Anyone out there have pics. of the"Jolly Dolly" 1939 Chevy Coupe Gasser

It's so good to know that the car is in good hands and being shown the respect it so richly deserves. How many times have we heard about a car like this falling into the hands of some knucklehead who has no clue to the history of the car and winds up screwing it up or letting it go completely to junk?.....Mr. Gauthier should be applauded........................................Don.

 

DH, Once again you are doing us proud....please forward this thread to Charlie, (you know I don't know how) I know he would enjoy, and I hope comment and add to the story of one of the truly great cars and guys of the gasser era....FEB

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dave Hales for all his work and comments about the Bob Bernardon and his Jolly Dolly on H.A.M.B. Dave is a pretty humble guy so I want to let eveyone know he is the primary person who pushed me to restore the engine in the Jolly Dolly back to its original 1960s form. In fact, in the picture Dave posted of two gray-haired guys looking into the Jolly Dolly engine compartment, he is the one on the right and I am the one on the left.

It has been a real honor and privledge to own the Jolly Dolly and restore the car. I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to buy the car from Bob Bernardon back in the early 1990s and then do the restoration with Bob's help. The interior was taken out, cleaned and put back in -- it is completely original even with some wear and stains. The chassis was cleaned -- nothing changed. The paint was stripped and the car repainted Sherwood Green -- the original color.

When it came time to build the engine, Bob volunteered to build it --know one in their right mind would turn down that offer. But, Bob insisted on building the big block motor that was in the Jolly Dolly in the early 1970s before the car retired. I wanted an injected small block, but Bob did what he wanted (nothing had changed much from the 60s).

After Bob Bernardon passed away on February 1, 2007, I started thinking about building a small block motor for the car. But nothing much happened until Dave Hales started putting the pressure on me. When Dave negotiated the sale of an original Hilborn injection system (seriel # 353) which was originally sold by Stricks Auto on 14th Street in the District of Columbia and was owned by Fred Bear and completely rebuilt by Gene Altizer to me, I was hooked. It was then a matter of finding the rest of the period-correct engine parts.

My first stop was at Bob Bernardon's garage/work shop/storage shed/attic where his wife, Dolly, allowed me to have whatever I needed to build the motor. There were fuelie heads, distributors, Hilborn parts, radiators, etc. Probably the most amazing find was the orignial set of headers Bob built himself which I found under boxes of Christmas tree ornament in the attic. Bottom line -- the engine not only looks like and sounds like a Bob Bernardon engine, it was built with mostly parts from Bob.

It has been 19 years since I purchased the Jolly Dolly and I have had the opportunity to take the car to many events all around the eastern half of the United States. It is always rewarding to see the reactions of people who remember the car from the '60s. It was especially rewarding when Bob was still alive and we travelled together to these events. He loved seeing former competitors, friends and fans. And like most of us, he enjoyed re-living the good ole days.

Thanks, Bob. We all miss you.

Charlie Gauthier

 

We all you a debt of gratitude, Charlie, for doing this beautiful, historically significant car the justice it deserved. Thanks to your efforts hundreds of people continue to enjoy seeing the car as it was in its glory days. You are to be commended......Don.

 

Very cool write up. Glad to see the car resurface.

 

...what a coincidence, in the latest issue of Rod & Kulture magazine, there's a small shot of the car in the "Dragstrip De-classified" section in the back of the mag; altho
it doesn't identify it.

 

We had the privilege of lining up with Charlie and the Jolly Dolly at Manasses a few years ago. Charlie is a great guy and the Jolly Dolly is just beautiful.

 

Years ago the Powers that be in the Town of Tapahannock,Va. decided to try to rent the town owned airport for a Dragstrip to produce a little income. Well, It was like a small time dragstrip Mecca. The only way to weigh cars for classes was at the Ice House scales on the south end of town. So the cars unloaded, Weighed, fired up and drove through to the North end of town and turned left to the airstrip. Quarter mile runs were made most of the day and then time was allowed to change gearing to run Half mile Drags. First time this youngster had ever heard of such a thing. For a 18 yr. old from Richmond Va. to hear and see the Jolly Dolly " Scream" through the traps with that front end Dancing was something I will never forget in my lifetime. I'm 69 now and it still gets the blood flowing just to remember it. Good for you Charlie for keepin Bob, Dolly and the Jolly Dolly alive.

 

Nice...threads like these are why Im on the HAMB

 

Great to see a significant old race car get the restoration and love it deserves.

Frank

 

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to remember Stricks auto on 14th st. I was wondering if anyone remembers who did the upholstery back then?

 

I believe Wilbur & Rufus did many interiors "back-in-the-day". If I remember correctly, the shop was on Blandensburg Road just across the D.C. line.

 

...WOW. Haven't heard of them in many yrs. Weren't they located on Bladensburg Road in N.E. D.C. ?

 

Just a few blocks off of New York Ave. if my memory is correct.

 

In response to the comment from Howierd46Chev, attached is a picture taken of the Jolly Dolly at Richmond in 1966. Yes, those front wheels are UP.

 

That car is my most favorite #$$$*^!!!!&& Gasser of all time....

 

That is exactly who I was thinking of when I asked. Ahh the names from the past.

 

I was going to add pictures from 2009 .............. But why!

 

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Bob Bernardon and his Jolly Dolly. The picture was taken next to Bob's driveway after the 1965 Ram Rods Show at the old DC Armory. Bob is displaying yet another P.A. Sturdevant Award for best engineered race car (he won the award three times) and a 1st place trophy from the show.

Here is the good news -- the Sturdevant Award, the trophy and the jacket Bob is wearing are all still in existance. I keep the jacket hanging on the back of the driver's seat in the Jolly Dolly along with Bob's original helmet on the seat -- it is my way of remembering Bob and all he accomplished.

 

BIGGER!!!

 

Great Pics..thanks for sharing.
I had the pleasure of working w/ Bob back in the 80's & 90's when he was a stone mason/superintendent in Landover & Glen Burnie, MD.
I really enjoyed his stories about the good ol days...I bet some of them were even true!

 

My close friend John Schwandtner painted this car back in the early nineties and I can remember the untold number of hours that were put into block sanding this beast...I myself had the pleasure of putting a few licks in myself on it and the finished product I can tell you is pure beauty...funny, I didn't know anything about old hot rods or gassers at the time but I did realize there was something particuarly special about this car when I was around it. I didn't realize it was in the Plains. Sweet machine.

 

Charlie:

Enjoyed seeing your car at Eastside back in October..... We brought our newly completed dragster down at the request of Gary Gore..... Hope to see you around some events this year.

Jay

 

I was told that he put the Automotive Specialties logo into the terrazzo floor in their show room. It was cool. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but I knew a lot of people that did.

 

Tommy,,If I remember correctly, Stricks Speed Shop sponsored a group of guys with a rear engined T roadster called the Golden Mood. The car looked a like the west coast car, Speed Sport Special. Say them at Petersburg, Va. a couple of times back in the day.

 

Fantastic!
What's about the front end? home made after the stock one or other?

 

now thats a cool picture.

 

Thanks, Charlie, for preserving and keeping this piece of hot rod history alive. Whether show or go, the Jolly Dolly is a winner! Here it is gracing the armory floor at Jalopyrama 5 in 2008.

 

In response to the comment from Patrice -- the straight axle under the Jolly Dolly is from a Willys. In 1965, it was painted black, but a few years later it was chrome plated.

 

Patrice and Charlie.....Bob spent alot of time under the front of my 55 after I put the Willys front end under it, asked alot of questions about how much weight I saved and such....He knew he had to lighten Dolly up to stay competitive, but he did not want to cut the car up....as I remember, he wound up doing it as it is now, and he saved every piece so he could put it back original.....he saved a lot of weight, and of course it ran quicker....Bob never did anything without alot of thought and planning....something a bunch of us should have learned from him......Damn I miss him.....Fred