Hope this doesn't offend Wayne (waydar) or anyone else, but I was so blown away reading his account of drag racing in the 60s, I copied all of Wayne's posts about the car and put them together. What follows is his story in it's entirety (so far ). Every word is exactly as Wayne posted, all I have done is eliminate his signature at the end of each post. I also left out any posts not directly related to the "Temptation" drag car. Feel free to read this incredible story along with some excellent memories and comments from other members. Here is the link to the original thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=244107 It's been 2 1/2 years since Wayne stopped time for all of us with his stories. At the end of the thread, it seemed as though he might be having some health issues. I for one hope all is well and he just got bored with typing. Wayne, if you're still out there, we'd sure love you to come back and finish this tale...
Hey all y'all....I stumbled onto this site and saw my Temptation Race Car being talked about. I'm wayne Darnaby and I owned that car. I had no idea it was even still around. It was a big surprise when I happened on this website. If there are any questions about the early goings on with this car I'll try to answer any questions. Take care Wayne Darnaby Summerfield FL. Hey All Y'all....it will take me a little while to get this together about Temptation, as I have 25 parrots and 70+ cats and kittens so I stay a little busy....but I will get back with the gory details. Just hang with me for awhile. Stories are about all I have now...I lost nearly everything I owned when my house burned to the ground in '86. I just have bits and pieces now. I'll try to attach a picx I have. Never sent one from this site. My car was built for Richard Petty. He decided not to take it and later went with the Barracuda....the one that got into the stands and killed some people. The car had an acid dipped body, aluminum hood, fenders, doors, no interior, titanium K member, bus battery, 426 hemi, aluminum heads, 2 4-bbl carbs, auto tranny. I picked the car up from John T Fisher Motor Co in Memphis in an 18 wheel grain hauler. To be con't. Just after getting the car ready to race, Gene Snow had a race against Kelly Chadwick in Fredrick OK but his Rambunctious Dart was down at the time...so he borrowed my car to complete his race with Kelly. It was a 3 out of 5 and I don't remember who won the 3. From there I headed to Detroit and Dick Branstner's shop. That was the real beginning of the car that became Temptation. Jay Howell, Roger Lindemood, and Walt Ulrick did the rework on the engine and chassis, and Roger did his thing on the transmission, he was the best transmission specialist I ever saw. They moved the rear wheels 2 % I think, it wasn't much but it helped. Added injectors and I started running fuel. We became the first funny car to run fuel. The factory wouldn't let their cars run fuel yet...as I was an independant, they couldn't stop me. I ran out of that shop for sometime while living in the Detroit area. Don Gartlis was working from there as was Bill Flynn and his Yankee Peddler. While there Cotton Owens had Branstner build David Pearson the Cotton Picker Dart. I helped build that car and got paid for my work. A good deal, huh? In the meantime I flew to CA and bought a car haulingt truck and Super Stock race car from Hayden Proffit. That car was destroyed at Gary IN at Dragway 30 I think it was. It was being driven by my partner at the time. As he went thru the timing lights, a heavy crosswind got him sideways and he rolled many times...his injury was a cut on him finger as he shut off the key. I set a world record there as a B/Fuel Dragster as there was no class for me to run yet. Roger Lindemood watched me race and said I needed to hone my christmas tree starts. My trip there was the first christmas trees I had ever seen or run. So Roger worked with me and really made a great improvement in my reaction time. Roger, if you happen to see this, thanks. During this time Roger was driving "Color Me Gone" 65 Dodge. I raced my way back to TX and married Sherry that I had met while at Branstners. She became my chrew chief and mechanic. A truly wonderful lady. We were together for 40 years and 14 days when she passed away in '05. I got the car ready in time for the '65 Nats at Green Valley Raceway between Fort Worth and Dallas. I had to run the car as a B/Gas Altered Competition and I won the class. I didn't make many friends in the altered coupes that weekend. Never the less, I took the trophy home. Time for the upcoming '66 WinterNat'ls in Irvine CA. We loaded up and headed to see Don Hardy and Kelly Chadwick in Floydata TX to do the full wheelbase altering. Don did the work in a John Deere garage...like they say, "Nothing run like a deer"....got the car finished in time for CA. My first pass driving in an altered wheelbase funny car was a practice run...next run was in competition. What a way to get used to driving a completely different car. We worked our way thru the cars and next to last blew a head gasket. Borrowed one and had the car in line when called. Had to run Dick Brannan in a factory ford for the money. I got beat in the lights...but at least an old country boy was the runner up against all the factory cars, and they were all there. Well enuf...to be con't. Stay tuned, don't touch that dial. Another tidbit of info I didn't mention on Temptation. When I got the car it was painted with Petty Blue. As I started to rework and modify, I needed paint to make the job complete. I researched and found the paint to be made by Ditzler. No problem, I called them as was told "you can't have that paint"...that color belongs to Richard Petty. I said but I have one of his cars....tough, buy the paint from him....right !!! So to complete the car I changed to the blue bottom, white top, with red trim between. Looked like a Post Office car....and I guess it would 'haul' the mail. I have 2 or 3 picx here with the Petty Blue on the car, I'll have to scan them into the confuser if I can. I said earlier that I set a world record at Dragway 30 in Gary In....well it was U.S. 30 Drag Strip at Gary and I didn't run as a B/F Dragster...close though...it was as a BFA..... Just wanted to set the record straight.....the mind wanders after so many years...sigh!!! More coming later....con't. Temptation: More of the story. While I was in Detroit, all the group from Branstner's shop went to Motor City Raceway to race on Saturday night. When they saw my car, they wanted me to race Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick as they didn't have anyone, in a match race 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5, don't remember. The first race I did a big hole shot and won easily. Same thing on the second run. I'm in the pits getting the car ready for another pass when Gil Cohn, the track promoter comes over and takes my arm, leads me away from the group....he squats down and starts to draw something in the dirt with a stick he had. His message said "You Lose"...I said what are you telling me, lose the race??? He said yes that's what I mean. I said no way I'm throwing any race. Then I think about where I am....Detroit.....Mafia.....guys with square shoulders, black suits, narrow white ties, little brim turned down hats, a bulge under their coats....maybe losing might not be so bad after all. Then I met my wife to be while in Detroit, she ran a bowling alley/restaurant that was owned by the Mafia. She said nothing would happen to me as long as I was in the place. They treated me with great respect. So Gil explained in simple language, that if I wanted to continue racing at some 40 different tracks all over the country, I would throw the next races. I told him that was a little strong armed. He said listen to me, if you want to continue on the race circuit..."LOSE"..... As I had just started with the Temptation Car I wasn't ready to retire yet. Next race I hit the throttle and blast off in a cloud of smoke, looking around, no Arnie...what to do but apply the brakes and let him catch up...he blew by me for the win and was awarded the match with the one win. Later I learned that Gil and Ben Christ owned or controlled about 50 tracks scattered all over coast to coast. And back then, to match race, this was before Funny Cars, you had to have race tracks that would book you to match race to make the money. We got paid $500-1,000 each weekend we ran That one loss always left a bad taste in my mouth that I never forgot. Sometimes a local would offer to pull us back in front of their home crowd. Fast forward a little and who should approach me but Ben Christ, the promoter. Hey, I'm a promoter, why not let me book your races? Sounded good to me so I said sure....thanks. Well, I guess he remembered the night with Gil so he booked me all over the country. Calif this weekend, Maine next weekend, then Houston, over to FL, before going back to Calif. That sucker had me on the road all the time criss-crossing the US. Back then we didn't enjoy what the drivers have now. Flying from one race to the next, a crew driving the haulers, doing all the work, etc. Nope, we had to do it ourself. We even had to tow the car back to the pits after every run with the car hauling truck. Then came the AHRA '66 Winter Nationals at Irwindale Raceway in Irvine CA. While there, the editor of Drag Racing Magazine, John Durbin, invited me to his office. When we got there he asked a lot of questions about our tour etc. Then asked if we would let him do our promoting and getting race dates. I told him about the criss-crossing and all. Hey, I won't do that to you. I'll book you in at racetracks that are not so far apart. While we were there they took lots picxs and said a feature would be out soon. In June 1966 the article came out with 3 pages and picxs. Maybe more then wanted to know? To be con't. Some pictures of Temptation. Sorry they are such poor quality but given the age I guess they will have to do. More Temptation Picxs. More Temptation Story: After having the work done at Branstner's the first time I was headed back to TX. I was driving at night and a bad storm was doing it's thing. Heavy rain, lots of strong winds, large hail...I was just coming into Coldwater MI when suddenly the old truck changed lanes in the highway and shook real hard. I didn't know what happened so I pulled off to the side of the road to check. Hard pouring rain, I looked at the car on the back of the truck and it didn't have a hood. It was gone....ripped off. Wowser!!!! The next morning the radio was blasting about the tornado that did a lot of damage in Coldwater. Listening to that, I must have driven close to the funnel and it just sucked my hood off. Hearing about it I started to shake thinking what could have been. I could very easily been hurt or much worse...killed. I was lucky that night in Coldwater MI. Temptation Con't. I'm glad that Hubert is doing better. Any heart work is tough to recover from. I think I first met the Platt Brothers at a race in Atlanta (Stone Mountain track).....They always provided the crowd with a good show. Next time I guess at Lions Long Beach and the Drag Racing Magazine East West Stocker Meet. I think every Super Stock, AFX, and Funny was at that meet. There were hot cars everywhere you looked. Anyway tell Hubert I said "Howdy" and to have a speedy recovery. During the early days in TX we raced at the Valley some, Prairie Hill near Waco, and at Whitehouse near Tyler. I remember running at Whitehouse and had a match with the Wickersham Ford Falcon.....while coming off the starting line the timing gear on my Racer Brown Cam decided on it's own, to stop racing. The stacks blew off the injectors straight up and scattered. Of course you know the end results....many bent valves, etc. Off come the heads and I sent them back to Detroit for a repair job. When they returned, the car was made ready and we headed out to FL and several races at Twin Cities outside of Tampa. On the way we made some races at Stone Mountain GA and finally on to Twin Cities. As we drove into town, a fellow came out in the street and flagged us down. He asked if we were looking for the track and I said yes. He introduced himself and said he was Don Gartlis younger brother. I could tell that by his looks and how he spoke. I had already met Don in Detroit. He said just follow me, and I'll take you to the track. I was pulling our 20' travel trailer and needed a place to stay, there weren't a lot of campgrounds back then. Sure not like it is today. So anyway I called the promoter and he came out to visit. He said why don't you just stay here at the track? We have water, electric, everything you need. So we made that our home place for several weeks. We unhooked and set up camp in the dark. Next mornig we get up and look outside....about a 100 black and white Holstein cows standing at the fence about 20' away...all looking at this strange intruder on their ground.. Not knowing it, we're in the middle of dairy country. We got $500 every week and didn't have to drive anyplace. Besides the car and trailer, I carried a Harley Sportster on the truck. I had a nitro tank, a tool box holder, and a tire rack all built, they were between the front of the car and a sleeper I built behind the cab of the truck.....I made an opening between the sleeper and the cab so we could crawl between them. I put bucket seats in the truck to make the ride better, along with a console to hold the junk. The Harley set sideways on top of the toolbox and the nitro tank. I would just ride the bike up the loading ramps, get off, and lift the bike into it's slot....using 4 tie downs for support. During the week, if we didn't break something, we had plenty of time to enjoy bike rides around the area. Usually we'd just get next to the water and ride for miles along the beaches. Don't think we could get away with it now days. One of the gasser drivers offered to put our trailer and rig at his place and get away from the cows etc. We took him up on the offer and moved and set up house in an orange grove. While we were enjoying FL.....along comes one of the worse freezes in 25 years. Here we were in FL where all the snowbirds come for the winter....it must be warm, so lets just carry our lite clothes and some swim suits....right?... well none of the stores had much in the way of warm clothes so we just had to endure the cold. This must have been in late Nov early Dec. To beat the cold in the trailer at night, we used the shower curtain and the throw rugs on our bed....making regular trips for propane. Just had 2 small tanks on the trailer tongue. We decided to go out on a fishing party boat before we headed home as our last race of the season was the next weekend. On the way out, several of the guys had a poker game going so my wife asked if she could join in....sure they said with a big grin...but then the engines stopped, time to fish. We head back and the game resumes. My wife was a poker pro, a wolf in sheep's clothing.....she cleaned their clocks and took home all their money. That money would come in handy later as you will learn. We had our last race and by now running a little, no make that alot, short on cash....we do the race....take the check to the bank and see it bounce across the lobby floor. Sorry, no money in that account to cash your check. Big smile..... I call the promoter and tell him my problem.... he says I'm broke, but I have some slicks, oil, etc at the track I'll give you instead of cash. We were between that rock and a hard place you've heard so much about.....well we could always use the stuff, but that didn't help with the cash flow. Anyway the money made at the poker party paid our way home buying gas and food. As we got close to home, we had used all the money we had except for 1 thin dime. I saved it to call home and have money wired to Western Union if need be. But we did make it home on the last of the gas fumes. More still to come as we continue our trek into the strange world of big time racing. I don't think I ever raced at the double h track. And I don't remember about the other, but seem to remember Atlanta Speed Shop...? Just too many years ago. I remember that Dyno Don was pitted next to us that weekend. A funny thing there that weekend...we had the 20' travel trailer with us and we were in confort. So my wife makes a big pan of spaghetti and as the aroma drifted thru the pits...well we ended up feeding about 20 or so from around the pits that night. The smell was just to much for the baloney sandwiches they were eating. We had a great time. I remember the Anderson Bros were there with their big fuel dragster...oh such memories. Thanks for asking. Temptation con't. After the time in Florida, it was nice to get home to TX and spend Christmas with my folks.Well folks...it goes downhill from here. I get a phone call from a friend that the shop where my car and truck was stored was locked, with a sign on the door..."Do not enter under penalty of law!!!" yadda yadda...the IRS had swooped down and taken over the shop. Well the race car being stored there technically belonged to the IRS I guessed....along with all my tools, tires, fuel, nitro, etc. Hey...they're not getting the car. NO!!! About 3 am we slip into the yard, and then into my shop around back and start getting the stuff together. I didn't go thru the door with the sign so I guess I was okay huh? I had a new drum (55 gallons of alcohol) that I had to hand pump into the tank on the truck. How loud is a hand pump stuck in a barrel at 3 in the morning. My wife kept saying shuuuuuu you're gonna get us caught. I didn't have to fire up the car to load it as we pushed it outside and lined up and used the electric winch to pull it on the truck. I know the winch could be heard for blocks around... Got everything loaded and slipped to the gate making sure no cars were coming and out we went. Back to my parents house and gathered our clothes, whatever we could grab and headed out to Don Hardy's in Floydada. I knew I didn't want to be around when daylight made it's arrival along with the 'Suits' at the shop. We were a week early going to Don's but we had to go. We were gone in a flash. We were not pulling our travel trailer. Just before we arrived home from FL, the trailer tongue let go, and the front of the trailer just crashed down breaking the inside paneling, the front windows, the floor, and bending the outside metal front and sides....not a pretty site. The hitch sits on angles that run back under the trailer and come out the front. The welds on both of the front angles had broken. Only thing holding it together was back under the unit on each side. Next morning we are at the dealer in Dallas area. They looked and said you have the wrong kind of hitch on that truck....it was just a welded plate and a ball on the back of the bed. You should have a spring affair like the mobile home movers have, so it can move up and down. Maybe so I told them, but your people installed the hitch, so you're to blame and I want it fixed. We left it with them and sued the company. We settled after 3 years when they admitted it was their fault. We make it to Don's and he tells us the shop where the work will be done is at Matador, 40 miles away. So we take the car over there and as we're staying in Floydada, we ride the Harley back and forth. It was freezing cold as only it can be on the high plains of Texas. We always had a strong north wind to contend with every trip. The cold weather didn't help with the repair work as it was just bone chillin cold in the shop. Also made for a hard time when the work was completed and time to paint. Anyway Don and Kelly did a great job on the car and we finally were on our way to the WinterNationals. I hope I'm not boring anyone?? Temptation con't. While working on the car at the WinterNat'ls a man comes over to talk and asked if we'd be interested in some match races. Sure I said...He said my name is C.J. "Pappy" Hart and I run Lions Dragway in Long Beach, come talk to me and gave me a card. As it looked like we might stay for awhile, we got an apartment in Fullerton and that was home for some time. One Sunday morning I rolled the race car out in the parking lot, we had a garage for the car (cost extra).... I shot some benzine in the tubes and it just fired and stopped, fired and stopped....after several tries and a man comes out and takes the squirt can and says move over. He said get in and start it when I say so...ok...he does his thing and I hit it and it roars to life. Sea level had made a difference with the pill I had in it at the time. He said I'm Howard Jerome from Clay Smith Cams and I live nearby. He gave me his card and said to look him up. We go over to his shop and we discuss what would make the car run better. He said right off I needed a Joe Hunt Mag. Joe's shop was in Watts, where the 65 Watts Riots happened....anyway we get the mag, now we need to grind you a special cam and we'll put rollers on top of it. Have C&T hard chrome the crank, put a Milodon oil system in place. We had a pan with the deep sump that the tie rod went thru in a tube. Had to pull the tie rod to get the pan off. Seemed like that was a regular thing checking the bearings just to be safe. We became good friends with Howard and his girlfriend and had many good dinners and times out in the area. One night while racing at Lions we made a run and as we were pulling back on the return road, they announced that Shirley Shahan was ready to make a run. My wife wanted to see her run so we stopped and she ran between the truck and car without thinking....well she hit the tow rope and took a bad head first tumble on the gravel drive. Skinned her up pretty good and broke 2 fingers on her right hand. Ambulance came and got her, but I still had 2 more races to complete. Howard's girlfriend went in the ambulance with my wife and said we could come over when we were finished. It must have been about 1 or 2 when we got to the hospital. Nothing had been done to her hand. Finally a doc came in and set her fingers and put a cast on her hand and arm up to her elbow, with a 90° bend at the elbow. We finally get to the apartmant, getting light by this time. My wife looked like hell with a big cast on her arm, her lips cut, nose and cheeks skinned, black under both eyes, her pants legs cut up the front by the medics to patch up her knees and legs. The door bell rings and it's the cops. They said they had a report of a fight at the apartment as they were shinning their flashlight up and down on my wife. She just had to be one in the fight, right. It took nearly an hour of explaining what happened out at the race track before they finally went away. Seems there were a couple of Hells Angels that lived in that same complex, and they had the fight with someone. Our paths would later cross again. This was Easter Weekend and we were to fly back to TX to my parents house....so walking thru the airport, my wife hobbling along with her bumps and bruises and cast on her arm...well I had to be a wife beater deluxe in the minds of all that saw us. Neither of us like to fly and her being beat up didn't help any...we head into Love Field, just touch the ground and the tail drags as we shoot up skyward and circle for several minutes. We land after bouncing 2 or 3 times and running out of runway, we make a sharp left turn at the north end fence still moving pretty fast, and almost drag the wingtip on the runway. So we stop and set for what seemed like a long time. Someone spoke up wondering why we were stopped??? Without thinking I said the pilot had to change his pants after that landing...everyone just broke up laughing and we finished our flight in a better mood. I later learned a small aircraft was sitting on the runway and we did a flyover to avoid a crash. Whew!!!! We would still be burning....... Temptation con't. Earlier I mentioned the Hell's Angels. They had a party in the patio every night, and some of them got really wild. Every piece of pool furniture ended up in the pool, and anything else that wasn't tied or bolted down. About 3 weeks before we left for Easter, every morning when we opened our front door, someone would take the flags around the property and cross them over our door. This went on for a week or two...then big flower pots that were huge, I mean 4' wide and 3 or 4' tall and with dirt in them probably 400 lbs. These big pots would be setting on our little porch, and we'd have to call the office to get them moved so we could get out. Then one night we're watching TV and crash.... we heard glass shatter. It was the apartment next door and it was the back sliding glass door. Someone tossed a big piece of cement inside the apartment. They just missed our place by one apt. I know it was meant for us. A couple of days later we leave for TX and Easter at my parents. Fast forward a week and we get back from Easter in TX. We lived in a townhouse and the bedrooms were upstairs...so as I went down the stairs, 4 of the Hells Angels just walked into our apt. I thought oh shit!!! what now? My wife heard us came downstairs, the leader of the group said they wanted to apologize for what they had been doing to us the past few weeks. My wife and I are looking at each other...apologize? This was not their way. I really thought we would just be sticking on the end of a switchblade(s). Seems someone was calling the cops on them every night and because we didn't get out and pal around the complex, it just had to be us. So what changed their minds??? Well, we were away in TX for a week and they had the cops every night, so they knew it couldn't have been us. Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. They said if we needed anything, anything at all, just consider it a done deal. From that day on they were all friends for life. One of the couples moved out and no more cop calls. We were happy campers and we all lived happily ever after. Temptation con't. While I was in Detroit at Branstner's, some people from Canada brought a Hemi Dodge in to be blueprinted and just spiced up a little. They were going to be in town a few days and then wanted the car delivered back to Canada and their dealership. On a Saturday night one of them said I'm taking all of you out for dinner. Okay, I'm always ready for that. Well 6 or 7 got in their car and we drive to downtown Detroit and someone decides to stop at the "Brass Rail"....there's not a parking place within 5 miles of it. Easier to park at the Super Bowl or at the Daytona 500. Just was not any place to park....must have went around the block 10 times and still no one moved and the parking garage sign said "Full"... So the next time around the driver just pulls up on the sidewalk and kills the engine. We're all telling him you can't park on the sidewalk. He pays no attention to up and gets out saying "Come On"....so as we get out the parking attendant from the garage we parked in front of, comes out and tells us we can't park there on the sidewalk. Driver takes him to the side and puts a C Note in his hand and I hear...Yes sir your car will be just fine and I'll take good care of it till you get back.....enjoy your evening sir. We go inside and have a grand time watching the floor show, them having drinks, I don't drink, it's Cokes for me....but it was a great nite out in Detroit. When we head outside the car is there right where it was left and the attendant is leaning against the bumper and hood. We get in the car and this attendant goes out in the street and stops traffic that's bumber to bumper and lets us out. So just guessing, I'd say money talks louder then mere words. The race car is finished and ready to go home. They did some hokey pokey on the paperwork so the Customs people wouldn't get a large amount of money on the tax rate thing....papers said it was just an oil change and a tune up and was very cheap. Bud (forgot his last name) asked me if I wanted to ride the 100 plus miles up and back to deliver the car. Sure, why not? So the car is on the trailer and we're off to the Customs border crossing. Guy comes out and crawls around on the trailer looking the car over and motioned us to be on our way. The day is getting late and the air is downright cold . Me being from Texas, it was freezing. We make it to the dearlership and get the car unloaded and head back toward the States....we're driving along in the middle of nowhere and Bud says we're nearly out of gas.... haven't seen a store or gas station for miles......crossing this long bridge I feel the surge and cough, and we're coasting with the engine dead, hoping to get off the bridge. We barely make the end and coast over and park on the shoulder. Cold as a cast iron commode and we're stranded on the side of the highway with no gas...and no gas can, and no idea where to get any. We're standing there wondering what to do next when a big 18 wheel car hauler pulls up and stops. He ask if we needed a ride so we jump in his truck that we hope has a heater. About 60 miles later he pulls over to a small gas station and drops us off. At least it was warm inside and there were people. We tell the store clerk our truck is out of gas back up the road and we need some help getting gas back. He calls his buddy and he comes down and says sure you buy my gas and we're good to go. Guy has a 58 or 59 four-door Ford that was used and put up wet. The back door window was gone, just a hole where it used to be, no cover, nothing....can you guess who got to ride in the back seat? We finally after what seemed like hours, made it back to the truck, flashers still blinking. Told him to wait as we might need a jump start as the battery might be low. Got the gas poured in and the truck started.....a Royal Mountie drives up and stops. We told him about running out of gas and he said yeah he saw us and watched the whole thing and waited till we returned. He could have come over and offered help??? Boy was I ever glad to see the US Border, as we drove back into Detroit. I was just happy to be back in the USA where there was a warm stove. My goodness, y'all are making me blush...I haven't done anything special to deserve all the nice comments on this message board. This is a picx of one we made to give out at the races. We had a pile made and I think this is the only one left. I'll add to the tale of the Temptation as I have more time. Y'all all take care Temptation con't. During one of the times we were at Lions maybe the East meets West Showdown, Tom 'Mongoose' Mc Ewen was running Roger Hardcastles coupe. I believe Locasta was at the wheel.....'Mongoose' won the first round but in the process pulled a valve and had to shut off early but coasted to the win. I was sitting there when Tom asked if I would stand in for the Hemi-Cuda? He said if I would run him one time he'd give me a hundred bucks. So okay we'll run the coupe....he takes a hundred out of his pocket and tears it in half....by now we have a good crowd standing around watching and catching every word, as only a bunch of drag racers are known to do. Tom said if I finished the race he'd give me the other half of the bill. My wife Sherry stood by and watched all this take place then she said....Tom, "little people do little things" well everybody just fell over laughing, and left Tom standing there in the dust, looking for some help from anyone. He just didn't know what to say and looked like he just had a bucket of ice water dumped on him.... Anyway, I made the stand in run for the Hemi Cuda, but during the take off I got into one of the big wheelies I usually did and drifted over the center line and had to lift, as did Locasta, I had beat him off the line. Because I had strayed over the line I was disqualified, and the run went to the coupe as it should have. As we returned to the pits Mongoose reached in his pocket and without much fanfare gave me the other half of the $100 and just slipped off into the crowd. I wonder if he still remembers that incident. To make it even better, a crew was filming a segment for the BBC to be aired later. I didn't know who they were at the time but had occassion to meet them later. My wife Sherry was under the car changing oil I think, and just as this film crew walked by, she slid out and stood up and back then, not many ladies where turning wrenches in the pits. These fellows were having a hot dog and a drink and when they saw her, they just threw their food and drinks on the ground and started filming. I asked when and where I would be able to watch it and was told probably never... as they were from the BBC and it would not aire in the US....sigh!!!! Sooooo, I never got to see the end results. That night at Lions my little 5'2" crew chief gave the big 'Mongoose' a whack he probably remembered for some time. Those of you that knew and remember Tom, probably know what I mean. Con't later. More Temptation Ramblings. After I bought the truck from Hayden Proffit and drove it back to Texas, I started working to make it more drivable...you know buckets, A/C, better dash radio...etc. I installed 2 aircraft landing lights under the front bumper....such a load had to use a starter relay so as to not burn up the wires. These lights were 8" in dia and were bad. I turned both lights about 45° off to the side of the highway...then as we were driving in the country we could watch for wildlife on the sides of the road and in the pastures...that also helped us stay awake. The time comes and we're on our way to Calif....everything was going great until we reached the CA border check station. The Trooper said for me to come inside....so I go in and he ask for my drivers license. No problem, and I hand it to him. He said you can get this back when you remove the driving lights and put them away. He didn't want them disconnected....he said off. And he said it would be a good idea to remove the little license plate on the front....I know you've seen them before. The little rebel guy saying "Forget Hell" with his Confederate Flags crossed. He said you will not have a windshield after you drive a ways and stop for coffee. I took him at his word and removed it along with the driving lights. With my drivers licenses in his hand he walked me back to my truck and crawled up on top. Said he had never seen a car like that and just wanted to take a look. He got down and said he wasn't trying to be ugly or mean, he just didn't want to see us have any trouble in CA. Shook hands and wished us well and waved so long....we drove off into the setting sun. Attached is a picx of the back of the car and the rolled treatment we did. More as we go...con't. Temptation Con't. Thanks for the picx...I was beginning to wonder if anyone was still reading this thread. Temptation wheelbase was shortened by 20" to 92" The rear axle was moved 28" forward and the front wheels were relocated 8" forward; thus the wheelbase change was 20". That modification provided plenty of weight transfer. Don Hardyand Kelly Chadwick installed the tube front axle with '48 Ford spindles, connected together with the 63 Corvair steering box. This axle was held on by 4-leaf springs on each side. We saved about 125 pounds by doing the change. We put Cure Ride 90/10 front shocks to snub the front end travel. More weight savings was the removal of the front brake assembly. That was another 70 pounds removed. On the back we used Plymouth heavy duty rear brakes along with a 16' Deist ringslot chute on the deck to do the stopping.. We used Goodyear rubber and had Cragar for the 4 wheels. Doug's Headers furnished the headers, we used Pennzoil to lubricate and a Joe Hunt Mag to fire Champion plugs. The Hemi 426 cu in engine remained at the 426 size but I did have the crank hard chromed by C-T and we used Forgedtrue rings. Howard Jerome at Clay Smith Cams did a Probe No. 1 camshaft using their pushrods and Schiefer rollers to open the 2.20 exhaust and the 1.89 intake valves. Kenyon Porting Service of Detroit brought the heads up to competition specs. The compression was 12.5-1. We mostly ran a 30% nitro mixture using Hilborn injectors. I kept the nitro dose low to help on engine life as we didn't have the big bucks factory guys standing there with parts if we broke. I tried to help on the drivers end by using the lights as close to a red light as I could get. Looking back, I never redlighted, but did have several hole shots. I had a deep pan using a Milodon oil pickup for keeping the oil flowing and I used STP. Roger Lindamood of 'Color Me Gone' fame built my Torqueflight transmissions with a high stall speed torque converter....connected to a 4.30 gear in the rear end. I never had any trouble with the transmission breaking, but I did have a welded nut break on the converter and sprayed oil everywhere. I thought I was on fire as smoke filled the car, when I stopped I saw what had happened with the oil all over the car and still dripping off the bottom. We towed back and dropped the tranny and changed the converter between heats and was ready for the next round. This happened at Sanford Maine and I think we had a match with Bruce Larson in the USA Chevy. So long ago things are fuzzy. Before we left Calif for other parts of the country, everyone was starting to use Hydrozine or were putting blowers on their motors. As you old times know several of the drivers had some bad stuff happened using the Hydrozine...I decided to pass and not run that fuel but decided to install a blower. We bought a really nice Weiands puffer and all the trimings to go with it from C-T Automotive. Well we bought nearly everything. Only thing missing was the Gilmer belt drive pulley. We just couldn't find one anyplace. Everyone we asked were sold out and no one knew when they would be available. Without a drive pulley we were dead in the dirt, but I was lucky and had all the money returned for all the equipment bought without any hassle. So by this turn of luck we never went the blower route and stayed with just the injectors. More tidbits next time as the tale continues.. More About Temptation Early in the days of Temptation, still as it came from the factory, we had a race at a track in Wichita Falls in North Texas. We were pulling our 22' travel trailer behind the car hauling truck, so when supper time came, so did most of the people in the pits. We fed so many people that evening, well till the food was gone. Everyone ended the day will full tummies and a big smile on their faces. We had a couple with us from home and my Dad was along. He always joined us on the races that we had in our area, like Green Valley, Whitehouse at Tyler, Houston, most any place that was a 4 or 5 hour drive from home. It was getting late so time to set up housekeeping for the night and who was sleeping where. We gave our bed to our friends and Dad slept on the couch. Us??? Well, we made a place under our truck for sleeping bags. It was dark and it looked like a nice smooth place, no rocks. I had just about drifted off when my wife shook me and said she heard a rattlesnake. No hun, there's no snake, just go to sleep, and if one comes along, I have my 357 under my pillow. We wake up to the roar of loud exhaust, what a way to start the day. My wife looks around and says HEY!!!...people in the stands on the other side of the track are looking at us with binoculars....have you every tried to dress inside a sleeping bag? With the sun beaming down we are getting sweaty and trying to get our clothes on inside that sleeping bag under the truck, just not an easy chore. I had side boxes built along the bottom of the truck bed so not a lot of wiggle room. It was funny looking back, but not very funny that morning. When we finally got out and stood up, we received a standing ovation from the trackside crowd. My wife was so embarrassed and turned as red as a beet. I told her to just wave and smile and take a bow, no problem. We get moving and she makes breakfast for everyone in the county, at least it looked that way. We learned two very important lessons on that trip....always carry extra food and never sleep under your truck without doing some scouting of the area first. But hey we had fun!!!! Until next time, stay tuned.....
Thanks for putting all these great stories together into one volume. The original thread had gotten bumped a couple times just recently and I hadn't realized it had been that long since Waydar's last post. Has anyone tried to PM him and gotten a response? There are some online references to a Wayne Darnaby living in Florida, at least at one time. Maybe a HAMBer living in that area can provide an update. Always looked forward to an update from Wayne on the original thread and am still subscribed. I got the impression that Wayne's writing told the story just like you'd hear it from his own mouth. It's not too often that you get to read these kinds of racing stories with his insight and personal experience. Waydar, if you're still lurking around here, best wishes to you! Drop us a line from time to time if you can and keep us updated.
Wow guys this is neat!! When I graduated High School and started college in the summers I worked at a Mobile Car Care Center in Dallas. I was a parts chaser at first but the second summer the put me in the Dyno tunnel. For $49.95 we would take a customers car and check it from stem to stern and than run it on the Dyno. My mentor working with me was Wayne Darnaby. I was a want to be hot rodder and Wayne and I hit it off from the beginning. You could not find a better guy. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I would greatly appreciate the info..
Eswestracer - Thanks for bringing these wonderful posts back to the top. I had nearly forgotten about them. What neat stuff. Thanks again...
That's what it was. We had windows on one side so customers could watch us inspect their car. I talked to Wayne a few minutes ago on FB. You can Google his name also. He is into photography now. It has been 40+ years since I have spoke to him. Small world!
I enjoyed his sories also and then he dropped out of sight, good to hear ya talked to him and hope he's ok. Rocky
i live in indiana close to the old us 30 track, i used to race there years ago , and i remember waynes car, it was quite impressive! miss the old track, closed in 84.
Hey all y'all....I'm still around and kicking. Had a heart stindt installed and I'm doing great health wise. Had a post on Facebook and I started looking. Putting all my posts together is great, thanks. There's not much more I can add to what I have already posted. Remember this was many years ago. Been watching the drags on TV and found out I'm kin to Robert Hight funny car driver with John Force stable. Would sure like to meet him. He's a cousin down the line. It's hard for me to get away from home as I have several parrots and have to care for them daily. I can be reached at waydar @ comcast.net anytime. Take care all and Best Regards waydar
More on Temptation, con't: As I mentioned earlier racing in Sanford Maine and Bruce Larson....let's back up a week. We arrived in Maine a little early. We stopped in York Beach right on the ocean front. Found a vacancy sign and pulled in, man says it's usually $150 a night because by the weekend there will be 10,000 people coming in for some kind of festival. Since we were early he'd let us have it for $50 a night if we promised to leave by the weekend. We agreed and moved in. Next morning we get up to a beautiful day, put on our swim gear and walked across the street to the ocean. Crawled down a big bunch of boulders to the sand beach. Looked and saw a bunch surfing....so why not take a dip. Lady sitting there said the water was the warmest it had been...what are we waiting for? I go running out into the water and in an instant I'm on my knees with foot and leg cramps....water was 40° and I had to crawl on my hands and knees to get out out that ice water. Glad the water was so warm. Never ever been in that kind of water before. I know those watching were laughing their heads off. We get dried off and decided to walk along the beach and get closer to the surf action. Must have walked a mile or so. We watched awhile and headed back. I told my wife I didn't remember the water being up to the rocks. We walk down the sidewalk to where we started and the same lady told us she had saved our clothes as the tide came in. I thought back to when we arrived on our drive into toen and crossing bridges and seeing boat laying on their sides with no water to be seen. Thought it was strange, now on the beach, who knew the tide would rise 12' in a short while??? Well being from Texas, never heard of such. Learned something that day that I'll never forget !! We enjoyed the rest of our time there and headed to Sanford for our match race. As I stated earlier I broke a lug off of the torque converter. We finished our race and got our check for a $1,000. Next morning off to the nearest bank to cash our check as we were broke, down to 2 bucks. Hey, times were lean sometimes racing. We get to the bank and they said they couldn't cash an out of town check....WHAT? Can't cash it, how can that be? The check was drawn on a bank in Augusta a hundred miles up the coast. Teller said I'd have to take the check to that bank to cash it. We're dead in the water. So we head out to Augusta. Drive a bit and come to a toll road. Sign says $4.50 plus more for trucks. We check the kitty and we come up with $2 and some change. I can see trouble already. Pull over to the toll station and ask how to get to Augusta without going on the toll road. A trooper standing there says you can't go on that road because of bridge weight limits. Have to use the toll road. But Mister Trooper sir, we don't have the money. We raced last night and I have a check that the bank won't honor. Showed him the check and he said hey...I know this guy. He's a court clerk in Augusta. Let me call him for you and see what can be done. So he calls and the guy is out for lunch so we wait. The trooper stayed there with us just talking and killing time. Finally he got in touch with the guy and told him of our trouble. They talk awhile and then the Trooper tells us the guy will call the bank president and work out something, just return to the bank. Sounded good to us so we head back to thye bank and ask to see the president. And who are you she asked? Told her what the State Trooper had said and she said sit here and I'll check with him. So off she goes to his office and leaves us taking up chair space. Finally returns and wants the check. Takes it away to pres. Comes back and says follow me. We go to one of the tellers and she said to the teller to cash this check. The teller takes the check and goes to the pres office, in a minute she comes back and ask how I wanted it...in my hand I said. She grinned and counted out the grand. Drove the rig to the gas station and filled the tanks....then off to Texas and beyond......!! Later....waydar
Thanks for coming back, Wayne. Glad to hear you are doing well. Keep thinking, I'm sure there's more in there somewhere... I'm interested to hear about the end of your journey with the car at aome point.
The Jalopy Journal
