Something that I THINK nobody has mentioned ; the rotary engines (omc race) must have been incredibly smooth running , I would think . Any comments from any of you drivers who raced ,using the rotary ?
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Something that I THINK nobody has mentioned ; the rotary engines (omc race) must have been incredibly smooth running , I would think . Any comments from any of you drivers who raced ,using the rotary ?
I have to go back and recollect my thoughts John, and reread those articles. Provo was one of the venues I remember from when I first started racing, but I have never been there. I still have some B&W photos yet to post. Maguerite Woods ( I never met the Woods, and I don't think I spelled her name correctly....help me Ron) PM'd me when Barry was in Berlin to find out how to get to where the Berlin 7 Hour's was. Since I dind't race there, I wasn't sure if it was on the Oberhavel or where. By the time she got back with Barry it was too late. Barry called me later and I asked if he would sign one of the pics from when he raced the Rotary's and he said yes. Then my E mail crashed and I lost contact. Ron knows how to get ahold of him. Then we can figure out what's what.
Where's he at now that we need him??
I think some one would have to ask first , so forget that.
Take it back, i don't know if that's a question or not...
Not quite what happened although going down hill & pulling the "T" handle towards reverse would throw the machine up on the forward angled track & could cart wheel down a severe angled incline. One reason OMC lost the law suit, although they sued the insurance Company who refused to settle & OMC won that, was the advertising claim stated " The Trackster makes the Impossible Passable". Which it didn't. THe real accident that killed the individual(not sure it was a Dr., but the skier Spider Sabich's dad was a passenger) was because there was a 6" vertical faced stick or stone in the path of one of the tracks. As the track passed over the virticle face it came down on the angled front track & cart wheeled. I was the OMC lead liason between attornies & employees and was very familiar with the law suit including post law suit training & product repurchase. During the law suit the engineer that worked on the design & my expert rider of the Trackster had to simulate the accident condition on a hill in California for the jury. They did & came down safely. The secret with the trackster, as I personally learned quickly, was not to pull back on the "T" handle when you thought that you were in trouble. You gradually pushed it forward so it wouldn't rock up on the front angled track. Back to the experts going down the simulated hill. They made it, then a jury member wanted them to do it again. The driver wasn't very happy, but did it a second time successfully.
Wayne:
I can't be sure, but in looking closely at Posey's boat, it appears the bucket is silver, but the top is Johnson gold. That only happened 1 time and that was Windermere, England, '74. Posey co-drove with Mike Downard to win that race. Sanders broke during pratice and didn't start the race. Barry lead for awhile until he broke. I don't recall what happened to Jimbo, but I know he didn't finish. This was the race Strang got pissed at me because 3 of the 4 broke. I kept asking him "who won the race" and who cares who came in second. I'm surprised I still had a job after that.
I would like to thank John for all the info he has provided.
I remember the Parker race very well, it was a sight to see them coming.
Last time I was in Sturtavant a complet rotary was in the lobby, I lifted the cowl to make sure but I can't tell you if it was a newer version or not. I have some pictures of the lobby that may tell. I will have to dig them out.
Racer: Are you sure it was in Sturtavant and not Waukegan? Is it a johnson or Evinrude? There is a Johnson in Waukegan in Marine Engineering and it is the old 2 piece crank engine. If you look closely it has a large flywheel nut and then a smaller nut on top of it. This was the nut that torqued the bolt that held the 2 cranks together. It also has the diecast flywheel. The newer versions had a flex plate flywheel. It appears to be a partial mockup as we never used black carbs, also the entrance of the carbs are not radiused and the steering arms were polished alum not black. Ken Finley has pictures of this unit on web shots
Rotary John
All this talk of the rotary engines sent me digging.... Found a color photo or two from the Detroit boat show in 1974 or 1975. There's also a B&W of a CC (year unknown). Soon as I get decent scans will post for all to see. At that time I was wrenching Mercs and OMC's at Byrd Marine in Dearborn, MI and racing 25SSMH with an OMC 25 powerhead and Parker stacks on a Merc 20H tower/gearcase. We worked the show where I'd slip away to the manufacturers booths and marvel at these great beasts. Cool thread!