Waldman F 44 Looper has been found!

[Original Looper 1]

For the past 30 years or so I have been quietly searching for the missing Gerry Waldman F Looper, serial number XF14. Over the years I have heard various stories about this elusive motor -- it was scattered and scrapped, it had been bought and then sold and then disappeared, even recent claims from someone out west that they thought they had found the motor -- but none of the stories could be documented & proven true until now. Really!

I received the most amazing call this weekend. Dick Ollhoff found an old 44 Looper 2 years ago that he bought and tucked away and forgot about. This weekend he finally dug it up and called me to find out who the original owner was in the Quincy Welding record book.

Yes, it was the missing Waldman XF14 Looper!! We did some background tracking on the motor and have definitely documented and verified (including tesimonial evidence from one of the previous owners) that Dick did actually find the Holy Grail of the Waldman Looper engines. Dick said he plans to restore the motor when he has time and take it to classic outboard shows.

Can you believe his luck? Dick said he had no clue at the time he bought it that it was anything special. Dick is now the proud owner of 2 Waldman Loopers -- yes, he also owns the Waldman C Looper that had belonged to Larry Latta.

This C and F are probably the last 2 engines that Gerry Waldman won with in 1972 before his fatal accident in D hydro at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Wayne Baldwin did post on BRF that Gerry won the high points at that meet by winning C and F hydro.

Dick, I know you will treasure these Loopers. Please post pictures here, when you finish restoring both of these historic engines so everyone else can enjoy them too.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Master Oil Racing Team]

What a wonderful find Paul. It's great that it wasn't lost to the junkpile and is in the hands of someone who will restore it to show to the public. Thanks to your Dad and the Quincy people who kept track of who purchased the motors and for you to hanging on to the records for confirmation and absolute proof.

When you talk to Dick tell him I haven't forgotten his pictures and I will send a copy of these two pages I will post as well.

Jerry was Team Captain of the North for the MX237 Invitational races held at Hot Springs. It was an experimental race to see if we could pull off a fast pace professional event that would have the crowd wanting more. While most boat racing events start the program with the slowest classes and finish with the fastest, this one started with one of the fastest classes and mixed them up throughout the program.

Lead off was F Hydro. Jerry won this followed by Ray Nydahl and Jerry Peterson. All these races were one heat only. One shot only. Jerry won with this 44 looper XF14.

The next event Jerry was entered in was A Hydro, the third heat of the day. I am not sure where he finished here. Maybe more research would lead me to the results.

Fifth on the schedule was C Hydro. Jerry won this with Billy Seebold and myself behind him. This is the final race Jerry ever won.

Jerry scratched in the 7th event--B Hydro. As Team Captain for the North he had absolute dictatorial powers to place any driver he wanted to represent his area of the country. Jerry did not feel his rig was where he wanted it so he scratched and put Phil Howard in his place.

Jerry's final start was in the 9th and next to last race--D Hydro. It was a start I will never forget. I have seen a movie of it and it causes the hair to stand up on the back of your neck.

It's a great thing to hear of those motors being restored and stand as testimony to the talented Quincy Welding people and Jerry Waldman for their accomplishments.

[Original Looper 1]

Wayne,

Thank you so much for keeping the original race sheets from the Hot Springs races for all these years and now posting them here. You are a great outboard racing historian and quite an asset to this site.

I talked with Dick Ollhoff recently and not only is he quite excited that he has THE Quincy Welding record book documented and further testimonial certified Waldman 44 F Looper (XF-14). He also said that he is extremely thankful to you for giving him the race history of Waldman's final race victory with this engine.

Wayne, to put the icing on the cake, I found the original dyno card from Quincy Welding, which further certifies the engine of Dick's. (Yes, I also have the original dyno cards from when the shop closed. Who knew at the time how important they would become. Really!)

We should also all thank Ron and Ted for giving us such a great fact-based web site on which to share and exchange racing history and knowledge.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Paul....You got that right about Ron and Ted. If it weren't for them all my stuff would still be in 3 ring binders, shoeboxes and 3 cut files. and just piled up in storage. Thank God for packrats. There are many of them still out there that read this that don't know how to scan and I have stuff sent to me that I don't have time to do yet. And Clayton Elmer---I promise to get done with yours next after I get Ron's pics for the reunion to him. Clayton was my main teacher when I was learning how to race. He taught me what he could in the pits, then used his propwash to teach me more.:D I will get info from him also for the Quincy site. Clayton was the guy on ABC's Wide World of Sports that had that fantastic duel with Hu Entrop at Lake Spivey in 1964 or 65. I will get into that when I do Clayton's stuff in the encyclopedia.

Even the smallest bits of info can be interesting as time passes. When you are living it, things are fun and exciting, but when you try to remember there are many gaps. Little things you save can spark memories long forgotten. So here's to those folks that have saved some of that past, the ones who are finding the old boats and motors and are bringing them back to life, and to Ron and Ted who have given us the forum to bring it to the public.:cool:

[Skoontz]

a looper, say an A-C, and could find one, what could they expect to pay?

Though I've been a devout OMC guy forever, reading about these fantastic motors has made a bug grown inside me...And, along with the 125 Stacker, these engines are looking pretty fun for a project....Awesome find you got there!!!!

[Mark75H]

Skoontz the value of them is all over the place. Some people want thousands and thousands of dollars for such a motor, other will let you have it for a couple hundred to get it out of their basement and into the hands of someone who will fix it up.

It depends on the motor and how the seller feels about you

In the normal course of sales, I have not seen a looper with a normal pedigree go for more than $2,000. Usually they are siezed up and missing parts and go for something between $100 and $1000

[Skoontz]

That just might get placed on my goal list them....Even though a 6 cylinder looper would be the most fun, storage and transport to show it off after restoration becomes problematic. This makes alot more sense to me, however, than trying to make something my dad did at this time, because most of the base is here, and, we have the looper crowd to guide authenticity and remaking of pieces....

[fbref5269]

skoontz,

you'll never regret getting a looper and bringing it back to life again. the one i'm restoring was all locked up. it's a labor of love to see what made them tick. let me know if you have any questions of my project. the great thing about the project is all the great new friends you make and the help they give. it is like a family!

frank

[Skoontz]

OK, that does it....I'm going to go on an all out assault finding a looper. Would prefer an 89 cubic inch, but, will take a 2 or four holer...And, since it's a Quicy, I'll not be going against my pledge to grandpa about using a Merc for anything other than an anchor...

So, tomorrow I have to T-88 the Miss KTDoodles damaged deck for Oroville, then, cut off the cocpit tunnel for a new one that will be here Tuesday, get a big deal signed for work, clean of my desk, then look for a looper.... If only you knew Southern California, boob job capital of the world...Everyone loves to sleep in on Sundays in our neighborhood... I'm gunna get that bad boy running and start it at 5:30AM...If I'm up everyone else should be too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bob Rusnak]

OK, that does it....I'm going to go on an all out assault finding a looper. Would prefer an 89 cubic inch, but, will take a 2 or four holer...And, since it's a Quicy, I'll not be going against my pledge to grandpa about using a Merc for anything other than an anchor...

So, tomorrow I have to T-88 the Miss KTDoodles damaged deck for Oroville, then, cut off the cocpit tunnel for a new one that will be here Tuesday, get a big deal signed for work, clean of my desk, then look for a looper.... If only you knew Southern California, boob job capital of the world...Everyone loves to sleep in on Sundays in our neighborhood... I'm gunna get that bad boy running and start it at 5:30AM...If I'm up everyone else should be too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a few 2 cylinder Looper's and may be bringing one out to Depue to sell. I had it sold to a collector of stock outboards but he changed his mind and just bought the Merc lower unit. All loopers are complete but not shure of which one I will bring out. All have a history and two belonged to some well known drivers still active today. I am bringind a 44 Looper out to show as soon as I re-shim the crankshaft. Just in case we deside to take it for a ride on a 1100 runabout. We will have two 500 Runabouts there to compete. Bob N-96

[Skoontz]

Bob, we will not be at Depue, KT needs another year before I allow her in the unrestricted classes that will be there. Next year, that's another story. I'll have to see her progress and determine where so is going from there. After seeing the Oklahoma based "Kneel and Pray" fleet at the Bakersfield nationals, she has her heart set on running a D mod boat someday, which is why I was thinking about a 4 hole looper.....
Now, regarding that motor you show, out of curiousity, what kind of coin do you need to see out of that engine? I'm not sure I could afford one at this exact moment, this year has been slower than most, but ya never know....

[Original Looper 1]

To everyone:

When I first verified on BRF that Dick Ollhoff had found the missing Waldman F44 (FX-14), I backed up my verification with original shop records and dyno cards from Quincy Welding.

Someone else that has another F Looper doesn't want to believe the truth. This person has been emailing people and has posted elsewhere that I'm wrong, that the Looper in his possession, FX-57 was Waldman's missing F 44 Looper.

I don't know what stories have been told by whom or why, but further written proof is in the dyno cards that I am posting here now to settle this once and for all. All 3 dyno cards plainly show FX-14 belonged to Jerry Waldman. All are dated between 1/19/70 and 1/11/72. All are original, unaltered Quincy Welding shop dyno cards. What more can I say?

According to the official Quincy Welding record books, FX-57 was never owned by Gerry Waldman. Yes, I do know who the original owner was but do not want to post that info here without his permission. FX-57, according to the shop records, was manufactured in 1976 -- 4 years after Waldman died at the races at Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1972.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

Please note: These copies of the dyno cards are for your enjoyment and are not to be copied or posted to any other web site without my written permission.

[Original Looper 1]

In case anyone missed my previous post today, I put up copies of the 3 original Quincy Welding dyno cards that show FX-14, owned by Dick Ollhoff, is indeed the Waldman 44 F Looper.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[fbref5269]

paul,

what kind of 'proof' does this other person have? let's see..... you have the original quincy welding records and you have the 3 dyno cards and the serial number is in line with the dyno dates..... doesn't take csi to figure this one out. dick ollhoff has a great find.

frank

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I will find some letters between my Dad and Gerry from this time period to post. Gerry was very much into this race and he would want to have his equipment top notch.

[deanwilson]

Hi Paul,

I sent you an email. Hope you got it. Let me know.

Thanks.
Dean Wilson Jr.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Here is the last letter from Jerry prior to the race. Just a little less than two weeks prior.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I am not sure which motor this is, but in my mind I have always remembered it as being the F. I am thinking this was the same run that Jerry made that I took the closeup of afterwards of him explaining the acceleration of the motor. Maybe a closer look will show some identifying characteristics.

This picture was taken at Hot Springs during testing the day prior to the races. When Gene was talking about Jerry cranking his own motor, it reminded me of this picture. Dick Hoppenwrath is on the left and Phil Wagner holding the Marchetti up on the right.

[Original Looper 1]

Wayne,

Those are great pictures & the letter is priceless.

As to the engine in the picture, it could be a C, D or F Looper. It's very likely, unless you come up with better information saying otherwise, a C Looper. Why? I watched Gerry Waldman many times starting his outfits and I never did see him standing up in the boat like in your pictures when he was starting his D or 44 F Loopers. They had too much compression and he would have risked being jerked out of the boat.

If I remember correctly, when he started his D or F, he usually put one foot on the fuel tank while sitting backwards (facing the engine). Then he would barely wrap the rope one turn or less around the cranking plate on the D or F and pull like heck. Being that they were reed valve engines, and Waldman kept his equipment in top operating condition, they usually started right off and away he went. Yes, there were other people that cranked his engines from time to time, but I never saw Gerry stand up when a D or F was cranked -- too much instant torque!

A further note here: Waldman did have unique spray shields, lower units and drivehousings. Obviously his engines were top flight. I have documentation and dyno cards (which were posted here 6/12/07) to certify the one and ONLY Waldman 44 F, XF-14.

The confusion occurs because Gerry had spare drivehousings, spray shields & lower units that have gotten out in the field and have shown up on other engines that were NOT Waldman powerheads. People before have wanted to believe that they have a Waldman Looper because they have acquired engines with some of the Waldman specialty parts included. That does not make those engines Waldman motors.

I have the entire list of Waldman Looper serial numbers, which I am keeping confidential. As some people "discover" they have an actual missing Waldman Looper, others may also discover that what they own and thought was a Waldman Looper is in fact, not a documented Waldman Looper at all.

Case in point: Professionals in the classic car collectors field have told me that there are many more Shelby Mustangs and 427 435 hp Corvettes showing up now than were actually produced by Shelby/Ford and GM originally. How? Reproduction parts.

One thing that I don't want to see happen is that non-documented engines, non-Waldman engines get passed on to buyers as real Waldman motors. People's memories may not tell the correct story but the documents do.

Since I have the original Quincy Welding serial number books and dyno cards, I hope to keep the pedigrees of these motors accurate and honest.

Don't forget -- there are probably many other famous Loopers still out there that have not yet been "discovered." Happy hunting!

thanks,

Paul A Christner

[Master Oil Racing Team]

You're reasoning is logical Paul and therefore it probably is the C. I was just going by what I had in the back of my mind as I did not write down what it was in that frame. I had thought some photos I took of him on the straightaway were of him with his F and surmised that maybe this was a pit shot of that group. However, now that you have mentioned his cranking style I am going back and looking at frame numbers of the negatives in relation to the other pictures. That could be a clue as to what the other boats were because I truthfully don't know other than they were 4 cylinder. What I do know is that they were all taken at his last race.

An interesting side note. While looking for the letter I came across one from a person who was on the ground in Hot Springs helping us with the promotion. He had the film in his hands that was shot from the cockpit of Jerry's boat on the Friday before the races. He was lining up someone to make copies. He asked my Dad if he wanted one and said Marshall had asked for a copy too. I do know we never got one and I imagine Marshall didn't either, but I am going to check. I will see if I can track this guy down to see if he still has the film. Keep your fingers crossed.:D

[Mark40H]

Attached are two articles on the late Jerry Waldman. As an ex-boat racer, I, too, am a pack rat just like Wayne. The first article is from an old automotive magazine, probably late 60's, as the motor on Jerry's hydro is a deflector Quincy Merc and not a looper.

The next article is from the August 72 Propeller and tells of the sad day in Arkansas.

I'm posting these for the young bucks to read as they have a lot of catching up to do to fill Jerry Waldman's shoes.

[Mark40H]

Looks like my attachments were way too big. Will post the automotive article again to see if I have it sized correctly now. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Mark40H]

Keeping fingers crossed works every time !!

Here is the other article.

[Dr. Thunder]

Has anyone kept up to date on his family?

[Don Muncie]

Dear Looper One.

Remember me? About four years ago, I called you and told you I was about to buy two 44F Loopers. You asked me from who, I told you. After I received them, I called you and you asked me if Pete Lewis owned the one in question. I called the guy I got them from and inded he confirmed it! I called you back, you then asked if Pete bought the one in question from Bill Rypkema (spelling) This was also confirmed. Bill told me that he and Larry Latta went to the Waldman state and bought Gerry's C Looper and his 44F. Larry owned the C and Bill owned the F. Paul, you then told me that I indeed owned the "Holy Grail" of the Loopers. I had a phone conversation with Larry Latta about this and he also confirmed it!

Now Paul, how can you undocument what you already documented? This site is called Boat Racing FACTS, right? Can you show us the linage in which your new documentation indeed proves FX14 is the one and only Waldman 44F? If you can, then I'm OK with it, everybody is intitled to a mistake, right Paul? But if not, then maybe some correction might be needed to these other posts concerning Gerry Waldman and his "Holy Grail".

Thanks.

[Tim Chance]

I seem to recall that Gerry Waldman and Jerry Simison used to swap engines back-and-forth quite often. Does anyone know what happened to Jerry Simison's Loopers?

[Original Looper 1]

Tim,

As a matter of fact, I recently "discovered" Jerry Simison's D Looper - it was sitting on a shelf in R C Hawie's museum for years. I've noticed it many times when visiting R C and we even talked about it but the last time I was there I made him get it down off the shelf and give me the engine number.

When I looked it up, FD-102, it shows up as Jerry's. Wow! I told R C to immediately move the engine to a safer place as this is a significantly historic engine. It's likely (but the research is still in progress) that Jerry won many D runabout championships with this engine. What a great find - and R C didn't even know what he had!

As I told Frank in a previous post, a while back, in a senior moment, I almost sold the entire collection of Quincy Welding dyno cards to a guy that I have since found to be, how shall we say, ethically challenged. I am so glad that I recovered my senses in time - it must have been divine intervention. Can you imagine where we would all be right now without such a great source (along with the serial number book) to verify and document engines with?

Happy Looper hunting everyone.

thanks,

Paul A Christner

PS: There are many famous Looper engines that have not yet turned up & been documented. Engines originally owned by Billy Seebold, Marshall Grant, John Woods, Ray Nydahl, Bruce Nicholson, Sheriff Hatton, Bruce Summers, Jim Schoch, Mel Kirts, Wayne Walgrave & others. I have the documentation if you find the motors! Really!