Mac McKellar passes
 

It is with great sadness that I must mention that Malcolm "Mac" McKellar has passed away.

Our mutual friend Jeff Denison just called with the news that Mac had passed during the night.

In deference to Mac's wishes there will not be a funeral, but we will probably have a small gathering later on. I can let you all know once those arrangements have been made.

Rest in Peace, Mac - and thank you.

K

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ers2008067.jpg

Although I never met Mac, I've read about all of his contributions to Pontiac performance, especially in camshaft design. A true, die hard Pontiac enthusiast. He will be missed by all. RIP Mac.

RIP Mac!
lost another great this year

I just found out from Jeff that Mac is gone. Mac was a good guy and a good friend. Smokey Yunick called Mac the best cam man in the business, and Smokey would know!

I'm sure that the "Lunch with Mac" bunch will have a final get together to hoist one in Mac's memory.

Another irreplaceable piece of Pontiac history and knowledge is gone forever...RIP Mac.

Sorry about the loss of Mac - a Pontiac Legend .

Sorry to hear of that.
:(

RIP Mac.

Very sad news. It was my first HPP magazine that had him and his Grand Prix in it.

My condolences.

Rest In Peace Mac.

to the best engineer out there may you rest in peace ..

Ditto
 

:( Sorry to hear this.

Keith, from our dealings with the genteman who bought one of his GP's on the west coast, I know you were good friends with Mac. He seemed liek a good man based onwhat I read.

RIP Mac

We first met Mac at the POCI Convention in 1996 when we debuted the Grocery Getter. He came over to inspect the car. He quietly scanned all of the details while we waited. He finally got to the front fender. The original GG had "405 HP" lettered on it. We had updated ours to say "405+ HP". He looked at us, smiled and said "I like that." It was a cherished moment for us to have an icon like that approve of our project.

There is a saying that you are not really gone until everybody who knew of you is gone. In that regard, Mac will be with us for a long, long time.

Eric

He is someone that i wish that i had met. Myself being a Pontiac nut he was one of my hero's,RIP Mac.

Darn. The "answer man" of vintage Pontiac engineering gone. I'm glad he spent some telephone-time with me back in the eighties, while he was still "sharp".

Sad News Indeed.
 

He was a great engineer and part of the driving force behind the Pontiacs of my passion. OHC equipped!

I too was one who would have treasured a meeting with him but never had the opportunity.
Sadly he will be another Great One lost.

I've always wanted to meet and talk with John Z, Bill Knafel and Mac.
but never had the chance.

Rest in Peace.

Sad to hear this, but we're all not getting any younger.

Condolences to Mac's family and friends.

Thank you, Mac...for all of your years of dedication to what we love...Pontiacs.

RIP

RIP

Thanks for the Hot Rod cover Jeff

meeting him and listening to his wisdom and him going on in detail showing me the gp has to be one of my fondest memories of my career in this hobby. what a legend.

how old was he?

Sorry to hear. RIP Mac.

I am saddened to hear this. I was lucky to have a few brief conversations with Mac over the years and his stories of the "politics" inside GM were very interesting to me. Of course, he was also a wealth of technical information. I hope board members don't take this the wrong way, but with the passing of "Mac" and Mondello this week, many posters have said, they wished they would have met or talked to these people. All I can say is DO IT while you can. Many of these engine and racing icons are still out there and they are happy to spend time with the younger enthusiasts. In most cases you won't be disappointed. R.I.P "Mac" The Father of the Super Duty!

I believe he had turned 90 last August.

K

Thanks for letting everyone know Keith. Mac was truly a gentleman and loved Pontiac as we all do. He will be truly missed by those of us who were so fortunate to know him and all those who today enjoy the remarkable engineering feats he accomplished at Pontiac Engineering.


Rest in Peace and God Bless You, Mac.

Jim

Sad news indeed. My condolences Keith, to the guys that knew him too, and also to his family.

RIP Mac.

The coolest thing is his heart and mind beat on in many our engines. I mean if that is not the best legacy I don't know what is. We can pay tribute every time we listen to those cams.

Peace be with you Mac.

RIP Mac, you'll never be forgotten. One of the Founding Fathers of Pontiac.

Hmmm, aging is not for wimps. Mac made 90. That's 20 more years than typically alloted.
Shows Mac knew a thing or 2 about living. Prayers sent to boost his family. HIS

K. sorry tpo hear this. He was a true Pontiac legendary figure. Larry B.

Glad he was a Pontiac guy!!!
Smokey Yunick gave him his stamp of approval in his book, all I need to know....

RIP!

Rest in heavenly peace, Mac.

RIP,Mac....I never got to meet him, but he seemed like a hellava good man.

RIP Mac. It was a pleasure to meet you many years ago. What a smart man and innovative engineer. Your memory will live on in every Pontiac V8 still on the road and on the race track.

RIP Mac. I wish I had the opportunity to have met you but, I did read a lot about you. Another legend gone.

OHC V8
 

Truely a man with a gift, he will be missed.

Found this older pic while looking for info;
This one shows one of the twin OHC V8's from the HR cover.
I think I read it was given to him when he retired.

RIP, to an important part of Pontiac history.

LOL...
 

I'm pretty sure what he was grinning about! I, too...wish I could have had the opportunity to talk with him. He was a rare one...indeed! My personal thanks and condolences go out.

sad to hear this news, here are pages from the PMD Product Engineering yearbook, published in 1984 not long after Mac McKellar retired.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r.../th_page26.jpg

the caption under his photo reads - Mac McKellar - mastermind of the GTO V8 engine.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r...th_page167.jpg

Mac is in middle picture (1971 Inventor's Presentation) standing 3rd from left, patent for Induction Air Heating Means

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r...th_page178.jpg

article reprinted from April 1983 HPP - at his retirement party Mac said "old hot rodders never die. Their top speed just declines a little."

Mike - thanks for posting those; that's excellent!

I appreciate all the contributions (photos and magazine covers) so far.

K

Was it Mac who had the famous quote (and I'm paraphrasing), "Transmissions were invented by engineers who couldn't design engines with enough torque"?

from Hemmings Muscle Machines - April 2008

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/r...acmckellar.jpg

I like the quote "The engines always told me what they needed on the dyno"

Thanks, Mike - another excellent and appreciated addition.

K

I did get to meet him but being in my 20s (and not going through an engine build) I didn't have much to ask him. (I think this was around 1996.) I did ask him about the HP on his 63 GP with the OHC 421 - about 450! He even drove the car up to 100 miles from home for a few shows.
I am glad I met him - but thinking back I wanted to ask him about any contacts he had with other famous GM engineers; I always wondered if he worked with Kettering at all, and what impression a guy like THAT had on HIM.
God Speed, MAC!

The first time I met Mac was at the St. Ignace, MI show in June of 1987. I had my '67 GTO convertible there, having just finished its restoration a couple of years earlier. He looked my car over and gave it his stamp of approval. I had him sign my copy of the Hot Rod magazine dealer reprint. Jeff's copy of the reprint is in post #15. I also asked Mac about the HO/RA exhaust manifolds from 1967. He said that his engine group had started working on them as far back as 1964 for the GTO. Cost considerations kept them from the market until '67.

Took Mac for a ride in my GTO one nice day in the fall of 2009. Jeff Denison was also with us on that ride. I think that that was probably the last ride in a classic Pontiac musclecar that Mac had. Yes,I did give him a couple of burnouts. He had a grin from ear to ear.

according to the Hemmings article, Mac entered the GM Institute in 1937 and joined Pontiac in 1941.

Charles Kettering retired in 1947. So it might be possible ...

By 1941, Kettering was the head of GM Research. After he retired, he did act as a consultant until the mid '50s. So, it is very possible that Mac at least met the man, but that is most likely the extent of his association. We'll never know for sure now.

Seeing the picture of Mac next to the original Pontiac (in my first post) got me to thinkin':

Pontiac started in 1926; Mac started at Pontiac in 1941, so the division was only 15 years old when Mac started there....

...at the time of his retirement he had been there 45 of Pontiac's 60 years, or fully three quarters of it's entire existance.

;)

I had the honor of meeting Mr. McKellar at his home in 1991. He was a true gentleman, generous with his time unassuming and soft-spoken. Don Keefe and I were there to photograph his '63 Grand Prix with its amazing OHC 421 engine. The excitement of meeting this legendary man was something I will never forget.

May the Almighty grant him eternal rest.

It would really be nice if Mac's '63 can be reunited with the OHC 421. That is the only car that that engine belongs in.

I read somewhere (here???) that the cams were going flat, and he gave the setup to some young Pontiac enthusiast that was a friend. Reason being, he dedn't want or need to pend the time/money getting it back in proper working order....That's why it currently has a conventional 421 HO in it .

If any of this is incorrect, set the record straight. It wasn't that long ago, that the OHC setup was changed...

I wonder who/where the car is now???
Jeff

Talk about an icon of a car. I'd bet the Barret Jackson folks are slobbering all over themselves, trying to get their hands on it...........(I hope they don't get it....)