Mayf that for all the world sounds Like Tex Smith Stories... He owned a
Healey over in Europe and did in fact Spank Donald Healey on a Track in
Germany...
I heard a Motor story like that but it was about a Hemi as I recall....
K ( where is that Louise Girl when you need her?)
----- Original Message -----
From: <DrMayf@aol.com>
To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2000 6:15 PM
Subject: Interesting Story...
> As many of you know, I am in the process of relocating my family from
> Madison, Alabama to Pahrump, Nevada. I have rented a house in Pahrump and
> have moved all my "stuff" out of storage and into the garage. Well, the
> "stuff" I brought on the first trip included zero furniture. So I went
> searching for a cheap matress, springs, frame, kitchen table, etc.
Stumbled
> onto a salvage yard which takes stuf from hotels and motels and recycles
> them. After loading the junk the old man who is running the front area,
> started asking me about my truck. I was telling him that I bought it
> primarily to tow my race car when I get it out here. We started talking
about
> Bonneville. He said that in 1959 he was heading west and stopped with his
> chopped and sectioned '49 chevy with a 270 jimmy in it. They were running
at
> B'ville at the time so he and his wife pulled out onto the salt and parked
> next to a wing tank lakester with a jimmy in it. He said the man had made
his
> qualifying run and was successful but had broke the motor in the process.
He
> askd this gentleman what kinda motor he had in in '49 chevy and it was the
> right one. The old man offered the use of his motor. He said that crew
pulled
> the engine from his car, put it in the lakester, ran the second leg and
> established a record. Then they put the motor back into the '49 chevy and
he
> went onhis way to So Cal. He said that he was in eEurope in the early 50's
> and had the chance to drive an Austin Healy on some track in France where
for
> a few francs, you could make several laps. Apparently the track was
banked.
> He drove the Healy hard but wasa fem mph short of some kinda record. A
> knowledgeable racer stopped by and told him to rejet the carbs. He even
> loaned them the jets and then did the work. More francs were exchanged at
the
> track and he drove the car to a +20 mph over the record. He said the AH
> people contacted him and wanted to know what he had done to make the car
that
> fast. Said he didn't tell them. Said he got a ride around the LeMans track
> with Stirling Moss in a Aston MArtin. Said Moss scaired (sp) the crapout
of
> him. Hard charging, sliding the car into the corners and driving by the
seat
> of his pants.
>
> Neat old guy, didn;t actually get his name, but I will. He seemed to think
> the old lakester was number 7, but he would look. Said somewhere he has a
> letter from the owner/driver experessing his thanks. Who could that have
been
> in 1959?
>
> mayf
>
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