Loose Ends and Fan Mail

9/8/05

Jeff Burk Photo

ey gang, things have finally settled down a bit and I’m getting around to tying up those loose ends that I kept you all hanging from for the last column or so.

First off, Pete Starrett dropped us a note to let me know that at last count Steve Gibbs has a list of 84 Cacklefest cars running or close to it, with as many as 100 ready by years end. All I can say is “Wow!” Will this mean that future CHRR’s will be an invite or first-come-first-served only type thing to participate?

Speaking of Cacklefest cars, I got the lowdown on Bobby Hansen’s in-process Jim Davis car. I know I said a couple of columns back that Hansen was restoring this 1963 AA/FD to participate in future Cacklefests, but that’s about all I got right. Yep, I reported everything wrong that I possibly could on this one. The car was called the “Wynns Spoiler” and obviously was sponsored by Wynns oil out of Azusa, California. The car owner was Al Gram, Hansen’s father-in-law, and was mostly driven by brother-in-law Ronnie Gram. The engine builder and tuner was Ted Lemonds, who was president of the UDRA inland empire chapter.

The car is, as mentioned above, a Jim Davis car built in 1963, with a wheelbase of 160”; pretty long for that era. Of course, it used a 392 Chrysler for power. Their best ET was a 6.82 clocked at Carlsbad on November 20th 1966 and stood as the quickest ET for the year. Their best mile-an-hour was 217. On the aforementioned 6.82, Forrest Bond wrote a column on the ET and attributed the twilight zone timeslip to the 3.63 gear that was in the car for that run.

As luck would have it the very next run saw the boys shell the rearend so no backup was to be had. Hansen was hoping to make this year’s CHRR but after not one, but two crankshafts checked out as junk, he is still searching for a crank. Any help you readers could dish out would be appreciated.

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Next up is the progress report on the 15 oz. Coupe. As I write this, the coupe is residing in our shop awaiting the final to-do list from the guys wishing to finish up Mike Demarest’s pet project. Les Hawkins, Terry Lee Minks, Mike Bartlett, Bill Schultz, Gary Read, Don Wilson and a cast of many are pitchin’ in to make this happen. I can’t think of a better way to honor my friend Mike Demarest than to help the coupe see the track again. Stay tuned folks!

I’m sure most of you have heard about Rick Hough’s crash in the Nanook fuel altered at Boise a few weeks ago. Online reports were not encouraging early on about his condition. Welcome to the Internet, folks! At last word (8/28), Rick is currently in a hospital in Henderson, Nevada and will be there for several more days. He will be transferred to a rehab facility after this and will wear a neck brace for a while. Dave Hough, Rick’s father, has already talked to a chassis builder about the next Nanook. Again, stay tuned.

Next up is that Nitro Thunder guy Jack Harris and his new nostalgia Funny Car. Now, anytime Jack does something, you know it’s going to look bitchin’ and it will most likely be red. Oh yeah, it will also haul ass.