Hot Singles ! - Pictures

[jackie wilson]

Sorry Jackie, long gone.....if I had one it would be yours.

Amazing just how great people are----specially old boat racers, John Sherlock and Jim Hunt both came up with the goods--------John with the blue face which is the one i really need and Jim with a black face. "How 'bout that".
If anyone has any use for a bunch of 2 litre piston rings-----wrist pins-----roller bearings----couple of primer pumps--water pump gaskets etc, there are drawers full of old stuff in my workshop. Genuine users only----for free !!!!!!! Most of it is between 20 and 30 years old--------Tell you what-none of it is going back to England.
Still weep when i think back to being part of the carnage when Mercury moved out of the Molinari factory and we threw every thing that wouldn't fit in the trucks into Lake Como. Sad bastards weren't we ???

[jackie wilson]

'HELLO'----------- it's ok for you guys to comment -----even if it's only to say "Bugger Off" or we don't want to know !!!!!!!!
Just want to get Willabee up to his 200,000-then i promise to leave you all alone

[willabee]

.....Still weep when i think back to being part of the carnage when Mercury moved out of the Molinari factory and we threw every thing that wouldn't fit in the trucks into Lake Como. Sad bastards weren't we ???

.....A very sad story, I didn't know that happened. Sure glad I wasn't around when that decision came sliding down through the chain of command. I suppose it's easy to say now, but I think that if something had to be thrown into Lake Como, it should have been whoever that gave that ridiculous order in the first place!

[willabee]

.....-then i promise to leave you all alone

Back to some Hot Singles, the pair in this pic certainly qualify. Earl Bentz in #241 and Billy Seebold in #190 running in the OZ class at St.Louis in 1978. I think this shot is from the start of a heat. Those boats just jumped out of the water at the gun and carried like that all the way to the turn.....very cool stuff to watch.

I remember talking to Lee Sutter at that race. He had been testing some of the OZ stuff and was as excited as I have ever seen him about the performance of a boat. He said that it was almost impossible to describe the feeling you get when you hit the throttle and that big prop grabs the water to launch you from a standing start to 100 and change in what seems like nothing flat!

[jackie wilson]

'Je Concur' mon amie--------2 of the fastest men ever to plonk their rears in a tunnel. Course Mr Bill is a bit long in the tooth now------and gone to seed a bit---------plays some golf -but not very well. Best thing about him these days is Miss Lynne.
Haven't seen Bentz for some 20 years------------they do tell me he has gained a pound or two and is worth a dollar or three. Sure did a hell of a lot better than most of us.

[jackie wilson]

Hey ---all you goonybirds out there----------it's ok to comment----------- even curse !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[willabee]

A while back, we were talking about the horsepower of the Merc stackers and Twisters. A new person came on and said that he had worked for a few months at Merc in Fond du Lac under Ted Morgan. He said something about seeing a single pipe C6 on the dyno and stated what he recalled the hp to have been.

I'm trying to find out what he said the number was, but can't find his post. Does anyone remember what thread it was on?

[lottactionracing]

hay gene its your ol buddy johnny reed i also was frends with billy don,he was a trip and fun to be around.do you rember at miami stadium at
the drivers meeting when the baner airplain flew over with a baner that read , billy don p.was a big f....... indian and someone said don look whats flying over. that was good one i think it was from the boys from wis.that was the same race that he caused me to blow over and get run over.at the start of the race by buzz taylor.don did tell me he sorry,later at p.h.y.c.he said he didnt think i was that fast to next to him as always. we all were chaseing you in red bird.i am glad i was able to be around you guys,in some of the race we had here in miami.its just that i,was to young to start when you guys did.butt now iam old.i will send you the pic.that you wanted showing you,me,don,buzz.in the stadium that day.ill call you soon.

[lottactionracing]

hay,steve don also ask me if i wanted to go flying,when he took me to the airport and showed me one of them.i said hell no i had to stay alive to race another day in miami.that b.f.i,was fun to be around the last time i saw don was at a race that i was in,i ran over the side of some guys boat.don was ref.that day he waved the black flag at me and when i ask him what i did,he said i was doing to much pruitt driving.and i said well you were one of my teachers.and he just laughed and speaid i didnt caught.we spent the rest of the day b.s.ing.when we said goodby he said keep the peddle to the metal.and that was the last time i saw don,i will never for get him. johnny.

[GENE LANHAM]

hay gene its your ol buddy johnny reed i also was frends with billy don,he was a trip and fun to be around.do you rember at miami stadium at
the drivers meeting when the baner airplain flew over with a baner that read , billy don p.was a big f....... indian and someone said don look whats flying over. that was good one i think it was from the boys from wis.that was the same race that he caused me to blow over and get run over.at the start of the race by buzz taylor.don did tell me he sorry,later at p.h.y.c.he said he didnt think i was that fast to next to him as always. we all were chaseing you in red bird.i am glad i was able to be around you guys,in some of the race we had here in miami.its just that i,was to young to start when you guys did.butt now iam old.i will send you the pic.that you wanted showing you,me,don,buzz.in the stadium that day.ill call you soon.

Johnny---still waiting for that picture!!!

Here is Johnny---about 40 years after the 'incident' with Billy Don---this Allison is a 'Hot Single'

[GENE LANHAM]

Thanks to Seeroy/OFF2010 we have some great pics of these 'Hot Singles'-----

[seeroy]

The Best Thing about OFF is meeting new people and seeing people that you haven't see in about a hundred years. Harken back to 1971, Johnny Reed and I are towing Bill's Molinari from Wisconsin to Havasu. Somewhere in the wilds of Kansas, not a car in sight for the last hour, I decide my bladder just cannot hold on any longer. So, I pull to the side of the road and am in "mid-stream" and starting to feel that rush of relief when the whole world explodes in my ears. Johnny, standing 5' away, had decided that this was a great time to test his .357 Magnum and was blasting away across the wheat field. Since I had nearly finished #1 at this point, I damn near let loose with #2 in my britches. Fortunately, the old sphincter held tight. 40 years later, just before taking this photo, I had nearly peed in my pants from laughing so hard as Johnny and I recounted that story. It is that kind of story that makes OFF so much FUN! If we could capture all of the great stories (and lies) told at OFF, we could fill a whole shelf full of books. By The way, I haven't posted anything lately on the OFF2011 thread, but preparations are moving along very nicely and we will see all of you on 20-23 October in Jupiter. Best regards to all OFFs - Steve Sirois

JOHNNY REED 40 YEARS LATER

[BobbyR]

Hey!!! Can an old man with a bad memory get in here??/ I see you let Jackie in.... Hello to everyone ... It has been awhile since writing and was just directed to this thread by Roy's yougest " grew up on LakeX"... Have enjoyed the read but had to leave page 42 to get here to let Jackie know I was listening..... I am working on a few comments about the sixties and early seventies...
The other Ridgell

[seeroy]

Hi Bobby - GREAT to have you back on board. Come on in the water's cool and flat. Hope all is well with you and yours. We certainly would like to see you in Jupiter come October. Very Best Regards - The Other Sirois

[jackie wilson]

The best bit of all this is the fact the "Old Farts" have taken over the "Hot Singles"-------Willabee has to be spittin' feathers.
Don't worry about it William------we already screwed up "The Wankel" site, be nice to me and i won't piss on your site.
Sometime tomorrow your gonna reach the 200,000 hits mark----------sincerely -----WELL DONE WILLABEE !!!!!!!!!!CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT SITE.