Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

[jackiewilson]

Still only the one bid on the sculpture! God knows how you get people to take any kind of risk nowadays! I was thinking - how about a sculpture for the Fast On Water Inboard/Outboard Prototype boat? I'm getting desperate to see something more adventurous on the water - and I don't mean electric hydrofoils.

Roy, tell me what you want and I’ll cobble you something together———- Kim collected the concept for you! Keep your chin up Roy——- never lose sight of the objective———— a little help for Kay and Mick.

[stokernick]

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What some of you you may not know is the fact that the “kitchen goddess”——— her who shall be obeyed at all times, is a vey accomplished amateur artist. Has an amazing ability to paint anything she puts her mind to. Few years back she got into 30/40s jazz, did all the greats, Dizzie Gillespie—— Billie Holliday——Fats Waller——- Louis Armstrong and suchlike.
We visited New England in the fall, and she was into wild colours, houses, deserted beaches, rough seas, lighthouses.
Never gets stuck on one thing , can be a boat, animal, country scenes, simply whatever comes to the canvas——— hugely talented, but doesn’t think she is.
Ive just posted you five random paintings that are hung around the house to show you what she can do, I tell you, she’s bloody hard to live with at times, and a bloody hard act to follow.

Lest we forget how many years she's had to put up with you!! Love truly is blind!

[jackiewilson]

Had a stellar day in the shop——— was colder than a witches tit in there but somehow stuff just came together nicely.
Couldnt get paint to dry worth a lick——— tried for two coats but wasted my time—— tomorrow looks even colder. Could be a day or two before you get to see the finished object.
Decided to have a crack at Reggie’s boat——— just for the hell of it. Only had some old door stile in laminated crap mahogany——— first thing I did was put a bloody nail through a new blade ——— second time in a week I’ve done that. Still, not to worry, trundled on and managed five hours.
The eight exhausts proved quite interesting and were well worth taking the time over ——- think I got a couple of weeks to go before you get to see anything !

On the subject of Reggies Record boat———— it’s his boat——— he wanted his kid in it—— if other parties don’t want that, walk away, He who pays the piper !
Outsiders are not entitled to an opinion——— unless you invested in it.
Amazing how suddenly everyone’s a bloody expert on record breaking. Wonder how many of them ever ran a kilo in anger ?

[jackiewilson]

Lassie seems to have a “WIZZARD” fixation————doesn’t seem to be able to accept the “FACT” that two brothers had a go at an idea only to find out there wasn’t a boat in the world with a transom that would take 600 horsepower!
Jimmy also put eight of those motors in an offshore boat.
I doubt very much if either project was a Mercury sanctioned effort. Wonder if Butler knows?

Course, the daft part of all this is the fact OSHBERG———DULAC is still up and running, Mercury are employing lots of American people and producing the odd marine propulsion unit or three———Oh, but hang on a minute, didn’t i see the OMC facility at Stuart had planning consent for condos ? And there were recommendations that Volvo should buy The Evinrude division———— what an excellent idea .
What do they say———— what goes around, comes around ?

[lars strom]

Lassie seems to have a “WIZZARD” fixation————doesn’t seem to be able to accept the “FACT” that two brothers had a go at an idea only to find out there wasn’t a boat in the world with a transom that would take 600 horsepower!

Well Jackie..here is the fact regarding the Merc Wizard and the Merc T-4 in the first try in Cincinnati GP 1984.
The second time in the London GP 1984 coming soon at my fact thread here at Scream & Fly.

http://svera.se/blogg/mercury-t-4-ra...nnati-gp-1984/

[jackiewilson]

Ok Lassie here we go.
Fact is T4 never came up to expectations———too heavy—— not enough hp—— maybe Billy or Bentz can give you the answer, I can’t. What I can tell you, is the guys that ran them drove out of their socks and over their heads,and when it did stay together it beat the crap out of anything OMC had.
Was never a level playing field when it came to the OZ scene———- in the first place, there was never, ever, since racing began a MINIMUM limit on OZ———- or a maximum. That is until OMC realised that the two litre Mercury was faster round Bristol than anything they had, suddenly a minimum appeared.
Yes, Billy’s times with the two litre were faster than his time with the two point four, but I’m I’m quite sure you knew this
I don’t know which of the two parties were most at blame when it came to lawsuits, legalities, and warrants against each other, suing each other left right and centre !
What i do know is , FACT it did the sport no good at all.

OMC were pretty good in the dirty tricks campaign———- after the “ Gentlemen’s” agreement of running only single engines to turn up at the worlds with a twin rig was a tad shabby, Me myself thought———— not that it did any good——- Billy and Bentz still shafted Renato.

FACT—— Thirty years on Lassie, and the V8 day’s are long gone, but not forgotten———- OMC are long gone——- but not forgotten.

Not saying MERCURY are the good guys, but they’re still alive and well and thriving, and the company logo is not being peddled around?

[powerabout]

which part of Merc is thriving, Yam has way more market share, Stern drive business falling for several years, High Performance part mostly shutdown.
The lightweight 3.4 v6 4 choke should have been out before the supercharged tower of power, so now they are saying Yam had the correct configuration years ago?
No warranty on a 200xs so sales flopped but its a great reliable racing or consumer performance engine. ( costs more than a new 3.4 4 stroke?)

[jackiewilson]

Well, Pilgrim, if you drive down the highway from Fon du lac towards Oshkosh- look right—— there’s a new building that is unmistakably Mercury, seems to run forever, I’m told that’s it’s the new factory for building the Varado Outboard, I do not know this for a fact,as I am a POM and reside in the little island across the pond but maybe Fuji can fill us all in on this.
Not been to Japan since the late late 70/s so have no idea of the state of play of the marine market there——— but I don’t suppose for a moment not even one of the company’s threw all their assets into V8 racing and bankrupted the company in its wisdom (.even though they would have been fondly remembered thirty years on).
Company’s that were small when I went there are producing some big assed propulsion today——- Honda—Yamaha—Suzuki—Tohatsu although I still don’t see much in the way of stern drive or surface drive propulsion coming from over there ?
Maybe you can enlighten me on that one Pilgrim.
So, you telling me Mercury sales are up, down, stagnant or what. .
Tell you what——- they got a hell of a building program for a company that is anything but quietly and confidently FECKIN OPTIMIST. And growing rapidly !

[powerabout]

there is no competition in sterndrives coz the market will be gone in 20 years at the current rate of shrinkage less racing and we know that makes no money.

They engineered and built an entirely new engine, il6 supercharged a couple of years back now they just introduced a range to compete with it and when you supercharge a 3.4 v6 I reckon it will make more power than a 2.6 il6.
Hard to follow the thinking here unless they have already decided the verado is history?
I doubt there is a country on the planet where a Merc outsells Yam or anywhere anybody thinks they ever will, is there?
Brp and Merc had growth last year in the USA but Yam had more

[jackiewilson]

You come from Singapore or that neck of the woods don’t you Pilgrim ?. Now if I remember rightly the boss man of Tiger Beer once explained to me that to protect the Malaysian Car Industry, the government placed a 1500% import tax on all foreign cars, sounds about right, wouldn’t you agree ?
Wonder if Trump has the balls to impose that sort of tariff on cars, outboards etc, or has the manufacture of Apples iPhones, iPads and lithium batteries got such a far reaching effect that the gates been open too long and the steed pissed off into the long distance and it’s far too late.
Just speculating——- I’m just a village boy with an enquiringl mind—— I really don’t know anything!

[powerabout]

You come from Singapore or that neck of the woods don’t you Pilgrim ?. Now if I remember rightly the boss man of Tiger Beer once explained to me that to protect the Malaysian Car Industry, the government placed a 1500% import tax on all foreign cars, sounds about right, wouldn’t you agree ?
Wonder if Trump has the balls to impose that sort of tariff on cars, outboards etc, or has the manufacture of Apples iPhones, iPads and lithium batteries got such a far reaching effect that the gates been open too long and the steed pissed off into the long distance and it’s far too late.
Just speculating——- I’m just a village boy with an enquiringl mind—— I really don’t know anything!

Yam makes everything else but outboards in the USA so it could start real quick I think?
https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/tech/...gine-shipments.

Toyota makes the best selling American car in the USA oops (just beaten after 15 years by a Honda Civic)

[jackiewilson]

Buggered if it’s not the Trojan horse all over again Pilgrim——— nothing’s new——- all you have to do is look back at history, the answer will be right there.
One slight problem is finding out HOW ?
First look at the seven wonders——- then the Pyramids, once you got that problem solved, you got it made, you’re cooking with gas and eating bear !

[powerabout]

yam like toyota, nothing special just keeps plugging away...
Every-time the yanks drop the ball they gain market share and after 25years suddenly you notice your not No1 anymore

[fastonwater]

My chin is getting heavier and heavier! But I think there is a very faint dot of light appearing at the end of a very long tunnel. I'll give it another good plug before I call it a day -- as you say, a little help for Kay and Mick.

I was thinking of something similar to the 'concept'. Maybe with slightly 'space age' look. Could it be on some sort of mirrored base? Not a tall sculpture -- more like the Duke of York or the Harmsworth -- so it looks like it's floating. Very much appreciated Jack. Thanks.

[jackiewilson]

yam like toyota, nothing special just keeps plugging away...
Every-time the yanks drop the ball they gain market share and after 25years suddenly you notice your not No1 anymore

Visited the Toyota factory in 78, they had just taken delivery of a DFV, disappeared off the face of the earth——- was never seen again. Read into it what you will.
Wouldnt be surprised if Honda didn’t put in a bid for Detroit any time soon and SONY bought the EVINRUDE name———- you see, in this day and age, money can buy respectability!