For as many cool things as he was involved in, I have never heard much about the man. I searched the hamb and even checked wikipedia just not much there.
If I never have meet KB could have been a little richer these days ..but ez come ez go ! KB the Father of ch3no2 Horsepower ... http://www.keithblack.com/movie.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Black_(engineer)
I spent a few dollars with "Uncle Keith" as many called him. He had a book on his desk that had the title " what I know about racing engines by keith black" One day when he left the room I sneaked a peek and it was all blank pages He was quite a gentleman and let racers live in their rigs on his premises. Can only say good things about him and his shop's quality.
His son still runs the company (well, as of 2006...). Great guys to deal with. When I needed a block to build a second engine for the Can-Am car, Ken called around and found us the LAST new block they had cast, bought it back, and sold it to us.
Black was nicknamed "The Preacher", because of his quiet, upright demeanor. He was a master for sure. VERY smart. Well liked and well respected.
Not history leson but a story. Went to school in LA after discharge from army in 63. Cousin had a trailer in court that was beside Kieth's shop. He was a car guy and hung at shop a bit. One day we went over and Kieth fired up an engine that was in drag boat. After short warm up he bliped the engine a couple of times. Thing that impressed me is it didnt accelerate rather it exploded to max rpms. Sounded like 40 shotguns going off. Later he helped cousin blueprint the 283 in his early corvette and even though it was stock there wasn't many daily drivers that could take it. Disclaimer: the preceedimg is true to the best of my memory but sometimes the oldtimers kicks in. Seems like shop was in or near Bellflower? Bill.
Keith Black is a hero of mine and I thought it might be a good idea to bump this thread and bring his name up again. I first became aware of Keith when I saw the infamous Greer-Black-Prudhomme AA/Fuel Dragster run at Lions in the early 60's. This car had a 93% win record! Keith started out as a teenager in post war southern California, seeking performance advice from people like Vic Edelbrock Sr., Roy Richter, Art Sparks and Dick Jones, to name just a few. A lot of people don't know that Keith was a boat racer and won the A.P.B.A. National Championship in 1954! I doubt if anyone ever knew more about getting performance from a HEMI than Keith Black. He used his knowledge to make a business out of building racing engines. It got to a point, that if you wanted to win a Top Fuel drag race on water or land, you used a Keith Black HEMI, period, end of story! All of my heroes have used KB engines... just wanted to say thanks Keith
Yep, no doubt about it KB was an icon. I once heard that he was Uncle to Jeb Allen, and the older Les and Eddie Allen jr/fuel brothers ... anyone confirm?
Can't confirm, but I would be interested in knowing. The Allen family was big in to racing their front engine fuelers at Lions too! They had wicked quick cars with names like "Praying Mantis" and "Wasp". Keith Blacks shop was just down the road from Lions back in the day. Do any of you guys in PA know Jeb Allen. I heard he might be in the Redding area. Are the Allens related to Kieth Black?
Had a friend in central texas that bought a 62 Impala Super Stock that had of all things a Keith Black 409 Chevy.
Met him a couple of times at my father-in-laws shop a long time ago. His shop wasn't very far from my father-in-laws shop in Bell Gardens. I didn't say much. I just sat there and listened. What could you say. Very nice person.
Where I live, here on the eastern shore of Maryland. Hydroplane racing is a big deal. I was reading a book about local boat racing that a local racer named Woody Pliescott Sr. was the champion in the 225 c.i.class in 1957 with a Keith Black engine purchased in California. He also set the kilo record @ 69.761 mph His boat was called My Boy Woody
To all those interested in Keith Black. Here's an interesting fact of his life not likely to come out in typical biographies. I had the good fortune to have had Mr. Black as one of my P.E. teachers while I attended Willard Junior High School in Santa Ana. He was there in my 7th and 8th grade years. That would have been 1963-64 and 1964-65. He was a no-nonsense fellow who was always fair. He knew how to keep the tough young guys in line who--at that age--always wanted to challenge authority to see what happened. He let them know what would happen, then made it happen when they crossed his line. At that time, we knew he was involved in motor sports and drag racing, but since we were a few years away from driver's licenses, no one in my circle knew the details of his shop and his other work. That was a time when drag strips existed everywhere in the Los Angeles Basin and Orange County and the radio stations KFWB and KRLA constantly ran ads for the weekend drag races. He left the school before my 9th grade year and in the years to come, we learned about his skills in building racing engines. His photo in his wikipedia listing is just as I remember him in those years. One never knows when greatness passes across the course of one's life.
The first thing I read about him, was his involvement in the Drag Boat "Golden Thing", in the early 60's. 25 years later, me and a friend bought a Dragster with Keith Black, injected Nitro 331 Chrysler, and went Nostalgia Racing. It had some nice pieces in it. He only lived 65 years, but left quite a legacy.
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