Tom Ige: Yamato Motor Importer
I really thought we had talked about Tommy here, but I could not find anything about Tom Ige.
I met Tommy at Lake Weist, Brawley, California in the spring of 1975 or '76.
We had a pretty nice club, 70-80 entries on a weekend. I look up and see a U-Haul trailer pulling into the pits with 6-8 OLD looking motors. I thought they were old Konig motors and MY opinion of Konig was that they might be fast but they only ran about one heat in ten.
The guy, Tom Ige, talked the Race Chairman, Frank Pruess, to run a "B" Local class. Tom loaned four motors to B-25 Hydro drivers. Frank explained to me that it was "EXTRA" entry fee money and what could it hurt???
I basically "looked down" my nose at these motors. Well they fired the five minute gun for these Four Yamato Hydros, and they cranked on them for five full minutes and not one started. I thought, "Just what we need, a piece of **** motor at our races."
Tommy, "Yelled at the officials and asked for 5 more minutes." Tommy started all four motors and thy raced. I don't think I watched.
These Model 80 motors sold for $425. Sunday morning, Tommy came to my race trailer and said he needed to buy props. I said, "All my props have either 9/16 or 11/16 props shafts. Tommy said, "I don't car we can bush them." He bought like $600 BUCKS WORTH OF PROPS, CASH...
I took the cash to my wife and said, "That guy with the junk motors just bought $600 worth of props from me...and $600 for JUNK props was a killer deal for me.
Tommy said, "If I wanted to be a dealer, he'd sell me the motors for $300".
At the end of Sunday's races, all four guys that raced the motors bought the motors...at my price of $300. THEY LOVED THE MOTORS AND I FIGURED I'D SELL THEM PROPS, so I didn't need to make money on the motor sales.
At the L.A. Boat Show 1976, Tommy and I made a list of all the old hyros people had, I think it was 16. At the show, we sold people used boats and Model 80 Yamatoes to about 14 new drivers.
We called this new class "B" Local. All year, 1976, we ran "B" Local.
At the APBA National Convention in Atlanta, I asked the Stock Commission to legal "B" Local as a class. I requested that they required the Yamato BRASS prop ONLY.
I was laughed out of the meeting. I said, You guys will be sorry, I will be selling $250 propellers for a $300 motor. You guys are really stupid" (Stock Commission). They made "B" Local a LOCAL class with any prop.
In 1977, SCOA put on the Bakersfield Nationals. Chad Hill was born in August 1977. "B" Local was raced at the Nationals. I think we had 26 boats in "B" Local. Darrell Sorensen, was second in "B" Local, I think.
Tom Ige gave away a new motor for first and a powerhead for second.
That fall SCOA had two "T" Bills for $10,000 EACH in the bank and 10 grand is the checking account.
In 1978, 20 Runabout had about 10 boats in SoCal, including Bunker Hill.
20SS HYDRO had more boat than I can remember. As a Result we start Novice Hydro, a stock prop class.
I won't take blame and I won't pass it out but, 20 SS Runabout got combined with B Runabout, of course a 20-H would and will kick *** on any Model 80 Yamato. So, 20 Runabout disappeared.
Somebody decided that the "WEAR PLATE" on he skeg should be filed off, and somebody else decided they should allow the skeg to be thinned and the bullet shaped, and the head t be cut,and the ports moved....
I was busy with family, racing MOD VP (I had two boats and five complete motors), I was Region Chairman, I put on convention is Las Vegas, I dealt with Ceasar's Palace, Benihana, I taught school full time...
At Bakersfield, 1979, two years after the COOLEST STOCK MOTOR EVER BUILT HIT AMERICA, I was asked to inspect the Stock classes. The first motor I inspected was Chaney Stret's as I recall. I kicked him out. His skeg was sharpen, thinned and there was not wear plate on the skeg.
As soon as I kicked him out, I was told that he was legal. Isaid, "If that is a legal Yamato, I quit as an official."
Tommy Ige was running "RB" a Yamato with a pipe. He blew over at the kilos and broke his back. He offered the amato business to me, as he said he was moving back to Maui. I decided, and he sold it to Ric Montoya.
Tommy was a great friend, he'd been in the U.S. Navy and retired from there. I always thought he got Yamato to build the Yamato Outboard. I once saw a letter to the editor form Tom Ige, dated 1952, Tommy was a "LIFE LONG" lover of outboards.
I used to call him in Maui about twice a year, but he no longer has a phone, I'm assuming he's gone.
We went to Needles one year and Tommy old my brother he could pull him on skiis. After failing several times he told my brother to get in the boat he say, "Get in th boat, I'll water." Tommy got up and skied like a champ...Of course, he was half the weight of my brother....
That week, Bunker Hill and J.T Snow drove Tommy's Yamato 80 all day long, ten gallons of gas a day......
