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A Bed Time Story: Clyde Sturdy

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Dec 19, 2007.

  1. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    kidcampbell71 and 63fdsnr like this.
  2. SUHRsc
    Joined: Sep 27, 2005
    Posts: 5,093

    SUHRsc
    Member

    good post!
    i found this


    from Gone Racin' Newsletter # 75 June 15, 2005

    The May issue of Hot Rod mag had a short article about the passing of Don Francisco and
    how he was inducted into the Dry Lakes Hall of Fame. My stepfather and his best friend
    both ran cars under SoCal during the late 40's thru early 50's at the dry lakes in California.
    My step dad, Loren (Lory) Miller became a Ford mechanic after serving in the Pacific dur-
    ing WWII for the next 40+ years. He passed away in Carson City, Nevada several years
    back. His best friend and fellow racer was Clyde Sturdy. Clyde owned his own industrial
    and automotive gear business in L.A. for years. He was an avid boater and water-skier. I'm
    not sure what became of Mr. Sturdy.
    At the local So Cal shop in Las Vegas there is a poster
    from a magazine that has Lory Miller and his car along with three other cars at a Dry Lake
    all painted with the So Cal colors. If you have any other information about Lory or if you
    have anyone who knew of him, let us know, please. Sincerely, Steve Brooks Las Vegas,
    NV [email protected]
     
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  3. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
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    Yeah, I saw that too... It's weird. He was hugely successful on the flats, but just kind of vanished. You just don't hear as much as you should about him.
     
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  4. Hans
    Joined: Feb 28, 2006
    Posts: 363

    Hans
    Member

    According to the B-ville 200 MPH Club, Clyde did 218.167 in 1974. It also states that he is in fact deceased.
     
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  5. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
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    I just found that too... That's the first post 1952 mention I have found of him anywhere.
     
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  6. Foul
    Joined: Mar 25, 2002
    Posts: 643

    Foul
    Member

    I kinda ran across the same thing regarding Willie Young, the land-speed racer who died earlier this month. Could only find the briefest of information about him, but nothing further.

    Probably nothing at the AHRF about Clyde, correct?

    dan
     
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  7. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
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    AHRF doesn't have much... Just a few image captions taken from hot rod...
     
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  8. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    "He was an avid boater and water-skier..."

    That might well cover his disappearance...he would have been flogging engines in a venue not much covered in our magazines.
    Try some digging in HRM from about 1959-64--they covered boats a lot in that time period, car engine powered ski boats and similar.
     
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  9. VAPHEAD
    Joined: May 13, 2002
    Posts: 3,257

    VAPHEAD
    BANNED

    Clyde Sturdy was pals with a friends father and uncle.
    He hung out with Clyde alot as a kid.
    He even has stories about the roadster.
    I'll call him and pick is brain about Clyde....
     
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  10. kyhotrod
    Joined: Oct 25, 2006
    Posts: 132

    kyhotrod
    Member
    from Kentucky

    There's a photo of Ray Brown with Wally Parks in the NHRA Museum at Pomona. I'll try to add it here. Surely Ray must be kin to Peter Brown, the actor who co-starred in the 60s TV Western show "Lawman" with Johnny Russell, and later was in a TV Soap.

    If he is kin, I wonder if he's a gearhead and has any of Ray Brown's stuff?

    BTW, the article here on the HAMB about Lee's streamliner has a photo that must be Ray Brown (see my 2nd attached photo (cropped) from that article/comment).

    Just my 2 cents. Great articles and commentary here.
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. 4 port Riley
    Joined: Mar 16, 2006
    Posts: 38

    4 port Riley
    Member

    Clyde Sturdy was a friend of mine, in the 70's he ran a '32 highboy with Al Teague and George Bentley. the car had lightning holes in the side rails of the '32 frame and was sponsed by Clyde's company which manufactured gears and gear drives. He built a set of transfer case gears for a friend of mine and refused payment. Sadly, those people are disappearing from our society.
     
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  12. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
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    Amazing... small world.
     
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