Technical The Mabee Special

swimeasy · Sep 12, 2007

My family spent a lot of time in Midland and I remember that strip, we also chumed with Windecker and drove over to Hobbs to fly sailplaines at the old airstrip (drag strip). Thanks for the memories , Ryan !!!

Asphalt Outlaw Hero · Sep 12, 2007

When I was 16,I got to drive a 33 Willys A/Gasser. I remember pulling up the revs and dumping he clutch and having the G forces push me WAY back into the seat.

Scott K · Sep 12, 2007

Ryan,

Great story and a great lesson in the Mabee's seeing the big picture with Shelby.

Hot rods, drag cars, warbirds....the stuff of dreams..well, my dreams anyway.

I've heard of the Mabee's thru the Warbird forums. Sounds like an incredible collection and some real characters. Something similar in Big Spring's at Connie Edwards' ranch.

george775 · Sep 12, 2007

We got to meet the present owners at Amelia Island this year where they were showing the freshly turned out roadster. It is truely inspirational.
Here's a couple of attached shots to stew those gray cells!

Kiwi Tinbender · Sep 12, 2007

Wow. Probably the one car from back in the day ( if I could only choose one..) would be Denny Larsen`s Dreamliner...My Dad came home with the Fawcett book `How to Build and Race Hot Rods` when I was 11 or 12...the first American Hot Rod book I had ever seen. The picture that stuck in my mind, and does so still, is the shot of the Dreamliner being pushed off the Start line at Bonneville, taken from the push truck. Such a small thing to define life`s direction.....as it must have been for you, Ryan, to get that first drive of a real racecar..

50Fraud · Sep 13, 2007

I remember the Mabee Special from Bonneville coverage the first time around. Always thought it was one of the best looking cars ever to use a Victress body.

Ryan, did you ever cross paths with Jim Hall, Hap Sharp, and the Chaparral operation?

seatex · Sep 13, 2007

Damn. what a great story. Almost makes you miss Midland......

porknbeaner · Sep 16, 2007

Ryan,
Just a quick note friend.
I'm probably still too busy trying to discover myself to actually go looking for a bit of history.
But, I just can't help commenting on the positively most important thought in the entire piece. Isn't funny how when we are young the hotroddings most influencial charactors are just friends of DAD. Just goes to prove that the folks that bump into your life are never just folks that bump into your life. Fame is just a matter of perspective I guess.

Well sidetracked as usual all I ment to say is,Good Read friend.

MabeeSD · Oct 24, 2007

Another "Mabee special"...... circa 1973.

tandacorona · Jan 22, 2008

In 1953 I was gofer working on collector and sports cars for Fred IGE in west L.A. I was still in high school .A fellow came in the shop on Iowa ave.and started a conversation. He was looking for someone to ride shot gun and help him take a car to the salt flats in Utah. I have had a license and have been driving since I was 14. I took Him home with Me and He got permission from My folks .I wish I could remember His name! We went to Ray Browns shop ,in the Hollywood ares, and picked up the Mabee Special and took it to the flats on a tralier.It was the first time I had been to Nevada or Utah or towed a trailer , pretty heady stuff ,To Me in those days. I remember a shopping trip I went on a few days before We left. The Mabees took the entire crew to an exclusive department store in Beverly Hills. I was born in West Los Angeles and had only read about Sax Fifth ave. Guy was shopping for a gift for Hie wife. The clerks were falling on Us with service.It was memerable stuff for Me . Afterwords We all went to Armstrong and Schroders, a B.H. restaurant , for lunch. I remember the trip as being an adventure thru these 16 year old eyes, at the time. There were no freeways and the desert was ,to me, like in the covered wagon day compaired to today. La Vegas was a wide open wild west show and the roads were pretty rough in the hinterlands of Nevada and Utah. I remember Elko Nevada as being like something out of a Louie Lamore paperback. The meet was like organized chaos, to Me, every crew was trying to make there performance window and there were some real shoe string operations in those days that, looking back,there were very colorfull and memerable cars and people. The mabees were real down to earth people that you woul never pick out of a crowd as wealthy. Ray Brown I remember as being a cool ,organized Guy with a talent for fine tuning. The trip back to L.A.was a blase. I remember the heat and lack of support services in Nevada. There were plenty of Berma Shave signs and other distractions though. I would do it again !!

oldspert · Jan 23, 2008

Don't know how I missed this original post. I have been at the Mabee ranch many times. My brother in law went to school with "Little Guy" and his brither John. Bro in law lived on the ranch and worked cattle for them for a few years. I was in one of the hangers one day and happened upon crates of brand new, still in cosmoline, Rolls Royce Merlins. At least ten. Also about six Allisons, same condition. They had a very low mile 70 Boss 429 as well as a 70 Camaro RS with a dealer installed aluminum block 427.

29bowtie · Mar 18, 2008

Ryan,thanks for sharing such fine memories,of wonderful people like the Mabee's. It helps us all relate,to the fine person you became,thanks to these influences.

MabeeSD · Jun 19, 2008

bump....

Has anyone have information of the white SD455 Formula that MAY still be in the Mabee family?
It was purchased along side of the red "Mabee" SD455 trans am shown with my previous post and would like to find out more about the cars history.

oldspert · Jun 19, 2008

Next time I'm in Midland, I'll ask John or Guy if they know what happened to it.

ogracer · Nov 25, 2008

Can anyone tell me how I can contact the present owner of the Mabee Special? I may be able to fill in a very small part of it's history.

diceman · Jan 14, 2009

ogracer said: ↑

Can anyone tell me how I can contact the present owner of the Mabee Special? I may be able to fill in a very small part of it's history.
Click to expand...

ogracer, Please email me. [email protected]
Ron Low
Chaparral Gallery

Joe Drisdale · Mar 31, 2012

Wow. That brings back memories! I was about six or seven (possibly in 59 or 60) when that car sat in our El Paso carport for more than a year. I dont remember my father ever racing it though, or why he even had it. What I do remember was that my younger brother figured out how to open the fuel latch one day and started breathing the fuel. My mom looked out the kitchen window and spotted him right as he passed out. When she got there, she thought he was dead because he was face down on the pavement with blood trickling from his head. So the last thing I remember was mom screaming about that damn car and damn racing and dad calling Pa Unser right after and asking him to take it off his hands. I suppose since your article states the car was raced at Pikes Peak, thats how it came about.

Special Ed · Mar 31, 2012

Nice push car....

Pete1 · Mar 31, 2012

Thanks for the memories Ryan.
I watched that car run and met the Mabee's at Bonneville.
My racing partner at the time had a home made sports
racing car that had a Victress body on it and a Chrysler
engine so the Mabee's were quite interested in how we
had set it up as compared to theirs.
Great people.

Retroline · Mar 31, 2012

Special Ed said: ↑

Nice push car....

Click to expand...

The story itself is amazing, true inspiration in many forms. I love the look of that body as well, and to see the muntz as a push car is awesome. I had the chance to purchase one on a trip over in 2000, during our last trip, I had to make the call back but seems it had vanished.

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Technical The Mabee Special

swimeasy
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Asphalt Outlaw Hero
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george775
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Attached Files:

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Kiwi Tinbender
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50Fraud
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seatex
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porknbeaner
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MabeeSD
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29bowtie
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Canadian Bacon (Northern HAMBers)

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MabeeSD
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Technical The Mabee Special

swimeasy Member from San angelo,texas

Asphalt Outlaw Hero Member from Dixie

Scott K Member from Waterford Mi.

george775 Member from Nor Nev

Attached Files:

Mar 10 07 125h.jpg

Mar 11 07 003h.jpg

Kiwi Tinbender Member from Vancouver WA

50Fraud Member from Long Beach, CA

seatex Member from outside o' Austin Tx

porknbeaner Member from North Central Missouri

MabeeSD Member from Spring, TX

Attached Files:

SD455 028.jpg

tandacorona Member from San Pedro CA.

oldspert Member from Texas

29bowtie Member from Pitt Meadows,BC,Canada Canadian Bacon (Northern HAMBers) Termites and Bowties Hot Rods of The Dry Lake Era Primeval Chevy Disciples HAMB Book Club

MabeeSD Member from Spring, TX

oldspert Member from Texas

ogracer Member from ARIZONA USA

diceman Member from Midland, Texas

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swimeasy
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from San angelo,texas

Asphalt Outlaw Hero
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from Dixie

Scott K
Member

from Waterford Mi.

george775
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from Nor Nev

Kiwi Tinbender
Member

from Vancouver WA

50Fraud
Member

from Long Beach, CA

seatex
Member

from outside o' Austin Tx

porknbeaner
Member

from North Central Missouri

MabeeSD
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from Spring, TX

tandacorona
Member

from San Pedro CA.

oldspert
Member

from Texas

29bowtie
Member

from Pitt Meadows,BC,Canada

Canadian Bacon (Northern HAMBers)

Termites and Bowties

Hot Rods of The Dry Lake Era

Primeval Chevy Disciples

HAMB Book Club

MabeeSD
Member

from Spring, TX

oldspert
Member

from Texas

ogracer
Member

from ARIZONA USA

diceman
Member

from Midland, Texas

Joe Drisdale
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from Austin

Special Ed
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from Big Island of Hawaii

Pete1
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from Wa.

Retroline
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from Blue Mountains NSW