Folks Of Interest Kay Sissell and his Chevy 6 powered T bucket roadster

D/D 3329 carb jet changing.

 

I knew and raced agaisnt Kay and his famous inliners for several years. I had a twelve port GMC 302 bored out to 320 C.I.. He was always willing to share his knowledge with any one and he was truly a gentleman. But... he was an innovator too. His 292 sixes sure showed a lot of folks what it to get beat by a six. He is gone but never forgotten. His ideas with the heads always amazed me. he almost single handedly made the twelve port head a thing of the past.
Normbc8

 

A Sissell decal

 

Resurrecting this thread due to my personal interest in it. I'm Mike Kirby's son and I spent some time with Kay growing up. Needless to say he was a really neat guy and was my dad's mentor. I spent some time as a boy with Kay and his family and went to many a boat race/drag strip. I don't want to cheapin the thread with some self promotion but Sissells is still around and kicking and am including some links to our current web site. Also linked is a brief shop history. Honestly, thanks for this thread. Kay was such a great guy and he passed far too young.

Main page
http://www.sissellautomotive.com/index.htm

Brief History
http://www.sissellautomotive.com/history.htm

 

Hello Marduke
I'd like to Welcome you to the HAMB board. I have found Mike to be a great mentor to me. I have not spoke with him in many yrs. now. But he is one that got me really turned on to these little L6s. Along with much of his help and others I have been running L6s since the early 80's.
Please tell him I said Hello.

 

Kay would bring his Sissell's Dragster with a Chevy 292 in it to Vacaville. Then on to Sacramento and Fremont. Seldom did he lose a race. Good driver, knew how to make inlines run and did so frequently. His ideas live long after him.
Normbc9

 

These didn't go with my answer. Hopefully they will this time.
Normbc9

 

Not to hi-jack the thread, but I've often wondered why there weren't that many straight 6 powered street T Buckets. Those altereds look great.

 

I wouldn't think that you are being self promoting or cheapening this thread by pointing out that your dad continues to offer specialized services to inline racers and engine builders. Kay Sissell will always be a part of Inliner history, and its a good thing that your dad makes this sort of expertise available.

Think about it, probably for every 10 or 12 guys who know flathead V-8's inside and out, there is only one Mike Kirby, or Tom Langdon, or Pat Dykes. Thanks for posting on this topic.

Later, Kinky6

 

More posts wanted!

 

if you haven't; check out this thread ...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532331

 

We had a drag race club back in the 70's. Our car was a 1959 chevy with a built 235, muncie 4 speed, with 5.13 gears and slicks. Raced it on the 1/8 mile. We beat a lot of V8's. Can't remember times, seems like it was in the 7's.

 

Any one know what the NHRA Record is for a altered with a 302 12 port motor?

 

That's gonna be a tough one to figure out since classes weren't classed by head design.

 

I know the inliner international records are classed on heads and the year of the motor but I'm not sure what the NHRA records are classed on

 

For Altered/Class E - 4.00 or more pounds per cubic inch, for flathead V8s, in-line six-cylinder, four cylinder, and straight-eight engines with any type head. 3.50 pounds per cubic inch, for Pre '60 flathead V-8s, in-line six cylinder, opposed six cylinder, four cylinder and straight eight engines with stock production heads.

This is from 1971, but it's pretty typical. The class didn't change much over the years.

 

you forgot Glen Self of Oklahoma

 

Yep, Glen and Kevin Self are still running Chevy straight 6s and still setting records with them.

 

I found an article on Kay's roadster when it had the GMC in it.

 

I read that article when I was a young lad and ended up building a 230 Chevy 6 for my '63 Chevy II. I bought a cam from Kay Sissell. The first iteration of my 230 was put together in high school auto shop class in 1970. We had most of the other trade class students at the door of the auto shop seeing what all the racket was when we fired it up! Kay Sissell was my hero at the time and I still have a "Sissel Automotive 6=8" sticker on my nearly 50 year old SnapOn tool box.

I have about 10 years worth of Hot Rod magazines from the 60's and 70's in a box. Not too many years ago I went through them looking for the article. Maybe I just flipped past it when looking, maybe the article was in one of the few magazines that are missing, or maybe I just read it so many times I wore the ink off the pages, but I never did find it. Anyone know the year and month the "Sizzlin' Six" article ran?

I didn't have the money when I was a teenager to really do my Chevy 6 up to it's potential but it would be fun to do one up right, now that I'm a bit older and not working for $1.80 an hour.

Lynn

 

I've heard that Kay ran a '37 Chevy Coupe (GMC 12 Port) in his early days. Anyone have any recollection of that?

 

Well, not only did Kay Sissel help people run at the track, he was really helpful to a young, broke kid with a family who was just needing to keep an old '53 chevy running. Kay was a fine human being.

 

lake_harley,
Better look a that decal again. Pretty sure that 6=8 was Clifford Research

 

Happened to stumble across this thread again and you're correct GearheadsQCE, 6=8 is indeed Clifford Research. But, just for fun,here's the Clifford Research and Sissell's Automotive decals that are still on my old SnapOn toolbox. Memory lane stuff for sure. I still want a Chevy 6 cylinder powered T altered!

Lynn