Twistercraft Restoration

[mbd29]

Mike:

As for Jackie.....well he is English, after all, and you need a little upper Midwest sentiment to really appreciate how much Mr. K did with little more than a glorified weed wacker and the heart of a lion as a starting point. Like you, I still bleed Mercury Black, for reasons that confound me to this day...but I wouldn't trade those reasons for the world. In the end it is really a reflection of you folks out in "Oshberg" ( i prefer "Fond du Kosh myself) and LakeX who built wild things and breathed magic into a number of lives around the world...Without Mercury (and their little war with OMC), Jackie would have had no reason to concoct that Cosworth wonder, for who would he have had to conquer? ( Not to mention, he would not have had a drive system... )

One last thing, please give Slick my best wishes for a well earned retirement, and my eternal gratitude for opening the back door when GG closed the front.....

T2x

Rich: I will pass it on to Slick. Jackie!!! He still ceases to amaze me on his command of the English language. As for Bill I sure don't want to minimize his contributions to MPP and Team Mercury. He was there during the best of times.
I had nice long chat with Dick Snyder last week and he shared a buch of memos, about racing, from the late 60's and early 70's between he, Mr. Kiekhaefer and Alex.

[mbd29]

Rich: I will pass it on to Slick. Jackie!!! He still ceases to amaze me on his command of the English language. As for Bill I sure don't want to minimize his contributions to MPP and Team Mercury. He was there during the best of times.
I had nice long chat with Dick Snyder last week and he shared a buch of memos, about racing, from the late 60's and early 70's between he, Mr. Kiekhaefer and Alex.

Just to clarify for you accuracy readers the Mr. K memos were from the 60's. I don't want to start a firestorm.

[C.G. 125]

Mike, Not ready yet. I guess I need a project like Red.

[willabee]

......... Bill: I may not have been to clear but what I meant was that Russ and Slick are the only two left, still working at Racing, who started in 1973 when HP was formed.

I didn't pick up on the "still working there" thought, just figured you're getting older and may have forgotten about me ..... again!

(BTW - the trailer looks fine, just ignore the noisemaker)

[jackiewilson]

I didn't pick up on the "still working there" thought, just figured you're getting older and may have forgotten about me ..... again!

(BTW - the trailer looks fine, just ignore the noisemaker)

Soooooo----your going blind or wearing rose coloured pincers William-------back in the day , if I had turned up at any meeting with my Molinari/Mercury rig on a set of wheels like those under little red, you would have thrown a wobbly and taken the rig back.
You of all people Know that, your just prissy 'cos it was me wot suggested it.
Take a gander at the artistic piece of workmanship under Mark's RIVA, now that's a trailer, or as you lot have mutilated the English lingo TRAILOR.
As for " forgetting about you " don't we wish,!!!!!!!
Trouble is! WE CAN'T, your just as much part of the set up as that old bastard with the beard and the 'orrible fierce look----always in the ads. Somebody once told me it was one of the gods, probably Mercury-------looks more like BACCHUS to me, and we all know who that chappie was.
Keep taking the tablets Willa and tilting the right elbow, cheers, hope the old firm include you in their 75th celebrations, but probably won't-----they always overlooked the meat and gravy and took the backbone as being sound, reliable, and "as expected".

[T2x]

I had nice long chat with Dick Snyder last week and he shared a buch of memos, about racing, from the late 60's and early 70's between he, Mr. Kiekhaefer and Alex.

Is Dick still involved with the litigations ?

[jackie wilson]

Hey Mike, did you ever get new wheels for "LITTLE RED"?

[mbd29]

Is Dick still involved with the litigations ?

Rich: Dick still comes in and works one day a week on litigations.

[mbd29]

Hey Mike, did you ever get new wheels for "LITTLE RED"?

Jackie: The president of the company saw what you had to say about the "wheels" and was so distraught he sent me a note and said get it off that trailer!!! So, the exhibits department made a special stand, with wheels, for it to be displayed on. Boy, you still carry some clout!!!!!

[jackiewilson]

Mike, it's simple, just call Mercury "cheapskate" and mountains will be moved, call 'em "class" and they sit back and rest on their laurels, chest puffed up and dreaming of past glories.
Glad to be of assistance, tell the boss man I said hi.

[Vulture27]

Hi Mike, Didn't Jim Merten build lil Red. I remember Jim Jr. racing a sister at St. Louis back in the 80,s.

[mbd29]

Hi Mike, Didn't Jim Merten build lil Red. I remember Jim Jr. racing a sister at St. Louis back in the 80,s.

It's ironic you write this now. I'm putting items/information together for the display and came back in here looking for additional info and noticed I didn't really have much on Jack Ferris, the builder, along with Carl Stippich and Jim Merten. Little Red was sold to Dave Packer in 1976 and by the 80's was obsolete. All the other Twistercrafts we gone by then too so Jim Jr. could not have been in Little Red.

Jack was a great guy and was great with wood. He also carved ducks. He had a stroke in 83, I belive it was, and hasn't worked since. I think he is 86 now.

Here is a picture of Jack from last April. That is Jim Schuenke behind Jack.

[Vulture27]

Hi Mike . I didn't think it was lil red but Jim jr. said it was a copy or got inspiration from lil red.

[Vulture27]

I think I remember meeting both Jack and Carl back in St. Louis back in the 80's

[3rd Gen]

OMG!!! Inspiring or what!! Its SCREAMING AV GAS!!

The trailer is done and I had our exhibits department move the TIIX to our shop. I hope to move the boat to Fond du Lac the week after Thanksgiving.

When was the last time you saw a new out of the box TIIX? If I remember right this engine only has test tank time on it.