History Gratiot Auto Supplys "Li'l Billy", a.k.a. "The Bear" The REAL Story!

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Bob Tamplan is a real unassuming guy, very pleasant and quiet, But if you needed to know anything about engines, Bob is the guy you would call,... Bob and his Dad ran a place in Metro Detroit back in the 50's called "Tool House Balancing". They Built and campaigned a Rail and a Model A Roadster back in the day.

In 1957 Bob went to Cordova Ill. to attend the 1957 "World Series of Drag Racing" While there he was smitten by the "Speed Sport Special", and was determined to built a similar car. Following is exactly what Bob told me,...

"In late 57' I was able to purchase a 27 "T" Roadster body. Over the winter of 1957-58' I collected most of my chassis parts and started building my Roadster. After completing the chassis and mounting the body, A friend told me of a former Indy driver / Body man, (More on him later ) He constructed the Aluminum nose, top deck, Trunk lid & Belly pan.

While the Aluminum work was being done, I got the 392 fuel Hemi ready. ( Yeah,.. it first had a Hemi !) When I got the car back, after the Aluminum work was complete, I disassembled, cleaned and painted the chassis and body. Total time to complete took almost 3 years.

Bob Tamplan."

The car was later sold to Angelo a few years after it was completed. Prompting the sale was Bob's finance seeing him get "good and sideways!" at the drag strip,... Angelo repainted it,.. ( To the best look it had IMHO)replaced the Hemi with a Nailhead.

There has been a lot of discussion on whether Angelo actually built this car or not. It was reported in many magazines back in the day that he did,... He was responsible for the best look this car ever had and the Buick engine, as well as a few other improvements.

I have known Angelo for many years, And I have great respect for him, His personal accomplishments and huge contributions to Hot Rodding is something that could fill several books. I don't think he intended on pulling the wool over anyones eyes,... But sometimes Magazines get some details a little off,.. and I think this is what happened in this case. Angelo is, in my opinion, a very honest man.

But the fact remains,... that the vision, fab skills and the ground up build belong to a really great, quiet guy, that is a total "wizard" with anything automotive,... Bob Tamplin

Below are some pictures, never before seen, of the construction of the car Bob called "The Bear",... and more famously known as "Li'l Billy"

Enjoy !

First,... This is the picture of "The Speed Sport Special" In 1957 when Bob Decided He had to build a similar car for himself.

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Here is the first pictures of the chassis rolled out into the daylight

 

With the body mocked up,...

 

The "NEW" 392 Hemi ( with Cadillac mounts)

 

And a couple more including one of the Aluminum work,....

 

Here is the list of features,...

* 1927 "T" roadster body

* Rectangular mild steel tube frame (made by original owner)

*1940 Ford rear axle with Halibrand Quick Change, spot brakes & Wheels, Racemaster Slicks

*4" Dropped Model A axle with 40' Ford spindles, Speed Sport wire wheels 7 aluminum front friction shocks

*Engine, a new 58 Chrysler 392 Hemi. hard chrome crank, forged tru pistons, Herbert 280 Roller Cam, Harmon& Collins front drive mag, Schafer aluminum flywheel & Pressure plate, Double Disc Clutch Assembly with Velvetuch Discs. Rotating assembly completely balanced.
six carb aluminum log manifold with Stromberg 97's set up for 98% Nitro! Heads ported & polished and custom headers (made by original owner).

 

Excellent early pictures and story brother......I hope you have more?.....thanks!

 

much thanks for the info and photos, been waiting since my first "Lil Billy" post in 2008.

Will we get the "rest of the story" ?

Curt R

 

Well,.... lets see how this thread goes,.... There might be a few more,..

 

this is awesome!!!!

 

More! More! More! More! More!

Fantastic photos, love this roadster. Thanks for posting!

 

WOW! Yeah this thread is good! Thank you,those two roadsters have always been right up there for me as the coolest cars.
WOW.

Doc.

 

Post up more.....lil billy version is one of my all time favorites.....the build shots are very interesting ......very simple in a lot of ways....

 

tap, tap, tap...patiently waiting...

 

Sorry boys,.... I'm holding back for a little while

 

Thanks for sharing! One of my favorite car of all time. Would love to see more!

 

There used to be some Tamplins that had a cabin on Sage Lake in Hale.....relations? Hmmmmm.

 

I don't think it would be possible to get MORE related !

 

If I remember correctly they were from the Detroit suburbs. Always had the second fastest sailboat ( my ol man always won the Hobie races!). Makes ne wonder.

 

Great stuff!!! Thanks

 

There were a couple former threads that addressed this car, as well as the real history,.. Below is a link to the HAMB threads.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309631&highlight=lil+billy

And

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148397&highlight=gratiot+owns

 

Haha someone should contact PaulyG and show him this thread so he can eat some humble pie.


Oh & we want more pics!!!!!!

 

WOW! That first pic is just awesome! MORE! MORE!!!

 

Great thread, better than a blog on the Jalopy Journal.

 

I believe that PaulyG is related to Angelo,... And like I said before, I would bet it started with a bad bit of reporting, followed by a cover story. once again, In my opinion, Angelo is a very honest and truthful guy. I can't believe this was intentional.

 

This is the picture of it when it was printed on Gratiot Auto Supply's business cards,...Still with the Speed Sport wire wheels on it.

 

And a little peek under the deck lid,.......

 

Awesome !!!

 

Actually,... The very first picture is the "Speed Sport Special" The car that gave Bob the motivation to built this car,... They have been confused a lot over the years.

 

Harm's, those pictures move me bro. Seeing the car out in the yard, the fenderless coupe in the background, the shots of the garage, jeez it could be ANYTHING and it just taps deep into my memories of how it was. It was a big deal for some just to have a camera let alone be able to track and archive what you were doing. I was litterally raised in the same environment. There's no words for it and I know you understand. That car is beyond special. What great piece of local history.

FWIW, the gang that mentored me was Jocko McNeal (Dad), Dick Mitchell, Johnny Rieburger, Tony Altobell (uncle), and a cast of dozens who's names I can't always recall until I hear them again. Your pics and story smacked me right in the face and I thank you very much for that.

Jocko

 

Wow! Great stuff Dennis!