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NEWSLETTER 41 - January 18, 2008

President's Corner: By Jim Miller. Nothing received this week.

Editorial: One of the major reasons that Jim Miller and I formed the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians was to preserve artifacts, photographs, memorabilia and other historical documents before they were lost or destroyed. The following story is documented to the best of my knowledge, although I was only a second hand witness to what occurred. Many years ago I was curious about a family that was central to the story of racing in Southern California and built racing equipment and sponsored cars in oval track racing. The family was the Conze Brothers and they were listed in the programs at the Dry Lakes and their equipment was used by a wide range of racers in all types of motorsports racing. I visited Carmen and Gordon Schroeder at their ranch in the Hollywood Hills. Gordon was in a wheelchair and his health was failing, but was full of life and zest for automobile racing. I asked him if he knew where the Conze Brothers had gone and he said that he hadn't kept up with their whereabouts for years, ever since they closed their shop. Carmen then told me that "they were all dead," and I let it go at that, because Carmen had the most extensive list of names and addresses anywhere in Southern California as she was the founder and chairperson of the Gilmore Roars Again Reunion. The Conze's weren't the only family that I was trying to track down and interview, but they certainly were one of the most elusive. The way that Carmen Schroeder had said that the brothers were dead was said with a great deal of emphasis and I had asked her about that. She told me that the Conze's and she had run-ins from time to time and that she really didn't know if they were really dead, but as far as she was concerned, they were to her. No one that I contacted knew about the Conze brothers. I went to the Racers of Balboa and the Bean Bandits Reunions in San Diego and had no luck there. It wasn't that the Conze's were my sole fascination in life, for I looked for other long-forgotten names, but the more frustrating the search the more I tried to find a record of them. I went to the California Jalopy Reunion, later changed to the California Racers Reunion, hosted and founded by Hila Paulson Sweet, but didn't find out any new information. Walt James organized the CRA Reunion in the early 1990's and I went to the first or second one at a quaint restaurant in Hawaiian Gardens, where the original CRA was supposed to have formed in the late 1940's. Still there was no success finding word of the Conze brothers. I kept on going to the reunions and finally, at a CRA Reunion held at Knott's Berry Farm I met Rod Larmer. Rod and Jim Murphy hang out together and are the kind of guys who never talk much about themselves, which is a real shame, but who know everyone else and are quick to share the knowledge that they have and a few Irish jokes and barbs to let you know you are accepted. Larmer wore his Conze Brothers jacket, which is why I knew whom to ask. How many times have our paths crossed, but until he wore that jacket I had no idea he knew the Conze Brothers. He told me that Vince, Andy and Elaine were well and still kicking, but retired out in the Rancho Palos Verdes area. He gave me their phone number and I called and introduced myself to Elaine, who had married Andy. Vince never married and neither of the brothers ever had any children. I went to visit Andy and Elaine in a home that Andy had designed and they spent the day telling me about their lives. I saw Vince at an assisted living home that he loved, because they took care of all of his needs. Andy and Elaine were my guests at the drag races in Pomona and they marveled at the changes in the sport since the days when they were active in racing. I only saw Vince once that I recall, but he left a deep impression. The same was true of Andy and Elaine, who were much more gregarious and outgoing than the taciturn and stoic Vince. I called them every so often as well as the two visits to their house. Everything about the brothers and Elaine evoked history. They touched upon a time that was called "The greatest Era in American history and the greatest generation to have ever lived," that of the Great Depression and World War II. Vince was the master car and engine builder and was claimed by some to rival Winfield and other mechanical geniuses. Andy was the engineer and his inventions and adaptations were freely copied by all. "I don't mind at all if people copy my designs," said Andy. There simply was no greed or avariciousness in the brothers or Elaine. They pointed to a sign in log that was at their office and I looked at the list of names and they were the greatest race car drivers, owners, builders and mechanics to have ever raced. There was photographs and memorabilia that was vital to our understanding of motor racing in the 1930's and '40's. It was a treasure trove. Rod Larmer kept me updated as the years went by and as Vince, Andy and Elaine aged. They were already elderly when I met them and years before they had closed their shop and just walked away as salvagers and scavengers drove their trucks up to the shop and removed priceless machines, engines and equipment. Andy and Elaine could never have children and Vince never married. As they aged and developed dementia there was no one to look after them. Elaine invited her sister's adopted child to come and live with them and the new caregiver/nephew moved in and took over the estate. Vince passed away, Andy and Elaine could no longer function and the caregiver/nephew came into legal control. Larmer tried to explain to them the importance of the treasure trove of irreplaceble historical memorabilia from one of the founding families of auto racing. Larmer never felt comfortable with the caregivers and his requests to save these objects fell on deaf ears.  Once Larmer, myself and a few other people pass away, the history of the Conze brothers will go cold and dead. It's strange how some of us treasure memories and keep them alive, while some of the brightest and well-known stars die out. Maybe Carmen Schroeder was right after all when she said, "they're dead." Gone and forgotten is something that all of us in the SLSRH should strive to never see happen to those we write about.

When members click the "remove" link they are automatically removed from the newsletter, but if they want back on they can do so at the www.landspeedracing.com webpage and it will automatically add them back in. Those are the rules of emailing when using lists. I'm glad that more people are signing up as they will have a chance to contribute their information and history to this cause if they want to. I will not be in the office next week but the newsletter will be posted and maybe I can send it out from the road or have Anita do it if needed. Thanks, Mary Ann Lawford
Dear Mary Ann and the Readers: If you hit the remove button and want to get back on, just go to the home page of the website and re-enter your request to be added to the newsletter.

Dan Gurney has been named Grand Marshal of the upcoming Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. See Fox, January 26, 1pm– 2:30 pm ET. Speed January 26, 2:30pm–10pm ET. Speed, January 27, 6am– 2pm ET. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many publications here and abroad for remembering in words and pictures the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Le Mans and 1967 Spa Grand Prix victory last year. It is gratifying to see the interest so many fans have shown in John Zimmermann's book (published by David Bull): "Dan Gurney's Eagles, the technical history of the machines designed and built by All American Racers," the first edition is close to being sold out. Since AAR left motorsports as a campaigner and race car manufacturer, the company has gradually branched out into different fields of endeavour. Putting its racing technology to good use, it has gradually enlarged and diversified its prototyping and manufacturing facilities and increased its workforce and by now has become very successful in the aviation industry. At the same time new Alligator motorcycles equipped with S & S V-twin engines are under development and will probably be introduced to the market later this year. Kathy Weida

The life and times of George Barris, the "King of the Kustomizers," will be the focus of a special Saturday afternoon panel discussion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. The event, which will feature Barris and some of his famous friends and associates, is set for Saturday, January 26, from 5pm to 7pm. Along with Barris, other panelists include legendary painter Hershel "Junior" Conway, Blackie Gejeian, Dick Jackson and Parks Museum Curator Greg Sharp. They will offer insights and tell stories about working with Barris and what customizing was like in the fifties and sixties. The program will be hosted by noted designer Steve Stanford and is based on the museum's current George Barris exhibit, which has been extended and now runs through the end of February. Tickets, available at the door, are $25 per person and include refreshments, museum admission and an event souvenir. "George and his friends will put on quite a show," said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum. "It'll be a treat to hear stories and anecdotes from this legendary group. Our panels are always a lot of fun and this one should be especially entertaining. Seating is limited so get there early." Named for the founder of the National Hot Rod Association, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California houses the very roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50 years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm, PST. Current NHRA members are admitted free. Admission for non-members is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors 60 and older, $5 for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. Auto Club members receive discounts on admission and at the gift shop: show your card and save. The Museum is also available for private parties, meetings, corporate events, weddings and special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call 909/622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com. Bill Groak

I was particularly glad to have the transcript of Captain Eyston's talk to the Canadian Club. I've printed it out and added it to my copy of "Fastest On Earth," by Captain George E. T. Eyston, written in 1939 and published by John Miles, Ltd in London. Eyston's book lists all of the recognized World Land Speed Records from Chasseloup-Laubat's Jentaud electric that went 39.24 MPH on December 18, 1898 up to his Bonneville record of 357.5, set on September 16, 1938. His recollection of the Bonneville runs makes a fascinating supplement to the book. Thanks! Thatcher Darwin
Readers: Thatcher is a close friend of the family and former Secretary of the SCTA in the 1940's. He is mentioned in the minutes of the book that my father was working on. Eyston, Cobb, Raillton and Campbell were Brits who came to Bonneville to set the ultimate land speed record. Or should we say the unlimited record, since there are so many categories. Credit Ab Jenkins with popularizing the Bonneville Salt Flats and attracting the attention of European and American land speed record attempters.

Just wanted to tell you that we have more people signing up for the newsletter...the count is now up to 74...so that's a good thing! Mary Ann Lawford

Editor's notes: One of the major purposes for the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians in forming was to pool our contacts and try and find museums for land speed racing collections and memorabilia. Every day, somewhere in the world, photographs, memorabilia and historical objects are thrown away, or are lost to us. Sometimes it is fire, flood, decay, neglect or ignorance on the part of the relatives and friends of land speed racers and fans. People just don't see any importance in what we do and land speed racing does not have a large following. How often do we hear about one of our oldtimers, a pioneer in our sport, passing away in solitude, unheralded by the rest of us. It is too late to do anything then, for family, friends and neighbors have held their memorial for the deceased and carted out the man's prized possessions to the curb to be tossed in the city dump. A few people might pick and fuss over something shiny, but unfortunately the rest will go into the garbage truck. If the family or friends knew that those old 1940's metal timing dashplates could be worth several hundred dollars, would they have been so disparaging of their kinfolks belongings. In that regard, perhaps it is best to get the word out to the public that land speed artifacts are valuable and worthy of preservation, if only because of their monetary value. Jim and I have received word about two museums, one in Indiana which will house the Andy Granatelli collections and the Justice Brothers Museum in Duarte, California. Roger Rohrdanz and I recently had the opportunity to visit with fellow Society member Ed Justice Jr at the family museum at their plant. Both the Justice and Granatelli museums are worth looking into should you have land speed artifacts that you would like to donate. Sometimes there is also tax deductions that you can get as well for donating collectible material. The overriding objective, of course, is to preserve history and to do that we have to write down, caption and catalog what we have and what we remember. The Society will continue to look for places that will receive land racing artifacts.

Readers: The following was received from Mary Mondello who is Joe Mondello's wife. I recently met Joe and Mary at the California Hot Rod Reunion at the Auto Club of Southern California Famoso Raceway, last October, 2008. Here is the letter as received. Dear Rick, Joe has been a SEMA member since it's very first tradeshow held in Anaheim, California, at the DisneyLand hotel. There were about 12 booths there and Noel Carpenter was the one to put it together! At least that's the story I've been hearing for the last 23 years. I will get with Joe and see if this is truly correct, he's conducting classes right now. Sincerely, Mary.
Editor's notes: Joe Mondello follows up on the history of SEMA, written by Mary Mondello. Here's what he said at lunch: Joe says the first one in Anaheim was in 1965, then in Dodger Stadium in 1966 and moved in 1967 to Las Vegas to the Grand Hotel. Petersen took it over in 1968 and the rest is history. He exhibited many years and always went to touch bases when not holding a booth until the last few years due to a debilitating lower back/leg problem. Those personal contacts can't be beat! I think he has been a member of late about 17 years. He did participate in the high school activities in the 1970's and '80's in conjuction with NHRA. Joe ported his first head in 1949 and started porting for others just as soon as they found out what he had done to that old flathead Ford! He has ported steadily for the last 59 years along with his blueprinted engine building. He formed his first head porting company in 1959 and his Oldsmobile company was started in 1969. He started sharing all his high performance secrets in 1997 at the tech school in Paso Robles California. He has been involved with almost every type of engine from go-karts and motorcycles to full blown fuel in every facet of racing and is still going strong here in Crossville, Tennessee! He has developed the wet flow technology with his partner, Lloyd Creek, it seems his mind never stops creating. I will send a list of head users in a separate Email, most have won awards and held records. His heads were on the cars that ET's the first 7, 6, and 5 second runs, in top fuel the first 200mph in gas, many Bonneville and dragboat records, Paul Leffler held the 1970-76 USAP world championships, with Mondello heads, 75% of the A, B, & C blown gas coups had Mondello heads including KS Pittman, Stone/Woods&Cook, and John Mazmanian. I have also attached his bio although I think that is already on our site. If you need more let me know, Mary.
Editor's notes: The following is a follow-up letter from Rich Rollins to Joe Mondello. Joe – I’m pulling information from your website, but one thing that will be helpful would be any involvement you’ve had with SEMA. How long have you been a SEMA member? Have you ‘shown’ in the SEMA Show? If so, how many years? Have you participated in any committees, councils, task force, anything? It always helps to have SEMA involvement show-up on these nominations so anything you can add would be great. Also, when did you go into business in the head business? When did you start the school? Do you have any idea how many championships, world records, etc your heads might have won? As I told you, nominations usually happen in February and we only get one shot with this info in front of a Nominating committee, so I want to put as much in as I can. Thanks Joe. Rick Rollins, V. P. / Marketing Relations, MSD Performance Group, SEMA Chairman-Elect, Direct ph: 407-585-7006, including those first ones, that's seven years! If you have it, outside of what you raced, all info will be copied to Ron Funfar also, [email protected].

CRA Reunion January 19, 2008 at Knott's Berry Farm Hotel in Buena Park, California, starting at 11am. WRA Banquet on January 26, 2008 in Burbank, California starting at 1pm. Grand National Roadster Show January 25-27, 2008 in Pomona, California at the Los Angeles County Fairplex. SCTA Banquet, January 26, 2008 around 6pm in Ontario, California.

Gone Racin'…to see Bob Morton. Story by Richard Parks, photographic consultant Roger Rohrdanz
Bob Morton was born on January 5, 1931 in Los Angeles, California to Robert A. and Margaret Morton. He attended John Burroughs Junior High School and Los Angeles High School. He took wood and electric shop in high school and when he was fifteen, he entered a work/credit course and went to work for Lou Senter and Jack Andrews at Ansen Automotive. Ansen was just getting started and Morton would find that his experiences at this garage and speedshop would change his life. The garage did repair work on cars during the day to earn enough to keep going and sell speed equipment when they could as an added bonus. Soon the speed equipment business would begin to grow and shops would find it more profitable, but that would come later in the 1950's. Jack Andrews taught him how to port and relieve on a Flathead engine. He learned how to work on valves and build engines. The shop was very busy doing work on V-8 engines for Midget racers. Although Morton was one of the youngest workers at the shop, he was actively racing at the dry lakes as well. He began racing at the dry lakes in 1947 in the Russetta Timing Association (RTA). That year he drove Tom Singer's '25 Model T roadster powered by a Flathead engine. For the 1948 racing season he drove his own Ford Model A-V8, which he raced in the Mojave Timing Association (MTA). He was a member of the Lobers Car Club. Some of the Lobers included; Lou Senter, Jack Andrews, Tom Singer, David Walsh, Kent Huggins, John Mogge, Steve Joseph and Dick Guldstrand. Guldstrand would later achieve fame as a driver for the Corvette racing team and he now owns his own specialty speed shops.
Bob was racing his car at the last meet of the year for the MTA in October 1948, when the rivets sheered off a rear wheel. His car went end over end on the soft dirt of Rosamond dry lake. He was not seriously hurt and attributes his good fortune to the fact that he was wearing a crash helmet and Air Force seat belts. There was no seat in the car and he was sitting on the floor. In those days there were no roll cages and enclosed safety devices like there is today. The helmet protected his head and the seat belts held him secure as he rolled backwards into the turtleback (trunk) of his car, which formed a protective roll cage for him. He had welded the trunk solid and this also helped him. Jack Purdy drove his delivery van ambulance up to the scene of the totaled car and expected to take Morton to the morgue instead of the hospital. Purdy stuffed the shaken young man into his truck, but Morton was too tall at six foot five and Purdy couldn't shut the back door, so Bob's feet hung out the back of the van. He was okay and the Timing Associations all learned valuable lessons. Seat belts, crash helmets and enclosed areas were lifesavers. They also required racers to weld the wheel centers to the rims. The MTA raced at Rosamond Dry Lake because of the congestion at El Mirage Dry Lake. Morton graduated in 1949 and went on to Los Angeles City College taking business courses and also working for Ansen Automotive.
There were many Timing Associations in the years after World War II, but the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) was the largest and they set their schedule in January and the other timing associations took what dates and dry lakes that were left. El Mirage Dry Lake was shorter but the hard packed dirt surface was superior for dry lakes racing. Rosamond Dry Lake was longer and away from the military at Muroc Dry Lake, which was also called Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base. The surface at Rosamond was softer and more dangerous to run on. After WWII ended, the military sold massive amounts of war surplus material for next to nothing and Morton explained how the racers would buy flight helmets, pilot's jackets and hats, gas tanks, belly tanks, airplane seatbelts and aluminum seats and other equipment. A favorite was Palley's War Surplus in San Fernando Valley. His parents picked him up from the hospital in the little town of Mojave, California and asked their son not to drive again. Bob Tattersfield called Morton while he was still recovering from his injuries and asked if Bob's engine was still okay. Frank Baron and Bob Tattersfield had just finished their new Bill Burke built belly tank. A belly tank is a spare gas tank used by military fighters and bombers to hold extra fuel. It was made to be aerodynamic and expendable. After the war the dry lakes racers realized that these belly tanks made excellent bodies and made frames to fit their dimensions. They looked like a flattened egg but they were fast, even if the drivers could barely fit inside the cramped new cars.
"We're having a problem with our tank engine," said Tattersfield. "Can we use your engine from your wrecked car," he added. Morton agreed, and Tattersfield and Baron put the engine in their belly tank. They added Tattersfield heads and a 4-carburetor manifold. At the last RTA meet of the 1948 year, the Tattersfield/Baron belly tank set the land speed record in their class with George Hill driving. The team raced several times with Morton's engines during the 1949 season in the SCTA dry lake meets. Bob had recovered from his crash and met George Rubio of the Road Dusters Car club. Rubio had a '29 Ford Model A on a '32 Ford frame, using a Flathead engine for the powerplant. Both Morton and Rubio would take turns driving this very successful car. They joined the Road Runners Car club for the 1949 SCTA racing season. The Road Runners was one of the oldest and most recognized car clubs in the nation. Members included Randy Shinn, Wally Parks, Ak Miller and a host of famous names. The pair also raced in the Mojave Timing Association. "Our speeds at the SCTA meets were in the 145mph range and we did a best of 144.16 at the MTA dry lakes meets. Then we took the car to Bonneville for the first Speed Week ever held at the Salt Flats and made 23 runs in 5 days. We took 3rd place in the C Roadster class at 135 mph. We just couldn't compensate for the altitude and nobody had learned very much about Vic Edelbrock's secret of mixing in a bit of nitromethane for more power," added Morton.
Third place at Bonneville and 145 mph at the dry lakes put the partners at the top of the landspeed racing fraternity in those days. That was fast and the car was consistent, but George decided to sell the car at the end of the season and they built a car designed only for Southern California dry lakes racing. It was a '29 body on '32 rails, similar to the previous car but pretty rough looking. At the first MTA meet they were testing the car and running impressively in the 140's, sorting the car out and seeing what improvements needed to be made. At the next SCTA dry lakes meet the competition became fierce with Bill Likes running the Pierson Brothers engine, Pat O'Brien and others all running nearly identical 144-145's. Bob and George had made run after run and they were tired and the car seemed stuck in the mid 140's like all the other drivers in the roadster class. Bob Robinson asked if he could make the last run in the roadster and see if he could do any better. "I think about that decision all the time," said Morton. Robinson was no rookie. He worked for Senter and Andrews at Ansen Automotive and he had driven short track roadsters, midgets and other dry lakes cars and he knew what he was doing, but this was his first ride in the almost new Rubio/Morton car. "It was dusty and the wind was blowing and visibility wasn't all that good out there," said Morton. The announcer read the results from the timer and said, "the Rubio/Morton car has just set a new stock bodied roadster record and is the first car to go over 150 mph at a speed of 151mph."
But there was silence on the other end and no one could see the car turn out due to the visibility and the distance. Much of what happened was speculation. It appears that Robinson didn't see the cones and the markers at the end of the timing traps and kept on going on the short dry lake until he hit a sand dune that propelled his car into the air. Sand dunes at the far end of the dry lake form around sagebrush and can be particularly dangerous at high speeds. "The car was breaking loose, the conditions were windy and dusty and Otto Crocker told me that he thought that Robinson may not have seen the markers and felt he was still on the course and didn't shut off his engine," said Bob. "Robinson hit one of the sagebrush mounds and the car went 184 feet in the air before it plummeted nose first into the dirt, broke the seat belt, crumpled into a ball of metal and rolled for about a quarter of a mile before it came to a stop. I got to the end of the track just as Jack Purdy was draping a sheet over Robinson's body. You can see pictures of the car on www.ahrf.com under Bob Morton. That took the wind out of our sails and Rubio and I decided not to build another car for the dry lakes," he added.
However, Ak Miller lent his dry lakes car to the partners for a couple of meets. It was a '27 Ford T Roadster with a belly tank nose and belly pans for aerodynamic efficiency. The car was built by Kenny Parks, the younger brother of Wally Parks, past president of the SCTA and founder of the NHRA. Ak was a legend in landspeed racing and excelled at road rallies and Pikes Peak, but he didn't have much success with this car, although it ran consistently in the 140's at the dry lakes. They raced the car at the SCTA/AMA challenge at the Blimp Base in Tustin, California in 1950. The AMA had challenged the SCTA to a car versus bike dragracing speed contest and the turnout was huge. Morton recalls that the cars beat the bikes consistently that day and the Miller car ran exceptionally well, "beating all comers," he said. "We were turning 10.8 seconds at 115mph in the � mile with dry lakes gearing and no quick change rear-end. Drag racing was a new thing to us. George did very well drag racing and drove the car that day," Bob said. Morton borrowed a '32 chopped highboy 3-window coup and raced it at the new Santa Ana Drag Strip that was just opened up by CJ Hart in July of 1950. He went 118 mph in the � mile, which was a very good time then. George and Bob returned to Bonneville in August of 1950. Ak Miller borrowed Don Baker's car for them, a rear-engined '27 T roadster. They were sponsored by Ansen Automotive and used Howard Johansen's fuel injection system. Rubio and Morton shared the driving duties and their best time was 143 mph across the Salt Flats.
Morton borrowed David Bourke's car in 1951, using his own engine. Dick Senor drove this same car to a speed of 145 mph later that summer in the SCTA dry lakes meets. He had joined the Air Force Reserves and his unit was activated for the Korean War on March 17, 1951. At the induction station, the commanding officer at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California took an interest when Bob mentioned that he was a hot rodder and asked Morton if he could do an engine swap and put a new Cadillac engine in his car. Bob assured him that he could and was soon assigned to March Air Force Base, which allowed him to continue his racing career. After initial training, he was assigned to the Lake Charles, Louisiana SAC Base (Strategic Air Command). New bomber bases were needed in those days to counter a threat from China and the Soviet Union. Morton worked on extending the runways for the big B-29 bombers, doing maintenance work and certifying the safety of the engines after maintenance before they were allowed back into service. He left the Air Force in December of 1952 and enrolled in Santa Monica City College. He transferred to the University of Arizona and went to work for GM's Allis/Chalmers Tractor Division, located in Sonora, Mexico. In 1956, Bob married and had two children, Robert Marshall II and Laurie Ann Morton. In the late 1950's he went into a partnership and farmed land around Blythe, California for the next twenty-eight years. He grew cotton, wheat, alfalfa, vegetables and other crops. In 1985 Bob moved to San Diego and was involved in real estate and construction. He and his wife Charlotte have ten grandchildren.
Bob Morton had a short but full racing life. He was there at the beginnings of the dry lakes and at the first two Bonneville Speed Weeks. He dragraced at the Blimp Base and Santa Ana Dragstrip in 1950, qualifying him as a pioneer among drag racers. He worked for Ansen Automotive, another pioneer in the speed equipment business. He built race engines for track roadsters and midgets, including Dempsey Wilson and Andy Linden. We even did engines for boat racing. "We had built engines for a Crackerbox boat called the Screamin' Demon, which was owned by George Zimmer," said Morton. "Lou Senter was the riding mechanic and George eased off the throttle. Lou reached over and pushed the throttle down and George was stunned. A bit later while leading the race, they hit an object and ripped out the bottom and the boat sank with Lou hanging on the bowline for dear life. I dove down and tied a rope to the boat and we pulled it out before the salt water at Marine Stadium, in Long Beach, California could ruin the engine. When we opened up the pan we found a pair of scissors and Zimmer said this was the reason for the sinking and sued Lou for negligence. He lost the case though," said Bob. Gone Racin' is at [email protected].

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Jonathan Amo, Brett Arena, Henry Astor, Gale Banks, Glen Barrett, Mike Bastian, Lee Blaisdell, Jim Bremner, Warren Bullis, George Callaway, Gary Carmichael, John Chambard, Jerry Cornelison, G. Thatcher Darwin, Jack Dolan, Ugo Fadini, Bob Falcon, Rich Fox, Glenn Freudenberger, Don Garlits, Bruce Geisler, Stan Goldstein, Andy Granatelli, Walt James, Wendy Jeffries, Ken Kelley, Mike Kelly, Bret Kepner, Kay Kimes, Jim Lattin, Mary Ann and Jack Lawford, Fred Lobello, Dick Martin, Ron Martinez, Tom McIntyre, Don McMeekin, Bob McMillian, Tom Medley, Jim Miller, Don Montgomery, Bob Morton, Mark Morton, Paula Murphy, Louise Ann Noeth, Frank Oddo, David Parks, Richard Parks, Wally Parks (in memoriam), Eric Rickman, Willard Ritchie, Roger Rohrdanz, Evelyn Roth, Ed Safarik, Frank Salzberg, Dave Seely, Charles Shaffer, Mike Stanton, David Steele, Doug Stokes, Bob Storck, Zach Suhr, Maggie Summers, Gary Svoboda, Pat Swanson, Al Teague, JD Tone, Jim Travis, Randy Travis, Jack Underwood and Tina Van Curen, Richard Venza.

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