling became near impossible during the session. Upon returning to the paddock and the floor jack lift of the left rear… it was discovered that the entire inside of the left rear tire and rim was covered with oil, which was from the ‘overflow’ oil from the rear ‘differential!!.’ It was so very fortunate not to have had a fast excursion ‘off track’ as the track edge around the circuit was wet soggy grass from weeks of non-stop rain in U.K. that would result in a rapid, out of control ‘hydroplaning” across the grass into the tire barriers!!
There was non-stop of great fans stopping by as so many recall the OY II from 2000 onward and Elaine is the perfect “Ambassador” rolling out historical stories about the car. She handed out cards and Samuel Chang joined us from Kent WA and he brought over 300 small toys for the children. There were some emotional and priceless moments and one was a reunion with Mark Sanders. In 2000, we were dressed for a Gala function held at the Goodwood house and we were near the front door when I told Elaine to wait, as I recalled seeing a young boy with ‘arm-hand’ disability, in a hooded jacket and in a wheelchair waiting to catch a glimpse of some of the ‘Super Stars’ of Motorsports, arriving near the front door. It was dark and with slight rain. I went back to the young boy, Mark Sanders, and gave him some pins and cards and invited him to visit us in the Paddock. He came the next day to visit us and we stayed in touch with Mark through the years. This year he and his proud father came to visit us and Mark was in a Motorized unit… There were tears and big hugs as we had a special OY II shirt for him and some gifts and biscuits for us. Mark proudly has sustained successfully having a bright mind, only limited with a muscular movement disability…priceless indeed and ‘over the moon’ for us. Another touching moment was to see Daniel Lloyd and his parents, as at the 2000 Goodwood Event, Daniel was 6 years old and we put him into the seat of the OY II as his father watched. Daniel went home and said, “Mum, please make some cupcakes for my friends!!” The next day, Daniel brought cupcakes and we stayed in touch through the many years. This year, Daniel came with his parents and girlfriend… along with his ‘Mums’ freshly baked “Tea Bread” to keep the touching tradition alive and well! Daniel is now an International Motorsports Journalist, priceless again!
Sunday Race: The Old Yeller was difficult with ‘under and oversteering’ handling issues and had to 'watch my mirrors’ with over half of the drivers being fast ‘hired guns’… Pro and Semi Pro drivers for the owners of the mega-million- dollar race cars. Just before the end of the race, while coming down the front straight’… the 3rd gear completely locked out and fortunately for a large grassy area to the right to pull over as I did not want to have the race stopped, if the car left in a precarious location adjacent to the track. The Marshals were quick and great in responding, as they had to first check if it was only a mechanical failure. It was a difficult ‘tow,’ as the gear was locked in 3rd. Being late in the day for the race, we faced the chilly biting cold winds, but we were warm in our hearts… that our team with the‘Esprit de Corp’ spirit prevailed, strong, proud, and intact!
Veloce Today:
and previously from Ernie:
AN AMERICAN ROAD RACING HOT ROD AT GOODWOOD
It is an honor to race the 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special, in the "Peter Collins Trophy Race” at the April 13-14, 2024, Goodwood Members Meeting Race, live streamed...inspiration and beyond
Peter Collins, British F1 Race Car Driver
For the 1956 season, Peter Collins joined Ferrari on the strength of a superb drive in the previous year's Targa Florio, in which he partnered Moss to victory in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. This proved to be a turning point, with a solid second-place finish behind Moss at the Monaco Grand Prix, and wins at the Belgian and French Grands Prix. In those early days at Ferrari, Collins earned the unstinting admiration of Enzo Ferrari, devastated by the untimely death from muscular dystrophy at age 24 of his son, Dino and who turned to Collins for solace, treating him as a member of the family.
Collins was on the verge of becoming Britain's first F1 World Champion when he handed (rules of the day permitted for a driver to "give up his seat" for another driver) his Lancia-Ferrari D50 over to team leader Juan Manuel Fangio after the latter suffered a steering-arm failure toward the end of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Collins eventually finished second, but the advantage handed to Moss, and the extra points gained by Fangio's finish, demoted Collins to third place in the championship. Collins's selfless act gained him respect from Enzo Ferrari and high praise from Fangio: "I was moved almost to tears by the gesture... Peter was one of the finest and greatest gentlemen I ever met in my racing career."
Goodwood Members Meeting Races
Paula Murphy
Helen Hutchings sent an article from the Avanti Magazine on Paula Murphy. Although this tribute was in the works before Paula passed away in December, it is now timely. Paula was honored last year at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Click on this title for the article:
REMEMBERING* and SALUTING PAULA MURPHY
*(We’d long planned this tribute to Paula’s accomplishments that also became a remembrance upon her unexpected passing December 21, 2023. ed)
"The Racing Scene"
This documentary about James Garner's American International Racing team's 1969 season was recently shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). It is available on YouTube, but according to William Edgar, this is a much degraded version. William wrote an article on this film for the March-April 2011 issue of "Vintage Motorsport". He sent us this link to the article.
William also has sent us an article he wrote about SCCA racing at the Dillingham Airfield in Hawaii, circa 1957.
The film and the articles mention several of our BUBAAHS group.
Tom Hollfelder
Racer and an old-time BUBAAHS member, Tom passed away in Wisconsin on January 22. His obituary was in the Los Angeles Times on February 1 and it is reported here. Tome had a shop and a small car collection in Covina before moving to Wisconsin. After selling a successful electronics business, Tom manufactured equipment for impaired drivers, This equipment was used by his daughter Carol, after she was in a motorcycle accident and became partly paralyzed In spite of this, Carol raced Mustangs and Ferraris. This is her story. The late Steele Therkleson, also a BUBAAHS guy, fabricated the hand controls that Carol used.
Chet Knox
Tina Van Curen passed on a report from Chet Knox's son Jeff that Chet has passed away. Chet was the owner of Autobooks before Tina acquired this business. No other information is now available.
Mullin Automotive Museum has announced it will close
"Oxnard, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2024) – In light of the passing of Peter Mullin in September 2023, the Mullin Automotive Museum has announced it will close its doors on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Peter and Merle Mullin founded the Oxnard-based museum in 2010 to educate guests about 20th-century French automotive styling and design by showcasing the finest vehicles, sculptures and artifacts from the most-esteemed French master coachbuilders. The museum boasts nearly 47,000 square feet of exhibit space in an elegantly designed structure, which was previously owned by legendary newspaper publisher Otis Chandler. In addition to its sweeping gallery spaces, the museum includes a roof garden, theater, gift shop and archival storage."
Oxnard museum dedicated to Art Deco design has housed the extensive automobile, art and furniture collection of Peter and Merle Mullin since 2010
Paula Murphy
From Ron Cummings:
Christi Murphy is feeling heartbroken...
"Today, we say goodbye to an extraordinary woman, my grandmother, Paula Murphy, also fondly known as 'Miss STP.' Her departure has left a void in my heart that can never be filled.
Until 1975, she was the only woman to have been allowed to drive an Indy car at speed on the track. She was also the first woman to drive a jet-engined car on the Salt Flats, the first woman licensed to drive a nitromethane-fueled car, and the first woman to have a fuel funny car license from the National Hot Rod Association.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she set numerous speed records, including a Mexico to Canada route, a New York to Los Angeles route, the women's land speed record, and the NASCAR women's speed record. Paula started by road racing Sports Cars. She also became part of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2017, which I was incredibly fortunate to attend and be a part of. She was funny, witty, smart, and stubborn as a mule, but she was also very kind, generous, and loving. She lived her life well, and most importantly, she lived her life HER WAY. "No" was not in her vocabulary unless it was her saying no to you.
My beautiful, strong, incredible grandmother is gone; I am devastated beyond measure. I am grateful that I had as much time with her on this earth as I did and that I got to see her one last time this week before she passed.
You are my hero. Rest easy. I love you so much, and I will miss you forever."
"Packard museum parks speedster replica in its permanent collection" - created by Jerry Miscevich
Former BUBAAHS regular Jerry
Miscevich sent a December 31, 2023 story from the Ohio Tribune-Gazette
that the Jesse Vincent Packard Speedster he built in Burbank, then sold to
Gordon Logan, was donated by Mr. Logan to the National Packard
Museum. Click
on this for the article. This
Packard was featured on
"Jay Leno's Garage" seven years ago: https://youtu.be/l6S7hjnVQfk
Los Angeles Cars
This is from the Natural History Museum
about their historic cars. Gary Fisk reported on this collection
about 10 years ago:
"The car collection is not
available to researchers yet. We're waiting for our permit to come
through for the final upgrades to the Collection Facility. We've been
told to expect it any day now. Once that comes through, it will take
several months for the work to be completed, then--sigh--we'll have to
wait for the final inspection before we'll be able to unpack the
collections and be able to receive visitors. You are on the list to be notified.
Also, there will be an announcement posted on the NHM website when we
are able to receive researchers and access the collections again. All of this is taking much, much
longer than expected. Thank you for your continued patience." We went to the Los Angeles Auto Show on
November 24 with many other attendees but there were many absent marques -
Alfa-Romeo, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Jeep, Mini, Land Rover,
Fiat, Dodge, Cadillac, Chrysler and ??
Wonderful Old Cars
An essay from David Erazo: "Wonderful Old
Cars"
Dusty
Brandel Probate Court Update
Rennsport Report from
Earnie & Elaine
We seamlessly carried on racing the #7 in International Historic Racing. The durable SCCA #7 racer has raced in UK at Silverstone, Donnington and Chateau Ipney Hill Climb. The #7 also has raced in AU and New Zealand in historic racing. Many have considered the Kilpatrick Speedster as the longest continuously International raced Porsche Speedster...
Ernie & Elaine" (For the full report with photos, click!)
Double Header Book Signing at Estrella Warbirds Museum / Woodland Auto Display
Acclaimed auto racing historian Dave Wolin and Air Force veteran / test pilot George Marrett will signing copies of their books in the gift shop of the Estrella Warbirds Museum on Saturday, October 21st from 10AM to 2PM. The Estrella Warbirds Museum and Woodland Auto Display are located at 4251 Dry Creek Rd. In Paso Robles.
Wolin, author of “Ascot”, “Riverside Volumes One and Two”, “IMSA RS” and “Showroom Stock”, was a successful driver and race team owner prior to becoming an author.
George Marrett is a former air force officer, combat veteran and test pilot . His books include “Howard Hughes – Aviator”, “Cheating Death”, “Contrails Over the Mojave” and “Testing Death”.
The Estrella Warbirds Museum contains a wide variety of military aircraft, vehicles and memorabilia and an extensive aviation library and gift shop.
The Woodland Auto Display features over one hundred classic and exotic automobiles and race cars plus a West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame display and a substantial research library.
Media contact: davewolin@earthlink.net; 559-760-1143
Driving by Dusty's former house on Pass Ave in November showed a contractor at work on it and the garage - it was totally gutted.
Doug Stokes reported on September 14, 2023 the condition of Dusty's house:
"In a word … disappointing. Further: a mess with little/no organization that was in v. poor condition… Our task was boxing it up to get it out of the garage (the house had sold for $1.1 million the day previously). A lot of the race programs had been water-damaged and I personally never saw any sort of computer or computer records.
… I don’t know if it had been gone through “high-graded” or not but it was sure not what I was expecting given Dusty’s long involvement in the sport."
Doug also told me that Harold Osmer took away several boxes from Dusty's house.
When we went to the house with Rhonda Williams in July, there was a computer, more than one large monitor, a high end scanner-printer, many filled file boxes and several file cabinets. Quite a difference from what Doug found.
The disposition of Dusty's memorabilia was unsettled as of August 7, 2023. Her will had been filed in probate court on April 11, 2022 (Case # 22STPB03616, BRANDEL, NORMA LEE - DECEDENT). Future hearings were scheduled on August 8, 2023 and October 12, 2023. The parties involved are:
BANK OF AMERICA N.A. - Claimant
BISHOP MICHAEL DANE - Objector
BRANDEL NORMA LEE - Decedent
EKIZIAN SAM - Attorney for Petitioner
MAYER STEVEN N - Objector
WILLIAMS RHONDA - Petitioner
A few court documents:
Probate Court Notes - July 29, 2023
Probate Court Notes - June 8, 2023
These later circumstances did not verify an email sent by Rhonda Williams to Teresa Garcia on April 14, 2022:
"Dusty entrusted Steve Mayer (310-275-8423) to handle her memorabilia; she did not mention any other organization than AARWBA. Keep in mind that the items are hers, only hers, no person or organization paid her to collect and/or save 'things' for them.
AARWBA represented all American auto/motorcycle racing. I have spoken with Steve about your concerns. He is looking for an appropriate museum (or museums) that will honor her and display the collection. He is very knowledgeable and is authorized to give any item(s) that he deems appropriate, to whomever he chooses. He is also authorized to sell/auction any items and to donate the funds (over his expenses) to a racing charity."
Peter Mullin Passes
The founder of the Mullin museum in Oxnard and chairman of the Petersen museum died September 18, 2023. This is his obituary from the Los Angeles Times.
Ernie Nagamatsu's "Epic Mystical Journey of #00"
"July 2023 - Kent, Washington
There are times that journey/ events rise from being magical into mystical experiences. At the June 30- July 2, 2023, Kent Washington Historic Races, the ‘launch’ of the #00 was a gathering of people and spirits circling around the just completed #00 Corvette Special. There was bonding of historical racing stories with legendary heroes of the “thrilling days of yesteryear,” which included Joe Freitas, Wally Peat, and Larry Webb, all not needing or wanting any special recognition… being quiet but iconic heroes in our lives.
The 1961 MacDonald Corvette Special, after a 2 year build, had an invisible gravitational pull bringing together a brilliant team. We were all so inspired with the determination and focus of the son of Dave MacDonald, Rich MacDonald (diagnosed with inoperable cancer, too far spread cancer) to be with us, despite his brave fighting the side effects of heavy Chemo hits.’ The interaction of our “Team” developed into “indescribable moments,” as one just had to be there to experience the “feel good” feelings and seeing the “Circling of the Wagons” so to speak, for the #00 and strong prayers for Rich, all beyond priceless for all of us, lucky, experiencing “the moment.” The SOVERN race organization “went the distance” and beyond, providing special solo Parade Laps for Rich MacDonald as his dad, Dave, had Championship accomplishments in both Shelby Cobras and Corvettes, which were the themes of the race weekend. Well done and befitting indeed having Rich drive the #00 in the Parade Laps, wearing a special #00 Corvette Special driving suit. Rich held my hand tightly and said, “ Ernie, I don’t know how many days I have left, but this is the best day of my life, dad is watching.”
The race organizers stepped up again with the help of Jake Angel to develop an “value added” brilliant Early Corvette Race Car Parade Laps. Big thanks to Brad Shinn, Corky, Doug, Bob & Becky Pengraph, Debbie, Sherri, and many others. Corky personally assisted us in securing the very first racing #00 “Log Book” and sign the first race entry! Bob made sure our friends received proper Media Credentials and they wore their vests proudly. Our team went to the Sunday early morning Flaggers briefing to distribute special trophies and gifts to the volunteer flaggers and marshals. It was so moving, as Joe Freitas stepped forward to thank the flaggers, as he was the “real deal” former racer that raced on Airport tracks with hay bales in the corners, hay bales as skimpy safety barriers for flaggers of days past… we Historic racers just “ride the coat tails of the ‘real deal’ drivers of the past and must remember that, as the ‘red mist’ can creep under our visors at any time. We all proudly wore our embroidered #00 Corvette Special Team shirts with pride. A resounding moment was watching Joe and Wally autograph the dash of the #00 to join the prior autograph by Rich MacDonald, who is effectively “carrying the torch” for the Legacy of his father Dave, our ‘Camelot’ moment in Motorsports for all of us.
The emotional moments never ceased, as we watched Joe in his recreated 57’ Corvette early race-car, in the Parade Lap and to have Vicki as a passenger, remembering her as a little girl and daughter of Dave… picture perfect. More was to come, as Rich did the Parade Lap for Early Corvette race cars, leading out with the #00 Corvette Special and with Wally Peat, Chief engineer for Dave and the builder of the original #00 along with Max Balchowsky and Jim Simpson… and Wally being one of Dave MacDonald’s best friends… can it get any better than that?? Can the ‘company’ for #00 get any better in the Parade Laps, cruising with the iconic “Reinhart Corvette”?
The #00 raced and was “work in progress,” but it beamed brightly in it’s glowing orange red colors, in the bright PNW sun. The hugs were stronger than usual, tears flowed from time to time… and sometimes we were speechless, but words were not needed. The hospitality and support of SOVERN beamed on us again. As the low angled rays of sun glowed from the West, we presented the well-deserved “Best Damn Garage” trophy to Mike Velcher and his crew!! The touching last goodbyes, hugs, and promises to meet again… embraced all of us for the moment, in the Kent Washington, late afternoon sun."
“Veloce Today”, July 4, 2023 - https://velocetoday.com/07-04-macdonalds-special-corvette/
Linda Vanlaw
Linda, Pete Vanlaw's wife, passed away on June 20. Pete wrote:
"People who knew her, loved her for her laugh and her sense of humor. She was special!”
Earl Gandel added:
"She was indeed special, which doesn't tell half the story. On 1957 I was Pete and Linda's best man at their wedding in San Antonio. We were in the Air Force in Texas at the time. My first job when I got out was as Ad Manager at Competition Motors in Hollywood, working for John von Neumann, and GM Sam Weill. Anyone who knew Sam knew he had a brilliant sense of humor. I needed help, and asked Linda to come in for a few weeks; she and Sam hit it off, and they were each other's best audiences.
She, Pete and I were best friends for 70 years."
Bob Schilling - author of "Pole Position: Rex Mays, American Racing Driver 1931-49"
Sonnie Turner talked recently with Bob Schilling, the author of the Rex Mays biography that can be found on Amazon. Bob is one of the BUBAAHS founders and has been in assisted living in Canoga Park. Bob would like to hear from our BUBAAHS folks and can be called at 818-739-0492.
1952 Sebring Winner - Found and Restored
Left to right: Stuart "Duke" Donaldson, Larry Kulok, Frankie DelRoy, Harry Grey
More than two years ago, the postwar Frazer Nash website reported that the 1952 Sebring winner, a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica (421/100/160, engine FNS 1/37), was found! It had been considered lost since mid '50s. Its second owner traded it to a Boca Raton sports car repair shop owner for Mille Miglia 421/100/168. Beginning in 2014, unsigned emails received by the Frazer Nash website asking about the value of this car. The emails continued until 2021. At that time the current owners sent photos of the car, showing it to be in poor condition.
A Frazer Nash expert purchased it and shipped it to England. He sent stunning photos showing the restoration is nearly complete.
Museum of Natural History - Vehicle Collection
Gary Fisk visited this collection long ago and informed BUBAAHS about its unfortunate state then. We found and contacted a manager at the NHM. This was the status early in 2023:
"I know that I have a couple of emails from you that I had been stalling in responding to--hoping that I would be able to answer your question about when the car collection will be available for tours. I finally have an answer, sort of. As of last week it now appears that we will be conducting some further upgrades to the building, so we're looking at months rather than weeks before the collections will be available to the public. None of us thought the permitting process would drag on like this. It's not just the automotive collection, but all the 3D history objects that this is impacting.
What I can say is that when we are able to open to researchers, it will be a better experience for folks with more space to examine and work on collections as well as being able to provide access to curatorial records on the collections.
As soon as we do have a date for accessing the cars, it will be posted on the NHMLAC website--and I'll make sure to let you know personally via email.
Best, Beth"
At a BUBAAHS breakfast, we discussed Joel Thorne, the Indy racer and owner who crashed his airplane into a North Hollywood apartment building on October 17, 1955 after taking off from the Burbank airport. Ed Justice Jr. has a summary of his life here. There is a longer story in Automobile Quarterly, Volume 31, No 3.
Years ago, Fred Chaparro, the owner of Burbank's Automotive Book Stop (now closed) and an historian, told me that Thorne's race support shop (Thorne Engineering Company) was in Burbank at the intersection of San Fernando Road and Buena Vista St. Indy engine developer Art Sparks was Thorne's chief engineer. Fred also said Dick Guldstrand's shop was now using Thorne's old shop.
Later, this location was Dick Guldstrand's ("Mr. Corvette") shop, Guldstrand Performance, before Dick relocated his business to 912 Chestnut St. also in Burbank. A business card from Dick shows the shop at 2800 N. San Fernando Road in Burbank. I visited Dick’s shop here several times. Currently there is a business at that address. However, the location of the original address was covered by support columns for Interstate 5 when this segment of the freeway was reconstructed.
A letter was delivered to the Burbank Historical Society on May 24 about the connection between Thorne and Guldstrand with Automobile Quarterly, Volume 31, No 3 and the Dick Guldstrand DVD interview. This is that letter.
Paula Murphy Tribute at the Petersen Automotive Museum
It was a great event! "PAULA MURPHY: UNDAUNTED" was shown. See it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t2sDbak4U04
Send Paula a birthday greeting on June 16!
,
Paula and Bruce Meyer
![](images/P1030369.JPG")
Some of Paula's memorabila on display
6th Annual Armed Forces Day Car Show
"Classic Autos, Hot Rods, Military Vehicles at Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park, Saturday, May 20, 10 am to 3 pm"
"Free Coffee & Donuts to Veterans!"
Paula Murphy to be Honored at the Petersen Museum
Fox Sports Presents - Paula Murphy
The March 30 broadcast is now on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/t2sDbak4U04Helen Hutchings had alerted us: "Apparently Fox Sports is going to air some or all of what they have been filming with Paula on March 30. I was told it's to air at 6 pm on Fox Sports 1 channel. if you've access to such."
Described as: "In celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth, @FOXSports shines a spotlight on the “World’s Fastest Woman on Wheels.” NASCAR RACE HUB presents PAULA MURPHY: UNDAUNTED, a one-hour documentary premiering Thursday, March 30, at 6:00 PM ET on @FS1"
Grand Opening of the Woodland Automotive Library!
from Dave Wolin:
Save The Date!
Mark Your Calendar!
Don't Miss This!
May 13th; 1:00 PM - You’re invited to the Grand Opening of the Ken Clapp Annex, Gallery and Research Library at the Woodland Auto Display in Paso Robles, CA. (http://www.woodlandautodisplay.com). Combined with the 14th Annual Warbirds, Wings and Wheels Car Show with over 350 cars on display, this one time very special happening is not be missed.
The Ken Clapp Annex, Gallery and Research Library is the home of the West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame (http://westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com), the Woodland family collection of significant racing helmets and drivers suits, a rotating display of rarely seen racecars and the research library and archive containing automotive related books, racing programs, magazines, collectible automobilia and the Earl Stubbs Collection of racing photos.
Named for Ken Clapp, former Stockton Speedway promoter, NASCAR vice president of Marketing and creator of the West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Ken Clapp Annex, Gallery and Research Library also features a rotating display of significant racecars.
The Woodland Auto Display, located on the grounds of the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California, was established in 2009 and now contains 35,000 square feet of display and restoration space and over 100 race cars, sports cars and unique vehicles.
Dave previously sent these photos of the library at the Woodland Auto Display in Paso Robles.
Jim Sitz, Paramount Ranch and more
It's all in an interesting article sent by Jim Sitz: This Week in VeloceToday
Old Yeller Down Under
This is a link to recent Old Yeller racing news from Ernie Nagamatsu: Phillip Island Classic Races 2023
Auto Club Speedway Future and More
Here's a link recommended by Charlie Budenz: https://sports.yahoo.com/ryan-last-lap-fontana-raises-123053903.html
Pete Vanlaw wrote: "In case you haven’t seen this, it’s a simple family outing that turned into a marvelous extension of Harold’s histories of So.Cal racing."
It is an email to Pete from Harold Osmer (program@hopublishing.com): " I had the family out at Auto Club Speedway last Sunday and came away with this video."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpJ4MbSbjVo
A recent story in the Los Angeles Times had a history of the major tracks that came before Fontana.
New Zealand Cyclone
We heard from friends in Auckland about the damage to property caused by cyclone Gabrielle which hit the North Island severely two weeks ago . This event was over-shadowed in the news by the earthquake in Turkey which had much greater loss of life and property damage.
Nevertheless, it was severe enough to cause the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand to send out emails to all members to consider offering on-site work, lodging and other help to other members. Search the Internet for new of this event, this is just one. This is a YouTube video of a rail line, before and after
Bugatti Carb - Help Wanted
From Ken Storer:
"I'm a student in the Automotive Restoration program at McPherson College. I'm working on a manual for early Brescia Bugattis. They used Zenith carburetors (Type 36 DEF, I believe) and I'm looking for information on them. I'd be grateful for any suggestions you could give me about where I might be able to track down descriptions, photos, schematics or blueprints -- anything would be a huge help. Thank you very much!" (storken@bulldog.mcpherson.edu, ken.storer@gmail.com)
Hagerty Cars & Coffee
New? We were invited to the Hagerty Garage + Social on January 29 at 7933 Haskell Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91406. Quite impressive, more than 100 cars, many unusual:
This is likely a monthly event and the location is apparently the "clubhouse" for members of the Hagerty Drivers Club.
Unidentified Racers
Doug Stokes asks for your help:
"We know three out of four in the first shot:
?, Lance Reventlow, Banks, and Bruce Kessler
And we know the two gents in the center of the second shot:
?, Sam Hanks, Ak Miller, and ?
...any ideas on the ?s" Reply to: stokes28doug@gmail.com, 626-391-3772 CELL)"
Annual Horseless Carriage Tour
This links to our photos of the Horseless Carriage Holiday Motor Excursion on December 31; rain dampened the turnout for the event. There should a clip of the Stanley Steamer leaving for the driving tour.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DfPkXJ5eFfQqvbTN6
The club's website also has videos and photos http://www.socalhcca.com/holiday-motor-excursion
SAH and IMRRC 2022 Argetsinger Symposium Videos
Although you may not be a SAH member, these should be accessible:
http://www.carlibrary.org/BUBAAHS/SAH-Argetsinger.pdf
http://www.carlibrary.org/BUBAAHS/SAH-Argetsinger2.pdf
GT-40 Recreations
Petrus Du Plessis in Nelson, New Zealand was part of the team that restored my Frazer Nash in 2005. He recently notified me:
"We are about a month away from getting the GT-40 business underway. We now have a guy in UK and Prague wanting to sell our GT-40s. I will send you our business CV to look at and send to museums that might be interested in a tool-room copy of a MK1 and MKII. Plus we can also supply a speedster MKII."
Click this link to download a PDF of their brochure. Very impressive!
Racers and Veterans
From Doug Stokes:
"I just heard from George Levy at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. They are mounting an exhibit of racers who wore two helmets (racing and serving in the military).
He's trying to get more information on Chuck Daigh for the exhibit and I've not been able to find anything new. My guess is that some of the Bubbahs are familiar with Daigh and might well be able to fill in a few blanks for him.
Of course, I'm hoping that you'll put the word out for me. The only person that I know for sure is Bruce Kessler and I'll try to contact him.
THANKS VERY MUCH,
Doug Stokes, FABM (fallen away Bubaahs member, stokes28doug@gmail.com, 626-391-3772 CELL)"
A Devin Needs More Help!
From Ian Webb on Jan 4, 2023 (reply to ian.webb@equuspc.co.uk)
"Happy New Year to you, and to all BUBAAHS members.
I’m still trying to sleuth out information needed to get my Devin SS approved by the Federation Internationale Automobile (FIA) for use in vintage racing events here in Europe. To meet FIA requirements, we have to specify a particular car (in this case, one of the SS’s owned by Art Evans), and when it ran in a particular event (the 1959 US Grand Prix for Sports Cars, at Riverside, driven by Andy Porterfield). We’ve now established that Andy - when driving Art’s car - provided a full-race Chevy, on loan from Harry Mann Chevrolet, where he worked, and race-prepared by Jim Vedenoff, for Harry Mann. Apparently, back in the day, Harry Mann Corvettes pretty much dominated West Coast production sports car racing, and Jim Vedenoff small-blocks went into a lot of other LA area race cars around that time (1958-60). But we need to bolster that knowledge with more detail - for example, were these motors left at 283ci, or were they usually bored and stroked to around 330ci? Did they always run Holley carbs, the 4150 Holley double-pumper having appeared in 1957 and quickly becoming the carburettor of choice for race Chevy engines, even though Holley cars didn’t turn up as a factory fitment on a production Corvette until the mid 1960s?
For guidance, we’ve seen Devin factory ads from the late ‘50s, when Bill was saying that while a 220bhp, Holley carb, Corvette motor was stock, in the SS, he also supplied full-race engines of up to 425 dyno’d bhp, and capacities of well over 300ci. Under his deal with Andy Porterfield, these would have been Harry Mann/Jim Vedenoff engines, built to order.
Any BUBAAHS members’ recollections, from that time, about Corvette racing generally (whether the actual Corvettes or Corvette engines used in other cars) would be like striking gold to me, as would being steered on to any magazine reports or articles from around that time. And, like all well behaved gold miners, I’d be happy to reward those who’d helped, along the way, whether personally or as a donation to BUBAAHS generally.
What do you think? Your guidance would be much appreciated.
Best wishes, Ian"
From the Klemantaski Collection
A report and portrait of Jim Sitz: https://klemcoll.wordpress.com/
Ernie Goes to the Sydney Races
See the story and a few photos at: http://www.carlibrary.org/BUBAAHS/SydneyFestival.htm
Dave Wolin's "Riverside- Volume Two" Now Available
Dave's new book is now in stock - Dave will be signing this and Volume 1 at Autobooks on December 3. For more information go to:
http://www.racinghistoryproject.com/
2022 American Speed Festival
Ernie Nagamatsu sent a report on this exceptional event held in late September. Click on this link for his description with many photos.
Pat Ganahl
An obituary from the Los Angeles Times for one of our BUBAAHS guys:
Seeking Info!
János Wimpffen sent this:
"Not sure if I've asked this before, do/did you or anyone in the group know a Bob Murphy who raced in the So Cal region in the late 1950s early 1960s?
I'm not sure where he was from but he seemed to have mostly raced at inland venues such as Bakersfield, Orange Empire and later Riverside. Many of his runs were with the Road Racing Register but some also with Cal Club. His principal car was a "special" with alternately Lincoln, Ford or Olds V-8s built by Walter Gusenbauer. One of these Gusenbauer Specials, located on the east coast, is being restored and they are trying to contact the drivers and their descendants. Murphy is a mystery. There was a Robert Murphy who ran in some California SCCA Regionals in the mid-60s with a Lotus 7--not sure if it was a different or same person.
Similarly, Janet Anderson drove this car a few times and we know nothing about her. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
János" (Sports Car Racing Research Associates, 206-399-3692, janos@whidbey.com)
Doug Stokes also asked:
"Is there a list of the Cal Club races in the 60’s anywhere around that you know of? I worked on the set up crew for a couple of them and wanted to check some facts/dates…"
Bob was looking for dates and locations of the shows put on by Le Cercle Concours D'Elegance. Bruce Meyer sent this:
"Le Cercle used to be THE concours and it was the first car show that I went to in the late 1950’s. It was Don Ricardo’s red Mercedes Gullwing that caught my eye.
The first shows were at Vista Del Mar Orphanage…then to the Ambassador Hotel…then to the VA…etc…until it just died off as did all the members of the group.....as I know, there is nobody left…"
We've initially found a reference that the 1999 show was at Sullivan Field, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Late in September, I located programs for 1997 and 1998. The 1997 30th anniversary program included a 4 page history of this event. Click this link - Le Cercle History
If you have any information: photos, or other programs, send me an email. Thanks!
Pete Vanlaw's Personal Tribute to Tim Considine
"This has taken awhile, but I finally finished my own personal tribute to TC. It’s on my website, and contains number of stories, plus links to a couple of the films that we did together. One of them was sent shortly after his passing, which also prompted me to move ahead with this tribute.
I sent a copy to Ginny Simms for her possible use in the FabFifties news letter, but there a lot of guys in the BUBAAHS who aren’t in the FabFifties, yet where friends of Tim.
Here's the link to it: https://forthelifeofme-film.com/2022/06/19/tribute-to-tc/ "
A Rare Ferrari on Display!
From Allen Kuhn:
"Something happened recently that you might be interested in. I'm sorry that there is not a lot of lead time, but I only found out about this last week. RM Sotheby's will be auctioning off John Edgars 410S Ferrari that Shelby, at Palm Springs, and Hill, at Santa Barbara, drove. That I knew and contacted them offering my photographs for any purpose they would have. Well, I was too late from the 410S but then I found out about The Micro Lube 450S Maserati that they are also auctioning off. That one I was able to get three pictures into their catalog. All that put me in good stead with one of their people.
This is what I found out last week - the Ferrari will be at their Culver City Office until the first week of August, then it heads to Monterey to be sold for an estimated $30 million.
Ginny Dixon put the word out to Fab '50s non-members recently, and there are a few takers. This car was also at the Fab '50s get-together at Shelby's shop in Gardena some years ago.
If any of the BUBAAHS are interested in going to their office in Culver City on Thursday August 4th from 2PM to 3:30PM, I would like to have a count. Many Thanks, Allen (310) 390-3178."
Old-Timers
"Another 101st (Isky July 10). Me too same day 20 laps behind…" -Stokes
A Devin Needs Your Help!
Ian Webb, a London, England-based BUBAAHS member, wrote that he needs help in his quest to get his Devin SS “legal” with the FIA. This is necessary so that he can enter events such as Goodwood.
Ian is working with Kevin Callahan, who today owns the Devin Sports Car LLC (located in Abington, PA), to build up another Corvette-engined SS, using one of two original but unused frames, left over from the late ‘50s when Bill Devin had this car in production. The plan is to run the car at Goodwood, but for that Ian will need a Historic Technical Passport (HTP), issued by the Federation Internationale de l-Automobile. The FIA makes the rules for all major motor sport events in Europe, where vintage racing is a very different proposition from the US. And an HTP is essential.
The car has to exactly follow the design and specification of the original, which is possible except that no information has survived about the full-race small-blocks that were fitted to the four SS’s used in serious competition back in the day.
The owners were Art Evans (of course, with Andy Porterfield and Pete Woods driving), Phil Kondratief (Pete Woods again, and Lew Spencer), Bill and Anne Bowman, and maybe a fourth car owned by two brothers in Texas and driven by Charlie Kolb. So if anyone can recall these cars, and any detail about the engine - for example, capacity and so on - Ian would be very pleased to hear from you. He’s at ian.webb@equuspc.co.uk
Ian also wrote that he is expecting to be in LA later in the year and that it would be great to meet up, and attend a BUBAAHS breakfast.
Ernie Goes to the Races
"We just raced the Kilpatrick '58 Speedster at Kent WA, Pacific Northwest Historic Races July 1-3, 2022. We were humbled with being one of the highlights along with Dan Gurney's Lotus 19 that won the 1962 Northwest Grand Prix. We shared a pit with John Dimmer's Elf Jackie Stewart F1 004 Race Car. The rains came and made it like... "The Art of Racing in the Rain" movie that was inspired by Don Kitch of the Racing School at the Raceway. The circuit being old and uneven (used as a Drag Strip as well) created puddles of water making racing tricky at best and easy to hydroplane off in a flash which I did at good speed at the sweeper at Turn 2!.
A long time friend Ken Lyon came again this year to celebrate his 101st birthday at Kent Races. Ken was a Cal Club volunteer Flagger, starting in 1953 and remembers all the tracks. He said he had a dream last year that on his 100th birthday he would get to sit in the Old Yeller II - his favorite race car.
We just happened to be racing in Kent last year and not far from the track. Last year on his birthday at Kent, they gave him a special Parade Lap and he touched the hearts of the Flaggers at their stations. This year he wore his original SCCA Flagger Jacket and was interviewed by Seattle TV and PBS... and he hung out with us in the paddock. Richard Baron stopped by - he was one of the key editors for "Road & Track" magazine.
Ken remembered Paramount Ranch Races and recalled the huge incident that stopped racing at that event... and gotta love his comment watching the Vintage Races, "Damn those cars never went that fast when I was flagging!!""
The race events: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXH5ORX1LMI&t=1114s
Kilpatrick 58' Speedster
Ken Lyon
Lost Angeles Times Auto Racing Article
Harold Osmer sent BUBAAHS a note:
"From the LA Times comes this article by Patt Morrison:
Horses, motorcycles and fast cars: Angelenos have long loved racing and racetracks
Close and interesting. A familiar name or two in the offing. The author did not call me."
Harold also reported that the Bothwell Ranch has been sold!
Dusty Brandel's Celebration of Life
It was a very fitting memorial for Dusty and BUBAAHS was well-represented. This was made available to all:
Click here for the PDF which includes page 2.
Memories of a Millennium
Pete Van Law sends:
"Having finally returned to writing my tribute to my old buddy, TC, I ran across probably the first film we did together. It was for the Motor Press Guilds pre 2000 banquet, which is why we called it,“Memories of a Millennium”. I hadn’t seen it in probably 20 years, and had forgotten that Earl and Harold are in the credits. I even got a little misty eyed watching it.
I’m addiing the Vimio link to add it to the BUBAAHS library, and so the rest of you can see it too. Hope you enjoy it."
https://vimeo.com/123369434/d055ac3f61
So who is on this video? Pete also made a credits list: MemoriesMill.pdf
Bruce Burness
From Jim Burness:
"Sad to report on the passing of my uncle, Bruce Burness on Wednesday night. He was an amazingly gifted self-taught engineer and fabricator, "wine geek," and jazz aficionado. In the photo below he is receiving "Mechanic if the Year" for Crew Chief for building and running the car that George Follmer drove to win the USRC Championship in 1966 (now known as the SCCA). Bruce figured out how to squeeze a Porsche motor into a Lotus body, earning the car the nickname the "Little Giant Killer."
Here's a short history of the car:
George Follmer seeking a competitive sports-racer in the under-2 liter class, ordered a new Lotus 23 without engine or radiators.
Bruce Burness, who had recently left Shelby American to return to school, suggested to Follmer that, installed in the Lotus 23, a Porsche 550 Spider engine could meet the goals of power, lightness and reliability. They began to re-engineer the chassis for the Porsche 550 engine, but soon Follmer persuaded Pasadena VW-Porsche dealer Trans-Ocean Motors to give them a powerful new 2-liter Porsche 904 engine for the project.
In its first outing at the 1964 Times Grand Prix at Riverside, the undeveloped Lotus 23-Porsche qualified last but finished 11th overall and 3rd in the Under 2-Liter, proving its tremendous potential.
Over the winter, Follmer and Burness upgraded the Lotus to full 23B specifications and beyond to accommodate the Porsche 904 engine.
Follmer then decided to compete in the top-level 1965 USRRC. Follmer, Burness and Terry Bowen towed the Lotus 23-Porsche across country to the first race of the season at Pensacola, Florida. Follmer qualified first in U-2, winning the race ahead of the more powerful cars.
Three weeks later at Riverside, Follmer finished fourth overall and first in U-2. Burness recalled years later that for the first time “we realized the [SCCA] was awarding equal championship points for the winners of both the big-bore class and the under 2-Liter class.” Follmer was leading the championship.
The team achieved a pair of class wins at Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen, keeping Follmer and the Porsche in the USRRC lead. A Second in Class at Kent, Washington was followed by another class win at Continental Divide Raceway in Colorado. AutoWeek described Follmer in the headline as “Unsinkable Trans-Ocean George”.
The championship was decided in the Road America 500 at Elkhart Lake, a race distance that the Lotus-Porsche had never attempted before.
Jim Hall, who had been racing hard all season trying to make up his early season deficit, drove both Chaparrals to assure maximum points, finishing first in one and second in the other. George Follmer finished third overall and first in U-2, clinching the USRRC Championship.
It was one of racing’s legendary David and Goliath accomplishments."
Bruce restored the Lola T310 - it was the only one was built, serial number HU-01. It has survived the years to become a popular entrant in the exciting world of vintage Can Am racing.
Also " When Ford redirected Shelby’s resources into beating Ferrari at Le Mans in the GT40, Brock took fabricators Bruce Burness and Jeff Schoolfield along with him to form Brock Racing Enterprises."
Bruce had been absent from our monthly car breakfasts for several years, but I recall his stories about building a Lola replica. He lived over the garage in a Pasadena house formerly owned by Art Sparks, the Indy 500 constructor.
Bruce with Pete Brock
From Chris Considine:
"It's with a very heavy heart that I announce the passing of my father March 3, 2022. It was sudden and without pain.
He was absolutely the best man I knew. He was the best father I could ever ask for. He was also the most amazing husband to my mother, grandfather to my boys and father-in-law to my wife.
He taught me to be the absolute best human being I could be.
He also touched so many other lives. He believed that friends were extended family and everyone had a place in our home.
He will be missed by not only his close family, but, I'm sure, by so many people.
If you need to reach Willie (his wife), please email her at whc@considinegroup.com"
Tim was the author of two well-respected books on auto racing. These are articles about Tim:
and
and
Click this link for a tribute from the Fabulous Fifties.
An auto enthusiast remembers:
"Quite a life. I received news of his passing on the same day, and was surprised, as didn't know he was ill.
I only knew TC from the annual New Years Day parties at his home in Mar Vista. Located on a steep and wide street, there were always interesting machines on the front lawn that day. I recall a rare Alfa Romeo Zagato 1600 Junior in bright blue, and a red Ferrari 246 Dino gt with covered headlights, parked diagonally, next to that big front tree....The real action though, was inside, first to the always busy couch, then through to the kitchen and rear patio, and further back to the left, his office-den-library in the detached structure behind house. I recall how his friends would "drape around" while there, either watching some racing video, relaxing with a drink, or furiously confirming historical facts, which could yes, include show biz, and this was not just men, many women had either "been there" or had something to say. It just felt like one big happy family.
His wife is a tremendous cook, and I believe she worked in the food industry at one time, but every year people would contribute with food and drink so that we were continually surprised by more delicious fare, and that includes desserts, a weakness of mine.
One year I recall meeting a well dressed couple on the rear patio, they owned 3 Shelby Cobras. I made a dumb remark about "Ah, it must feel great to indulge in your dream cars", and the man said, "Well, I bought them when they were much more affordable, but now I barely drive them, as they have become so valuable." The irony, I thought.
I love good entertainment, and when younger, used to plan my parties with such detail, so I enjoyed these in January 1st because it was a combination of Tims family and friends, some of which he saw only that time of year. The joy of seeing each other again was infectious, particularly in the kitchen with Willett, (Mrs. C). The wine, champagne, & other spirits kept coming, plus cooking was assured, the wonderful smells mixing with chatter. Every so often I would get a coveted seat at the breakfast nook next to that kitchen, a place which you had to pass through in order to get to the rear yard, where some tables and chairs were set, and the perfect place to see who had arrived, plus being the go-between to Tim's library.
How I came to find myself there goes like this:
I love to write, and showed some of my work to good friend and motorsport figure Mr. Doug Stokes. He is a journalist, historian, PR impressario, and has put more people of like-minds together than anybody I know. As many of my writings revolved around cars, Doug once said "You should go to Tim Considine's New Years Day party" I asked Who is he? He then told me about him, so the next year I attended, said I was Doug's friend and had one helluva good time. It was then I realized how immersed he was with Motorsports and cars in general. He was a writer, which was a thrill to me as well. I learned so much when there, basically asking questions and listening, while eating, laughing, or sharing some of my tales too.
I recall he was writing a book on American Drivers, it took a while, but when it was finally published, was well received, a pricey but important book. I only had a glance at it while at the monthly BUBBHAS gathering in Burbank, held at the Coral Cafe. That day Tim; who rarely attended because of distance and obligations, was showing the book and taking orders for it, I believe. He was ecstatic it was completed and published, of course.
My good friend Jim Sitz is another auto historian, and told me more about Tim. Over the years, I have never heard anything negative about him, and people are happy to share about someone who some recall from his younger days in Television. Clearly, Tim Considine will pass to become part of American Lore. From the beginning he was engaged to entertain us, and, just as happy as he would get when spending time with a grandkid or a racecar, so shall we celebrate him now. This was a life well lived, and he leaves behind a wonderful family, and enough writings, memories, and anecdotes like mine, to lasts many lifetimes. Thank you Sir."
Dusty Brandel, September 29, 1934 - February 27, 2022
A memorial for Dusty will be held on May 14. Save the date! Details are forthcoming.
From the NASCAR Hall of Fame website
Dusty, a good friend of BUBAAHS. NASCAR Hall of Fame member and president of the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association. finished her "final lap" on February 27, 2022. Here is more about Dusty:
Dusty Honored in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, 1985
"She Helped Put Women on the Track", Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2005
Click this link for a tribute from the Fabulous Fifties.
"March 2, 2022
... My most sincere condolences, first to Michael of course, but to everyone who has ever had the honor and great pleasure of hanging out with Dusty.
To say that she was "one of kind" is really not accurate, this woman inspired and championed a whole generation of female motorsports reporters who have honored her with their work.
She was as gracious as she was fearless, always moving forward, building up the craft, encouraging, inspiring, and (yeah, at times) commiserating with us as well. Dusty was more than a leader, she was a friend who always made sense, who always had that attitude that was both brave and comforting at the same time.
Dusty leaves an indelible mark on the careers of auto racing writers, broadcasters, and photographers everywhere. Whether they were members of AARWBA or not, they all benefited from her advocacy.
She was tireless in her work, and we all were the better for it...
Thank You Dusty!
-Doug Stokes"
From Teresa Garcia:
"We are planning a Memorial Service for Dusty in mid-April at the Burbank Association of Realtors Auditorium. More details to come.
In the meantime, Dusty's partner Michael needs a place to live. She was the sole owner of the house and has a reverse mortgage - the house will be sold soon. Michael wants to live on his own, it seems like he should have assisted living accommodations. He is a Korean War Veteran, on a fixed income...any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated."
From the Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2022:
The photos below are from Dave Wolin
Dusty and Deke Houlgate
Racing News & History by Dave Wolin
Hill Climbs Are Back!
Dave Wolin provided a flyer showing that VARA is sponsoring the "Hill Climb Series" at Willow Springs Raceway in February, April, June and September.
"Read about the hillclimb:
https://lacar.com/reports/vara-hillclimb-feb-2022-horsethief-mile
My podcasts: 'Race Talk With Trish
http://www.racinghistoryproject.com/racetalk.htm
Scroll down to a podcast on Derek Bell and David Hobbs."
Weekly "Coffee & Cars at Harvest" a Riverside Car Event
Larry Maloney, a BUBAAHS regular, alerts us to the Saturday Morning Car Guys who get together at the Harvest Christian Fellowship at 6115 Arlington Ave in Riverside each Saturday, 8 to 10 am.
Jesse Alexander, April 15, 1929 - December 14, 2021
From the Los Angels Times:
"Jesse Alexander, 92, a photographer who documented the golden age of motorsport, passed away on December 14, 2021, in Santa Barbara...
...Jesse returned to California for college at UCSB, where he studied photography and met his first wife. They moved to Europe with the first of their four daughters, where Jesse would document the international motor racing scene as a photojournalist from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, counting its players as his closest friends.
His pictures captured the on-track danger and glamorous spectacle, defining the sport for a generation of fans. Jesse's ability to feature the human element of motorsport made his images more than just a record of thrilling events and elegant machines but also evocative fine art. His photographs have been published in countless publications and now hang in the homes of collectors, galleries, and museums...."
Also read about Jesse in Autoweek
Bob Sohus' Old Yeller VI & Reagan Rulau's Car Projects For Sale
Ron Cummings sent this:
"Reagan Rulau is very ill and wishes to help his sister Gail with funds. Project cars for sale:
1. An Austin-Healey Sprite all apart.
2. A 1964 rusty Porsche 356 coupe
3. Max Balchowsky continuation/replicar Old Yeller 5 frame with a Corvette body. Reagan built this frame with Max Balchowsky's help.
4. The Whitey Thuesen "Solitary Wasp" Offy powered Sports Car Special. BIll Cantrell drove this car in the first Los Angeles Times Riverside USAC Grand Prix for Sports car in 1958. Cantrell raced the car in many Triple R races. The drive train and nose piece are missing from the car.
5. Balchowsky Old Yeller 6, the Bob Sohus owned and raced Old Yeller.
I will be glad to answer questions about these projects and their location in Riverside, California email: ron6827@yahoo.com."
Click here for a PDF with photos
John Dixon, 1930-2021
From The Fabulous Fifties - Steve Johnson:
"Unfortunately, there is yet more sad news to report this month. John Dixon, racer and husband of Ginny Dixon, has passed away after a brief illness. John and Ginny were married for 57 years and have been the “behind the scenes” backbone of Fabulous Fifties activities for many years. Due to covid restrictions, services will be private. Condolences can be sent to Ginny and family at 641 Via Del Monte, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274. Ginny can also be reached via email at gindixon@aol.com.
We plan to celebrate John’s life, along with Alice Hanks' and Art Evans’ at our Saturday, March 12, 2022 luncheon at The Proud Bird. Note that this date is tentative and will depend on the covid situation and the related rules for indoor dining. Please put this date on your calendar."
Art Evans
The Fabulous Fifties reported:
"Art Evans 1934 - 2021
We have sad news to report. Art Evans, the key founder of the Fabulous Fifties “non-club,” passed away on November 18. Services will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December 8th at the Holy Cross Church and Cemetery located at 5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City CA 90230. Condolences can be sent to Art's wife, Alicia, and family at 627 Paseo de la Playa, Redondo Beach, CA 90277."
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County- The Car Collection
The Museum sent an email on November 30:
"Please forgive the delay in getting back to you. Ironically, it was due in large measure to the fact that we are moving the automotive collection to a new site. After 10 years in Carson, the lease has expired but fortunately we have located another facility without too much difficulty. We're now in the process of moving the cars and other History collections to the new location beginning next year. As a result, the collection is closed.
We hope to resume tours in the future, but with the current situation, that future is uncertain at the moment."
Dave Wolin Book Signing
Saturday, November 13, 10AM - 2 PM
Dave Wolin will be signing his book at Autobooks (2900 W. Magnolia; Burbank 91505):
"Riverside -Volume One" (484 pages / 8 1/2 x 11/ B&W) Much more here!
Dave Wolin reports in October:
"In addition to BUBAAHS, this Saturday (10/2) is the last day of Barris going on at their shop (10811 Riverside Dr, North Hollywood) and Randy Cannon’s Stardust book signing at Autobooks."
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County- The Cars and a Donation Spot for Your Books and Magazines!
Several local SAH members recently discussed the long-rumored, almost secretive, car collection owned by the Natural History Museum. They found the collection does exist (!) and can be visited - contact details coming soon. However, the NHM also confirmed their library/archives may accept car books and periodicals:
"The archivist in the Seaver Center that they should check in with is Betty Uyeda, who can be reached at buyeda@nhm.org".
Rick Hayden at Laguna Seca
Rick writes -
"The four-day 2021 Monterey Motorsports Reunion was live-streamed to "...billions of households worldwide..." this year, and the dead spots were filled with some interviews. A certain Volvo Race Car piqued their interest on Qualifying Day:
Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH7fw9GjhWU
fast fwd to intro @ 1:54:15
Runs to about 2:00, six minutes of my 15 minutes of fame...
Had a Blown Head Gasket, but The Last Tube of Original "Alumaseal," A blanking plate in place of the thermostat and some serious bolt-stretching re-torquing of the cylinder head allowed us to start at the back of the field on race day (Sunday) and run competitively, picking up 5 places and finishing strong - something every 80-year-old with a 60-yr-old car should aspire to!
Olde Rick"
Guldstrand Corvettes in Monterey
Charlie Budenz reported:
"SUCCESS = WE MADE IT !
All three cars (2 Guldstrand Corvettes + HUMMER H3A with Corvette engine, exhaust, bucket seats & paint) were DRIVEN to Monterey for Car Week and were featured at The QUAIL! Then returned home to the Riverside area safely = no citations, no accidents, no mechanical incidents, no road stories...and we are still friends! These are the only examples of these SUPERcars that are out there! The rest are locked up, out of sight, except for the #001 prototype, which is cosmetically restored and on exhibit at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY.
This unique pair was prominently displayed beneath a ROLEX clock at the main public entrance to The QUAIL...and rated a 2-page color spread in the program! Most folks told us that they had only seen these cars in magazines...and never realized that they actually existed! The QUAIL presents fabulous examples of incredible cars! Thank you all for your support!"
Jim Sitz Writes:
"Had My Hopes That This News Letter Might Have Some Comments By Mellette, Bill Pollack’s Daughter On Her Going To Pebble Beach To Honor Her Father Out Of The Blue She Phoned Me From Monterey To Check In Asking If We Were Doing Alright And, Of Course, I Told Her That Some Body Should Show Her A Good Time And She Spoke Of The Allard Men - Chuck Warnes His Son Colin And Mr Rob Manson Who Has Several Old Specials Used In Pebble Beach Days. Very Sweet Of Her To Think Of Me Years Later After I Had Been To Dads 90th Birthday Party At Their Home In Sherman Oaks, Faithfully Jim Sitz"
Find the Morrow Award!
"Good Day To You:
This is Doug Stokes, and I’m the guy out here in California who founded the Harry Morrow Award back in 2006.
I knew Harry as a friend, a mentor, a customer of his AutoBooks store in Burbank, and (long after his passing) I became the GM of the legendary bookstore that he founded. I retired as the VP of Communications at Irwindale Speedway a few years back.
My purpose in initiating the Morrow Award was to honor the great people who have been keeping Harry’s remarkable spirit and unbending enthusiasm for 500cc racing alive all these years.
It is a unique perpetual trophy that was kept on continuous display at AutoBooks for all to see, while the awardees each received their own recognition desk plaque.
We presented it a number of times in person, and in 2010, it was sent to be "awarded" and displayed at a vintage race and very regretfully, never returned…
I’m sure that you agree that the Morrow “Wheel” trophy, with all of the award winner’s names emblazoned on it, should be on display at the store that still celebrates Harry and his great contributions to the racing sport and particularly 500cc racing.
... And that’s why I’m asking for your help in locating and returning this very special trophy to its home and place of honor at AutoBooks.
I’d very much appreciate it if you have any information or leads about the award. You get in contact with me directly at: (626) 391-3772 or (626) 358-9625. Or by e-mail at stokes28doug@gmail.com.
Any leads will be followed and, suffice it to say we’ll pay for any handling, packaging, and shipping charges that are incurred. (A hopeful hint here ... although the award was always shipped in one piece, the wheel is removable and might make packing and handling easier).
Thank you so very much for your attention and interest,
The Morrow really needs to come back home again ... to Burbank.
-Doug Stokes"
Jay Leno Honored
Jay Leno, the car guy with a great collection in Burbank, weekly YouTube videos of rare cars and host of Jay Leno's Garage was recently inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Congratulations Jay! https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/jay-leno/
Obscure Movie: "The Prize"
Doug Stokes is looking for a VHS or DVD copy of "The Prize" - described here.
New Edition "Where They Raced"
Harold Osmer emailed us: "I have some news for the group. The latest version of Where They Raced is now available. Rave reviews abound. The original started as my graduate thesis 25 years ago. Long time...."
New Long Beach Car Museum
BUBAAHS member Dean Case reports visiting a new car museum in Long Beach, open to the public on August 21:
The Lions
Automobilia Foundation & Museum
2790 E Del Amo
Blvd
Rancho Dominguez,
CA 90221
San Marino Motor Classic
This concours on August 22 expects to show 400 rare and classic cars at Lacy Park 1485 Virginia Road, San Marino, CA 91108.
https://www.sanmarinomotorclassic.com/
Much closer and more affordable than Pebble Beach!
"Car enthusiast and KABC 7’s Automotive Specialist Dave Kunz and Ed Justice, Jr. will be the Master of Ceremonies this year." We also congratulate Ed, a BUBAAHS member. Visit the Justice Brothers Racing Museum.collection in Duarte!
Dave Friedman releases "Ken Miles: The Shelby American Years"
At our July gathering, Dave announced he will sign copies of his book, available on Amazon on July 25.
Woodland Auto Display and Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles
Dave Wolin reported that (BUBAAHS member) Bruce Meyer and the Petersen Chequered Flag Club visited the Woodland Auto Display and Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles last week. www.woodlandautodisplay.com The Woodland Auto Display is also home to a substantial automotive archive, including the Ron Cummings and Bob Schmitt "Competition Press" and "Autoweek" collection.
At the Coral Cafe, July 10
We we able to gather at the Coral Cafe just like the "good old days" - in the backroom, around a large table. Except for two late-comers!
Dave & Jane Wolin, Ron Cummings, Pete Vanlaw, Gary Fisk, Larry Maloney, Davey Jordan, Charlie Budenz, Earl Gandel and Dave Friedman are in these photos. Late-comers Bob Schmitt & Shannon Miller are not!
Ken Lyon’s 100th “Make a Wish” … come true
From Ernie Nagamatsu:
"http://www.vintagemotorsport.com/2021/07/100th-birthday-wish-came-true/
Ken Lyon contacted me long long ago, as he was volunteer Southern California SCCA- Cal Club worker from 1954 and remembered watching the OY II race at Riverside and Pomona. He kindly sent a big box of rare period Racing Programs and OY II was listed... he also sent his personal Cal Club SCCA Official Workers jacket long ago ... we stayed in touch. This year he invited us to his 100th Birthday Party. He had moved to Washington and wrote to us regarding his July 2021 100th Party… “Incidentally, I had a dream the other day. I was sitting in Old Yeller on my July, 100th birthday. If I were still in Los Angeles, I'll bet you would make that dream come true. That would be my best ever Birthday wish.”
By chance we decided to race at the July 2-4, 2021 Pacific Northwest Historic Races and told Ken we could grant his 100th Birthday Wish. The SOVERN Race Organizers got full on behind the 100th wish for Ken and arranged a Special Parade Lap with Pace Car for him. On Friday noon, we put Ken into the Old Yeller II passenger seat (he did not want assistance and he still drives) we did two Parade Laps. All of the Corner Workers were "over the moon" and overjoyed... waving all of their flags to salute Ken, a former fellow volunteer ‘Flagger.” The visual emotional moment affected everyone at the racetrack as the Track Announcer told the story of Ken and his special wish…touching and hugging hearts. During the Parade Lap, Ken teary eyed said, “Pinch Me,” and that said it all.
Ernie Nagamatsu"
Jerry Entin has Passed Away
Ron Cummings sent a note on July 4: "Based on his son's Facebook post, it looks as though Jerry Entin has passed away." This was confirmed by an obituary here. There are several Racing Sports Car pages on Jerry. This is a summary:
https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/Jerry-Entin-USA.html
Early & Every Saturday Car Show
BUBAAHS member Jim Turner has been a regular at the La Cańada, Early Rodder's "car show" at the United Artists Theatre 1919 Verdugo Blvd. - 6:30AM - 8:30AM every Saturday. Jim told us it's been an event for about 20 years. We saw Jim and Ed Justice Jr. there on July 3. Highly recommended!
Competition Press and SAH Publication Indexes
Early volumes of Competition Press provided by Ron Cummings to the late Bob Norton for scanning are now partially text searchable. This is a link to the CP issues with added metadata:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yftXhXKOMUAFNRsYwW9IymgJwX51pIba?usp=sharing
These are non-public partial indexes to the SAH Journal and the Auto History Review:
http://carlibrary.org/IndexSAHJournal2.xls
http://carlibrary.org/IndexSAHhistory2.xls
Sebring 1956
A Jim Sitz photo of a Frazer Nash appeared in "Nostalgic Memories of Yesteryear" at Sports Car Digest: 1956 Sebring 12 Hours Grand Prix - Page 6
Jame Trigwell identified this car: "Frank Allocca sold FN 196 in October 2014 to Jean Laurent-Bellue of Paris who wanted it to race at the Le Mans Classic. This he duly did in 2016 before selling it on in 2019. I don’t know who bought it though.
Old Yeller
Ernie Nagamatsu, a long-term BUBAAHS member, brings Max Balchowsky's Old Yeller to Jay Leno's garage. Max is a deceased BUBAAHS member. Click this for the May 24 YouTube show.
1955 Vespa with sidecar
To celebrate 63 years of ownership, Bob & Shannon spin around Burbank in Bob's 1958 Vespa. The story, starting in 1958, is here and the May 30, 2021 video is here.
Bill Watkins
Longtime racer, engineer, BUBAAHS and Fabulous Fifties member Bill Watkins passed away on April 21, 2021 at an Anaheim rehab facility. This is a tribute to Bill: http://carlibrary.org/BillWatkins/
Road & Track - The early years
Jim Sitz was a contributor to this interesting article.
https://velocetoday.com/road-track-the-bond-years/#more-127325
The article states the R&T was the first U.S. magazine to do road tests. When did Tom McCahill first publish road tests in Mechanix Illustrated?
Ernie Nagamatsu will be a Jay Leno YouTube star!
"Day with Jay: We were scheduled for March 2020 to film/interview a segment for the “Jay Leno’s Garage” Series. Due to the pandemic, Jay has for one year, been doing “solo” programs at his Burbank Collection. As filming just opened up, we were scheduled in for Mar 25th and with the including of an interview and taking of our 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special."
Bruce Meyers - Dune Buggy Inventor
The March 2 Los Angeles Times announced the passing of Bruce Meyers, inventor of the popular and much-copied Meyers Manx dune buggy. This is his obituary.
From the Petersen Automotive Museum:
The museum had its
The Revs Institute
Our Zoom/SAH history group received an announcement from this museum about the "Revs Institute museum app" which can be downloaded to have virtual tours of the museum. You can find the smartphone app for either Android or iPhone by searching "REVS". It works very well!
Revs also announced a new website: https://revsinstitute.org/ Their library and photo collection is accessible and completely indexed to the highest library standards.
Virtual Garage Tour: BUBAAHS member Bruce Meyer
From the Petersen museum: "Join us in Beverly Hills, California as we explore one of the best hidden car collections in the world. Bruce Meyer, car collector, motorcycle racer, and Petersen Board Member, tours us through his secret Beverly Hills car collection. This is one of the best garage tours in the world! Bruce has been collecting motorcycles, cars and memorabilia for 60 years and today, does a full tour of everything!" https://youtu.be/8wfq-MmAMhk
Racing History Project
Wednesday, December 9 - 6PM Pacific, 9PM Eastern – "Race Talk with Trish" interviews Charlie Downes - noted driver from the Renault Cup, Escort Endurance, Firehawk and more. A one hour program with Q&A, first of a series on conference calls (with video). Just dial in 425-436-6395 and enter the access code 5762616# or you can do this online with video - https://join.freeconferencecall.com/racinghistoryproject and you'll see the pin number.
Riverside History
Dave Wolin (check his Racing History Project website www.racinghistoryproject.com) is assembling a history of racing at Riverside. Dave is using many sources, including Competition Press/Autoweek. Dave has the early digital/scanned issues, made available thanks to the late Bob Norton. Bob Schmitt had a CP/AW collection from the late '60s through 1987, but he donated all to the San Diego Auto Museum when he moved from San Diego. Help Dave find these issues; he would like to borrow and scan. Much appreciated!
World Auto Production
Absolutely fascinating dynamic graph on YouTube, sent by Robert Barr, Society of Automotive Historians:
"Watch "Top 10 Car Producing Countries 1950 - 2019"
Great format to illustrate how change is occurring."
William Edgar Photo Archive
William wrote that since moving to northern California with his wife, Sharon, they have missed out on our Coral Café gatherings. He joined us November 7 on Zoom!
He also notes that his William Edgar
Archive website is now online with lots of print enlargements for sale.
These are made from his photograph collections dating back to 1948, going forward
all through the Fabulous Fifties and to more recent times. The Archive
website is http://www.william-edgar-
Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020
These are links of the races and other events which you could use to fill 3 full days!
Day 1 https://youtu.be/Ud6JljP3W8c
This is the full program of the events, races, cars and drivers:
Joe's Scalzo's Latest Stories
NOW AVAILABLE ON THE RACING HISTORY PROJECT WEBSITE! www.racinghistoryproject.com
Allen Kuhn, Gary Horstkorta and Carlyle Blackwell
Allen Kuhn (allenkuhn@verizon.net) forwarded a note to him from Gary Horstkorta about Carlyle Blackwell:
"Carlyle Blackwell was an amateur racer in Southern California from about 1954-1960 racing mostly Jaguar C and D types. He was also a good photographer whose photos have rarely found their way to the Internet. It is known his daughter retained her father’s collection into the 1990’s but apparently gave them to an friend whose name is not known. The daughter passed away several years ago.
Do you know of anyone who might have or know of the whereabouts of this collection? I have an acquaintance in Europe who is looking for some of his photos. Thank you. Gary"
Harold Osmer and Hollywood Sport Cars
Harold writes:
"I am on the emailing list for the Seaver Center, which is the research library of The Natural History Museum in Agricultural Park. Their September newsletter had a few words about Christopher Dower who is doing research on Hollywood Sport Cars. The group may find this of interest so I have attached the newsletter in pdf form."
Christopher lives in Australia; the newsletter is linked here. There is a discussion about Hollywood Sport Cars on the FerrariChat forum.
Larry Maloney Event Alert
"We, from your Riverside contingent miss the monthly breakfasts. However, we have a small group the meets every Saturday morning in front of the Target Store on Arlington Avenue in Riverside. Apparently come rain, or shine, or virus… someone shows up. This club with no officers, no meetings, no dues, no agendas … just show up have cup’o’coffee and let’s talk about the important things in life…cars. We are suppose to meet at 08:30 (but some arrive earlier) until about…..whenever we each remember those projects we would like to accomplish at home frequently 10:30 or so. This a very informal group that have been meeting for the last 4 or 5 years.
We look forward to Breakfast at Bubba’s."
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