Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Boneske
lilabner,
Had you heard anything about the Pontiac engines Mercury tested and destroyed?
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No, I hadn't heard about the Pontiac engines. I was a Pontiac man too, with a 62 Catalina/Ventura. My future wife had a 61 Ventura bubbletop, and Smokey Yunick was my idol. The guys at Lake X never mentioned them, so it was probably a Fond du Lac venture. The mystery engines were rigged at the lake. The 427's were put in a super light 36 or 38 Memco, with a stripped out cabin and no windows. They were exposed with dry stacks about four feet high and a small water manifold about an inch square welded to the stacks about a foot from the top. Rules were inboards had to have water cooled manifolds. John Bakos was the driver, who will be at the reunion. He is about 83 or so now. The guy driving the 7000 wing is Dave Craig, my first boss out of high school. The boat is running about 120 at the Lake. After that run, Mr K asked him to try and turn it as fast and hard as possible. Didn't work out too good. Dave was thrown thru the side and the boat sunk. This was Bako's race boat and Dave was hurt, so Mr K gave Bakos Daves boat, the 700, which he won the Gold Coast Marathon with. 7000 was burned, it was the last of the 5 Prototype wooden wings and the fastest and best looking. Very sad for the people that loved them. 700 was number 5. Dave drove all of them. He was Mr. K's favorite.
And we won't be at that reunion this year, going to my wife's 60th instead, a year early.. She was a boat racer also.