E-Mail from Jon Walters

First let me wish all of your families a most Merry Christmas and Best of luck in the New Year.

I have attached some pix I thought you might like. The first is one of my favorite pix taken by Charlie Strang spring Neosha 1959. Jerry Waldman and Bobby Hering got the first 3 conversions as "factory team" and as far as I know had just tested them on hydros. Deny Berghauer and I got #'s 4 and 5, Harold had pull with Merc., and assembled them in Artic Refrigeration's shop one nite before Neosha, I finished and took my motor with me. Harold Berghauer had alot of curosity and you might as well take your motor with you... Anyway, I borrowed Dick Engler's Broas Craft( Sid Bathtub copy), that he had just bought from Dick Wikeland for AU, plopped my motor (with one/one gears as I couldn't afford the gear conversion too, picked up 4 mph with same OJ wheel, about 55 mph, and won straight heats with Carl K., Charlie Strang, and Edgar Rose in attendance. Charlie told me after mailing the picture that as far as he knew, this was the First victory in BU with conversion kit. Herring al;so won in BH that day. The thing that they liked was in photo, all 3 20 H's led rest of field across the line. I won 32 straight heats even tho Charlie Erdman in 19 W Sid hornet was faster but for some reason my new Tillotson didn't bubble in corner and Charlies did. I never needed the Mr. "B" fix of an additional pressure relief hole. Some of the other names that I'm sure you'll recognise are Wild Bill Krause in 55 W, Rinker/20H; Dick Van de Plash in 101 W, Hotrod/homemade; Hugo Obermeyer, the mad Kruat,125 W,Hotrod/Rinker; unidentified behind 19 W; Bob Grunska,219W,Hotrod/Airbourne; Jack Schmetzer,112W, Hotrod/broas craft. It took about 1-2 months for the hot,hotrod drivers to get 20-H's, and got gears so they could run their good hotrod props and started winning again. The likes of Ron Hedlund, Jack Schmetzer, Stover Hire and others starting going by again. I was graduating from college and had to go to work for a living to support my new family even tho I had a New Broas craft built for me the next year, as Dick Engler wanted to race in B too. I only got 2d's or 3rds or, as the B's kept going faster, the bathtub's had a nasty habit of blowing over backwards as they were too wide.


The other pictures were taken during my last test run in late Nov. I got boat up to about 60 mph on the Keller but dropped the bottom 2 cylinders so I stopped and discovered the bottem jet had turned in so I had Screw driver along to reopen to 1 1/4 turns which the upper jet had and boat got right back to speed but started to turn down again. asd I didn't have wrench or plies along and it was getting late, I idled in and called it a day without changing the old Kamic 2 blade prop I used to break motor in which didn't rev up too hi to the 3 blade Hill wheel I bought. Can't wait to try that next spring as I'd like to bring the rig out with Tim when you go testing next. Like to maybe try some of your Grandpa's wheels too if I could. I was running at about 13 3/8 ht and parallel. In looking at the rule book they let me access as not APBA member, I am confused about Ht. Restriction. There is a 3/4 " C/L below bottom for DSH but none for DSR??? Also, what is the "Stock Classic" racing category all about.


I took rig homre and pulled the plugs, all four had nice chocolate brown color and under Magnifying glass, bottom two had no metal particles so the heavy oil must have protected the cylinders long enough to not score as it leaned out.Thank God. I had bought a $10 old Merc tack on ebay to fool around with. I rigged 2 6v batteries in series to attach to 12V and ground terminals which turned light on and 0'd pointer. I decided battery was only for light but I must be wrong as connecting mag terminal to "Sig Input" and engine Gr to Tach ground yielded no reading. Do I need the 12V to energise some sort of coil in tach and if so, what is the smallest 12 volt battery pack that would work?


Did either one of you see the new Ron Hill/ Ted March web sight, www.boatracingfacts.com ? They are developing and getting pictures of alot of history. One of the things is the past SO national champs. Isn't there some records that you can access on APBA web? Ron put in all he could remember of DSR but had blank on I think 64 or 5 and 69. What year did Bill win? Tim, You have a wreath of history in your grandpa's scrap book. Does he have records of any of the nationals. I was told that my 66W was built by Carl for Gary Stippich in Spring of 1969 as gift when Gary came out of service and that he won Nationals that year with it??? If you could scan any of this History, a bit at a time, I'm sure this web site would be glad to have it. I sent my Neosho pix and Ron wants more.


Enough of this prtattle, see you in the spring!!! Jon

This picture isn't Neosho!!!!