Procrastination Racing

There are some strange Corvettes in these pictures. Funny flairs and hoods.


http://www.cliffreuter.com/etceterin...ytexas1964.htm

gotz06?

Cool pics

Procrastination Racing

Here's another set of pictures.

http://www.ferrariexperts.com/etcete...r%20photos.htm


In the first set, abut half way down the page, check out the #26 B/prod Jaguar and the working conditions.

62Jeff

I think that Jaguar is at the scene of it's own accident.

63Corvette

Great historical pics. I will have a commentary tomorrow. Thanks for posting.

redvetracr

cool pics, thanks for sharing...

rayvaflav

Nice 1957 Chrysler 300C push car !

Ray

RJ1

Many of the "high end" cars seen here still around and show up to vintage race at Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca each August. One of those Ferrari 250TR's as seen in a couple of these pictures sold at auction in August by RM for $16.3 million!! The Grand Sports and Cobras all million dollar cars now. Back then year old race cars would have been cheap as rules and technology obsoleted them.
Beatiful pictures and history.

63Corvette

I am from Houston, grew up in the SOW division, and my first competition was at Green Valley Raceway. I also raced at the defunct Austin street races (held in conjunction with the Austin Aqua Festival), and won my class (AP) there in 1977. I knew and raced with many of the people (and cars) shown in these wonderful pictures.
Many of these drivers are characters (like Delmo Johnson shown in his 1963 Corvette Grand Sport) I will identify and comment on some of them. I'm almost 71, so please consider that if you differ with my opinions
#63 is Lotus 23B driven by Mason Okeefe. I believe that Mason O'Keefe, Homer Rader, and Ed Tucker were the owners of "Lotus Southwest" in Dallas, Texas.
Correction, substitute Gus Hutchinson for Mason O'Kiefe as Lotus SW owners
#0 Lotus 27 Formula Junior driven by Homer Rader
#81 is a Triumph TR-3 owned and driven by Buell Owen. Buell once offered to sell me that car for $200 WITH trailer after a race weekend at Seguin, TX.
#3 is a Porsche Speedster driven by radiologist Dr. Vincent P. Collins, who (with his son) was a friend back when I owned my 356A coupe and we were both wrenched by Johnny Adams Car Clinic.
#8 says Lotus 23B driven by John Mecom, but I never know John to drive a Lotus 23B???
#69 is a very special piece, a Kurtis Kraft Indy roadster WITH the addition of removable fenders so that it could race as either a (open wheel) Formula class car, OR as a sports car, and driven by Houston Harley Davidson store owner Herb Stelter.
#87 Dethomaso/Alfa "Formula Senior", owned by John Mecom, and driven by his friend John Henry Kirby.
#00 Lola GT Coupe (also John Mecom's). This is the ONLY one ever manufactured with a Chevrolet engine, and was destroyed in an accident at Road America.
#71 Cobra, owned by Gene Hammond Ford of Texas City, Texas, and driven capably by Houstonian Bill Steel. The picture shows tha initial configuration before it was turned into a Factory Cobra racecar replica with fender flares, and Webbers. This car dominated SowDiv A Production racing in the 60s.
#17 says D-Type Jaguar, but it is Bill fuller's XKSS (which came from a D-Type) with a Chevy engine. Very fast car, and fun to watch "drift".
#15 is a homebuilt formula "Special" called FoMoCo with solid rear axle, 289 Ford engine, and 58 Buick aluminum drum brakes. The driveshaft ran through the cockpit! However, in this picture, The car is owned by doctors Zol Petraney and Vincent Collins, who have replaced the engine with a 63 327 FI Corvette engine.
#93 is a famous Genie "Modified" that was a predecessor to Group 6 CanAM cars. It was owned and raced by Col. George Kohne, who unfortunately burned to death in an accident in testing at Riverside, but the car was reborn as a Vintage racer, and races successfully today.
#27 EP Alfa Romeo driven by Joe Locario
#64 HM (Mercury outboard powered) driven by Matt McCluggan
#45 AP Cobra owned and driven by Ed Lowthar, not Graham Shaw
Finally, #17 Maserati Chevy (several pictures) say that it was driven by Alan Sevajian, owner of today's Duntov Motors. I contacted Alan, but havin't heard back from him, so I can't confirm or deny? Great story tho. Correction, Alan's father drove the 250S Maserati

62Jeff

Zoltan! I'll be darned. I know from my parents he was instrumental in the early days of SJCC. I met him in about 1981 at an SJCC reunion.

32361ARTHUR

By any chance did you know a fella by the name of REX RAMSEY?

63Corvette

Dr Zol Petraney and Dr Collins ALSO designed the famous "Isolation Trailer" in which the initial Moon landing Astronaughts were confined after their successful moon landing and return to Earth. I went to school at Lamar Tech in Beaumont with John Hirasaki, who was another resident of that trailer during their quaranteen time

Sorry, but I may have met Rex Ramsey, but the name does not ring a bell at this time.

62Jeff

I haven't seen him in about 3 years, but as recently as 2008 John was still working at JSC, and his daily driver was a 65 Shelby Mustang clone (white with blue stripe).

When I crossed paths with John I had no idea I was interacting with someone of such significance.

http://hirasaki.net/Family_Stories/Apollo11.htm

I understand John McVeigh, also from SJCC, did much of the early testing of the first cool suit that would become critical to astronauts, and later used in various forms in autoracing.

63Corvette

Jeff If you should see John again, please give him my reagards and my contact info as I would love to hear from him. When I last saw him, we attended tha screening of Arthur Clarkes 2001 Space Odessy. John was married to a beautiful red headed engineer, and driving a Ferrari 250GT.

62Jeff

Ummmm, that's odd. I vividly remember going to see that movie with my parents and (I think) a group from the corvette club, at a movie theater on the west side of Houston, maybe off Richmond, when it first premiered. I was about 5 years old.

I can't find John listed in the JSC e-mail system, he may have retired. I'll ask a friend of mine who worked with him, to find out where he went.

66since71

Great memories. I remember running at Green Valley as late as 1980. I also recall watching Tom Moore ruHenie 63 in the River City road races in Austin in the early 70's

Dan Hampton

Half way down there is a pic of a Terlingua racing decal on the side of the Grand Sport. Someone's idea of a mean practical joke, as that was Shelby's Logo for the GT-350 racing team. Insult to injury

63Corvette

Yes, I know Tom (from Austin) well. In fact, he rebuilt the steering box on my 63 Z06 back in...................................... ........um, 1981

Dan, you are correct, except that it was the Shelby TransAm (notchback) team Mustangs.

62Jeff

Tom Moore, Longhorn Corvette Club? Red 63 and white 63 as of 30 years ago? Drove an early 60s Falcon with a hi-po mustang motor in the late 1970s as a daily driver?

By the way Garrett, my dad says "hi".

Dan Hampton

You are right. I stand corrected. Great pics. Thanks for posting.