An Amazing Story

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I guess I had forgotten that it was two 350's, but it suddenly hit me this morning the irony. Tim never told me specifically why Joe took V8 away, only that he changed Joe's program up and Joe got mad. I couldn't find any pics of Joe at Dayton so I think he didn't show. When Tim said he wouldn't drive the Yamato, I thought that was at the Nationals, but it apparently goes back to Dayton and Constatine.

Had Tim done what Joe requested, there would have been a different outcome at Dayton. While I still wish I could have that last half lap back at Dayton, I would't take it if it meant not having those great duels with Tim. That to me was what racing is all about. If that monster motor would have held together for racing, Tim was too smart to take it through the turns agressively.

[Roy Hodges]

...but I'll bet that's where Tim told Joe he wouldn't race that boat at the nationals, because Tim came to Hinton without any intention to race anything.

Hey Roy, I missed your earlier post about the fish eye and I agree. But the way the motor would have looked hanging on that transom would have made it a moot point. I don't think anyone would step up to crank it.

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You're certainly right about cranking it. You'd need a trained gorilla who loves boat racing ,to even consider
pulling its rope or, an electric starter , i don't remember EVER seeing an opposed motor with electric starting .

[denny henderson]

I talked to Jim last night and helped him get logged into BRF, it was his first time and I'll bet he was up all night looking at pictures and reading stories. I'll try to get him to post some stories or at least help me remember some of the amazing things that happened there. He's like a lot of us that were at Hinton, not real good with a computer.
There were lots of crashes. I think Malcom crashed in "A" and "C" hydro, Tom Kirts blew over and distroyed his runabout, I crashed before the start of "B" hydro. There was a horrible crash in one of the heats of "A" hydro, I think it was a qualifying heat. The pack was about 8 seconds from the starting line when someone came from the outside of the coarse at a 90degree angle and T-boned one of the drivers in the pack. It was scary but I don't think anyone was seriously hurt. Does anyone remember that crash?
The Japanese team was there with two drivers and two new "B" hydros, one built by Gary Pugh and the other by Craig Lawrence. They liked both boats but I can't remember how well they did. Doug Thompson won "B" hydro
and as I recall, just barely finish the last heat. Something to do with nitro.
What a beautiful and treacherous place to race.

[Composite Specialties]

I was there at Hinton, I was about 14 years old and remember that crash well. I was standing beside Tom Harden when Malcom and everyone else was going for the start. From the far outside, someone lost a gearcase, I mean it was gone and the boat took a left turn across the start, hit Malcom and others and created a huge crash. I remember Tom Harden was so angry but was better when Malcom came in from the crash boat.

Next, Malcom went out for the "C" race and made it thru the start, thru the first turn and was coming down the long back stretch, which was very close to us standing in the pits, and then Malcoms boat took a hop and then hooked the fin and he barrel rolled many times down the back stretch and ended up right in from of his own pits. Tom Harden started yelling at Mal to swim to shore, and he did. Mal walked up the shore line and sat in the chair and Tom swore he was going to burn that boat. When they brought the boat in, it was beat up pretty bad and Tom stated that he would never race that boat again, and he did not.

I also remember Kirts blowing that runabout over at the start and they drug the boat against the bank line right beside the starting clock and left it there.

I also remember that Art Pugh was very upset with the Japanese team for something and was really telling many people his opinion about them.

That was a great place to race.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That's great news about Jim getting on. He joined sometime back but I never see him logged on. I guess he had help then too. There's probably a majority of the racers from that day that don't know their way around a computer very well, but there's nothing like BRF to give you the incentive to learn.

On every article I had published in POWERBOAT, they gave it the title. Powerboat titled the 1977 Pro Nationals "The Pro Crash Bash". It is posted here somewhere. In the article I had mistakenly written that Skip Birbarie's crash was two boats blowing over together, but he corrected me. It was caused by a lower unit coming loose. That was one fierce crash in 250 hydro at the start. Every one of the Kirts clan crashed. Most of the crashes occurred because of the layout of the course and the milling area. The boats funneled together at the starting line. One of the things I intend to post is a layout of the course in relation to the waterways.

Regarding Jerry Kirts crash in 500 hydro while testing, Joe Rome reminded me of how tough the Kirts's are. He went upside down while running approximately 90 and his helmet was torn off. He also dislocated a shoulder. Mary Kirts led them all behind a trailer and told Jerry to hold still while Dan and Tom grabbed him and pulled it back in place. The officials left it up to the Kirts clan to determine whether or not Jerry was in any condition to be able to race.

And Roy, Dieter built an opposed 6 cylinder Konig that Hans Krage drove to back to back UIM World Championships in OF. Then Marshall Grant had an 8 cylinder Konig (2 opposed 500's side by side) that had electric start. There are pics of that starter posted somewhere on Random Shots From The Pits. Hans would fire his six off then go find a good place to park about 20 to 30 seconds from the starting line and kill the engine. Just at the right moment he would fire it up, and he was quite successful in making good starts.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

For anyone that has an interest, the information has now been posted on the Technical Info forum.

http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forum...ad.php?p=28116

[epugh66]

The Japanese team was there with two drivers and two new "B" hydros, one built by Gary Pugh and the other by Craig Lawrence.

Gary didn't build a boat for Yamato till years later. I believe they ran a Butts with red engine cowl, I check my pics.

At Hinton, in 1977, Gary was 17. He was racing boat #4, a 125 that he won the nationals with and his first 250 that was very fast , but something engine related failed.

Denny, I like the little logo below your post.

As far as my pop getting mad, well that could happen. I couldn't imagine it being Yamato though, they didn't compete in either 125 or 250.

[Roy Hodges]

And Roy, Dieter built an opposed 6 cylinder Konig that Hans Krage drove to back to back UIM World Championships in OF. Then Marshall Grant had an 8 cylinder Konig (2 opposed 500's side by side) that had electric start. There are pics of that starter posted somewhere on Random Shots From The Pits. Hans would fire his six off then go find a good place to park about 20 to 30 seconds from the starting line and kill the engine. Just at the right moment he would fire it up, and he was quite successful in making good starts.[/QUOTE]...........

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WELL, i guess this proves that there is (almost ) nothing new under the sun. just about anything one can think of has been tried , or at least already thought of . Has anybody ever put two konigs together , with one powerhead OFFSET to the (port) left side ? I know that somebody might have THOUGHT about it , since i just did .

[Skoontz]

Wayne that 8 cylinder is incredible and yet reminds me of two things. I've always had this twisted dream of taking 4- 100 cubic inch Harley Motors and connecting them to a two speed Chevy slush box on a bike then running port fuel injection up through the middle of the tank like organ pipes........
The second is memories of my dad....Built like I read one of the guys post about your dad, He would cap off the tank with "Blue" Sunoco 260 and Ramco racing oil. Then would wrap a 3/8" rope with a 1" drilled dowell handle around the flywheel of his 4-60 Rude...Put the spark advance about 3/8 up, and advance the throttle and lock it similarly...Mind you no saftey to kill the boat here...One foot over the seat, one foot braced against the transom, I would point the boat nose toward open water, he would let out this blood curdling grunt, (and you better be on the opposite side of where he was yanking that rope) the rope would pull about half off the wheel, the engine would pop in that primitive snarl pre-WWll Evinrude motors would do, the rope would unfold from the flywheel, the boat would rock up on plane, slap the water down, and at the same time, he would squeeze his legs together, lift the one over the transom, slam down onto the plywood seat of the Rockholt, reach back with one hand, advance the spark all the way and simultaniously squeeze the throttle. The exhaust opening would lift from the water lever as the boat rocked onto plane, and as the boat spiraled in the opposite direction of the prop torque, he would begin to make the steering corrections to keep in between the banks.... It would turn tighter and tighter circles as it increased speed, he would slump over the wheel and hang on for dear life with every single person standing on both shores in shear awe of what they heard and saw...The whole process went down in about 5 seconds, or at least so it seemed....

That's what I see would happen with that 8 cylinder boat, at least while it ran....Was I even close????

[Master Oil Racing Team]

...but no. In this case the driver (& I can't even remember who it was) had the steering wheel and throttle so he was ready to go when it was set in the water. The pit crew had the transom in the air when it cranked , and I can't remember for sure, but I think Jim McKean cranked it. All I remember from there is that it just went straight for a short bit before something broke. I don't think it got more than just getting on a plane. But the crank rope was just like the ones my Dad made and that part of the cranking process was very accurate.

Now for Roy's question. I am not exactly sure what you mean by offset to the port side, but that would be where the carbs were. If you check out the Marshall Grant thread you will see two 500cc Konigs bolted together on a tower with two driveshafts and electric start. They were butted together on the exhaust side and exhaust ports were changed from the original motors. Or now that I am thinking about it, the exhausts were probably configured in the same way Dieter did the motorcycle engines. When Marshall first ran it at Lakeland in 1973 it was started by two people trying to sychronize pulling the rope at the same time and the same power. It was later that he added electric start.