This is the multi engine thread......
There is a single engine thread for these responses......
http://forums.screamandfly.com/forum...ad.php?t=96807
T2x
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This is the multi engine thread......
There is a single engine thread for these responses......
http://forums.screamandfly.com/forum...ad.php?t=96807
T2x
Look at all those multi's from Galveston 1969.
Boy I sure would like to find photos of Lou Cooley's Power Cat rigged with the
4 Chryslers, I have some of it with 3 but not with 4.. Heck any photos of any
boats from this 1969 race would be welcome... Post 'em if ya got 'em!!
Danny Leger
ps. Rick Connolly came up with the photo below
[quote=peterse90;1478306]Go way back to a thread started by RACEMAN called "Old Kitson from the rear", and #111 is a Kitson that RACEMAN appears to have bought in 2002 and was going to restore.Quote:
Originally Posted by peterse90
[QUOTE=peterse90;1486925]We know that. John Sherlock has it now. The question is who drove it in the race in Canada. I'll check with Kitson and see if he ever ran a number 111 without a "T" or a "UU" designation. The newer APBA numbering format that eliminated the alpha designations came about in about 1970 or 71 so it might all line up.Quote:
Originally Posted by peterse90
T2x
Im adding this to this thread.....because it belongs here I think.;);)
T2x
FANtastic Job there, Rich..:thumbsup:
Thank you my friend........ I am trying my best to disprove the adage...."You can't go home again".Quote:
Originally Posted by lilabner
I know a lot of work and $$$$$$ went into those photographs and it just looks fantastic,,,,,,,,,,,:cheers:
No thinking needs to be done.....that thing is definately a "Hot Multi" :cool:. On an old thread and with some research by old fiberglass, it was determined that 113.208 was the fastest speed recorded by a Switzer Wing.....Kenny Kitson in 1968 with an 18'er (Outboard Bob's Wing) and a pair of stacked 1250's with speedmasters. There's your target.....Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Hard to believe that Superbash first showed us what it was going to look like on 10/28/05.....the "This Old Wing" thread. A lot of time, a lot of work and a great result.
I have some Lake X test sheets that indicated Jan Schoonover's wing with Odell driving ran 118 or thereabouts on the measured course down there.Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
I also thought that Kitson ran 120+ in one direction at an NOA kilo.
In either case that should be easy for this monster........ On the other hand she's an OLD boat.....like me;)
T2x
Nah, I doubt they went that fast. Ya gotta remember that the offshore boys always had stuff going at least 10 mph faster than it really ever went just because they were the offshore boys.....the bigger the name, the faster it went :rolleyes:.Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
There was some interesting talk about those Wing record speeds on the "What was the fastest speed by an inline" thread.....I'll bring it back to the front just to refresh memorys.
I spoke to Kitson last night. He confirms that he ran 121 one way in a Kilo in Tennessee. The boat had overdrive lower units and Record 3 blade 21's on it for the attempt. He barely missed the shore on the run out and because of that close proximity he was still accelerating as he entered the measured course on the return and only registered 107 on that leg. His AVERAGE 2 ways was 113.Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
If I can find the time sheets, I believe that Odell, Sirois, and Schoonover had recorded wing tests at the Lake. I think Schoonover also set an APBA kilo record as well at close to 120.
T2x
Next time you talk with Kenny, please tell him I said hello and that I still tell people about the trip to San Luis in his T-bird (another Parker 9 Hour story) :reddevil:.Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Thought I'd get some takers after my shot about the offshore drivers and their speeds, but guess none of them are reading. Anyway, I used to go to these speed trials. Just outside Knoxville and I'm thinking it was Edgar Rose that ran the show for NOA? On the "Fastest speed recorded by an Inline" thread, I said that I thought Kitson set the record there at 119. Apparently what I was remembering was that one way run because, as you stated, the record is 113 (two way average).
My memory banks say that Jan was done with record attempts after he flipped trying to break the NOA 113 mark.....sure don't recall him setting one in the 120 range in APBA. I don't know a thing about Wings running record tests at the Lake, but I didn't start going down there until late 1967.
So, now I'm curious, how are you looking at this. To make the claim, do you think you have to go faster than the fastest one way run or better the two way average?
yes.........:pQuote:
Originally Posted by willabee
T2x
[quote=willabee;1491166]Nah, I doubt they went that fast. Ya gotta remember that the offshore boys always had stuff going at least 10 mph faster than it really ever went just because they were the offshore boys.....the bigger the name, the faster it went :rolleyes:.
Willabee:
I don't think any of us were guilty of that, the only one that MAY have exagerated a little was that guy from North Carolina-----
Gene
[QUOTE=GENE LANHAM;1491909]Hey Gene:Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
Speaking of "little guys".
We won the "great race" on Labor Day.:D:D;)
T2x
That poor guy.....he might as well change his name to Charlie Brown (the Charlie Brown that the Coasters sang about) and walk around asking "Why is everybody always picking on me" :DQuote:
....the only one that MAY have exagerated a little was that guy from North Carolina----- Gene
Actually, in my experience with Reggie, I found him to be a pretty straight shooter. While testing, I remember asking how he was running and he would sometimes look me straight in the eye, smile, then go into his 'aw schucks' routine and say something like....."I'm running pretty good, but so is Seebold. I'd like to try some more of the powerheads in the truck to see if one of them might give me an advantage over these guys."..... I'd just laugh and tell him that they were all built the same and that would pretty much be the end of it.
[quote=T2x;1491965]Quote:
Originally Posted by GENE LANHAM
Hi Rich:
Thanks for your help on that---I would love to hear some of the details--if you posted on here, would that boat qualify as a "Hot Single"????
Gene
Gene, speaking of "Hot Singles", looks like my puter ate the shots of Peacock's fire. If you want to send them again, I'll get them on the thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Claude Fox ran the show at NOA,Edgar Rose was APBA
During later years Julie ran the show, Claude just thought he did. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by rnelems
Thank you.....my little memory maker was runnin' around in my head looking for that name, but just couldn't find it. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by rnelems
Received a few more photos from Gene. In the first we find Gene doing his 2nd favorite thing.....absolutely nothing, just relaxing in the sun :D. He said this is Havasu 1969 and Neal Chambers is doin' the holdin'.....was he related to the Sharon Chambers that used to race FJ in Miami?
The next two are from Galveston, 1969. The first is what was left of Jim Merten's Wet & Wild 18' Switzer Wing after an accident. Jim was running 2nd to Bill Cooper's 18' Jones and was closing the gap in a hurry. He decided to pass Roy Reeves, driving a triple Chrysler powered Stylecraft, just before the pit turn and he came in too hot. He spun out just in front of Reeves who had no place to go. Reeves, at near full speed, hit the Wing right in the cockpit, then went up through and then over it.
I'll never forget that sight. I was on top of the Merc parts truck with Rick Lamore. Rick didn't work for Merc then, neither did Merten. Rick had just come to that race with Jim to help any way that he could. When the boats made contact, it sounded like an explosion, very loud. When the spray settled, there was Mert.....head and arm hanging out of the busted cockpit, not moving at all. The Wing still had one engine running at idle and it was doing a slow circle. My mind went to Ernie Threlkeld's Wing which he had named the Black Coffin. That's exactly what it looked like to me, a black coffin.....we thought Mert was dead and the boat was showing everyone what it had done!
As most of you know, Mert did survive that accident. He spent a lot of time in a Galveston hospital. They had to insert some wires in his left arm to give it movement again. One day I was talking with Mert about the accident and he shared something with me.....he said that he knew he was going to pass Cooper in two more laps and would win the race. However, the race paid $50.00 lap money for leading and he had decided to get past Cooper quicker to get an extra $50 (he referred to it as gas money) and that was why he tried to take Reeves where he did.....man, what a lousy decision that turned out to be :(.
The 3rd shot is the tail end of the Stylecraft. The left engine was ripped off and you can see damage to the center unit. I don't remember if Reeves was hurt, I guess I was just concentrating on Mert.
I saw the whole thing..I was in the pits right in front of the wreck watching Mertens when he spun and the Stylecraft launched..It was really scary for a few minutes..We couldn't get to Mertens because boats were going between us and him..I forgot who got to him first..The GN race I was in after that one wasn't much better..I think 5 boats flipped in a 15 minute span,..All the ambulances were gone when the 5th boat flipped..The driver was taken to the hospital in a van, and I don't think he survived..I saw them beating on his chest on a picnic table as I headed for my turn in a Mandela..We were third at the time..but the steering broke shortly afterwards..The race should have been stopped when they ran out of Emergency Vehicles..
:iagree:It was scary.....I was pretty much oblivious to all of the GN action. When a friend gets hurt like that, people sort of get caught up in their own little world and do what they think has to be done. You don't see a lot of what is going on around you.Quote:
Originally Posted by lilabner
Mentioning that the race should have been stopped reminds me of a race I went to in St. Mary's, Ohio. It was very windy and the lake had a pretty good chop on it. There had been a few blow overs early and conditions were getting worse. In the spectator area, I walked past a group in a tent that was broadcasting to the spectators and on the radio. Someone recognized me ( Wally Heuser ?) and waved me over to the tent. He stuck a mic in my hand and asked me to describe some of the action on the course.
While I was babbling, a number of things happened. I don't remember exactly how it went, but it was something like another boat flipped and a safety boat roared to his aid. But, someone hit the big wake left by the safety boat and another tunnel driver was in the water. A few minutes later someone else took off for the heavens.....I think there were four or five bows sticking out of the water at one time and I did say that I thought this race should have been stopped a long time ago. After saying that, the race referee or some other race official, was paged to come to the tent. After a quick introduction, someone asked me to repeat what I had said about the race conditions. Next thing I knew, this man says "Ok, let's get this mess stopped"..... the red flag started waving and flares were shot into the sky.
Stopping the race was the right thing to do, but I was surprised that the decision came about the way it did. I didn't have any official capacity with that race, I was just a spectator. Strange how things happen sometimes.....
While looking at the film of the race in Merrill, Wi. 1971, saw a couple of Wings running in "T" class, don't remember who drove them. Couldn't get a shot of the black one, but did catch this gold 18'er. Noticed the number is T111 and wondered if it might be the same person that drove the #111 Kitson that Sherlock bought from Raceman.
Good stories boys..... I'd like it.... J-P love :thumbsup:
Although I personally was not there (Peterborough, about 1970) somebody that was there told me that he is sure it was Kenny Kitson driving the #111 black Kitson and was probably Dave Norton driving the #UU 1 yellow OMC wing.Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
Could very well be Kitson, but I wonder why the #111? Kenny always ran #119....he had it on his Wings and boats of his own build afterwards. Maybe he ran a boat he had sold to someone else at this race?Quote:
Originally Posted by peterse90
When I look at the picture of the #111, the number itself doesn't look quite right. Sort of like someone modified a photo by putting that number over the real one and then took a photo of the modified photo. :confused:
A few of Kitson and his #119.....
I spoke to Kenny a few weeks ago. Kitson has confirmed that he did run in that race at that location. I didn't ask him about the number.......I was too busy comparing notes on the Wings.
T2x
Did you tell him "hello" from me (post #305 this thread)?Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Got to thinking about those two Wings running at Merrill and I believe I have the answer. Boots Spellman in the gold one and Fred Hug in the black (one that Kitson had raced). Boots owned a marina on the Fox River in Oshkosh and Fred was a buddy of his. Boots had co-driven with Jim Merten in Wet & Wild at Parker and often spoke about how much he enjoyed driving the Wing. Those guys bought the Wings from Mercury, equipped with 1350 stackers just for pleasure use! Since this race was so close to home, they decided to spend the weekend racing the Wings rather than taking them bar hopping!!!!
I think I told this story once before.....I was sitting in the Fin & Feather restaurant in Winneconne, Wi. Looking out the windows you see a bridge over the river and the entrance to Lake Poygan. All of a sudden the place started to vibrate and this strange sound began to pierce the air. Patrons looked at one another in puzzlement, what the heck was going on? The noise got louder and louder until eeeeeyziiiing, EEEEEYZIIIING..... two Wings with stackers shot under the bridge! Both in full race paint, numbers and all :cool:.
The boats slowed, turned around and idled to the Fin's dock. Out stepped Boots and Fred, big smiles as people gathered around the Wings and asked a million questions. They came into the restaurant to get a burger and a beer before continuing to scare the natives :reddevil:.....that had to be a lot of fun.
I've seen quick snap shots of the paint scheme on the 111 and I think it's a different boat than Kenny's. It's like it's lurking in pictures....but you can never pin it down.
Was looking in the 1970 Parker 9 Hour "official souvenir program".....Mercury sure was betting the farm with Ron Jones twins. Kind of appears like it was the last go with twins before switching over to singles. Lots of inboards running 427 Fords.
39 - Ron Jones Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver- Robert Massey - Gary Garbrecht
177 - Ron Jones Hydro: Engine (1) Mercury Driver- Don Clark
187 - Ron Jones Hydro: Engine (2) Mercury Driver - James Merten
190 - Ron Jones Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver - William Seebold
199 - Ron Jones Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver- William Petty
234 - Molinari Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver- Gary Barbrecht - (typo in the program)
254 - Ron Jones Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver- Thomas Stickle
998 - Molinari Tunnel: Engine (2) Mercury Driver- Bill Sirois
That program sure wasn't very accurate.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Old fiberglass
#39 - was a triple Jones, not a twin.....Massy must have listed Garbrecht as a co-driver just for grins because Gary would not have raced that boat
#177 - was a tunnel, not a hydro
#187 - was a triple tunnel, not a twin hydro
#234 - I don't remember that number on it, but it had to be the 21' Molinari Up, Up and Away (Havasu winner later that year) - Billy Don Pruett was scheduled to run it at Parker but wasn't sure if his new employer would give him the time off. Garbrecht must have entered it in his name when entrys were turned in because he wasn't sure who would be at the wheel. At Parker, by mid-week, Pruett had not arrived and Garbrecht told me he had confirmed the entry, listing him and me as the drivers! He told me to make plans for someone else to take my role in the pits for the race and we went out and ran some practice laps. That was probably the only time I was ever disappointed to see Pruett arrive at a race site.....disappointed because I didn't get to race. :(:(:(
#254 - was a single Jones, not a twin
The Mercury Team drivers all signed as co-drivers on all of the Team boats entered. That way we would always have a driver available if someone was unable to continue.
Bill Sirois ran the reverse "S" that Renato had blown over at Havasu in October instead of the 21' he won Havasu with later that year. The 1971 Havasu Race was the last run for the factory multi engine boats. That was another disappointment.....the end of the multi's. :(:(:(
Here are the #39, the #998 reverse "S" (with the 21'twin behind it) and what was the #254.....
Hi all,
new to this thread, but I had to post one of my favorite hot multis. Please reply with any info you may have on it.
thanks,
jeff
I think you missed a couple of twins.
1) Bobby Witt of Baytown Marine -- 21' Glastron molly # 36 twin Erudes
2) Me / T-74 21' Glastron Molly 2 stacker mercs
I finished 9th after Bobby barreled his twin in the pit turn on the last lap.
That was a wild finish. We were wadded up going into the last turn when Bobby hung the sponson and rolled, the rest of us scattered like a couvy of quail trying to miss him and each other. Then it was a drag race to the finish line. Tinker Collenge (sp) was my co-driver at that race. Like I said, "I think" this all happened in the '70 race. I only drove one Parker race. My memory isn't what it used to be. :cool:
Fielder
Jeff - This is the boat that Bill (Sirois) won the 1970 Havasu with. After the race they repainted and spiffed it up for exhibit. - Steve SiroisQuote:
Originally Posted by digital_jeff
Hi Steve,
Happy New Year!
Do you know where the boat is today?
jeff
Quote:
Originally Posted by seeroy
Steve:
I thought the old man gave the boat to Bill after that.......
Jeff & Rich - I have heard that he did give it to Bill, but I don't think I heard it from Bill. I really don't know what happended to it. I just sent an e-mail to Doug Janisch asking him if he knows. - SteveQuote:
Originally Posted by T2x