Folks Of Interest Name drop?

Got to thinking about all the old guys! How about a thread about our Hero’s , both real and perceived. Doesn’t have to be a world class guy! Might be your next door neighbor or a school chum. Just a guy that made a difference in your life. How about a name drop thread? You have to give the name and a location! With the power of the HAMB, ... we could all be cousins!.

I’ll start, Kieth Loomis, around the Thousand Oaks area?


Bones

 

John Diekema of JD Engine Service in Manley IA.

 

Big influence on me is Gene Cromer from my teens and to this day, I still have a ton of respect for the man & is family.

Gene still lives here in Anderson, South Carolina. HRP

 

Don Garlits, Roland Leong, King Richard, etc. etc...………….
Anybody that had anything to do with drag racing or Nascar in the late 50's early to late 60's
Not too much car stuff happened around here in those days, other than on the street.

 

John Lorentz (deceased) was from the San Francisco Bay area. Any number of his friends both famous and infamous.

I only got some very old pics of him and they are probably not HAMB friendly.

 

Superman........Metropolis....

 

Best old hot rodder I knew around here is Roy Montgomery, north of Flint, Mi. Lost him not too long ago. I used to stop by, sometimes bring donuts and coffee. Always stayed longer than I intended. Bought an original '32 frame from him for my '29 roadster. No stranger to danger, Roy used to race motorcycles on dirt tracks when he was young. He was a simple kind of guy...no gold-chainer lol...but he was a wheeler/dealer from way back and always had a BIG wad of cash in his front shirt pocket. Had a lot of good old stuff...almost anything I could think of. Joking one day, I said something like, "Roy...I need a front axle for a '24 Whippet." He said something like, "Well...I might not have an axle, but I think I have a magneto."
Then he'd kinda wince and grit his teeth and tell me how the gout had his damn toe hurting again.

 

You just like him because his girlfriend was a babe.

 

I have been fortunate to become friends with a couple of SE Michigan legends, Chuck Miller and Teddy Zgrzemski. I was in awe of the stuff they did. I showed them some of my model cars and they really liked them. Just blew my mind that they would like my stuff. Pretty to cool to get to know them better.

 

Old timer that's long gone from the living. Nolan who worked at comp sales here in houston. Old grouchy dude who knew a ton of ins and outs of performance.

 

My hero? My Dad, Red Elliott, Rio Dell California. Anyone who knows him can tell you why.

 

There have been quite a few, but here is an early one, Steve Ungar, his son is named Rick.

 

Never even had the chance to watch him run but it would have to be Willie Borsch.
The only guy that when asked "what size balls would you like", he said XL.

 

........So true! If you look in the dictionary under "Bad-Ass" these pictures should be included.

 

Dallas Lunsford,,,when I was a teenager I'd ride my Huffy Rail to his gas station & just stare @ his 66' Chevelle "Red Baron".When I turned 16 Dallas gave me a job pumping gas @ his Shell station.By then he had moved up to Camaro's.Still have these pics on my garage wall.

 

My Parents, older Sister, Wife. Ron Hoettels, Speed Engineering Service Co. (SESCO racing engines.) Milwaukee Wisconsin. Tom Pogo, Outhouse Engineering. Milwaukee Wisconsin. I have been blessed/lucky (luckier than smart) with meeting MANY good people in my life that were a positive influence, mentors, friends. When I think about it I could name 10/20/30 people that helped me in positive way, I'm very proud of my life/accomplishments and when I check out my swan song is "My Way" But many were involved, no one truly does it alone

 

I pumped gas into a couple of Fred Steels hotrods when I was a 12 year old kid hanging around the local Citgo station. Knew I wanted one of those right then! Also my uncle Jim who had countless hot rod mags and cartoon mags hanging around for me to read when I was young. I was hooked from then on! Does that count?

 

Definitely @Jeff Norwell. He has the best hair.

 

<Terry Fox. Strongest person you will never meet.

 

My all time 'hero', although a peer...adopted me when I was 40. The priest wanted my wife and me to bring our 'folks' to stand up for us...mine were dead. I told my elder friend, and he said, "Don't have 'folks'??? The HELL you don't, I'm adoptin' you, let's go!"
Bonneville racer, local race track official, '29 roadster and a few others.
My Foster father, Pinky Cecil.
Godspeed, Pinky...3 years gone now.

 

My Chopper pilot fron Nam. Col. Bruce Crandall stayed in touch all these years from 1965 on

 

Left to right; Ronnie the pattern maker, Bob D'Olivo, Fred Offenhauser & me.

Fred was a great influence and mentor. This picture was taken at the first SEMA show golf outing in Anaheim. D'Olivo was the head of the Petersen photography dept for all the magazines. Never knew Ronnie's last name. Had lunch with him and Fred a number of times.

 

Dennis Kucera (deceased) driver of AA altered INCOGNITO out of Dons hot rod shop Tucson AZ. This guy was a hard core drag racer and was always willing to teach the young guys the ins and outs Whenever I go to Famoso I stop at his plaque in the grove and say hello.

 

My Dad.Been gone now since 1994.He was 98 years old.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

My father, who passed away in 1959 at the age of 52. I remember "helping" him in the garage just about every Saturday, bringing him tools (often the wrong ones) as he lay under a car. I often learned new words, too......

 

There is an old hot rodder here in Cheyenne named Kurt Webber. He is a member of the 200 MPH club at Bonneville and is on the crew for the dirt drags and Hillclimb in Colorado. Kurt is always super happy to tell stories and give advise. I also like hearing him tell stories of how he used to hang around my grandpa some when Kurt was a kid. Kurt said he would come around when gramps was working on restoration projects and grab any knowledge he could. I love hearing how my family had some influence on people in town. Many years after Gramps' death I still hear stories about him and how he helped out fellow car people. So I guess I can add Gramp's name Milton Binger to my list of name drops. HAHA. I stop and visit Kurt every so often and we always run into him when we are out and about in town.

 

I miss mine every passing day! Though not a "car guy" my dad did say something to me one day while I was in the garage detailing my high school car that had quite an effect. I was showing off my work to him under the hood when he asked me "it looks great but does it go any faster?" It was a redundant question as he knew the answer before he asked but they all have since...other than that damn Nova a couple years ago.

 

Col. Crandall, a 1st. Cavalry Division Legend . With the word Hero thrown around like it is today this guy was a Hero's Hero..