Thread: Smokey

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I grew up reading Smoky Yunick's column in Mechanix Illustrated, Tom McCahill's in Popular Science and still practice some of Tom's tips on highway driving. Saw this clip today on some of Smokey's special features on his Chevelle, and it brought back memories and a smile...
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Smokey Yunick's infamous 1966 Chevelle. The car was heavily modified. To start, the big block Chevy wasn’t actually a 427. It was de-stroked to rev higher, actually make it a “416”. There were sheet aluminum heat deflectors above the headers to keep hot air from rising up to the air box. There were reinforced brake shoes, done by welding on small rods to prevent bending. He mounted shocks and springs as close to the wheels as possible. The front bumper was altered and set back into the bodywork to improve the aerodynamics as well as deepened 2 inches in order to keep the air out from under the car. The top of the car features a subtle flap up near the rear edge to generate downforce at the rear of the car. The chassis was stiffened to keep the car planted to the track. The frame rails were designed to hold extra fuel, about 5 gallons in total. And the Pièce De Résistance, the car’s underbelly was completely smooth. There were no rules against any of this, it was completely legal.
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The tale at the time was he had modified all the sheet metal so the car was rough 7/8 scale also to aid with streamlining by comparison. Has that been disproved?

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

The tale at the time was he had modified all the sheet metal so the car was rough 7/8 scale also to aid with streamlining by comparison. Has that been disproved?

I read that a 7/8 size would have been something like 6" narrower and 10" shorter so it was said not to be true. In this writeup about the car it says that the race model matched the profiles of another Chevelle that was parked near by, also owned by Smokey.... He was a Gem! I need to get his book.
https://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/...-chevelle.html

I've also heard the 7/8 scale story too, but it seems it may have been debunked. I also seem to recall a "rumor" about him using portions of his roll cage to supplement the capacity of his fuel tank....true or not it makes a good story. "Interpretation" of the rule book has always been a favorite pastime of racers and mechanics.



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Smokey's approach was if the rule book doesn't say you can't, then you can!!

There was an article in Hot Rod (I think) where he talked about some of the outright cheats that he pulled off over the years. All were very clever and most were funny. Lightening flywheels by removing the ring gear and drilling holes radially and then replacing the ring gear to hide the holes. Reversing the rotation on the engine which he claimed made the car better coming out of a corner. Duplicating factory markings on hot rod parts to get through tech. One inch fuel lines that held an extra gallon or so of fuel.

One story he told was that in the early days, tech would pour a measured can of fuel into your car to check for oversize fuel tanks. He would take a floor jack and jack a big dent into the tank so that his cars actually held less than the tech can. Just before the race he would use an air hose to blow the tank back out to shape and full oversize capacity.

He was protested many times by other racers. As he said, they knew we were cheating because they were cheating and we were beating them. He told another story about actually assembling an illegal engine while being watched and ok'd by tech inspectors. After which the engine was sealed with steel bands.

Of course, Smokey had quite the reputation as a BS'er. He was also a great self-promoter. So take any of this with all the seriousness you want to. Still, the article was very entertaining and had me laughing all the way through.

I've read Smokey's autobiography and it's fascinating. He dispels some of the "legends" in that book. Yes, he was a genius at interpreting a rulebook. The '66 Chevelle was not 7/8 scale, but that rumor kept people looking at the car's size instead of noticing the real modifications (front bumper, roof, engine location, etc.) The rule book specified the fuel cell volume but didn't specify the fuel line size - Smokey's was 3 inches in diameter! That's just one example of rule interpretation.

The reverse rotation engine was something he tried in an Indy race car. Apparently it worked, but not enough to make it common practice. I don't think he ever did it again. It's been quite a while since I read the book and I don't remember. There are too many stories and anecdotes in the book to remember them all and tell them here, but it's a book worth reading if you had any interest in Smokey.

I've looked for the book, which is out of print. On AbeBooks the lowest price is $214.50, up to over $400! Correction, the first one that popped up on EvilBay is offered for $1000 for the 3 book set!!

old dirt tracker saying " it's my job to cheat and your job is to catch me"

I've always thought anything he said was a fact. I HAD his "Power Secrets" book, loaned it to a young friend that was realizing his lifelong dream of building some hot rod engines at middle age. I told him to pay attention to Smokey's principles and all his engines would be above average. He still has my book, never brought it back LOL.
Nolan

Long time Smokey Yunick fan here. I have his “Power Secrets” book and his “Best Damn Garage in Town” book. What a fascinating guy and a colorful character. In about 1985 I sent him a tech question to Circle Track magazine. My question didn’t get published, but he sent me a hand written letter answering my question, including his phone number. He said to call him if I had any more questions. I wish now I would have done that. I got his autograph at the Circle Track trade show in Daytona, about a month before he passed away.

I took this picture a couple years ago at the site where his shop used to be. Part of his old parking lot is still there. You can see the river in the background, that’s where the famous picture with the Chevelle was taken from Rogers post.





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