Boy, oh, boy.... He does not ring a bell....
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My gosh...... I can't leave out my most important signature in the Powerboat mag.......
( I have that magazine ( shown next to Howard), and most every boat magazine Howard is celebrated ....
The picture of Nordskog in #3, Glastron Carlson Molinari is not Dick Sherrer. And the Style Craft with US 1 is not George May... Signatures are correct pictures are wrong.
Wow, what a magazine, and what a collection of autographs. You have one unique magazine there.
You reminded me..... George & Dick did say, " That's a photo similar to their boat"...... Just so they had a spot to sign.....
Thanks for the historical clarification !!
To add to my experiences around all those great moments.......
I was the transport driver / crew on the Aronow Unlimited...... I joined the team in Marin County, Ca., when I worked for Howard Arneson.... The Aronow was brought to our shop, along with Jerry Gilbreath. We removed the Cosworth engines ( a lack of torque )..... And installed the pair of Keith Black 408/ flat crank 'sprint car' Hemi engines. When the change was done, the next Unlimited race was in Tri Cities. Howard offered me to take a 'break' to haul the Aronow for the remaining season. We drove to Tri Cities....
I remember Bill Muncey.... just returning from a jog at the hotel.( It was hot out, and Bill looked "red as a beet") We spoke for a moment then he later went to the boat..... We were pitted next to the Atlas team..... We all watched Bill's testing.... We saw the Atlas blow over.. ( horrible)............
All the teams went to Seattle for the next race..... We 'borrowed' a space at the Atlas shop..... Later that week, there was a memorial / celebration at a restaurant/ boat harbor for Bill. I was in the restaurant with Chip Hanauer, having brunch......Just him & me...... I sat there as Fran Muncey came over and sat with us for a moment... I actually heard the "moment"..... Fran asked Chip to drive for them...... ( What a moment )
I remember Bill Muncey's fatal crash being in 1981 in Acapulco, Mexico in October of 1981.
My bad...... Tri Cities was my 1st hydroplane race...( The moments moved fast for me back then)... It was a long time ago...... I mixed up past memories, I did see a blow-over .... And it's true I was eating with Chip in Seattle, and Fran Muncey sat...... I mixed up Bill crash as if it happened ..... Not realizing it was a year before as the reason Chip was approached by Fran. I am a bit embarrassed how I gathered my memory......
I can only imagine that I was unaware how long before Bill passed, as I was so new to the scene..... When I was told about Bill.
EVERYTHING was "Day 1" to me those few weeks.....
Ron Hill...... Please remove 2 credits.... I take full responsibility. :)
Hey Mr. Pete.....it happens to us all. That was a long time ago, and I can see where someone "new to the scene" around legends like Bill Muncey and Chip Hanauer and Fran Muncey can kind of blend things together over time. I'm liking the stories you are telling and don't want you to quit, and I am guessing all the others are waiting to hear more as well.
Saw Bill Muncey in person at Dayton, Ohio in 1977 when the Unlimited and UIM OD (outbard) hydros traded heats during a day and a half program. During testing Chip Hanauer came down and sat in our pits to watch what we were doing. I was in the water working on stuff and wanted to go meet him, but I was too shy.
Four of us guys from South Texas went to Acapulco for an exhibition race the year before Muncey was killed. The course we raced on was smaller, and was about half a mile south of where Muncey blew over. All those waterways were connected. The Pacific Ocean was just west of the road where the lakes were. You could see it. The road to the pits separated the Pacific from where the race courses were, so we were all racing at sea level. Then why did our outboard motors not run well? Charlie Blackwood and Artie Lund from San Antonio were running D Quincy loopers, and Steve Jones and I were both running D Konigs. I was the only one that had CD ignition. No one could keep their engines lit during testing. We hall had to downgrade prop pitch significantly to keep the revs up and the engines from fouling. My motor was the only one not to have trouble fouling. Do not know why to this day what the problem was, but it affected all of us. I have since wondered if atmospheric conditions at sea level closer to the equator might have had some aerodynamic affect on Muncey's boat where it responded differently.
Please Mr. Pete, keep up with your stories. You were in places to tell us some interesting inside stories.