Havasu, 1970.....not 1969 as originally posted :o......it finished 8th.Quote:
Originally Posted by khasmoth
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Havasu, 1970.....not 1969 as originally posted :o......it finished 8th.Quote:
Originally Posted by khasmoth
I remember that boat also.....it, like the Glastron/Molinari's was "patterned" after the 21'er that Bill Sirois won with in 1970. The Molinari came over in late 68 or early 69. Bob Thompson ran it at Parker in 69 and Sirois at Havasu that same year and, if it had a good driver, it was a great boat. Merc recognized that the tunnel was the way to go and asked several US manufacturers to produce something special. The Molinari may have been "left" at Lake X between Parker and Long Beach and John may have been there testing something else at about the same time......you know that Merc wouldn't "give" someone Molinari boat dimensions.Quote:
Originally Posted by 2us70
Anyway, if memory serves, John built the twin in 69 ......it, with boats from Sidewinder, Desilva and a couple of others sat in the storage building in Oshkosh for a while. Finally, one by one, they were rigged and tested. The twin McCall was not a fast boat....it didn't really compare to the Molinari. It looked great, typical McCall craftsmanship and very little black paint for trim, but I think it was heavy. Jeff Titus ran it at Havasu in 69. I'm not positive, but I think John Henry Price ran it at Parker in 1970. Not sure of this either, but I think it was blown over, sent back to McCall for repair and sold.
The 21' Molinari with Sirois at Havasu in 1969 & 1970.......the McCall looked a lot like this, it just didn't run like this.
Now.... is this a different boat than the open cockpit twin McCall that Bob Thompson had...and, I believe, Steve Stepp drove at Smith Mountain Lake?Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
T2x
I'm not sure, did Thompson's look like the Molinari (I'm pretty darn sure John only built one) and was the Smith Mountain race you're referencing 1970? It would sure make sense that Thompson bought it after his ride in the Molinari at Parker....he said he really liked that boat and the McCall would have been the closest thing to it he could have purchased at that time.Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
It may have been '70 but I think it was more like '68-'69..... We (George Linder and I) were running year old twin 1250 bp's on a 16 Eltro vee. Thompson's boat was a big McCall pickle fork (at least 18 feet)...all varnished wood. I think the driver was kneeling, but I could be wrong. That same year, Pruett ran the triple Jones, and Culver had a twin Jones... Joe Habay was there as well running a twin Switzer Vee Hugger. Kitson ran triples on his wing at that race. There were a couple of twin Sidewinders there too.Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
T2x
My guess is that, once again, your mind has merged two events :p. I know you remember that Billy Don and Broadway Joe both brought triples Jones boats to the Smith Mountain 6 Hour in 69. That was when they managed to fill their tanks with white gas and ruined three powerheads before we arrived. They were told to decide which boat was going to race since they only had three powerheads left between them and that they had to get that boat ready by themselves......they were very upset with that, but that made me pretty happy :).Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Habay in a Switzer V would have been the blue metalflake twin with 1250 BP's in 1968, his first ride in a Merc Team boat. I remember trying to drive that twin before Habay showed up to test. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop it from walking. I couldn't make it to the 2nd bridge without having to back off. First time Habay got in, he nailed the throttle and disappeared, never backed off once :(. Kitson with triples......ummmm, on the black Wing?......didn't finish? Seems he won with twins in 69, but got disqualified for some kind of course infraction at the very end of the race and the win went to Jim Merten driving a 20' Jones that crow-hopped around the couse all afternoon. The McCall you are describing is definately not the one we have been talking about.
Or.......is it my mind that has merged the two races :confused:.
The kneeldown twin engine McCall was "Just Add Water" owned and driven by Bob Thompson. I think he named all his boats the same. I saw it run once at Tavares and Thompson was complaining to John about the boat. John told him he wasn't driving it right and proceeded to go out and show him how it should be done. John promptly blew the thing straight over and wound up with a major rebuild of the boat but lucky for him he did not get hurt too bad. I seem to remember it at once at the Marine Stadium also.
When John was building the 21 twin boat he didn't seem too happy about it. I got the impression that he would rather have done it on his own from scratch.
Your right...my mind has merged two Smith Mountain Lake races into one leaving you dazed and confused.....:p and 2us70 seems to have sorted out the fact that McCall built two twin engine boats..... The Moli copy and one that Bob Thompson "wasn't driving right";)Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
T2x
I think his marine business in Indianapolis was named "Just Add Water" and his boats were named after it. When he decided to be an owner rather then a driver, he had some pretty good talent race for him.....Ken Stevenson and Ben Robertson quickly come to mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by 2us70
I think you had the right impression about John's enthusiasm in building a Molinari copy.
Make that at least three......here'ssssss JohnnyQuote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Like I said, I'm not sure, but Thompson may have ended up with the McCall Molinari.
Thanks for that picture. I thought I had seen that boat at the Marine Stadium but 30 odd years down the line I wasn't sure. It's good to have a couple of brain cells still working.
Mark75H......found this photo posted by Ron Hill, looks like he cropped the right side of Mertens #187 which ran with cowbells. If he still has that article (it is not Powerboat), this may be the photo that shows the cowbells that you have been looking for :). Hope that is the case, let me know what you find.
I'll bet if you contacted Dick Summerfeldt thru Mark Rothermel he would have pics of that engine. A Canadian guy (can't remember his name..........Memory/age) who ran for Teddy Quinn had one on a Moly.
Cowbells on two Canadian teams running at Havasu... Brian Smith/ Dick Summerfeldt and Barry Taylor (177) ..Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianSmith
Wish they were, but those are Silo's - Twister I. I can't see the one on the white boat that well, but what I can see sure looks like a silo. Approximately nine or ten bolts down the log, the bells should be attached and I can count more bolts than that on that log.Quote:
Originally Posted by Watermark
The cowbell exhaust manifold was shorter than the silo, just past the bottom of the block if I remember correctly. The bottom was open and a casting with two different length flared exhaust stacks (shaped like cowbells) bolted to the lower opening......but, thanks for trying, there's got to be a picture of one out there somewhere.