desertpilgrim

I checked, and found a work order for Eng. #6901 (Sebring #1) that reads in part "Make up headrest and fin.", so it didn't use the one from #5951, but it might have come from that same mold.

Tyler Townsley

[QUOTE=DZAUTO]Loren,
SID YOU SAY ZF 4sp???
[QUOTE]

I caught that too. John had some documentation where they tested disc brakes and other outside parts, there may be some mention of a ZF for test purposes?

Tyler

jimgessner

LOREN, BILL, TOM, JOHN NEAS, JOHN BALDWIN, FRANK BUCK, RICH MASON, BILL TOWER, RICHARD FOURTIER, JOHN HINKLEY, TYLER TOWNSAND, AND ANYONE ELSE THAT CARES.

HOW ABOUT 1st Annual "RPO CORVETTE and Racer" Reunion at Barrett-Jackson, Phoenix, AZ week of January 15, 2006. Date to be determined.

Many of us are there anyway .........so why not get together for food and fun one evening and start "WRITEING THIS STUFF DOWN" FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY.

desertpilgrim

[QUOTE=Tyler Townsley][QUOTE=DZAUTO]Loren,
SID YOU SAY ZF 4sp???
John's car (Eng. #6911) was fitted with the Z-F in June (after its return from the Cumberland race) and used for brake tests and for the blockoff of the intake manifold.

desertpilgrim

JG, I've got 20+ pages for 1956 - what I need - to fill some cracks - is pictures of Dick Perrin at Cumberland on May 20, 1956 (to check the colors on the car) - a full slate of the races that the Brown/D'Olivo '56 ran (letter goes out to Bill Pollack tomorrow) - and would I love to have contact with Dick Doane's sons. The last documents I have on Sebring #1 is that it was bought out to the Desert PG in May to test the new High Speed Oval, did so with Paul Goldsmith up, and the car was pickled and put into storage in Mesa. Now I strongly suspect that it was liberated fairly quickly and sent to Dick Doane because of another race entry, but........

SebringBill

My money is on (IMO unfortunately) the #1 car sold to a gent named Bosley who trashed the body and built his own "Bosley Special". I believe Dave Batrush was trying to buy it in the days when I had my SR-1 but I don't know if he ever did. That's where I'll bet the ZF trans went since it was installed in it for Sebring. Dave did get a set of 4 Firestone Super Sport 170 racing tires (traceable to Frank Burrelland the 56 Sebring program) 2 670.15 and 2 710.15. They were hot stamped "1955" on the 670s and "1956" on the 710s. Three tires were probably 3/4 tread and one was new (!). How do I know? I was the schmuck that sold 'em to him ...but the story is more complicated than that...

BTW, Dick Doane was the dealer who sold #2823 (my SR-1) new.

jimgessner

I RECENTLY HEARD PAUL GOLDSMITH IS STILL ALIVE.....HAVE YOU TALKED TO HIM???

LIKE I SAID, WE ALL NEED TO GET TOGETHER

DZAUTO

Loren,
OK, now he does have a "T-10" type 4sp with OD. Kind of a prototype looking arrangement. I have looked at that tranny many times!

DZAUTO

Jim,
That would be great, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut, spring 06 will be my last semester of school and I've got to get that finished up (MS in Aerospace Admin).

desertpilgrim

There is one more possibility - it might have been the chassis from Sebring #3, owned by Carl Buehler. This was ALSO titled as a 1955. It raced on a few occasions in the Midwest, normally with Don Davis up. In August 56, as "last year's race car", it was at Doane's to remove the "racing stuff" and prepare it to go back on the street. When they thought it was all done, the service manager took it for a drive and the car caught fire and burned to the ground. Doane had another Corvette on the floor and Buehler was going to accept it - right up until a dealer in Milwaukee called and offered him a 300SL for $5200; Buehler then took the $$$ from Doane's insurer. He bought the MB and when I first talked with him in 1985, it was sitting in the garage on 4 flat tires with
13000 miles. He died in 2002 and I talked with one of his sons, who indicated that "who" got the SL was looking like it was going to be a problem.
In any case, the possibility exists that this was the frame that Bosley bought. In correspondence with him, if it turned out that you didn't want to know about the Bosley and asked stupid questions like "Was there a # on the frame?", he suddenly got very busy and very remote.

K2

According articles in my archives a 307 ci (bored and stroked 283) was installed in #1 for the Sebring race and was coupled to the ZF 4 speed and 3.9 rear gearing. The 307 put that car in class B by itself when Ray Crawford withdrew his Kurtis. Not long into the race the clutch started slipping and had to be babied in order to finish the race and therefore it was not as fast as it might have been. It did finish 9th overall and first in class B with a respectable average speed of 76.277 mph over the 12 hours. The #5 Corvette of Duncan and Eager had an axle fail in the first 20 miles and was retired, the #7 Corvette of Erickson and Hassan blew its engine within 2 hours, and the #6 Corvette of Max Goldmand and Ray Crawford had its transmission sieze and was driven for 10 hours in top gear to finish the race with an average speed of 68.477 mph over 12 hours!
Altogether a very interesting history for these Sebring racers.

SebringBill

OK, did all the Sebring cars have their nuts and bolts wired? My memory tells me only the modified car did, and that's why Bartush said the Bosley was the #1 car.

BTW, Batrush and Frank Burrell stayed at our apartment in early '83 after the Cypress Gardens show. Frank had a real good look at my SR-1 and I'm absolutely positive he knew what the car was but I'll lay odds Bartush told him to keep quiet. That's when Bartush took Bill Hutchinson's 1957 serial 0002 back to MI to work on it (instead of my SR-1 )

desertpilgrim

Bill, you KNOW Frank knew what your car was - it was the same reason that the work order in May '56 called for the repainting in gold on the Dick Perrin Sebring car - create the impression that "any dummy can buy these cars from their Chevy dealer." and that they are EVERYWHERE!
Something in this thread is attracting attention - but no comment - with 900+ hits.......

SebringBill

Frank Burrell was a very nice, very quiet wirey little guy. I'll bet hardly anyone else at that Cypress Gardens show knew who he was!

When I talked to Frank Carr (the original owner or 2823) only a few months after I sold it (and making a longer story short, he lives less than 2 miles from my office ) he said that Dick Doane called him up (he was driving a 54 Corvette) and told him to come over; he had something interesting to show him. Frank said there were four of those side scoop cars on the lot; red, white, blue and yellow (I'll bet copper). He bought the white one, and you can see pictures of it in Corvette News Vol 1-3 on the 1000 Mile Rally around Lake MI.

This stuff is what helped make the mystique; newer owners just don't get it!

Tyler Townsley

The history lesson is priceless! Not too many others commenting because you guys doing the posting are doing a pretty good job of giving us insight on what happened. They were 'EVERYWHERE' priceless! Getting the players on a stage or closed room would be a real treat, I cannot make BJ as I sponser the NCRS Winter Regional Meet in Orlando the next week but how about Bloomington? Might even get Bill Locke to induct Johns car into hall of fame.

Tyler

SebringBill

Jim,

I'm on the NCRS Orlando committee with Tyler (and a CPA) so it's highly unlikely (and unfortunate) that I'd be able to make BJ as well.

Loren, we gotta get you, Art and John here for a seminar/panel. NCRS can KMA with their "membership" stuff. I'll make it happen. Maybe next year-07? Maybe I'll finally get around to starting a FL SACC Chapter like I've been saying for two years and get you guys to chat at that meet...?) Jim - maybe we can have an east coast get-together...?

desertpilgrim

Bill, would Frank Carr have any idea how many of the actual race cars that Doane ended up with? Here's my reason for asking: when we get to May '56, I've got documents/letters stating that #1 was sent to the desert PG to test their new High Speed Test track, Paul Goldsmith driving. After it is completed, #1 is pickled and put in storage at the PG. In the same May, Doane enters Jeffords in the Milwaukee SCCA race, in C Modified. Max Goldman and Dick Perrin appear in Cumberland on May 20, also in C Modified. (These were the "production" cars at Sebring.) They appear at various locations that summer. In September, Doane enters Jeffords in a B Modified Corvette - either they changed the engine in the car he raced in May or #1 had been resurrected......
Jim J cheerfully acknowedges his "hired gun" status and says he doesn't know...

jimgessner

I just sent my nomination letter to the NCM for Doug Hooper to get induceted into the HALL OF FAME. A west coast movement started this.

If it happens, How about a "Reunion" this weekend of racers, drivers from the early days and feature the 56-7 Sebring cars? Maybe then we can start to answer these questions before we all join Frank, Pillsbury and others

SebringBill

I haven't talked with Frank in a number of years but he's still driving a Porsche (at age 92!). He goes north for the summer so I'll check whether he's returned yet.

If I recall correctly #2823 would have been built in June, 56; the other SR-1 I'm positive about is 2834 (maybe Ken Kayser knows of some more) and I'm confident that all 6 were built in the same general time frame - shortly after the SR-2s.

Jim, NCM is a possibility - somewhere in the middle.