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Returning to the scene of the crime...

By Eddie Buck

It's been a while since I have done this. I truly thought I was finished. I missed it and often caught myself thinking, through some situations, “This would make a good topic for a column." Well, with all the craziness we have had in the world this past several months... this would make a great column!

 The Hippo had been in the trailer since it left Bakersfield in October. I had no time to devote to it, less money and little desire. The plan was there, everything else just seemed to be out of reach. Occasionally, I would drop the gate to look at it and then would close it. I had rented part of my shop to a local auto dealer, to detail trucks. It turned into a headache, and took up almost 700 square feet of space in our front shop and severely limited the room to work on anything. With the onset of the pandemic, we ended our relationship with them and gained back space. One Sunday, I had a visit from a couple, new to the area, who were out exploring. The woman had seen the Mr. Ed parked outside one day, and even took a photo of it and posted it online. They introduced themselves and stayed for a few hours. They told me they were owners of a speed shop in Alabama, but were here due to the husband's "real" job. They were living in an apartment nearby for the next year and in the midst of all the madness, missing their dragster. One thing I can always count on, is the common denominator of that dragster. People, who know them, are sure to stop in and at least satisfy their curiosity as to what it is. That weekend was the first time I had pulled it out of the trailer. The husband lusted it and the wife hopped in! Smiles abound and it was a lot of fun. Not much work got done that afternoon, but there wasn't any drama either. Just good conversation and new friends made.

  That visit was actually the catalyst to get started on it again. It's a great release working on it, or just staring at it really. Every time I extract it from the trailer, I marvel at the art, beauty and sheer sex appeal it possesses. Gleaming in the sun, as the light picks up the file marks in the raw aluminum. The simplicity of the structure and the hypnotic hues of magnesium, chrome and aluminum. Nothing beats it in my opinion. It has stayed this way, far longer than I planned. I had made an initial agreement, to show it for a year in bare metal. One year turned into two, with no complaint from the people who looked at at it. Some even told me to leave it that way. As much as I love the raw look of the perfect body and attending pieces, it needs to be finished.


 It just takes time, that evil four-letter word. A necessity to the budget-minded builder/restorer/caretaker of these pipe racks. It's a well-worn struggle amongst those who want to make things letter perfect and those who want to see it done as soon as possible. Research, studying photos to make it exactly as it was built, holding out for correct parts, feeding kids, paying tuition, etc. It all contributes to the masters degree you earn in patience. The Hippo is pretty close to being ready to paint, with most of the chassis finished. There are a few details, brackets, this and that, either needing changed or made. Some changes were discoveries I made, when new photos became available, giving a clearer or completely different view of components. Some had to wait until the engine was ready to be seriously started on. The learning curve is also a big factor. Not only what that piece may be, what goes where, or how it goes... but, the learning curve that comes from accepting well-meaning help.

    I have been involved with many facets of this hobby in the last 45 years, since I bought a 68 BelAir for 40 dollars. I am by no means afraid, too proud, or too stupid to ask questions. (I have asked my share of stupid questions too!) I'm also not afraid to tackle a project, even if I have to do it over until it is right. I have already had a few things on the Hippo, I just didn't find to my liking and decided to redo it, to be exact. Not close, or changed for the sake of making it trick, or reinterpreted... but exactly like it was in 1968. Some are things I did and some done by others. It gets a little overwhelming when you are attempting to restore a 40, 50 or 60 plus year old relic. But, the details are what makes an exact restoration or even recreation. Here is where differing opinions and well-meaning help come into play. I know firsthand, from many instances over the years, the fun factor can disappear faster than I care to admit. There's always going to be someone who inevitably tells you how much you don't know, how much they do and how they have a better way to do it. I have been lucky enough to have made friends with people who were "there", working on these things when they were being run. The best piece of advice came in the form of a question," Who owns it?" The answer is the solution and the advice is to go the extra step to make it right. You sometimes have to regain control and take the reins.

   If you have kids, you know this part. You can try to do it for them, tell them what they are doing wrong, etc. But, it ultimately has to come down to them doing it on their own. If you are restoring a dragster or building a piece of furniture. There will be things you need to learn how to do. Take the time and do it. Who cares if it isn't right the first time? Keep doing it until you get it right. You will find the sense of accomplishment, is far more rewarding than being told something will never work, or how much you don't know. Sometimes, you actually find out, you know more than you thought. It could cost a friendship that is the part that sucks. But, if it turns into a pain in the ass and you would rather walk away from it, doing it yourself is the better choice.

 I'd like to thank Brendan Murry ,owner of Raceparts.com, for sponsoring some of the engine parts and helping to move the project along. I've been super busy at the shop and even more so since the pandemic orders kicked in. My big plan was to get the mocked up engine out of the dragster and onto the engine stand. After getting the car out of the trailer, I started taking all the pieces off the block. After wrestling the block, engine plate and clutch can loose. I moved the cherry picker in place, well... I tried. The chassis sat too low, a few 2x4's and.... not high enough. A couple cinder blocks (with some towels) were enough, when put under the front axle, to get it high enough. A couple tries and it came out. Next, swing it around and on the engine stand it goes...or so I thought. Where are those damn bolts for the mount on the stand? A quick look through the bolt bin... not long enough. I started looking for all thread and found some... 20 minutes later. After assessing the situation... I went for a walk to Ace Hardware the next block over and bought some grade 8 bolts. That all thread was probably a bad choice. Once I got the bolts in the mount and block, I grab the engine stand. Suddenly, the realization of the weight difference of a small block Chevy and a 1957 392 hemi dawned upon me. Okay, back to the warehouse to find some steel. I came up with some 3x3 square tube and proceeded to make a base. Once it was done, it stood tall and could hold the hemi. The only way it was going to fall, was if I hit with the truck. By the time I was finished, it was time to go. The next day was Father’s Day and I had to do the dad thing. Then, I realized I needed the main bearings. Ordered those and they came in last week. Well... we got busy and the engine is sitting on the stand still. I did move it twice. I told my oldest son what we needed to do. I plan on mocking it up this week. Hopefully. It's will only take a short time.... I swear. Time... damn it... time. Stay tuned!.

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Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins

By Dan Ricks • 30 Oct, 2023
Jenkins grew up in Malvern Pa. He began racing in the late 1950s, driving his famed “Grumpy’s Toy” Chevrolet to Pro Stock success in the mid-to late 60s. Jenkins earned fame by helping revolutionize the Pro Stock class through innovations in engines, suspensions and other parts. He also was a successful driver, winning 13 NHRA national event victories and numerous other races under various sanctions. Jenkins earned a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell, using that knowledge and his personal skills to transform the Pro Stock class. Known as the “FATHER OF PRO STOCK” Jenkins’s engines won five NHRA championships in a row. Jenkins’s mechanical innovations included drag racing’s first Kickout oil pans, the Pro Stock strut-style front suspension, the dry-sump oiling system, the electric water-pump fan, gas-port pistons and slick-shift manual transmission. In 2011, Jenkins was voted number 8 among NHRA’S greatest racers by a poll of drag racing experts and is a member of the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Jenkins garnered the nickname “Grumpy” for his no-nonsense attitude. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins passed away March 29, 2012, at the age of 81 .

World of Mopar

By Bill Kloss • 30 Oct, 2023
Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio staged its Inaugural Ken Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar presented by Arrington Performance, Sept. 22-24, 2023. Produced and presented by Summit Motorsports Park. “We couldn’t be happier with our Inaugural Ken Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar presented by Arrington Performance,” said Bill Bader Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park. We had a tremendous turnout, and we look forward to an even bigger event next year. The planning starts now.” .

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

By Ted Pappacena • 30 Oct, 2023
Remember going back to school after your summer vacation and the teacher asks you to write an essay about what you did over the summer? Well, this is that essay although I’m retired and every summer is a vacation for me. It actually started in February when I got a notification from my friend Hayne Dominic. He and Gary Gore hold a yearly event at Mason-Dixon Dragway called the “Rocking Chair Nationals”. It’s a nostalgia drag racing event featuring the cars and stars of years gone by. Each year they recognize different categories in drag racing and this year’s honorees were to be photographers, journalists, and announcers. I would be one of the honored and would I be able to attend? Would I? You don’t have to ask me twice! June 24 is the date of the event.

STAY BEHIND THE WHEEL

By Jim Feurer (Animal Jim) • 12 Oct, 2023
Many race drivers retire too soon. Some not soon enough. A lot depends on level of racing, expense and sponsors. And of course desire. No matter. Stay behind the wheel long as possible. This advice can also be used as a metaphor. My shrink friend Chris Holley back a few years told me, “Jim, whether it is a seven mile an hour garden tractor or a 200 mph race car, you are happiest behind the wheel.” It dawned on me later as I recalled his words. The man was correct. How do you know when to give up your seat? That question could be different for all. A football player example would be comparing Broadway Joe Namath with Tom Brady. The smart way to hang up the driver fire suit or football equipment etc. is when you are on top of the game. And importantly, affordability comes into play both ways. Can you afford to still drive or play ball or cannot afford not to? Which brings my ramblings to my own situation. I never had major dollars behind me. But even after I retired from Pro mod competition and sold my contemporary ride, From 2000 to 2012 ,I still could book my old Pro Stock from the 80s for vintage match races , that ironically paid pretty well. So I booked a couple to 4 a year to supplement our income. So it goes. I hung it up for good in 2012. There were too many problems. Like forgetting to plug in the cooling fan for two outings. Not realizing new batteries were needed. My foot slipping off throttle pedal Etc. My car Zeke and I were tired. WE both needed to be refreshed. Or retire. I always say, “Everything ends”. It may not end the way you wanted. But it ends. My ending sucked. I went one booking too long. It still haunts me. Some racers I admire for quitting fairly young and on top are Jackie Stewart, Ron Colson, Bob Olson. Those that stayed with it are Arnie Beswick, John Force, Wayne Torkelson, Bill Neri, Animal Jim. Etc. When Folks call my time drag racing as a professional a “HOBBY” that riles me up. It may have been a hobby for some. For me and Linda it was far from a hobby. Linda was my team manager and she kept tract of the money and we made a living drag racing. The Animal Jim Racing program was a serious business. We made some money with Animal Jim memorabilia. Selling Animal Jim T shirts, hats ,hat pins, sweat shirts etc. Linda even hand made wild graphic sweat shirts with her own label. “ANIMAL WEAR”. We also had the Lacon ( little home town) hands on First National Bank boasting live tellers and staff in our corner. That started about 1989. We needed to update. But we needed cash. Linda went to the Lacon bank with a stack of future match race contracts and several magazines featuring Animal Jim. The bank stepped right up and loaned us whatever we needed from then on. As long as we paid interest the bank would renew our loans annually. And we always paid back the loans. After every successful outing, Linda would keep the cash we needed and take the rest to pay on the bank loans . Linda and I were a team. Several times we jumped off the cliff of opportunity hoping to grow financial wings on the way down. Somehow we always did. I often wonder what it would have been like to have a major full ride. Our race crew was mostly volunteers, which we much appreciated. But there were a few times it was just Linda and I, and sometimes only me. I recall an Oct. race in Canada in 1981. Linda was teaching school of course I went alone. I recruited a couple fans to help. Now at 82 I make a few close to home cruises with my 64 R code Galaxie ;with my son in law Doug Fennell’s help. For farther ones I use my 2005 GTO. It has now become a classic due partly to it’s rarity. My Linda Lou loved all racing . But not car shows and cruises. A current post on Face Book shows my now late Linda Lou in the passenger seat of our 64 Galaxie as we are leaving the cruise at the Oglesby ,Il root beer stand. A rare picture indeed. That picture was 5 years ago. Any way getting back to the topic of my rambling, heed Dr. Holley’s observation. Stay behind the wheel long as possible. Even if it is a 7 mph mower. Oct 2023 Animal Stories. By Animal Jim Feure Epilog: For those not informed, my precious Linda Lou went to school teacher heaven Aug. 24, 2023. Linda was 81 and taught school right to the end. In fact right after she died the funeral director was our home. The phone rang. It was a local school wanting to hire Linda as a sub. She commanded a Job even after she died! In the haunting lyrics of Frank Sinatra, My angel eyes are gone. .

To Win-and Win Not

By “Animal”Jim Feurer • 26 Sep, 2023
I am sure many of you know Earnest Hemingway's novel, TO HAVE and HAVE NOT. It was made into a B &W movie in 1944. Staring Humphrey Bogart and introducing and staring the sexy Lauren Bacall. (The word sexy in dictionary should have Bacall’s picture as example of sexy.) This story is about races I should have won and did not. What I am about to tell happened long ago so some of the half dozen situations may not have occurred today. I had two rooked situations which definitely reduced me to runner up in finals. The worst was a race at an AHRA national event Winter Nationals in Tucson, Az. I was racing the early 80s Nitrous Small Block Zephyr Pro Stock Zephyr nicknamed ZEKE! Nitrous for small block only had been put in rules as an option two years ago to try and even the sudden unlimited cubic inch rules .There was a lesser weight rule for unlimited cubic inch small blocks. Problem was the small block cars could not get light enough to use that weight break advantage. 600 plus CI plus Big Block cars could get to their min 2350# weight. Enter The Nitrous Oxide Option. No SB CI Limit. But had to ad 250 LBS. to the Unlimited SB base weight. If canted valves,(like my Cleveland Ford-ad another 50# Types of trans also had wt. factors. My Merc Zephyr with Cleveland, NOS Nitrous and Lenco 4 speed weighed in at almost 2600 pounds. Zeke was AHRA legal. I was sponsored by NOS . In 1982 I had won a few races including an AHRA National Event and several runner ups. Also set several records. I might have won the AHRA pro stock season Championship if parts would have arrived on time. We were using los of parts, learning about nitrous. I missed AHRA Salt Lake and Spokane, the AHRA World finals. By missing those last two events, I was reduced to 3rd. in the 1982 AHRA pro stock season championship. Back to the before mentioned 83 Winter Nationals. It was the start of a new season. I was trying to win the AHRA pro stock championship this year. After months of preparation, and traveling 2000 miles through snow, ice, sleet, rain and high winds we finally made it to Tucson after 56 white knuckle trailer towing hours. Changing off driving with the late crew chief Cliff Sturm, and crew Terry Shirley and Dennis Paccetti. I had run this race several times. The last season I was number 2 qualifier and I got runner up. This year I came loaded for bear. Good crew, Spare engine, spare Lenco and spare third member rear ends. I also had a spare set of new slicks. These were actually listed for a rail dragster. Slightly smaller than the popular Pro Stock Goodyears. These were much lighter with a Super soft compound. They would be needed before this week end was over. When we arrived at Tucson mid morning Friday an overnight snow was melting. By 1.00 pm I was ready to make a qualifying run. The first run was only average. Starting line was junk. It had been repaved and was pealing up. By Saturday the track personal had moved the starting line ahead. I assumed the top end clocks were repositioned accordingly. Next run was better but we nipped a piston. We had to put my fresh 409 ci Cleveland in. Made another qualifying attempt. It was pretty good. We were number two after that. I wanted the number one spot. It meant another $500 bonus from my sponsor NOS. It was late SAT. Night I made my last qualifier. About midnight, air temp 30 deg. F. I had put those new soft dragster tires on Zeke. I left starting line at 6500 RPM. Wow what a run. Those tires did the trick. I could feel them grab at all 3 shifts. We were number 1 qualifier by a bunch. Later that night while celebrating being number one , one of my crew dove in the motel pool. Wow. Dennis dove in clothes and all. I was 12.30 am and only 30 degrees. The desert gets cold at night. At the track next day first round was at 1PM. Conditions ideal. Sunshine and 65 degrees. In 1983 Pro Sock in AHRA was a 8 car field. Ladder was old school. 1 ran 5 -2 ran 6 and so forth. So I had non other than Roy Hill for first round. Roy had a Mountain Motor Mercury Capri. Roy struggled to get to number 5. That big engine was too much for the Tucson track. We had swapped my engines Friday night from my killer 427 Cleveland to my 409” Cleveland and milder nitrous to get down that slick track. My first round of eliminations turned out to be the most bizarre and longest stating line burn down in history. Roy and I did our burnouts. We moved up to stage. Mike Thermos ,owner of NOS was my stage guide. As I start to light my first bulb ,Mike stops me. Roy Hill has backed up. I backed up to see his crew has rear deck lid off and adjusting his rear shocks. Starter motions for me to stage. All I had to do I light one bulb and Roy would be disqualified. But I wait. His crew finished and we start to stage again. Before I can light my first bulb, Mike stops me again. Roy has backed up again. So I back up again to see. Roy’s crew is now adjusting his wheelie bars. When done Roy backs back into the water! Well, hell. So do I. Roy and I start all over again. Both doing fresh burn outs. The starter is going ape! This time we both pull up and in as we should. I beat Roy Hill and his mountain motor Capri. In the semis I beat Jim Basko in a routine elimination. Seemed no one could get down that track but me. For the finals I had a local entry, Bennie Flowers. He did not seem a threat. But I must have been over confident, plus being distracted with all the hub bub by announcing I was to receive the first ever AHRA ALLSTAR award. I was confident I could out run anyone that day. OOOPS! I forgot one of my cardinal rules. Never to under estimate your opponent. Benny and I left the line fairy close. But Benny was staying with me. It was so close at end; I could not tell who won. Amazingly Bennies win light came on. The announcers and fans went nuts. I must have been lazy at the tree. To add insult to injury, I had just ran the record Pro Stock et. For the event. Some of my fans that were at the finish line bemoaned I had actually won by half a fender? Mid week I even got a call from a sponsor congratulating me for winning. When I told him I lost, He said, “Bull shit! I was standing right there but left as you crossed the finish line to catch my plane to LA.” After the finish , I almost had enough fans etc. convince me to contest. But while returning to tower for my All Star award pictures I noticed Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowny mid track arguing with staff as to who, if either had centerlined. Also it would be poor sportsman ship on my part to contest my finish. Plus when I got to tower, Benny Flowers was in tears over winning. Repeating, “I NEVER WON ANY THING BEFORE” I was not about to rain on his parade.  So I was runner up at Tucson once again. Win Not! ANIMAL JIM SEPT 2023. .
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