An Amazing Story: Part 2

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I had two Konigs, as did some other drivers, that had the powerheads reversed on the towerhousing to keep the carbs on the outside of the boat in the corners to try to eliminate "watering down" problems in the corner. Don't know for sure if that is the case here, but it was done in that time frame and previously. Also if the negative was flipped, the X-12 on Jerry's shirt would be also, would it not??

[David Weaver]

I had two Konigs, as did some other drivers, that had the powerheads reversed on the towerhousing to keep the carbs on the outside of the boat in the corners to try to eliminate "watering down" problems in the corner. Don't know for sure if that is the case here, but it was done in that time frame and previously. Also if the negative was flipped, the X-12 on Jerry's shirt would be also, would it not??

I guess I never noticed Konigs configured like that. It makes sense to protect the carbs. Did moving the weight of the exhaust change a boat's handling?

[aojesus]

I was at that race the day Greg stuffed his 500H, it happened at a race in Sydenham Ontario Canada, a favorite place for the Canadian Formula Outboard Division to run.
He was leading, flying and pushing hard knowing there were 700's behind him when it happened.........It looked really bad from the beach where I was standing, and the rescue boats was on the move as a stuff was as serious as it gets.

Jeff,
Would this have been around the 79-80 era? We were talking with Dad a few days before he passed and the Sydenham crash came up. The one we saw started about half way down the back stretch and pieces landed at the entrance to the turn. We were pitted on the point and I remember a sea of drivers and crew responding to the Meydey.

Mom seems to remember it as being the Canadian Nationals. If this is the same crash I have never seen another one like it.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I never ran Konig pipes on my Konigs, only ZAK pipes, and they were much shorter in length, not only insofar as the "pipe" section, or sheet metal portion, but also the manifolds were entirely different, allowing the pipes to be very short in comparison to the Konig expansion chambers of the day. The pipes, because of the manifold design, extended more outward from the side of the motor instead of back from it. If anything I think it would have helped the boat handling compared to the Konig pipe setuup, as there was very little wgt behind the transom, and the majority of the wgt of the pipes was toward the inside if the boat. As previously stated, I have no basis for comparison as I never ran the Konig pipes, but the combination of Harry Zak's engines and the R&D Hydro made for a VERY fast boat thru the corners compared to other boat/motor combinations of the day. This was in the '72-'74 time frame.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Bob Rhoades had the switcheroo also on his 500 hydro. He was fully loaded with ZAK equipment too. As Bill Van stated, this was 72-74. Later Dieter made castings for dual use. Motorcycles and outboards. The motorcycle heads had an angled boss so spark plug threads could be drilled at an angle and plugs were screwed in at a degree that they would not make contact with the asphalt. These motors were designed so that the exhaust and rotary valve intakes could be swapped. Look at Jerry's motor. You can see where the flat casting would accomodate a rotary valve.

[deanwilson]

Actually, all that is required to do is swap the headers, front to back, and turn them around to point the other direction. Then make a slider bracket.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

In the very late 60's or early 70's, Kay Harrison had a C Konig that had the powerhead turned around, but instead of pointing the pipes backwards, they pointed forward and were located alongside the lefthand coaming of his boat. He told me at the time why he did it, but I no longer remember the reason. It could have been to get the weight forward, or the carbs to the outside of the boat, or both, but it surely did look strange with the pipes running parallel to his left side while he was driving the boat. Of course when he turned to the left the pipes would have come closer to him as he was in the boat, but he never said whether that caused a problem. I know I burned myself several times on pipes without even trying, so I would not have been happy with that arrangement myself. Perhaps someone else who saw his outfit in that time frame could comment.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Kay Harrison at LaCrosse in the first pic. Here is the motor you were talking about Bill Van. This was taken at Hot Springs in 1972. I am not sure though that the powerhead turned. I have several pictures and in all cases the motor and pipes are straight ahead. I meat to ask Kay about this in DePue, but I forgot. I need Denny to send me his E mail. Ever since my E mail got messed up and fixed last year I haven't gotten anything from him.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Wayne:

Are you sure that is a Konig? Looks to be one of his engines, as it is considerably taller than a 4 cyl Konig, or at least looks that way to me. Also some other things in the photo make me think it is a two cyl, alternate firing engine, such as carb location, or what appear to be carbs, and also the pipes are very far apart vertically, not like I remember the 4 cyl Konig I saw. I thought I had some pictures somewhere, but I think they disappeared between marriages.
Re Denny contact:
I have a phone number if you want to give me a call.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

No Bill Van.....I am not saying it's a Konig....I noticed the same thing you did. What I was doing was posting the picture of the motor you were talking about. 1972 is the only time I remember Kay running with the backward pipes. He also had that setup at DePue that year. I will look to see if I have a closeup so maybe we can figure it out.

I don't need Denny's number. I need to call him or Joe Flow to get Kay's E mail. But thanks.