Mercury Dealership Treasures

[warrior74z]

The Shop Truck...When I was a kid I built lots of model cars. The AMT brand that was 1/25 or 1/24 scale. Every weekend my grandparents would give me one dollar and off we would go to buy a model car. I think I remember them being 77 cents at the discount store called Kresge. I built all kinds but always liked the service station pickup that had the flashing light on top and the name of the station written on the door. Or the Fire Chief's red pickup that was so cool. So when Dad got a new truck and had "Mercury Outboard Sales and Service" painted on the door, well that as close as it would get to those models I had built. It was so cool to ride with Dad feeling like a hot shot in those trucks. Just being the Mercury Dealer in town was cool in itself. Seems like this is a '63 model so its about four years old and its ironic that the red band Mercs were just starting. The first shop truck we had was a '54 International painted white with lots of lettering on it. It had a trailer hitch on the front that we used to shuffle boats around the yard. This was before trailers had jacks on the front and the outboard boats, without an engine on the back to offset the weight, were very heavy. Usually a couple of times a week, around closing time, dad would fire up old "Iny" and want to move boats to have them ready for the next days work. Guess who was usually standing around waiting for quitting time, and would be volunteered to lift those heavy tounges of the boats and trailers. To this day I have a stocky build and a thick chest, which I know is from lifting all that weight at an early age...

[Mark75H]

Kresge's was the forerunner of KMart ... that's what the K stands for

[tinker060]

Barron, I am not sure but I think Larry Ford has Blake's boat and is now called the "Other Woman". If so, it has been highly modified and has a normal seat. He ran the boat in the old USDBA with a stock 2.5 and N20. My best recollection is that his best run with the boat was a 7:96 back in '91. Hull is not raceable due to age and water damage. Larry was going to have a C/F copy made but not sure what happened to the project. He may be waiting for his daughter to get old enough to drive the boat. That would be in about four more years.

Larry's boat has a unique hull design....not a true Hydro so to speak. I think Blake called it a "sled" ("sled" as in design...slow is was not!!!!!). Would that fit with what you remember about Blake's boat?

Great thread! Thanks for getting it going. What's interesting is that some of the times posted back in the "OLD DAYS" would be competitive today.

Jon Wright

[warrior74z]

1990-92 Toward the middle of the '90 racing season I made the decision to make it my last one. Capsules were not required in the Unlimited Outboard class yet, and somewhere down deep, I had the feeling that I was walking on thin ice. I felt the law of averages said that I could only race for a certain number of races, before an accident would happen. I had the feeling that a broken prop shaft, engine lockdown, breakage of a steering component or something of that nature would result in a serious injury or worse. So without telling anyone, about mid season I had my mind made up. The last race of that year, in the USDBA, was near Charlotte NC. I drove both the Toy and the Sting at that race. After making my last qualifying pass on Saturday I rounded the bend in the lake and was out of site of the race course, and the racer behind me stopped by my boat after his run as I was waiting my turn to trailer the boat. He said "I don't think that guy made it." I questioned him and learned that there had been a bad accident. But I was unaware of it because, instead of near the finish line, as most accidents are, it was at the starting line. In drag racing at most courses you have to launch your boat, and drive to the starting area, and position yourself on the hold rope, which is a 5/8 or 3/4 inch rope strung across the cove behind the starting line. It is drawn tight with come alongs and is very tight, as twelve to twenty boats will hold on to it lined up abreast, and move toward the center as each pair of boats run down the track while waiting your turn. So when the hold rope is empty, boats launch and drive to the rope to 'load it up'. Lots of guys, me included, would stab the throttle hard for a couple of seconds to clear the engine good, and just 'cause it was fun. Well as I was waiting to trailer my boat, they sent some boats to the rope and one racer in a 165mph pro gas inboard hydro stabbed his throttle and the throttle stuck wide open. As he accelerated toward the hold rope, I guess he froze and hit the hold rope at about 150 mph and the rope cut his torso completly in half. Then the boat impacted the shore at the end of the cove and the V-8 automotive engine slammed his lower body into the earth and well...really all they recovered was his helment and head. He was a very popular driver with his Mom and Dad on the crew and his new bride in attendence. I remember his father demanding to go to the accident site, so officials took him down there in a jon boat, and when he came back I was standing nearby as he motioned to his wife and announced that there was "nothing left." Very sad indeed. Anyway that was my last race as a driver, and lots of friends and racers thought that accident was the reason for my quitting, but my mind had been made up long before.
So my boat owner, Don sat out the '91 season and most of the '92 season, but he wanted to race at Augusta, which by then had become the largest and best drag boat race on the east coast. So Don talked Tom Kunzeman of St Louis into coming down and driving the boats. Tom had a boat exactly like The Sting and he had set records well into the seven second bracket with his rig, so experienced, he was. He qualified both boats well and had made it to the finals of Unlimited Outboard class, and was paired with our own, Jon Wright (tinker060) in "Doo Dad". As Tom entered the finishline timing lights we saw the boat swap ends as the result of a broken skeg on the engine and it crashed hard and ended Tom's life. Very sad indeed. A real gentleman and a class act. I was standing there and witnessed the entire event.
So after seven years of organized boat racing, I had decided to quit at exactly the correct time. One more race and it would have been 'times up' for me...

[blkmtrfan]

Wow Barron that post made my heart sink

Very sad indeed




However, this is still one of the best threads ever posted

[velox]

I only went close to 100 in an outboard powered boat once.
It was a twin engine speedmaster Powercat Hydro.
The bow was pointed and only cleared the water by about 12 inches.
I felt like if it nosedived, I would either die or lose my legs.
I got out and never drove it again.
Crashing on the water at 100 is like crashing at 200 in a car.
I lost it in a Corvette once at a buck fifty and slid for about 1/2 mile.
I kept it on the pavement and drove away unscaved. No way in a boat.
I felt I was bullet proof in my early twenties, but I don't think I would have had the cahones to drive one of these drag hydros!!!!

[seeroy]

Barron - Don't let Charlie (Velox) fool you about no cahones.....He has done it all on land, sea AND in the air!!!. He also builds oustanding aerobatic aircraft. Charlie - I came across another air and sea guy recently. Name is Alan Campbell. I flew fighters with him in FANG for many years and he also flew his own Pitts. He put on a pretty good show for us a few times. Now he is racing in the OSS Offshore series as owner and throttleman of "Screamin Eagle". Best Regards - Steve Sirois

[gofish7070]

Ocne again Barron, Awwwwwwwwwesome Thread..... Having kept everything in order and great literary skills,,,,are great,,,,,,,,,,,
As most of the senior group who reads this forum are older than Dirt, One thing we all remember. which is simply the fastest we have ever gone...........Whether on water, land or air Lets see whats out their.
My rather anemic numbers to todays standards are on water 91.5 while working with Merc in a triple-engined Power-Cat drag boat, being driven by Ken Kitson,,,,, On land I talked a friend of mine to let me take his AA gas dragster down the course at Kaukauna top speed 208 lots left in the car,, ahd to change shorts on that one,,,,, Keep in mind this was the late "60's
With regards to air I must defer to Seeroy or velox, I can harly wait to see how fast those guys have ever gone...........

[seeroy]

Land........140mph in a Chevy that GM built for Mr K.
Water......118mph with Bill in 50', 4 engine, Popeye Cougar Cat.
Air...........Mach2+ in an F106A. That's approx 1,500mph.
-Steve

[warrior74z]

I think you are going to win the overall Steve!
The Toy was faster than either of my planes.
Water...134 in quarter
Land...140 Petty Experience at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Air...120 level...150 downhill Don't you wish you could do that in a boat?

[velox]

I think you are going to win the overall Steve!
The Toy was faster than either of my planes.
Water...134 in quarter
Land...140 Petty Experience at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Air...120 level...150 downhill Don't you wish you could do that in a boat?

I feel honored and humbled to be included in this group.
Both you guys have had amazing experiences.
I have a 930 Turbo Porsche and a Z06 Vette, but have not really aired them out. I am so old I am afraid to get "cop caught"
I only went over 100 in a boat once.
Steve has gone 1500 MPH!!!
I have only gone about 300MPH, but it was pointed straight at the ground at about about 2000 feet. That's when you don't want your controls to fail.
Believe it or not you get used to doing it so the feal factor is not really there.
The real question is what has really scared the crap out of you?
I have had two instances that scared me so bad that after they were over my legs shook so bad I could hardly walk for a minue or two.
One was in a car and the other in a plane. The car was 40 years ago and the plane 2 years ago.

[gofish7070]

Mach2+ 1500 MPH I bow to Seeroy,,,,,,,,,,,,, 137 MPH on water and in a drag boat,,,,,,,, Equal Bows,,,,,,,,, Velox a few years ago a friend took me up in a Bellanca and showed me a little of what you do,,,,,,,, My Cahones are still hiding,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Powerful group of old guys,,,,Anybody else remember going for it?????????????

[velox]

Mach2+ 1500 MPH I bow to Seeroy,,,,,,,,,,,,, 137 MPH on water and in a drag boat,,,,,,,, Equal Bows,,,,,,,,, Velox a few years ago a friend took me up in a Bellanca and showed me a little of what you do,,,,,,,, My Cahones are still hiding,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Powerful group of old guys,,,,Anybody else remember going for it?????????????

Sh***itttt,
We old guys have such good memories its incredible.
I am starting to remember things that never happened!!!!

[velox]

BTW, my scariest moments have not been doing aerobatics.
Its pretty scary designing and building a plane and then being the first to fly the never flown before design.
Usually it turns out you were very clever or completely stupid, no in between!!!!
After I got my first design built I taxied it for about 2 weeks trying to decide if I had a propeller driven go cart or an airplane.
My Youngest son was taxiing it very fast one day and hit a bump on the runway , launching him about 50 feet in the air.
I was scared beyond belief watching him fly completely around to make a landing. Everything went great and I flew it next. After that I have made first flight on about 5 new planes and some after major modifications.

[seeroy]

There is one element here that has not yet been addressed, and that is the fastest in a hovercraft on ICE. I think Jim (Gofish7070) has a pretty good story to tell about that. -Steve