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Drake Family and Hill family
I many respects the Drake Family and Hill Family had little in common, really, except for the love of engines and racing. My dad was a painting contractor or a painter as he called himself, my mom was home maker who probably made 200 Racing Life Jackets for boat racers across the country, most were sold in Region 12.
Dale Drake was a "Craftsman" and engine manufacturer. Dale's wife was kind of a Socialite, whose South Gate Women's Club sponsored a boat race at Long Beach marine Stadium in 1953 (Circa).
My dad loved coming home from work and going to his "Shop" where he build many a winning engine.
John Drake loved to come to my dad's "Shop" and work on his race motors. I loved John's approach to work. Every time he'd come to our house to work on a motor, the first thing he'd do is take nap in our yard swing. I've pretty much taken this same approach to life, since I first met John.
When my dad bought John's Mark 30-H (Made into a C Alky) my brother bought his Howard Thompson boat. My dad turned the 30-H back into a Stock C, as he wasn't one to "MOD" Mercury motors, he thought they should be Stock.
Dale had made a "One Off" steering wheel for John C Alky Hydro. It was a Midget Race Car wheel with a THREADED Spool. My brother raced the Thompson for a few years until it met its demise on the way home from Salton Sea, when it blew off the trailer.
I ended up with the steering wheel in my new "Kilo" DU. This pictures say, May 1967. This was our most "UNLUCKY" Hill runabout.
A Little more 4 Banger Offy History
From the early Forties through the mid Sixties, The four banger Offys ruled. They won every race except 1946. They had evolved into to being virtually bullet-proof. But in the mid Sixties Ford came along with a V-8 and started taking over. Eight cylinder engines, though not necessarily more reliably could pull more horses.
So, the Fords won in 1965, 66, and 67. It became obvious the a traditional Offy could not win, if for no other reason, all of the winning teams had Fords. So, a rule allowing smaller engines to be turbocharged was either made or was noticed. Meyer-Drake then built a smaller turbocharged 4 banger. They won in 1968, Ford's momentum carried Ford for three more wins.
Ford tried to make turbo engines, but failed and the Offys began to again dominate. At that time "boost" wasn't even being talked about. The Offys were running about 90 inches of boost and up to 120 inches to qualify. The inherent toughness of the Offys allowed that, whereas the Fords couldn't take it. The Offys then won the next five Indies.
I don't want to insult anybody's intelligence, but I'm going to tell you how "boost" is measured. It is pressure measured by inches of mercury that can be pushed up a glass tube. Atmospheric pressure by that scale is 14.7. Since horsepower is directly proportion to manifold pressure, Ninety inches of boost, therefore, is 6 atmospheres. Of course, the greater the boost, the more the engines had to be de-tuned to survive. Turbo production cars today measure boost in pounds per square inch (psi) and that starts at atmospheric pressure.
Initially there were no boost rules and therefore no waste gates. As time passed, boost rules were made and waste gates were required, and USAC pop-off vales had to be installed on the plenum chambers. The pop-off is another story I'll get to sometime later.
As I had mentioned as the boost finally got lowered to where the normally aspirated Cosworth Formula I engines survive, the inherent goodness of the V-8 s prevailed over the 4 bangers.
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Bob Willard's Pictures of The Hills
First picture is really not of the Hill's but it is the Needles Marathon in the OLD DAYS, when it was a HAPPENING. Mobil Gas gave everyone gas and stickers, Champion Spark Plugs gave out plus, that is Dick Jones with the Champion shirt. Mercury gave out motors and Speedline gave out boats as prizes.
19-C is me getting around Bob Willard at the Puddle. Why did I say, "Getting around?" Well I only lost two heats in the TV races. Broke a rod once, and borrowed a motor once. Other than that, they called my "Silky Sullivan Hill", as I didn't lead the first lap, but led the last lap. Great "SHOWMEN, those HILLS," Dick Lane would say on TV!
C-6 in the white boat is Junior's C-D-F-X Swift, and the brown boat is Junior's Thompson he bought from John Drake when my dad bought John's Mark 30-H.
Bob Willard is driving the "Cab Over" D Hydro, one of the few D Hydro races he ever ran. This Cab Over was a REAL DOG!!!!
Drake Engineering When I Came In
When somebody here asked I about my involvement with Drake, I talked about myself and Offy engine history.
When Drake was making all the engines and all the replacement parts for all the Indy teams and winning all the races, life was good. When Cosworth stepped into the ring, Drake's new engine sales died. The only people that wanted replacement parts were the low budget teams and there was a huge supply of parts in the big teams.
Drake's problems was not a technical problem, it was purely a business management problem. Freddie Offenhauser (nephew of thee Fred Offenhauser) trademarked the name "offenhauser" and "Offy" and forbid Drake from using the name for aftermarket parts for street cars. That really tied Drakes hands from any diversification and the company really only knew how to make engines and parts.
Freddie very magnanimously allowed Drake to make specific Indy engines and parts. In other words, he let Drake advertize for him.
So, Drake built a V-8 and called it "Drake". As I said before, it was a pretty good piece, but not without issues, mostly financial. Developing an Indy engine is a very expensive endeavor. So many "business" mistakes were made. A set of forging dies for connecting rods were made at great expense and 100 rods were forged and machined. They were really too short. A couple teams who had some success with the engine bought longer Carrillo rods - only 8, not 100.
The connecting rods were designed to use 2 very special bolts. They were $21 each. The very astute parts guy negotiated a "deal" for $18 each, by the thousand. For those of you who can't do upper level math in your head, that's $18,000. A thousand rods bolts was enough for sixty engines.
Hans Hermann, the project engineer was a very good engine designer. He liked Mahle Pistons from Germany. I never heard the cost, but for "custom" pistons, Mahle's minimum order was 100 pistons. That's about 12 engines worth.
Then I arrived. The company was already in some pretty serious debt. Several teams had given the company $8,000 deposit for each of ten engines. That was not nearly enough start up money, and if we'd have sold any, the price was obviously less the $8,000.
Meantime, the market was upset by the fact that CART was starting up, USAC was dying and a feud was raging.
Other than the above and a few other problems, the world was a wonderful place.
To be continued
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20-H Without A Handle and a Terrill Runabout
http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forum...rk+20-H+handle
When I was ten, a guy name Ken Scoffield bought a little Runabout and a 20-H. He gave me a ride in the front seat at where the Blue Water Resort and Casino is now. Scared the hell out of me, I he;d on so tight it was the first time I saw my muscles in my forearms.
When we came in after about three laps, Ken asked if I like it? I said, "Sure!". He said, "Good because I didn't like it and you can have the boat."
The next day, Vic Bonnan who had finished second that year at the Nationals in DePere, Wisconsin. Don Badacci had won but had been DQ'd by my dad, because of HORSE SHOE politics, my dad was over ruled. Anyway, the day after I got the ride in this Terrill, Vic Bonnan threw a rod through the side of his crankcase. My dad offered Vic $150 for the motor "as is" and Vic took the cash.
So, on one weekend, in October 1954, I went from boat and motor less, to the proud owner of a runabout and blown KG-4.
Lee Morehouse took the boat home and took the hook out of the bottom, painted it and brought it Surfside to test. My dad bought a BRAND NEW crankcase and saved the block and built me a good KG-4.
My first ride in Mike Meham's OLD Terrill is pictured here, 424 is Dan Morehouse, music published today. I was blowing a bubble in the picture in my new Mrs. Hill Life Jacket.
It was right after this that my dad turned Kenny Scoffield's 20-H into a 20-H with a handle, and he made the spacer too. Kenny put the 20-H on a fishing boat.
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Lake Wiest, Brawley California
I think we first raced at Lake Weist in the fall of 1955.
The lake is larger today, and probably shallower, because the banks keep eroding.
This is C Runabout with Dave Bryan leading in "X", the guy behind Dave is me, Ron Hill.
Then, in third is Ben Stein, Dave' brother-in-law and that is Joe G. Schulte in the Rinker, 44-C, in the back of the pack.
I think this is the day, my dad and Joe Schulte had a disagreement about weight. Seems Joe had knee high boots, size 16's filled with water when he got on the scale. My Old Man made him drain the water from his boots and from the boat.
Joe argued that the water was in the boat when he raced, my dad pointed out that that isn't the way the rule was written.
I'm not sure if Joe held grudges, but he never ran under weight again......that my dad knew about.
It wasn't too long after this race, that my dad started weighing people after the first heat!
Many an under weight driver didn't like this "NEW" concept!
People wanted to know who would get weighed after the first heat. My dad's answer was, "Only the light boats." (Actually, my brother said that first, but it became the standard answer.)
Great picture of Joe's Rinker making a corner.......Only those who raced along side Joe, can tell you the terrifying feeling you'd get from the sound of his lower unit gears revving about 9,000 RPM's just before he made the turns,,,,,