Great pictures of Dutre elgringo, Ernie was a good friend of mine, and we all miss him. He used to tell me a lot of stories about his early racing days, he was a very competitive guy, and excelled at anything he put his mind to. I got my Super Stock 68 Camaro from Ernie, after he relocated to Washington state he just never got things going again in the racing department, and he called me and told me to come and get it. I have had that car 26 years now. Thanks for posting those pictures!
No problem, I am glad that you enjoyed them. Do you know Fred Cattaeno? It is believed that Rat Sass has Fred's old Corvette. I think that Ernie and Fred were friends that both had 56-57 Corvettes or maybe one sold the car to the other?
No, I don't know Fred, but he still had his last Corvette up until about 88 or 89 at an industrial unit/shop we ran both of the Camaro's out of, and where he had all of his best stuff parked inside. I helped him sell off a bunch of parts before his move, and he was on a 73-87 Chevy truck kick at the time, so we were parting out trucks then too. Anyway, not sure who got the Corvette, but that was before the Internet, so I can only assume it was a local person to the Bay Area, where is Fred located?
I was hoping that you could help Rat Sass get in contact with Fred. His Corvette came out of California and is believed to be Fred's old car.
Ernie loved telling me stories about his racing exploits, but when it came to his money, he kept things pretty tight to his vest, and I know it took a lot for him to get rid of the last Corvette he had, he might have mentioned who bought it, but Fred's name is just not ringing any bells for me. I think I remember a 10k number getting thrown around, There was a lot going on with Ernie at that time, retirement from the Stationary Engineers Union, locating a place to buy in Washington, selling his house in San Mateo, and clearing out his shop (where the Corvette was) and selling the shop. I can ask some of the other guys in our group if they remember, and if they do I will post the info, or PM you.
I should have read the quotes before responding to the last post. The car that I know of that got sold in 88-89 was a white Corvette, not purple. And Ernie was in Northern California, not Southern California, so we might be talking about two different cars here.
Here are some pictures of Rat Sass car for reference. I'm sure that it has gone through some changes over the years but he is trying to find out the cars history.
Saw this over in the other Corvette thread & thought it belonged here. Edward Beaumont's blown big block 4-speed Coupe...a '60's survivor.
I think Fred & Ernie were racing at or around the same time so if Ernie still had his car in the late 80's that rules out both owning the same car. The previous owner bought my car in or around the LA area at a swap meet about that same time (late '80's) & said he had to follow the guy he bought it from a long ways back up the coast to his house & the guy had a lot of stuff he was selling. I thought he said the car was purple but the only thing I really remember about the color was that when he had it painted (to it's present red) there were several layers, and colors, of old paint underneath. I have talked to Fred & he does not believe my car is his old racer but was not definite. I would certainly appreciate any help in tracking down any history of the car. According to some of the guys from that era/area, there were a LOT of early Corvette race cars in that part of the world especially after the success Ernie had with his.
FYI, My friend owns this car called Halfbreed..Has extensive race history..It is for sale if anyone has interest,PM me..
From a 2012 thread - but is that a Ridgerunner manifold? Ralph Ridgeway invented the tunnel ram with a fuelie doghouse and some AFBs, I think. I've started reading this thread from the beginning! Willy
The Jalopy Journal
