Folks Of Interest Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen passes away.

Just now hearing this and so sorry to hear. He was an icon of my youth.

 

Met him back in late 70' at Green Valley when he was running the English Leather Corvette. He was very approachable and really enjoyed interacting with his fans.

 

Oldsmobile’s were bad on the strip, but equally on the street! One night I thought I’d clean this Kid with a 67 442 automatic Rag top. HA! My 4sp. 389 4bbl. 66 Goat was no match for his high top end Olds.
Got him outta the hole, then he past me like a Freight Train passing a HoBo! Humbling to say the least, but lesson learned.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

thanks gary for putting this together! the last few days I have been thinking about tom and the snake a lot.i have been to the chrr my self quite a few times, and always stopped to talk to the mongoose. I also grew up with these guys in the Chicago, and Midwest tracks. those match races left a big impression on a kid. sad time when the legends leave us. another race tom won was the last race at lyons before they closed the doors. thanks for the memories.

 

1958

Hello,

Before any memory passes into the historic archives, one aspect of Tom McEwen was passed on to me recently. How is Junior Thompson and Tom McEwen associated together? Back then, it was a mystery to us, but well known in the “older” circles of our So Cal area. Specifically, in Bixby Knolls and the Westside of Long Beach.

Having always looked at early drag racing from the time we started our explorations. Several old hot rod people stood out. Being teenagers and association with Bixby Knolls, was a good thing for us. Many people have passed through the area growing up, moving on and leaving a legacy of hot rods and drag racing. As teens, we had our own history and daily street cruising to be a part while in high school. It was just something we did as part of life.

Our knowledge was experimental as we tried our best to do things to our cars to make them go faster, look better and run like a top. There were places to go, people to see and our cars were part of the whole picture. But the knowledge came from the older guys that came before us in the local cruising grounds and the words of wisdom from places like Lion’s Dragstrip, Reath Automotive, Speed Engineering, Mickey Thompson Enterprises, and Joe Mailliard’s Speed Shop.

When it was our turn, the knowledge led the way as it was passed on to the next generation of teens to get involved and start the our era of hot rods and drag racing.

Jnaki

Somehow, those older guys knew when to be a part of the local scene. When it was time, they were still famous in their own right, but knew when to move on to other activities and continue on with their lives. At the time, high school days were part of growing up. We thought that the hot rod influence and drag racing was just part of that side of life. Bixby Knolls and its history played a huge part of us.

When it was our time, of course we had our eyes and ears open to absorb as much as we could. But after graduation, we also knew it was time to move on in our lives.

Tom McEwen and his older group that was just before our time in Bixby Knolls left a lot of history for us to absorb. This is/was one part that was just a little closer to us in physical presence and drag racing. It was one of those things that was a little known fact in hot rodding and drag racing in our So Cal area. Little has been written about it and should be a part of Tom McEwen’s full history.

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Hello,

We all have known the drag racing laurels that Tom McEwen has received over the long years involved in the racing circles. For some, it was knowing he had the fastest 55 Chevy sedan in town (Bixby Knolls/Long Beach), it continued with a faster 56 Chevy sedan and then on to the 57 Chevy sedan that ruled the streets and dragstrip classes for quite some time. Who the heck has a 55, 56, & 57 Chevy sedans in successive years?

Here is an advertisement for a small industrial shop that was turned into a drag racing speed shop and hot rod build site by Tom McEwen and Ronnie LeGrand back in 1958. It was a half mile away from our last Westside of Long Beach house. It was a block away from my teenage job at a trailer manufacturer company. The small speed shop was a gathering place for a lot of the locals from Bixby Knolls and it was a place to call home for many racers from that age group of Long Beach teenage/20 something enthusiasts.

March 1958 opening of a small “local” speed shop: Speed Engineering

Little did we know that the name of SPEED ENGINEERING on the side of Junior Thompson’s 1941 Studebaker car for the Gas Coupe/Sedan Class was built, maintained and stored there during its heyday at nearby Lion’s Dragstrip. Our favorite sedan from the 1959 days was located just a few blocks from our house. We eventually saw it at that small shop.

Jnaki

The stories that came out of that business venture were a little hilarious as they had little to none in the business sense. What teenager/20 something drag racers had any sense at that time period, especially running a business. Stories from Reath Automotive (where most of us, including McEwen and LeGrand bought our speed parts) were plenty as told among friends. Those new guys were buying parts from Reath Automotive and sold them to their friends at a discount. That was a chuckle in the business sense, since the original discount was very little and the new price was a little off of the listed normal price.

It wasn't the heavy 25 % discount for being a huge dealer of speed parts then selling them at a big profit for the business. The more you bought and sold, the dealer discount from the big suppliers and manufacturers was larger, making the profit larger.

By the time we knew about the little speed shop, my brother also got the bright idea that opening up our backyard recreation room into a small garage. That was the starting of our own home speed shop that lasted until 1964. Our business practices were for us to be able to buy speed parts for our own discounted price as certified engine builders. We even had a fancy name of “Precision Racing Engines.” That was about as good as “Speed Engineering” for those other race guy’s shop.

The established shops like Joe Mailliard’s Shop nearby and Reath Automotive a short drive away had a real top running automotive businesses. Stories are still circulating with things like buying from those two big name dealers and then selling at a tiny discount to their friends had a certain ring to it, even for us. Back then, it was all about getting a dealer/builder’s discount on your own build stuff first. Not, to make a million bucks as a big time speed shop. So, we chuckled, but were part of our own business sense. What a couple teenage /20 something antics that worked out in the long run.

Thanks for the historic information…BUD
1958 OKC NATIONALS

SPEED ENGINEERING FROM THE Westside OF Long Beach,CA
Speed Engineering / Junior Thompson

All of this time in drag racing from Lion’s Dragstrip, this film was taken and was a silent movie like most films from that era. For the general consumer, silent movies were the home movie scenario. Very few had sound capabilities at the time. So, many years later, I remembered that we had an LP album with some original drag racing sounds taken during the 1959 Detroit Nationals. It just happened that several local So Cal groups had made the trek to Detroit and were recorded making some outstanding runs down the dragstrip.

I was able to edit out some digital converted sounds and add them to the film I had taken just months before the 1959 September Nationals in Detroit. So, film taken in So Cal in the summer and the sound converted from those in September U.S. Nationals. The drag racing style and performance was letter perfect by junior Thompson and his Tom McEwen shop, Studebaker from Long Beach, CA. Speed Engineering…

So, now the connection between Junior Thompson and Tom McEwen/Ronnie LeGrand is made and goes down in drag racing history from Long Beach. Thanks for the memories…

 

Jnaki, how’s that book coming along?! Hope you are doing Great, Carp.

 

Hey C,

I currently have 343 pages and 103,000 words (But for the tired old eyes, I type in larger print, making more pages, but clear enough for me to see what I am doing...) in somewhat of an order from 1946 onward. But, they are all a jumbled mess as far as I am concerned. I was making a journal of things we used to do while growing up. It was part of our granddaughter's Grandpa Journal. It is a word document, the copy is in a pdf form, and I have a separate folder saved for it. I haven't added anything lately, so is still sits for me to pound the keys and add some new stuff.

That way, besides growing up with us from birth to teenage years so far, this give her a little insight into what we did on our own lives up to her dad's time line and now hers. Mostly, it is about me 46-66 and my wife, for us after 1966. She has her own "growing up" journal from my wife and I that we have been writing on and off, weekly since birth. This one has real photos that almost are the exact things we have done with her to make life fun.

Jnaki

Hot rods, cruising and drag racing are well documented as much as I can remember, but stories always get a boost when someone mentions something that sparks a part of our family history. Even when my wife mentions something my mom told her, it goes to the memory banks and a story or two pops out. Like... "hating drag racing cars and the noise/dust that it brought into "her" house." Ha!

Thank you for your thoughts and perhaps, one day I will have enough time to organize the whole thing. But, who would want to read about just a guy growing up in So Cal? Besides, we are trying to get back to doing our stuff before the pandemic, but are still cautious until it is absolutely clear.

I am looking at the T-Shirt I am wearing today. "Old News Travels Fast..." one of the best in my daily arsenal. A grey shirt for a 80 degree day. But, as fast as the news travels, this old guy is drastically slowing down. Aaawww! Time will tell...

 

My friend ran against him in 1969 at Milan Drag way in Michigan I drove the push car. He was quite the guy back then. He did kick our ass, as we were local only racers. It was a front engine dragster called the Brute.

 

J, Always enjoy your posts, especially your growing up stories! I am Sure there are others just as interested, should we have a H.A.M.B. poll? Great shirt.

 

I would definitely be interested in a book by @jnaki, great stories with terrific photos.

 

Hello,

You guys are too kind. My wife and I chuckle at the thought of writing a book. Right now, we are busy staying alive, (not dancing) doing our best to stay safe, and continue to be healthy.

Jnaki

But if we do collaborate in getting one done... you guys will definitely get a sample book... HA! For now, let's all continue to stay safe and not take on the herd mentality.

The hot rod/drag racing episodes of Tom McEwen, Gary Gabelich and others from Bixby Knolls, as well as our local high school, were legendary in their own right. These small items were the beginning (Speed Engineering, near our Westside Long Beach house), so they need to be kept alive in their histories. Those were the days...

Thanks for the support.

 

I almost want to cry after reading this thread. Not only have we lost a racing legend, it seems we have also lost a classic racing era. I drag raced in the '60's and there is nothing that even approaches it today. Once in a while, I see that there is an NHRA drag racing show on TY, forget how disappointed I was the last time I watched one, and turn it on and get let down once again. I raced at Minnesota Dragways in Coon Rapids and occasionally at North Star Speedway in New Brighton. At Minnesota Dragways, we would have the "Big Names" come in from time to time, and it was always a big deal; (one time I had to borrow a torque wrench from Chris Karamesines). The real allure for me was the local guys running the lower classes. Cars like the D/Gas Continental Beacon, Bob McGinley's "The Scag", and countless others. That was real racing when the average guy could actually participate.

I'm sure this particular rant has been performed many times before, but the passing of a guy like this brings my sense of loss back once again.

 

Another great racer gone.

 

THIS IS A 3 YEAR OLD THREAD

 

Yeah man, but it looks like Big J was posting something new he learned about the Mongoose. Bringing up the past is cool ain't it? If it wasn't for shit from the past, the Hamb wouldn't exist right?

 

Tom is with Jamie now. Has been for awhile. Lippy

 

Yours truly right before it crashed--
R.I.P. Tom

 

I was referring to the folks that didn't read the time stamp

 

I thought that movie was well done. The kid that played Don Prudhome was a dead ringer.