Ron Hill
05-06-2002, 07:31 PM
I was reading about someone complaining about painting checkers on their boat. I remembered our DeSilva Wing that was red with black and white checks....
Rod Zapf and my dad built the cowlings and pinted this boat in our garage. I bolted all kinds of aluminum angles to the bottom ...not to make it turn, but to hold air on the straight aways...
I had some of the first 100 cubic inch Evinrudes... OMC's team boats were running in the high 80's...Our DeSilva was running in the low 100's....103...
Fred Hauenstein and I co drove and we picked up 8 laps, I think of lap money....After our Evinrude lead, the President of Mercury, Carl, himself, sent word he wanted that "GOD DAMN HILL BOAT"....
Ann Strang, Charlie's mother negotiated a deal with Carl to buy the boat..actually owned by Jimbo McConnell's dad and my dad....My old man was heading down to get the check from Carl when OMC's Jack Leek...yelled at him and said, "Wait a minute Russ...I'll give you a check...."
I could write several books on my dealing and my dad's dealing with OMC. Usually, we'd help them out of some dam thing....Then, they'd take the credit...
Like the time my dad called Jack Leek, Director of High Performance at OMC and said, "Send me two sends of rings for two engines...." Jack said, "Why?" My dad said, "Well whoever is putting these engines together is breaking the rings at the factory." Leek said, "Under our agreement, you aren't to touch the engines>" My dad said, "The hell with the agreement, I'm tired of blown up engines...send me some rings and hung up."
Some heads rolled at OMC... But they quit putting engines together with broken rings....
Rod Zapf and my dad built the cowlings and pinted this boat in our garage. I bolted all kinds of aluminum angles to the bottom ...not to make it turn, but to hold air on the straight aways...
I had some of the first 100 cubic inch Evinrudes... OMC's team boats were running in the high 80's...Our DeSilva was running in the low 100's....103...
Fred Hauenstein and I co drove and we picked up 8 laps, I think of lap money....After our Evinrude lead, the President of Mercury, Carl, himself, sent word he wanted that "GOD DAMN HILL BOAT"....
Ann Strang, Charlie's mother negotiated a deal with Carl to buy the boat..actually owned by Jimbo McConnell's dad and my dad....My old man was heading down to get the check from Carl when OMC's Jack Leek...yelled at him and said, "Wait a minute Russ...I'll give you a check...."
I could write several books on my dealing and my dad's dealing with OMC. Usually, we'd help them out of some dam thing....Then, they'd take the credit...
Like the time my dad called Jack Leek, Director of High Performance at OMC and said, "Send me two sends of rings for two engines...." Jack said, "Why?" My dad said, "Well whoever is putting these engines together is breaking the rings at the factory." Leek said, "Under our agreement, you aren't to touch the engines>" My dad said, "The hell with the agreement, I'm tired of blown up engines...send me some rings and hung up."
Some heads rolled at OMC... But they quit putting engines together with broken rings....