Champion Spark Plug's

[Mike Bretsch]

Mike...

My mind is going...Who use to be like President of Champion Spark Plugs.

Dick Jone and Bobby Strallman ran the Long Beach R and D plant out here. I know that Dick Jones did a lot of development work on the Drake Offy with they turbo charged it and Bobby Unser won the Indy 500 with that engine...Dick had an SK that was fast as hell!!!!

Bobby and his wife would come to a lot of our races...They seemed to have a good budget, as they sometime bought us dinner after the races.

Ted May became their BEST FRIENDS and for years had HUNDREDS of Champion Spark Plugs...I was 22 years old and college graduate before I knew there were any other plugs but Champion.

Champion Spark Plugs was good for boat racing. They gave $100 to each APBA National Champion, and usually gave a jacket too...

Your father, Mike, may have helped my dad develop the J64G (G for gold...a plug between the J5J and the J6J)........J64G isn't the number, I don't think.. We LOVED HO-3's and when platinum went to a hundred dollars a plug or something like that, Champion tried to a replacement for the HO-3 (The HO-3 was designed for the Chevy Corvette but worked GREAT in a 55-H).

In 1978, Champion sent me about 8 boxes of different plugs to try in my Triple C Evinrude....

Thanks for posting!!!!

Just remebered the name: Dick Gail was the President of Champion...Spent several evening B talking with him at APBA Conventions....He always thought my brother was going to be President of APBA....He alos thought my brother had an IQ of 2000....

Ron;

Hope I'm doing this right. Yes, I remember all the guys you spoke about. I had met Dick and Bobby when they came to Toledo for meeting's. I did a lot of work with Skip, he sure new his stuff about racing plug's. The president of Champion in those day's was Robert A. Stranahan Jr. I knew Dick Gail very well and he did like to party with the racer's. He may have said he was the president but he was the Director of Racing Dept. He also new his spark plug's. Sadly, all the old racing guy's have past away except Dick Gail and he is not in good health. He is still in Toledo. I was just on the phone to one of my old friends who was a racing engineer at the time the Quincy was out there, his name was Bill Nagy and he had called on Quincy Welding about the engine and spark plug's. He is also getting up in age, but doing good. He said he throught that the compression ratio on the engine was around 19:1. If anyone know's if that is correct,let me know. I do know the fellow in the dyno lab who could start it was a giant on a man. Seem's the HO-3 was used in a lot of engine's. I still have some J64P plug's that I still put in my 1961 Pontiac with the 421 race motor.

[Gstillwill]

Im pretty sure you could send the used plugs back to Champion and have them reconditioned and they would come back each plug in its own plain white box with just the number of the plug stamped on the end of it and said Champion reconditioned. I had some L58R's like that after they stoped making that number.

[Skoontz]

Champions were the only plugs we sold at the West Side Boathouse. I remember about '65 or so, OMC gave their plug contract to AC, well, at least all the new Evinrudes we sold had them in for a year....I remeber dad pulling the hood off a 100-S and looking saying what the F---- are those G dam things doing in this motor??The next year, Champion was right back and never left.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

We ran L87's in all our motors except the 350cc VB Konig. L87's were too hot. Sounds kind of strange doesn't it. I never heard of an L85 or L86 so I always figured L87 was only a little bit different from the L84. Maybe Mike can fill us in.

Anyway... we were holding the 2nd half of the 1968 NOA World Championships which was blown in Minnesota out at my Dad's house. When we raced there a lot of my high school classmates showed up, and some of my best friends wanted to pit. We always had a team that traveled all over with us, but against our best judgement we let one guy help. Basically, we let him hand us tools, carry fuel cans, etc. It was our stupid mistake to ask him to give us some new plugs to put in the B. A couple of new packages of L84's were opened and set on a box in the trailer. Unfortunately, an L87 was next to them and was one of the four he picked up. No one checked. That plug ended up in the top rear cylinder.

I pulled out of the pits to test and just barely broke over on a plane when the power dropped off and the motor made a sound like I never heard before. Back in the pits we took out the plugs and the L87was ashen white/grey with metal splatters all over it and we found a 5mm hole all the way through the piston. The races weren't until the next day, so I was up until midnight overhauling the motor. Because of that I missed the famous shootout when Jack Chance fired off a chamber full of blanks at the "ferocious little wood creature" that Jerry Simison's crew brought down from Minnesota.

[Mike Bretsch]

We ran L87's in all our motors except the 350cc VB Konig. L87's were too hot. Sounds kind of strange doesn't it. I never heard of an L85 or L86 so I always figured L87 was only a little bit different from the L84. Maybe Mike can fill us in.

Anyway... we were holding the 2nd half of the 1968 NOA World Championships which was blown in Minnesota out at my Dad's house. When we raced there a lot of my high school classmates showed up, and some of my best friends wanted to pit. We always had a team that traveled all over with us, but against our best judgement we let one guy help. Basically, we let him hand us tools, carry fuel cans, etc. It was our stupid mistake to ask him to give us some new plugs to put in the B. A couple of new packages of L84's were opened and set on a box in the trailer. Unfortunately, an L87 was next to them and was one of the four he picked up. No one checked. That plug ended up in the top rear cylinder.

I pulled out of the pits to test and just barely broke over on a plane when the power dropped off and the motor made a sound like I never heard before. Back in the pits we took out the plugs and the L87was ashen white/grey with metal splatters all over it and we found a 5mm hole all the way through the piston. The races weren't until the next day, so I was up until midnight overhauling the motor. Because of that I missed the famous shootout when Jack Chance fired off a chamber full of blanks at the "ferocious little wood creature" that Jerry Simison's crew brought down from Minnesota.

There was an L86 plug, but it was of a hotter heat range. The #'s ran close to each other, but the heat range could be a big difference in racing plug's. I have seen on the dyno's at Champion running a 2 cycle engine with a different heat range plug in each cyl. (a 2 cyl eng) (like a 63 and 64) the hotter plug would pre very fast and burn that unforgiven hole in the piston. When we did preignition testing in a 2 cyl engine we would put the test plug in one cyl and the coldest plug we could find in the other. If it preignited it only burnt one pistion. Later, Mike

[russhill]

I think the President's name was Earl Twining. I rubbed elbows with a lot of those Dudes at the Indy races. I drove by the 11th Street shop in Long Beach yesterday, as a result of reading this post. It's still there in a pretty decrepid state. If it weren't for the huge tank in the back that stored the water used for the dyno, I wouldn't have been sure I was there. Booby thought a swimming pool would have been a better means of cooling water.

The last time I saw Bobby Strallman was in Key West at an offshore race. He and his wife were going to Miami the next day to watch the Dolphins play. That was the year that Miami won all 17 games. I believe that was '73.

Bobby and his wife were two of the greatest people on earth.

Champion has always supported boat racing. (or at least as far back as '41, thats as far as I can remember.) I made a vow that I would never buy another brand of spark plug, unless they came in a new car or something. When Bunker started racing Yamatos, they came with some Japanese brand X plug and I wouldn't let him run. I went out and bought Champions. Everybody said you gotta run the Japanese plugs. Well after winning 36 consecutive heats, we showed that CHAMPIONS worked.

[Mike Bretsch]

I think the President's name was Earl Twining. I rubbed elbows with a lot of those Dudes at the Indy races. I drove by the 11th Street shop in Long Beach yesterday, as a result of reading this post. It's still there in a pretty decrepid state. If it weren't for the huge tank in the back that stored the water used for the dyno, I wouldn't have been sure I was there. Booby thought a swimming pool would have been a better means of cooling water.

The last time I saw Bobby Strallman was in Key West at an offshore race. He and his wife were going to Miami the next day to watch the Dolphins play. That was the year that Miami won all 17 games. I believe that was '73.

Bobby and his wife were two of the greatest people on earth.

Champion has always supported boat racing. (or at least as far back as '41, thats as far as I can remember.) I made a vow that I would never buy another brand of spark plug, unless they came in a new car or something. When Bunker started racing Yamatos, they came with some Japanese brand X plug and I wouldn't let him run. I went out and bought Champions. Everybody said you gotta run the Japanese plugs. Well after winning 36 consecutive heats, we showed that CHAMPIONS worked.

The president of Champion in those day's was Robert A. Stranahan Jr and Earl was Chief Engineer of the engineering dept. My farther worked with Earl for many years. I had seen him many time's, he was a nice person. It's sad that all the the great people that made Champion so great are gone. Later, Mike

[bill boyes]

As Ron said Dick Jones had a SK. There was a race at Carlsbad and Dick had Bill Muncey drive it for him. The inspector ask if I would help out and check fuel. Well Bills fuel did not pass the Hydrometer test was close but above the line. I asked Bill were he got the gas and he says Hell, I done know I just drive the thing, ask Dick. So Dick says the the Union station here in town. I said let me check others because something is not right. I checked others and the Hydrometer had the same reading. So then I told Bill and Dick that their fuel was OK. Bill and Dick shook my hand and said Thanks. I did not want to wash my hand as the great Bill Muncey and Dick Jones shook it.

[Jones Cams]

The president of Champion in those day's was Robert A. Stranahan Jr and Earl was Chief Engineer of the engineering dept.

At that time, Dick Jones'(my dad) title was "Manager of champion's west coast racing facility". His title changed, but I can't remember what it was before he quit champion.
His Boss was Dick Kudner.

I'm right now trying to figure out where to post 100's of pictures from the champion dyno facility, and my dad's boat racing career.

[Mark75H]

At that time, Dick Jones'(my dad) title was "Manager of champion's west coast racing facility". His title changed, but I can't remember what it was before he quit champion.
His Boss was Dick Kudner.

I'm right now trying to figure out where to post 100's of pictures from the champion dyno facility, and my dad's boat racing career.

Doesn't really matter ... just post it and if it seems to go off from where it starts we can move it later.