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Thread: Hot-Rodding The Champion by Ralph DeSilva

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    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default Hot-Rodding The Champion by Ralph DeSilva

    Interesting article about the Champion Hot Rod and a DeSilva hydro.
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    Last edited by Ron Hill; 02-08-2017 at 05:47 PM.
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    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    One of the big names from your part of the world was John Alden, and I believe he was known for, among other things, his alky conversions of Champs. I'd be interested to see you or someone do a little bio sketch on Alden (I searched, found none). He evidently had talents beyond building racemotors; someone (Duane Wallick?) told me that Alden had found some new method of cutting diamonds that gave them extra sparkle and won him an award.

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    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    Thanks, Ron. My Search skills must be pretty poor. I like your sixth-grade drawing, nice detail on that Champ motor!
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    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default BRF Isn't Really Very Friendly on Searching

    Thanks for the kind words about the boat of John Alden's. He used a Mercury tower and Mercury gearcase. If you look closely, there is a speedometer hose hooked to the sponson fin. It served to purposes, one it was a build in speedometer pick up, but when the speedometer quit working you knew the sponson's were top high.

    Also, "Full Length" air traps were quite new in this time period.

    I'm not sure what year it was, probably 1962, my dad was the motor inspector at the Western Divisionals. My dad disqualified John's Mark 20-H on a port measurement. John got quite "Vocal" with my Old Man and my dad punch John out.

    I'm pretty sure that was John's last Stock race. My dad wasn't much for taking **** about his work. As I recall, he even let John measure the posts himself and that was when the "Argument" took a turn for the worst.

    My dad gave Greg Selvidge and "Upper Cut" at the Winternationals one year. My dad told everyone at the driver's meet, "Top 5 gets money. So, come and get weighed." Well the boys from Seattle mostly ran "A Hydro" and making weight in "B Hydro" wasn't easy. So, they figure finishing 4-5, they'd be fine. Well, when they came to the awards, Greg had been DQ'd. So he said to my dad, "You're just he son of a bitch I herd you were." We wheeled around and started to leave and my Old Man kicked him in the ***. Greg turn around and lowered his head and charged my dad. My dad gave him and upper cut and knocked him on his ***. The Seattle guys got a "Kick out of it", said Greg was in the wrong.

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    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    Well, that's an official with enforcement powers! I don't recall any particular discussion of your dad up here, but I had the impression that Henry Wagner wasn't a favorite.
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