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[QUOTE=jackie wilson;1714420] At that time Glastron were building the Molinari out of a bucket.QUOTE]
What did you mean.....doing it on a shoe string budget ??
The fiberglass vs. wood debate is an interesting one. As you pointed out most of the old racers did not care for fiberglass hulls.
[QUOTE=Old fiberglass;1714634]Sorry 'bout that-------No not on a shoe string, instead of building out of wood, it was made out of resin which they carried in a bucket, glass boats were known as 'bucket made' over here.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie wilson
[QUOTE=jackie wilson;1714677]No doubt the wood hulls were better than the glass ones.... My Glastron Molinari felt like (and did) come from a different builder. That's the main reason why my biggest regret is never having the opportunity to drive a wood "Wing".Quote:
Originally Posted by Old fiberglass
The "arm chair ride" you spoke about was true of the big "Paris" Molinari's, but the sprint boats just handled so well, had great acceleration and, as a result, lap times were faster. I never claimed to be a great driver, but I did have an eye for hulls and quality and knew that I'd rather be a mediocre driver in a great boat than a daredevil in a thrill ride.
T2x
[QUOTE=T2x;1715282]Don't worry about it , we were all mediocre drivers in a good boat, there were only ever half a dozen 'GREAT' drivers, the rest of us ran a good boat and engine, set it up best we knew how and ran our nuts off against everyone else. There were dozens off us, ie , most of the works drivers [ Omc and Mercury ]. Then there were the hundreds who spent hard earned cash on boats and engines and motorhomes to pull the rigs, and didn't in reality have a snowballs chance in hell of winning much, but loved the sport and were the true backbone of boatracing.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie wilson
Lets face it a dozen works drivers at Havasu or Parker or Paris would not have been much of a spectacle on their own, it needed the guy in the street to make them look good.
The big 18' Molinari was replaced with the easy to run and user friendly 17' which was the choice of Mercury. OMC had SCOTTI, COUGAR, ABBATTE. [plus a lot more a little later]. In 71 i got Angelo to build me a very short 16' sprint, he said i was crazy and did not want to build it. The reason behind this was the fact i had run the 1000BP on a tiny Shultze with magical results, but the Molinari was way ahead in design. This was the fore runner of a range of "sprint Molinari's". But later that year, after Windermere, GG and me were not bar buddies any more. I quit racing to open up a garage and marine business, and did not get involved with racing again until 1974.
[QUOTE=jackie wilson;1715437]Quote:
Originally Posted by T2x
Why weren't you and GG bar buddies any more ??? The 1000BP was supposed to have been an under rated motor that packed a good punch. Did you feel this way ??
In 71 i got Angelo to build me a very short 16' sprint, he said i was crazy and did not want to build it. The reason behind this was the fact i had run the 1000BP on a tiny Shultze with magical results, but the Molinari was way ahead in design.
In '73 we borrowed one of Mark Rotharmels' 1000 BP's (he was running U-I at the time) and plunked it on one of our Miles to run at the Canadian Kilos. Jackie you are right; it was surprisingly powerful!
I set a Canadian record with it that day. Have no idea how long it stood. The amazing part is that we never tested the rig.........just popped the engine on...set it as high as we dared, guessed at a prop and out I went!
[QUOTE=Old fiberglass;1715610]Shakey went and got himself killed in the last hour of practice and i was generally mad at the world and did not drive to the best of my abilities. The 1000 bp on the only 16' sprint should have won the race in the hands of anyone else that day, i just did enough to win the class but GG was pissed off at me and took the boat and engine back to the USA. Last time i ever had a factory ride. -Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie wilson
Told GG to go screw himself, that i would build my own boat and motor and piss all over him from a dizzy height. !!!!!!!!!
The 1000BP always felt lighter and seemed to rev higher, weighed less, but did not seem to have the low down grunt of the 1250BP. Willabee can tell you everything there is to know about the differences. That's what i was given , so had to make the most of it. You could pretty well choose your own boat [provided it was a Molinari]. as Mercury took 100% of the production.
Hiya Jim, The motor i got after the 1000BP was a silo, the next was a cowbell, but i can't ever remember a 1250 SUPER BP. To be honest the memory is getting a bit threadbare so no doubt Willa will stick his fourpennyworth in here.
I "thought" the Super BP 125 visually had the front case that looked like a 135 HP block and the rear case looked like a 125 HP. I'm not stating this as fact just what I thought.....is that correct ???Quote:
Originally Posted by OLEGATOR
Maybe I am a little dumb...what story did you fall for ??
[QUOTE=jackie wilson;1715740]:eek::eek: I bet GG didn't have to guess what was on your mind at that point in time. Losing a friend sucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Old fiberglass
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie wilson
Jackie; thought you may like these pictures;
#6 is St. Louis 1980. I think a loaner from Bill.
#20 Seebold...Duchess of York, Chasewater 1980.
#20 Hodges "IMPALA"; Bristol 1982 ON champion
#20 Hodges "Rolatruc"; Milan 1984
Right on all counts.Quote:
Originally Posted by peterse90
The number 20 Seebold was Marks all time favourite boat, he just about cleaned up all over europe with it. It was ex Bentz, a 17' lightweight sprint.
Will get Mark to eyeball these pics. I'm sure he will be really tickled to see them. Thanks a lot for posting them.
was that the original " screaming yellow zonkers" ?????Quote:
Originally Posted by willabee
I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that I also had forgotten about the name "1250 Super BP"! I think it was when I was trying to make the "big engine list" and I had listed 1969 as the 1350. About twenty guys jumped all over that saying it was the 1250 SBP. My only excuse was that "1350" was the term the engineers used when we received the first four to run at Havasu in 1968 and I used that term from then on. When the 1250 SBP was named, we continued to called them 1350's.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie wilson
I have heard others make the same comments about the 1000 BP vs. the 1250 BP that you and Olegator just made. My experience was just the opposite. I ran bunches of tests, usually on Checkmates, and used the same boats for both engines. Maybe it was the different gear ratios and the prop selection we had available that made the difference.....or, maybe there were just some real dog 1250's out there!