Register now to get rid of these ads!

Wally Parks

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Sep 28, 2007.

  1. cuznbrucie
    Joined: May 1, 2005
    Posts: 2,567

    cuznbrucie
    Member

    I'll never forget when I was a kid and the new issue of HOT ROD would arrive and there was that great picture of Wally looking back at you over his shoulder from that roadster on the Editorial page.......

    Wally towered over everyone in this hot rodding sport......I'd say the only guy who came close may have been Ak Miller......

    We should all celebrate his long life and his great accomplishments!!

    Godspeed, Wally......Ak, Vic, Eddie, and all the rest are waiting for you!

    Brucie
     
  2. :( :( Now I'm gonna go drive my hot rod. RIP
     
  3. G V Gordon
    Joined: Oct 29, 2002
    Posts: 5,713

    G V Gordon
    Member
    from Enid OK

    He will live on in any young gearhead with an itch for speed that gets grease under his fingernails, and grow bigger than life, as true ledgends most deservedly do.
    R.I.P. and a postumous pat on the back for a life lived to the fullest.
    GV
     
  4. ZZ-IRON
    Joined: Feb 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,964

    ZZ-IRON
    Member
    from Minnesota

    Wally did it Right

    He will be Missed
     
  5. moefuzz
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 4,950

    moefuzz
    Member

    Another Cornerstone of hot Rodding is gone.

    But never to be forgotten. ......


    """When World War II came, the plant was converted to the production of tanks and Parks tested them. He became part of an exhibition tank drill team until the Army grabbed him up and eventually sent him to the South Pacific. While in the Philippines, Sgt. Parks decided he needed a V-8 jeep and built it with an engine commandeered from an old passenger car. The result was the world's first Jeep rod, open exhaust and all. It changed his career. He became a troubleshooter for the Army, travelling all over the Philippines in his hot Jeep."""


    http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1992/Wally_Parks_main.htm





    When Parks became editor of the monthly enthusiast magazine Hot Rod, he had the forum and the power to form the National Hot Rod Association in 1951 to "create order from chaos" by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport. He was its first president.




     
  6. moefuzz
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 4,950

    moefuzz
    Member


    Amen to that, I Took the 31 rumbleseat out for it's first run in 5 years. Sunny weather and thoughts of all that Wally contributed to hot rodding and racing.

    I couldn't help but think of what a different world it would be without the major influences of what Sargent Wally Parks Brought to the table.

    It was a good day for a drive in the banger.

    .
     
  7. Thank you and Godspeed Mr Parks.
     
  8. I met him at one the twilight cruises. He was just a regular guy,talking to everybody. I said hi and shook his hand. He spent most of the night sitting in a chair,or should I say,throne! If you would ask him a question about the early days,he would go off into another world and make you feel like you were there. He told me about a guy who built a car,but was affraid to drive it. He said he told the guy"Hell,i'll drive it!". Then he ran it down the 1/4 mile. I sat down by him and just listened to him tell stories all night. There were many old racers there,cause they were debuting a restored roadster. The guy who raced it was there and got to start it up. Everybody went crazy!
    That was the one and only night I met him. What a cool memory.
    RIP Wally...The Godfather of Hotrodding.
     
  9. Thank you Mr Parks, I've enjoyed what you did for us.
     
  10. THOMAS S&C
    Joined: Sep 24, 2006
    Posts: 416

    THOMAS S&C
    Member

    Thanks for paving the way, R.I.P.
     
  11. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

  12. fab32
    Joined: May 14, 2002
    Posts: 13,985

    fab32
    Member Emeritus

    I read my first Hot Rod magazine when I was 9 years old in 1953. the magazine had Bill Neikamp's AMBR winner in it. It changed my life. Even then Wally Parks was steering the future of hot rodding along with "Pete" Peterson. For 20 years NHRA and drag racing was a dominate influence in my life and the Name Wally Parks will forever be associated with those fun and educational times.
    R.I.P. Mr. Parks

    Frank
     
  13. johnnykck
    Joined: Dec 22, 2005
    Posts: 1,025

    johnnykck
    Member

    What a big loss to all of us, nobody will be able to take the place of a man like he was! What an unbelievable life he lived and how many things he did for hot rodding! He will never be forgotten!
     
  14. skumbag
    Joined: Feb 16, 2005
    Posts: 688

    skumbag
    Member

    very sad day.....r.i.p
     
  15. A class act that will never be equaled for what he brought to the sport of hotrodding.
    God speed and rest in peace, Mr. Parks.
     
  16. A super sad day in our community. Just imagine our world without him.

    Condolences to the Parks family.

    Lets all try to live up to the standard that he set.
     
  17. hotrod fozzie
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 175

    hotrod fozzie
    Member

    Thank You Wally For Getting Us Off The Street And Down The 1/4 Mile Goodbye !!!!!!!
     
  18. Brad S.
    Joined: Feb 5, 2005
    Posts: 1,317

    Brad S.
    Member

    Sergeant Wally Parks
    754 Tank Battalion, Americal Division, New Caledonia, South Pacific
    Solomon Islands
    Battle of Bouganville

    [​IMG]



    RIP. What you did for us later in your life in no way compares to what you had already done. Thank You.
     
  19. wetatt4u
    Joined: Nov 4, 2006
    Posts: 2,146

    wetatt4u
    Member

    Man I just got back from putting a dear friend in the ground today ,and wanted to look at the board for some relief ,,THEN THIS.
    SH*T ............
    GOD SPEED Wally ..........
    All our prayer to the family,from N.C.
     
  20. RIP, and all that. BUT, the man saw/did EVERYTHING most of us could only imagine. If I could see the world through someone else's eyes, Wally just might be the choice. Think about what he's done and seen.
     
  21. RIP
    I hope he understood what he meant to so many people. Not many visionaries live long enough to see their vision become a reality.

    He won't be forgotten.............we won't let him be forgotten
     
  22. McFly
    Joined: Oct 10, 2001
    Posts: 1,169

    McFly
    Member

  23. Flat Ernie
    Joined: Jun 5, 2002
    Posts: 8,406

    Flat Ernie
    Tech Editor

    Another legend lost. The men who were there during the beginning are going fast - if you know one, talk to them, listen to their stories, keep the past alive.

    RIP, Mr. Parks - you are missed.
     
  24. R.I.P. Wally ...

    Wally Parks & 1st Suddenly clone @ USFRA WoS (September 1995).jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2017
  25. speedtool
    Joined: Oct 15, 2005
    Posts: 2,540

    speedtool
    BANNED

    Wally was the tallest giant upon whose shoulders today's hot rodders stand. It's a black day for anyone who loves Hot Rod magazine, the salt, and the drags. Our champion, our hero is fallen.
    Love live Wally Parks!
     
  26. old beet
    Joined: Sep 25, 2002
    Posts: 5,750

    old beet
    Member

    Saw him at the CHRR, sorry to see him go!.........OLDBEET
     
  27. his service means more to me than ANY of his later exploits............A true GIANT when you add in his accomplishments after the war.
     
  28. KIRK!
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 12,031

    KIRK!
    Member

    I agree. I'm sure he had no regrets about his accomplishments. He did it all, and is the reason that we get to do what we do.

    If I accomplish 10% of what he did, I'd be stoked.
     
  29. Some great tributes,I almost feel rude not to just say what a great life!!
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.