Thread: Nostalgia

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Jerry, Just so you can see why I referred to it as string art, here are a couple examples. One early crude example, actually done in string, and a recent computer-generated example. This was becoming popular during the time you painted your cars.

Designing paint work is always a challenge. Either the owner doesn't want to take any risk, or cannot visualize what you have in mind, so it ends up being another "predictable" job. I did just get to design a job for a green Canadian Fuel Altered that will be "fun for the fans" when it's revealed in a few months. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opprtunity for a lifelong drag race fan! :-)

Jack,

This is a really clumsy way to work a communication. Not sure I'm really adept at the "thread" thing. Anyway, back to Stan Lomelino's salad days.

(By the way, I checked out your very nice 34 3 Window. A sweet ride!)

I think in age I fall between you and Stan. In 56 when I sold him that engine I had worked all winter to build it for my chopped & channeled '30 A Coupe. And then began to get the hots for a Chevy small block. So I sold it complete to Stan and used the money to get a 55 Chevy engine and put it in a street rail job. It was a 39 Ford frame cut to a 100" wheelbase. Steering was 2 turns lock-to-lock, and it had 2 aircraft bucket seats nestled between the frame and driveshaft. Indy tires out of time trials. The whole thing wet weighed 1280 lbs and did a 0-60 of 4 seconds. In 1956 that made me pretty much top dawg on the back streets...and at the strip we were running at Illiopolis. Of course, I had to be careful, because I ran 8 straight pipes on the street and the cops had a problem with the noise. (I liked the flames at night) As you can see, I was at the transition between the outlaw draggers and the more organized NHRA types. Then in Jan '57 the Army claimed my time and I came out, went to college, and haven't done much since. My exciting ride these days is an '06 Miata...

Other memories: There were a couple of brothers named Donaldson who were running some pretty quick Chevvies at the time. You may have heard of them.

06 Miata---we're building a turbo kit for an mx5 now--

I heard of the Donaldson guys

There was a hot 55 chev at Hettick that got one of the first 396

Jerry

Jerry (Sorry about the "Jack"-that's my son!)
Yeah, the Donaldsons jumped right into the new V8s in Chevy.
A turbo kit for a Miata, huh? It should scream.

By the way, I've tried calling Stan at 217-965-5075 but no one answers. Is that a wrong number? He has no answering device.

Jerry,

My grandfather was a farmer, not a teacher, but it could have been a relative.

Not sure why Northwestern slipped my mind - other than it's going on 50 years ago. I believe Northwestern was MSM conference back then, so we probably crossed paths on the hardwood and on the track. I ran 880 relay and high-jumped, in addition to long jump. Split end and safety on the football team, and a relatively short forward on the basketball team.

Odd coincidence. I graduated first in my class in '61. I had an academy appointment, and wanted to go Navy. However, the AF had the least stringent vision requirement - but they cut me by a hair. I gave up military ambitions, and went to engineering school in Peoria. Strangely enough, exactly 40 years after the Navy wouldn't have me, I took a job with the Navy as a civillian engineer.

Now that you mention it, I remember the Donaldson boys also.

How do three guys from our neck of the woods end up on the same internet forum 50 years after the fact?

Guys, see how this thing got me confused? I'm talking to both a Jerry and a Jack. Lightbulb's on...

This is all an accident for me. I just stumbled on a pic of Stan Lomelino's 1956 2-engine dragster and it hit me that the rear engine was one I built and sold to Stan in the spring of '56. It is the only extant picture of any product of my handiwork in the hot rod business with the exception that I had a helper's part in a custom called, "Mandy's Merc" owned by Mandy Holder of Springfield and customized by Bob Maisenbacher. I take it you two were from parts South (The Old Chatham Road used to be our favorite drag strip) I left Spfld for the Army in '57 and seldom returned afterwards for long periods.
Jim

Jerry,

I looked up the scores in my old yearbooks.

1959-60 Basketball
W 73-48 (Waverly Tournament)
W 80-59 (MSM Conference game)
We were 24-3, and won the MSM & Waverly

1959-60 Football
W 32-0
We were 9-0, and won the MSM

1958-59 Basketball
L 55-64 Northwestern won the Waverly We were 2nd
W 88-88-63

1958-59 Football
L 24-6 You pretty well cleaned our clock

1957-58 Basketball
W 60-42

1957-58 Football
W 19-18

Not that anyone cares.

Jim,

I know Old Chatham Road. South from MacArthur towards the lake. That was the main route from Virden to Springfield when I was a kid - other than Route 66. Came into Springfield near Moonlight Gardens skating rink, if I remember correctly.

Our strips were old parts of Route 4 where they cut off some of the corners south of Virden and Girard. Also, we hit the 9-mile lane west of Virden a time or two. It was painted lines and a flagman.

Henry Rifle---Its funny, how just about all of us old time hotrodders have a "defining moment" that in some way turned kids with a healthy interest in all things mechanical, to hotrodding. For me, it was the second year after I left home, and had moved down south to Belleville Ontario and started my engineering apprenticeship. Someone took me out to Stirling, Ontario (which was to play a big role in my furure, although I didn't know it at the time) to meet a madman named Larry Sommerfeldt who was building a model A drag coupe.---After 42 years, I still remember his name!!! He fired it up for us---MY GOD!!! The earth trembled---Birds fell out of the trees dead!!! Little old ladies fainted in the streets!!! I was stone deaf!!! I was in love!!! I had never, ever, imagined anything making that much noise and power, and pilotted by a mortal man. Yes, it started a life long love afair with cubic inches and unmuffled exhausts.----Brian

Wow, I've been reading about the restoration of the Chizler and the Greek--good post---There is some books out about the dragsters of the 60s and 70s
(before the corporate billboards) The book about the 60s has all front engine cars in it with several from those early, early days--I took a copy to the National race at Rt66 this year for someautogrphs---I got the Greek to sign the cover and also inside on one of the pages with one of his cars.

Jerry

PS did I mention the car on the cover????

Was it by any chance "The World's Most Beatiful Dragster"?

Darn all my winter hats seem to have shrunk over the summer

I just looked it up on the net. Great shot! Congrats!

These are the only two autograph books that I have---I take them to the races to see my old friends and get them to sign there pictures

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

[COLOR=black]I rember the 204 run very clearly. The Speed Sport roadster and Lou Congelose were there also. Lou lost it and wiped out the lights at the far end. The Greek grenaded the engine and couldn't back up the 204]

A phenomenal speed for '59! As you probably know, it was on hydrazine, a rocket fuel which was unpredictable, unhealthy to be around, and soon outlawed by NHRA. No doubt that had something to do with the engine damage. I think Garlits finally went faster, but it was about 6-8 years later.

As you also probably know, Red Greth (of Fisher & Greth) is from Tucson. I bought the body from Speed Sport 2 about 1987, to save it from being lost or cannibalized. It eventually it found it's way back to Red. He has a replica of the famous roadster, an updated version of a roadster, and is currently running a '70s style Cuda nostalgia Funny.

Since we are talking nostalgia, here is a sign I bought the same time as the roadster. It came from their shop, where Fisher built some of the earliest spoked wheels. Red told me that the car in the painting is a little-known front engined car that they wrecked right after they built it,....I think in Alton, Illinois. The sign is now in a large collection of drag race memorabilia, in Florida.[/QUOTE]

There was a 33 1/3 LP with the sounds of the 1963 AHRA Winter Nationals at Bee Line in Phoenix,The Chizler cranked off a 214 mph run at 7.94 Jon Lunberg was the announcer,the car was driven by Rod Stuckey as Chris was handling funeral arrangements for Don Maynard his partner, who was killed in a freak accident on the way to Arizona.They were not able to back up the run for the record,a shame since it was the first sub eight second run ever.