[Keith Seymore]

Last one for now. This one could get long but I'll try and be as brief as possible.

Before Dad started racing Pontiacs he was racing Ford products. He had a '60 Ford convertible with a Paxton blower on it that ran pretty well.

As a result, he had a good working relationship with Ford and was even trying to get hooked up with a factory lightweight in late '62/early'63. That didn't happen and is another story for another day...

Tom V might correct me here, because I often see a different name for Ford Racing at the time, but I believe Dad's contact at Ford was a gentleman named Dave Evans. Dave called Dad one day, out of the blue, and said "come on down here; I've got something for you".

Dad got the details. He was supposed to go over to Dearborn Steel Tube and pick up a box. He drove over and they directed him out back to see "Andy". Andy told him "...put this in the trunk of your car and don't open it until you get home".

Naturally, Dad pulled out of the parking lot and into the very first Shell station he saw and opened the box. In it was a complete 3x2 setup for a Ford; everything required for the installation was there. Intake, carbs, air cleaners, fuel lines, gaskets, everything.

After he got home, Dad called Dave and asked "what am I supposed to do with this thing?". Dave said "make it run. We can't get 'em to run...".

After a day or so Dad had the setup installed and tuned and took it out for a trial run. Sure enough, as soon as he went wide open the engine flooded out and stalled. He tried it a couple more times with similar results. He drove the car home, took everything apart, inspected and readjusted everything, reassembled it but still had the same results.

After thinking about for another day, he called a buddy over that was racing a Ford with twin Paxton blowers on it (Brad Burton was his name). They took the car for a ride, same results, and disassembled the setup for inspection. Brad left and Dad went to work that evening, came home and went to bed.

About four am the phone rang. It was Brad. He said "I know what it is! Meet me in the garage!". Dad drug his sleepy self out of bed and went to the garage. They took the carbs apart for the hundredth time and Brad said "AHA! There it is....I knew I noticed something wrong before but couldn't put my finger on it". What he had seen was that Holley had put power valves in the end carbs, allowing too much fuel to flood the engine. "We've got to plug those off".

So that night, in the Chevrolet die room, Dad made his first set of homemade Holley power valve plugs for use in a Ford Tripower!

[Keith Seymore]

Just to finish the story:

After installing the aforementioned plugs and creating a "progressive" linkage, Dad's car was running like a scalded dog. He called Dave Evans.

"How's your cars running?" he teased.

They aren't, Dave replied.

"Mine is" Dad said. Dave told him to get down to the Engineering building immediately.

Dad drove down later that morning, honked the horn at those beautiful wrought iron gates next to Greenfield Village and was allowed entrance onto the Ford facility. Dave met him down by the street and said "Ok. Show me". Dad said "right here?". Dave nodded affirmatively so....Dad backed up and smoked his Atlas Bucrons the whole length of the parking lot. "Wait here" Dave told him. He ran upstairs and brought the respective Engineers down to the street. Dad did it again and then delighted in showing them the changes he had made to their induction system, while another set of Engineers crawled under the car looking at his suspension modifications and still another couple were looking at his shifter and shift linkage.

All in all, a good day...then he would scurry back north to get home in time to work 2nd shift at Chevrolet.

[mzbk2l]

Those are great stories, Keith - keep 'em coming!

My great-grandfather started at Chevy in Flint when it was a relatively new company - probably in the teens or early 20s. He got his son (my grandfather) a summer job there during college in the late 20s-early 30s, during the depression, and during the UAW organization of the plant. (He has some not-very-complimentary stories of the UAW from those days.) My great aunt started at Pontiac in 1929, worked somewhere else within GM during the war when everything was consolidated, and then continued on with Oldsmobile in Lansing until she retired in 1974.

Various other aunts and uncles make up the remainder of the 300 or so years of GM experience in my family. Lotsa stories among them, too.

[Keith Seymore]

One of the things Dad used to do was make special parts for "the Father of the Corvette", Zora Arkus-Duntov. If Zora had something unique, like an air cleaner or special oil pan or something, he would call up to Flint Manufacturing (since that was where the base part was made) and ask for the die room to whip it up. He would ask for Dad, specifically, to make the parts for him ("...I van da skeeny diemaker to make deese..").

One time Zora was doing a study on valvetrain geometry on small block Chevies, so he requested (via a sketch on a napkin) a batch of rocker arms to be made in various ratios: I think they started as low as 1.2:1, then incrementing up through 1.50, maybe 1.55, 1.60 and finishing up with a 1.65:1 ratio. He asked for 100 pcs of each, so Dad would run 100 for Zora, and then 100 for himself (and stick them in his locker).

I have mentioned before a couple brothers here in Michigan, Dave and Ben Wenzel, who were doing very well running a Camaro in the NHRA stock and modified classes. They are/were national record holders, multiple time class winners, etc. Dad happened to see them up at Tri City one time, so he handed them a bag of these 1.65 ratio rocker arms and said "here, try these".

They looked at him like "...who are you and what are these and why should I try them?".

Dad said "...just try them".

They did, and then they were REALLY flying. They got protested, torn down and the cam checked but were declared legal. Nobody ever did notice these special, production looking rocker arms that they were running.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

They got protested, torn down and the cam checked but were declared legal. Nobody ever did notice these special, production looking rocker arms that they were running.

As an aside, this was far from our first experience getting torn down...

Dad and the Ramchargers went 'round and 'round on more than one occasion. One of his favorite stories was how, after beating their B/S automatic Dart for Stock Eliminator, they protested and made him tear apart the engine for inspection. He told Jim Thornton "I'll tell you everywhere I'm not stock if you'll do the same", especially since he knew he was "more legal" than the Ramchargers were. Thornton refused and actually set the cam up in "V" blocks and a degree wheel on the tailgate of their MOPAR station wagon and, using a dial indicator, (begrudgingly) found it to be legit.

The cam was actually bogus as h*ll; it was a special grind done by Mac McKellar, but with stock lift and duration (and the stock numbers stamped on the end).

Dad towed home with half the motor in the trunk, an extra $100 in his pocket and a smile on his face...

[A-body]

I really enjoy reading these stories. Because not everyone frequents the 66/67 section, would it be feasible to move this thread to the Lobby, so others can enjoy also?

[Old Blue 66]

What a great idea fop a book. Putting all this info together in full length. I enjoy the the production stories. Not so much the office or design staff stuff.

[patox]

Keith, have you ever posted more stories like this?, I will really like to search them in order to read them all!!, I have had a wonderfull time reading your anecdotes....

If you decide to write a book, I'll bought you the first copy!! (remember it if you do so!!)

Keep them coming!

[Andre]

This beats Wangers book with a stick... you could sell him these stories so he could use them as his own

[GT182]

Great stories Keith, please keep em coming. BTW, put me down to buy the second copy of that book when it's finished.... autographed too.

I've never heard of a Holley 950CFM 3Bbl that's in the Wenzel article. What's the story with them?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by patox

Keith, have you ever posted more stories like this?, I will really like to search them in order to read them all!!, I have had a wonderfull time reading your anecdotes....

If you decide to write a book, I'll bought you the first copy!! (remember it if you do so!!)

Keep them coming!

Originally Posted by GT182

Great stories Keith, please keep em coming. BTW, put me down to buy the second copy of that book when it's finished.... autographed too.

Thanks, gentlemen...

I appreciate the encouragement.

I'm not sure there's enough for a book; maybe just a chapter in someone else's book!

I do have some more coming (I'm waiting for my secretary to unlock the file cabinet with the scanner in it...). For now, here are a few of my favorites:

Finding and interpreting historical documents: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549092

A few tidbits during the trivia game: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=547027

Some discussion on assembly processes: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=495766

A couple Arnie Beswick stories: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...=546939&page=3

Delorean and "the Sandwich": http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549318

'63 Nationals: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549309

Old racer pics: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=543741

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Andre

This beats Wangers book with a stick... you could sell him these stories so he could use them as his own

I do have some Wangers stories, but I have been hesitant to write them down out of respect for his legacy (...and just in case we remember them differently ).

I'll share one in the next batch.

Originally Posted by GT182

I've never heard of a Holley 950CFM 3Bbl that's in the Wenzel article. What's the story with them?

Yep - it's fer real. I think I have some pictures of one in a Holley book; I'll post when I can get to the scanner

K

[mike nixon]

copied this to the lobby per keith's request.

mike