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Old rally pix

26K views 84 replies 26 participants last post by  rwgraves 
#1 ·
It's time to delurk (probably kinda like delicing or deicing or debunking or whatever).

While cleaning out old file cabinets during the last week, I fired up both the print and film/slide scanners and have been busily converting old rally stuff to electronic format for your enjoyment.

The goodies are here:

http://www.futurethru.com/itemlist.asp?sqltype=rally&pagestyle=default

if that wraps, go to www.futurethru.com, click on articles and then performance rally.

Stuff you'll find up there now includes part of the 1955 Canadian Winter rule book, pix of John & Vicki in the 911, Rod Millen's RX-7, Guy Light, Scott Harvey/Wayne Zitkus, Andrew Cowan, Doug Shepard, Jim Walker, etc. Most of these are from the mid-70s with a couple from the early '70s, and a few newer.

Stuff that's on the way: a scan of the 1955 routebook for the Great American Mountain Rally, which I believe to be the very first FIA sanctioned rally in the U.S. (and maybe North America? and it even had a works entry and was sponsored by the American Automobile Association of all things), some excepts from a 1950s-era Watkins Glen Tour and Trial (You'll love this, you didn't reset penality time at each control. If you were a minute behind at one control, you had to make that minute up before the next control), and more photos.

I found a bunch of old negatives and slides from Rideau Lakes, Canadian Winter, POR, Sunriser, Sno*Drift and others, but the problem now is that I'm starting to get into photos that I don't recognize or remember who they are.

As way of introduction, I did what I think was the first U.S./Canadian book about the sport entitled Performance Rallying, published back in 1975, wrote a bunch of magazine pieces along the way, was co-clerk of course for Sunriser for a year and codrove in Datsun 510 (didn't everyone?) and a Fiat 124.

If you find errors, omissions or things to add, let me know. Where possible, I tried to give a little description of that the photo was about for those who weren't around back then. Most of this stuff was assembled from sketchy notes and a faulty memory.

Enjoy.


Eric Anderson
 
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#53 ·
>Eric, I have identified some of your newly posted
>photographs. I looked through my 1972 POR program and
>matched up car numbers. On BGDR, car 142 is Bill Braund and
>Rod Natho in a 1971 Toyota Corona, car 173 is Dale McAlister
>and Joe Le Beau in a Dart Performance 72 Subaru, and i think
>the last car is a Saab 99. The only Sabb 99 in the rally
>was David Birdsall & John Crawford in #161 Saab 99. I think
>I might have even been taking pictures at this corner also
>in 1972.
>

Thanks, Paul. I've made the changes and they'll appear the next time I upload a new copy of the database, probably within the next couple of days. Hang on to that entry list, I think there are a bunch of negs from that POR. I'm having some problems that negs are in the wrong sleeves and are not what they say they are.

I recognized the Beatty car, Mike Creech bought it and we ran it in at least one event -- my recollection is that it was the spookiest car I ever codrove in. It had lots of horsepower, and no cornering ability. At least that's the way I remember it.
 
#54 ·
http://www.rallyalmanac.com/images/unknown30.jpg

Oh my sweet bleedin' jeebus...IT'S THE SUPER TRUCK!!!!!

How well I remember this effort...driver Bernie Pizarro was a college student here at UD, with more money and enthusiasm than common
sense...he was a transfer student from South America, and for some reason seemed to have money dribbling out of his shoes. He showed
up at a National Sports Cars Club of Dayton meeting one time, and without very much ado at all, was shanghaied into being the service
vehicle for Nick Folger's 510 at a Tulip 200 -- in this truck!
The year this photo was taken, Bernie and navigator Doug McCabe were doing sorta pretty good, until up in the mountains, Bernie tried
a little ditch-hooking to snap himself around a bend. Trouble was, the ditch was actually the side of the mountain, and the truck just kinda
bogged itself to a stop on the edge of the road, balanced on the crossmembers...until the edge gave way, and over our heroes went. The
truck ended on its side about 70 feet down the hill. The tree that stopped it was the only one big enough to do so for another hundred feet down...as I recall, that night sweep at least was able to get the truck back on its wheels...
The next day, we all went back to retrieve the truck. A local wrecker pulled it up the hill. We took jack handles and pried the front
fenders from where they lapped over the hood, popped the hood, and dumped a gallon or so of oil in. Bernie crossed his fingers and
twisted the key -- and she came back to life. Wasn't a straight piece of sheet metal left, but it ran.
The truck made it into town, where it went up on the lift at the gas station. Seems as the suspension was still adequate, but the rear
driveshaft was bent badly. There were some hasty discussions as the engine oil got changed -- seems as if it spent the night nose down on
that very steep hill, and a large quantity of crankcase contents was actually gasoline...but eventually, we got it all squared away for the trip to Dayton by pulling the rear driveshaft, sticking the transfer case in 4wdHI, and locking the front hubs. It were well and truly ingenious...
Why do I keep saying 'we'? Because I was there, driving Bernie's black market Canadian-temporary-transit-tagged Euro-spec Land
Rover as the service vehicle. I'll never forget the sight as we headed for home -- the truck crumpled beyond belief, one headlight pointing
toward Arcturus and one driving light aimed about ten feet ahead of the truck, no glass anywhere, Bernie with his full-face helmet and an
old sweater wrapped and stuffed around his neck as a scarf, no gloves, tooling back to town on US35...seemed to take us forever, but
she did get home...

I have to go and check with a few people to see if they have any pictures of the truck running the '80 Sunriser...yes, its first pro rally was 1980, if I recall right...and I hope I do...because that year, the co-driver was lil' ol' me...yep...you're looking at a picture of the kid's first performance rally ride...if I ever start drinking again, y'all can buy me a pitcher and I'll tell you a tale or two...or three..or four...

And by the way...the sticks and limbs hanging from the tree on the right are familiar...Crashton? Got any shots of the Super Truck? That's the same corner you so adroitly pirouetted out of Bruno's way...got any shots of The Truck from '80? (IhopeIhopeIhopeIhope, becuz I ain't got none...)
 
#56 ·
Nope, sorry, I didn't have those stripes. But I've seen that car before. Maybe in the middle of the night I'll wake up and remember it.

Kent Gardam
 
#58 ·
All the pictures referenced below -- start here:
http://www.rallyalmanac.com/itemlist.asp?sqltype=front&pagestyle=default1&curpage=1

1981 Sunriser 400 Results http://www.rallyracingnews.com/scca/rally/sun81.html

A Different Datsun
Why does the name 'Mark' come to mind when I see this car? Wasn't it blue, with yellow stripes etc? An ex-Millen machine? The '81 Sunriser results show car 6 as Jon Woodner/Ginny Reese in a 510...

A Green 510 At Speed
Brian Rebney? Wasn't this thing on the cover of the Cooper Tire rallying handout? Can't be 81, according to the results...

See The Cloud Of Dust?
Yeah, it were dusty all right...especially if the vehicle ahead of you was big enough that you could park in the bed...according to the results, this is James Slivka and James Strunk...they were #35, the Super Truck ("A Full-Size Pickup On A Stage Event) was #34, and that was early enough that I don't think they'd have caught Bernie yet...

Brian Culcheth's Austin Being Serviced
Yep. '74 POR, in the parking lot of the Marquette Mall (I patronized the VW dealership across US41 in the background).

A Volvo At Speed
Again, names/cars/numbers don't match with the results above.

Jean Rizor Co-Drives A Volvo
The results don't list Jean as being entered. Car 7 that year was suppposedly Wayne and Debra Baldwin in a Volvo GLT

You sure these pix are '81? Things don't match up...the '80 results aren't on the web...anyone got the '80 results to check car numbers etc?

Scott Harvey Leaves The Start Control
Ahhh, The Rhino...truly a testosterone-enhancing vehicle...I remember it rather well...

A BMW 2000 At Speed
As posted earlier in this thread, I have the shortwave radio out of this car...

Jean-Paul Perusse at the 1981 Sunriser
Okay, this one matches...

Eric Jones at the 1981 Sunriser
Another match...

John Woolf & Grant Whittaker get some help
A 911 likes oversteer (Bruno Kreibich)
Two matches in the '81 results

Eric Jones leaving Houghton MTC
POR, not sure if it's '74 or '75...

John and Vicki at speed
I do hope John was in a slide, because otherwise he's about to get up close and personal with that post...
 
#59 ·
The 510 you think might be Hendrik Blok is actually me...who else would have a 510 Tigger looking like a Mexican Taxicab?

"A Datsun 510 powers through Sunriser". And 'powers' was a term I wouldn't probably use! But I've got two in the garage and if I can ever get enough time away from Co-Driving for some wild-assed kid in a 350hp EVO and putting on Club Rallies, by dad gummit I'll get one of them running!

Thanks for the pic...I'm honored!

Kim DeMotte
Official Old Fart, etc.
 
#60 ·
>The 510 you think might be Hendrik Blok is actually me...who
>else would have a 510 Tigger looking like a Mexican Taxicab?

>Kim DeMotte
>Official Old Fart, etc.

Okay...now we're getting somewhere. Kim, what year was this? The car numbers/cars/people don't match the results for Sunriser 81 or later years. Earlier? Maybe a Tulip 200 in that period? I do recall it was run as a National a year or three...and it was real popular as a divisional to warm up for Sunriser...
 
#61 ·
>A Different Datsun
>A Green 510 At Speed

>>A Volvo At Speed
>Again, names/cars/numbers don't match with the results
>above.
>
>Jean Rizor Co-Drives A Volvo
>You sure these pix are '81?


And herein lies the problem.

When I first got started, I "thought" the color Sunriser pix (they are slides) were 1981 because they were mixed in with the 1981 B&W negatives.

I started wondering about it because the slides have started color shifting to green... you'll notice, there's a greenish cast that I can't get comepletely out. This is Ektachrome, which Kodak claimed was good for 20 years without a color shift. Kodak is generally reliable with those estimates, which causes me to thinking the slides might actually be older than 1981.

There's no more than a dozen of these slides, and none of the top contenders, which makes identifying the year difficult. They're all from Scioto Trail. If I remember right, at least through the early '80s, Scioto Trail was never a spectator location because it was too hard to get in and out of.


>Scott Harvey Leaves The Start Control
>Ahhh, The Rhino...truly a testosterone-enhancing vehicle...I
>remember it rather well...


Wish I could go back and strangle myself for not keeping negatives better organized. This is in a folder marked 1973 POR. I happen to know it's the '74 HIS because the next shot in the sequence is Harvey pulling away under a banner that reads 1974 HIS.

>Eric Jones leaving Houghton MTC
>POR, not sure if it's '74 or '75...


I know this is 1974. This is about the time the rumor was running around that the Fiat crew had repaired their car by taking the doors (with the car number) off the competition car and put them on a backup car, which they then used for the night.

I never did find out whether the rumor was true, but changing doors onto a new car seems like a fast method of car repair.
 
#62 ·
The picture identified as a 610 or 710 at the 81 Sunriser is in fact a 510. That was Millen's car for a while. In 81 it was Woodner's & had a Cosworth BDA under the hood. He finished second to Millen at the 81 Sunriser.

Eric, I spent some time looking at old black & white 8x10's over the weekend. Boy do I wish I'd kept better notes.:(

The Rally Almanac is looking so good. Keep posting those old photos they are great.

Chuck Ashton
 
#63 ·
>Eric, I spent some time looking at old black & white 8x10's
>over the weekend. Boy do I wish I'd kept better notes.:(
>
>Chuck Ashton

Well, get them scanned, find some place to host them (maybe Eric can?) and we'll all collectively scratch our bald spots and offer opinions of what we see!

Kent Gardam
 
#64 ·
Eric,
Your color pictures are from the 78 Sunriser.
I found my results.

#8 510 is indeed Kim Demotte with Carolyn Hall on the 1978 Sunriser. Kim finished 31st out of 37 cars finishing. He lost about 10 minutes to the field on the infamous Creek stage. He still beat us though. We DNF'd on the second to last stage. Mad Mike also DNFed in a Chevy Vega.

The #51 beetle is Jeff Mcgeee/Dave Shelton.
The Volvo with the Kiwi flag is Graham Thompson/Jeff Becker

>>A Different Datsun
>>A Green 510 At Speed
Brian Rebney/Tom Bell from 78 Sunriser
>>>A Volvo At Speed
Bill Maher/Don Derose 78 Sunriser
>>
>>Jean Rizor Co-Drives A Volvo
Tom Tolles/Jean Rizor 78 Sunriser

>
>There's no more than a dozen of these slides, and none of
>the top contenders, which makes identifying the year
>difficult. They're all from Scioto Trail. If I remember
>right, at least through the early '80s, Scioto Trail was
>never a spectator location because it was too hard to get in
>and out of.
>
>
>>Scott Harvey Leaves The Start Control
>>Ahhh, The Rhino...truly a testosterone-enhancing vehicle...I
>>remember it rather well...
>
>
>Wish I could go back and strangle myself for not keeping
>negatives better organized. This is in a folder marked 1973
>POR. I happen to know it's the '74 HIS because the next shot
>in the sequence is Harvey pulling away under a banner that
>reads 1974 HIS.
>
>>Eric Jones leaving Houghton MTC
>>POR, not sure if it's '74 or '75...
>
>
>I know this is 1974. This is about the time the rumor was
>running around that the Fiat crew had repaired their car by
>taking the doors (with the car number) off the competition
>car and put them on a backup car, which they then used for
>the night.
>
>I never did find out whether the rumor was true, but
>changing doors onto a new car seems like a fast method of
>car repair.

Paul Jaeger
PRIMO Stage Crews
For a Good Time, Call PRIMO!
 
#65 ·
>
>Well, get them scanned, find some place to host them (maybe
>Eric can?) and we'll all collectively scratch our bald spots
>and offer opinions of what we see!
>



I'll put anything up there that anyone wants.

(Hopefully, Doug'll be sending us some of those vacation pictures of those women who couldn't afford the top half of the bikini. May be more interesting than rally pictures.)

There's 500 megs available on that site, probably enough room for 1,000 pix or more. I don't mind paying for the hosting, and I think it would be cool to have as complete a visual history of rallying in North America as possible. I've had a lot of fun with this project so far, and anyone who wants can join in.

If you want me to post something up there for you, send me an email and we can work out the details. I'm going to stop scanning for a little bit. It will take me a couple of days to write the code so that you can find images by driver or event.
 
#66 ·
I was running the Saab by '81, so it couldn't be '81.

I'm thinking and early stage on HIS or STPR? Looks like a nice 'corps of engineer' downhill left....certianly National Forest potential. But it's not Sunriser '81.

Kim DeMotte
Official Old Fart, etc.
 
#67 ·
This shot was "pre-Creek". "Pst-Creek" we finished the event with no windshield (in those days the rule 'was no broken glass'....didn't say anything about 'no glass!').

Somewhere out there is a series of pics of the spectators at the Creek rolling us back on our feet...Ian Tugwell being the most prominent 'roller'....anybody got that set?

We finished with helmet shields on in the drizzling rain as I recall....might have been Carolyn's last ride....hmmmmm

And I remember something about a disastrous tow home losing a wheel off the trailer....an altogether forgettable weekend....thanks for remembering, Paul!

Kim DeMotte
Official Old Fart, etc.
 
#68 ·
>Mad Mike also DNFed in a Chevy Vega.

That POS broke any time I pushed it a little, but I do seem to remember logging faster stage times than a Porsche 911. ;)

http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Vega/sunr78-1.jpg

Isn't that Doc Shrader in the background with arms crossed and the cowboy hat on? The stature is right, the posture is right and he still wears those hats :7 so the only question is - was he running in the 78 Sunriser or available to hang out on a logpile??

BTW - In a classic fit of overcompensation my second rally car was a Peugeot 504, a machine I had to work rather hard to break!

Halley ...
Owner/Driver ProRally #86 - world's first New Beetle Rally Car
RealAutoSport, LLC
http://www.realautosport.com
 
#69 ·
Thanks for the great pix, Eric.

I dug up the results from the 74 Canadian Winter. Here's the ID of the crews:

Car 23 - Jim Callon/Roger Dooley, Michigan - Datsun 510
Car 46 - Keith Spencer/Rob Simpson, Ontario - Honda Civic
Car 14 - Howard Wahn/Jim Pue-Gilchrist, Ontario - Datsun 510
Car 36 - Colin Werner/Ed Agnew, Ontario - Fiat 128

The rally had over 90 starters but only 18 finished due to a massive road-blockage during the night. Most of us DNFs spent the night at a gas stop waiting for Bob Lindquist to declare if we are max late or still in the rally. Eventually, around 5 am, Bob decided that there's goint to be no mercy.
 
#71 ·
"Post-Creek"

>(That) shot was "pre-Creek". "Post-Creek" we finished the
>event with no windshield (in those days the rule 'was no
>broken glass'....didn't say anything about 'no glass!').
<snip>
>We finished with helmet shields on in the drizzling rain as
>I recall....might have been Carolyn's last ride....hmmmmm
>
>Kim DeMotte
>Official Old Fart, etc.

Here's a pic I scanned from an old photo of Cotterman's:

http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Kims510s.jpg

Cotterman is wearing coveralls and about to take that baton to the knuckles of the bearded chap who looks ready to pour a can of peas into the carb. :7

Look closely and you'll see Kim had his name on the back of his hat, languishing as it was on the navvie's side of the car when this pic was snapped ...

From the ample evidence it appears Kim found a way to render the windscreen demisters moot at the same instant he massaged the roof into that unique shape ...

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Halley ...
Owner/Driver ProRally #86 - world's first New Beetle Rally Car
RealAutoSport, LLC
http://www.realautosport.com
 
#72 ·
RE: "Post-Creek"

Well, it was a flashlight and not a baton, the can was full of tranny fluid that went som'ers into the carbalater somehow, but the id's on the driver and the reason for the vehicle lightening by way of glass removal are accurate...

Thanks for posting this one, Mike.

I do kinda wish I had the shot later on, with this thing in the parc ferme at POR, with training wheels on hubcaps on the rear wheels...

Kim -- is this beastie one of the two you've got in the garage? H class is calling your name...still got Ms. Hall's phone number?
 
#73 ·
Eric,

You have got me looking through old photos & slides from
71 Canadian Winter, 72-75 POR, more Marathon 400, etc. I
don't have many, but I'll try to share what I have if I can
get the slides scanned.


This brings back alot of memories, and reminds me how much
I have forgotten!


George Beckerman
(Gravelgeezer)
 
#74 ·
>Eric,
>
>You have got me looking through old photos & slides from
>71 Canadian Winter, 72-75 POR, more Marathon 400, etc. I
>don't have many, but I'll try to share what I have if I can
>get the slides scanned.
>
>


If you need, I'll scan the slides. I have a fairly (nay, make that way too) expensive slide scanner that does a pretty good job with 35 mm.

Send me a private email if you want me to do your scanning.
 
#75 ·
Agreed
The green 510 is Brian Rebney.
Buffum's 911 is likely to be at 1976 NARA Marquette 1000. Zasada won the '75 POR with that car and sold it to Buffum. Note the Marquette 1000 plaque on the hood and if you can read the side of the car,the famous "Let's Boogie" side script would be there.
Woodner ran the "new" 1978- 510 in blue trim . When Roddy ran it it was yellow.
The Tom Tolles 122 is at a later rally. Note the WonderMuffler/Lancia ID package.As I remember Lancia/Wonder Muffler was David Ash's NARA /NARRA 1976/1977 sponsor. NARA didn't exist until the 1976 season. Lancia/Wonder Muffler was never an SCCA sponsor. NARRA then goes to the Montgomery Wards Auto Club as title sponsor for 1978.
In your 1975 Marathon 400 photos, Blok's 510 would be very distintive. It appears to be as two-door car but the doors are too short. He used a 4-door body for stiffness and welded/filled in the rear doors. He also had the big flares fitted. The base color was white ,I didn't remember the trim colors. Nils Eriksen and I might be in your photos. I doubt it though - a black Fiat 124 spyder- way in the back of the pack. First car on the road was Hourihan/Shepard 142.

Bruce Beauvais
de KA8VTK
 
#76 ·
RE: "Post-Creek"

Nope, this one was recycled into a liesure racing machine when I started getting weird with 99's. The two in my garage are a GT-4 Race car (with full cage and nice, but peaky engine and NO ELECTRICS) and a Rally Car (Richard Bunce's if anyone remembers the name) with the 1975 POR sticker still in the trunk....no cage 'tho..just a bar and stock seats, etc.) Theoretically both should run, but I have no empirical proof of that in the last 24 months since I took on this Damned Rally!

Kim DeMotte
Official Old Fart, etc.
 
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