[Mad Mike]

I was poking around for some pics of weird Yank rally cars for another thread (http://www.specialstage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=201337#post201337)
and ran across this site - http://dan.hirschfeld.googlepages.com/motorsportstuff

Go there and you'll find Dan has some pics from the 1979 NARRA 20 Stages Rally in Michigan - http://dan.hirschfeld.googlepages.com/someselectedpicturesfromthe1979narra20stagesrally

I've posted him an invite here but in doing so it dawned on me that THIS MONTH I celebrate 35 years of rallying! Yup, thirty-five years ago this month I embarked on my first rally contest, a benefit gimmick rally ("Who is the tree surgeon?" Answer was a rusty Dr. Pepper sign nailed to a dead oak tree.) in San Angelo, Texas! Talk about afflictions ...

 

[Mad Mike]

First pics from the Hirschfeld collection ...

Dan and I exchanged several emails after my first post to him and I've come to find he was pretty busy working Ohio stage rallys back when I first started this sport. I offered him some RealAutoSport disk space to host any pics he cared to scan and here are some of the coolest so far. The ret can be found here - http://www.realautosport.com/OldPics/Hirschfeld

He promises more, "from the 1978 Sunriser 400 ... the 1979 Ohio Rally Championship Tulip 200." and the 20 Stages rally in MI. like this one:

Buffum at 20 Stages

Blok's Mikuni/KC HiLiTES Arrow @ Sunriser '78.

A Z-28 @ Sunriser '78.

The Hairy Canary 'Stang @ Sunriser '78.

 

[Mad Mike]

78 Sunriser results are here - http://www.rallyracingnews.com/scca/rally/sun78.html

Wow, I was in the top-20 overall stage times at the end of Leg 1 from 68 entries in a crappy old Chevy Vega. Wish I could remember why we DNFed on Leg 2. Time heals, I guess ... ;-)

 

[Jens]

...

Well looky thar. Halley is featuring my 911 in message #2. No wait...he dumped it. He thought it was Bruno's car..."OldPics/Hirschfeld/Bruno_s_Porche_Sunriser.jpg", but now that he knows it was mine it is no longer featured.

I'm crushed......

 

[jandreini]

Well looky thar. Halley is featuring my 911. Nope, wait.... he thought it was Bruno's car..."OldPics/Hirschfeld/Bruno_s_Porche_Sunriser.jpg". Oh well I guess the photo will be burned from Mikey's server

Hey... BTW.. I took that picture... well at least I think I did. That was quite a while ago. Either way: give me credit, or mail me a check.

Finished the rally, too, I see. At least it wasn't identified as Hourihan's Porsche.

 

[Mad Mike]

There are now 39 pics on - http://www.realautosport.com/OldPics/Hirschfeld - ALL taken by Dan and his "little Kodak Instamatic camera" and recently scanned from prints he's had laying around for, ohhhhhh, thirty years now.

He promises even more, sooner or later.

Enjoy!

 

[Topi]

- What a cool pics! Thanks guys.
- I love American V8 rally cars. That Z28 is $ 20 000+ today, so is Mustang FastBack...
- The other wild ones I saw: '65 Pontiac GTO (Reno International), Rolls Royce body on Chevy 4x4 V8 chassis (East of Indio) and Hollywood's own Crazy-Mike in Indy AMC V8 powered Gremlin (Tostidos Rally).

 

[Mad Mike]

- What a cool pics! Thanks guys.

Hollywood's own Crazy-Mike in Indy AMC V8 powered Gremlin (Tostidos Rally).

You're welcome! I know Dan is pumped finding out folks are enjoying them and I'm always tickled to host more old time pics.

Mike Hurst was in Arizona with a Gremlin rally car? I had no idea ...

Hey Topi, I still have my petrified wood 'dash plaque' from that rally, do you still have yours?

Two pics sure to stir lots of memories, the one-off Harvey 4WD Aspen

and Jim Walker in the Fiat 131 Abarth rally car complete with Alitalia livery

 

[Topi]

This Mike:
Michael Noval, Santa Monica, CA - AMC Gremlin V8

- Mike was one of the most colourful guys I ever saw. Real NUTS! Always flatout, ending deeeeeeeeeep in the bushes - every time! (sounds like you, Mad Mike, doesn't it?)
- He had connections to AMC and got a killer Indy AMC proto V8 engine with millions of hp but no handling
- Yes, I still have the "Plank"

 

[Mad Mike]

This Mike:
Michael Noval, Santa Monica, CA - AMC Gremlin V8

- Mike was one of the most colourful guys I ever saw. Real NUTS! Always flatout, ending deeeeeeeeeep in the bushes - every time! (sounds like you, Mad Mike, doesn't it?)
- He had connections to AMC and got a killer Indy AMC proto V8 engine with millions of hp but no handling
- Yes, I still have the "Plank"

Ah, thanks.

Don't honestly remember a Gremlin being there. Really don't remember much about that weekend at all other than an Australian Rules Football game (first time I'd seen such) that was on TV at the bar where registration was, the VLA radio telescopes spread across New Mexico and how upset Jimmy Leonard was with me (when he finally caught up) for saving the brake pads on the downhill tow toward Socorro when his fiancee was in the truck with me!

- BTW, I have managed to calm down a little in the intervening 25 years!

 

[Mad Mike]

A big gathering of spectators (for 1978)

A water splash and a sizeable spectator throng for 1978 (probably mostly service crew members or competitor's family) -

 

[Paul Jaeger]

A water splash and a sizeable spectator throng for 1978 (probably mostly service crew members or competitor's family) -

That spot is the first stage of the rally. The railroad track is the Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad, just outside Nelsonville, Ohio.

 

[RallyCat808]

I love looking at old US rally pics. More please.

 

[Mad Mike]

http://www.rallyalmanac.com/

http://www.realautosport.com/Harvey/harvey.html

http://www.realautosport.com/Harvey/Weiman/Wienman/weinman.htm

http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Peug504/index.html

http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Vega/vega.html

etc

 

[Mad Mike]

OK. The apparent final count from my new friend Dan Hirschfeld stands at 28 pics from the 1978 Sunriser 400 in Ohio, 18 Pics from 20 Stages in MI, and 24 pics from Tulip 200 in Ohio. http://www.realautosport.com/OldPics/Hirschfeld

 

[Eric_Anderson]

There are now 39 pics on - http://www.realautosport.com/OldPics/Hirschfeld - ALL taken by Dan and his "little Kodak Instamatic camera" and recently scanned from prints he's had laying around for, ohhhhhh, thirty years now.

He promises even more, sooner or later.

Enjoy!

The Gremlin in the bottom right of the Tulip series is Dick Paddock's. He was the long-time chairman of the Sunriser. It was held together mostly with bondo and rubber bands.

Lots of power, no handling whatsoever.

 

[Mad Mike]

The Gremlin in the bottom right of the Tulip series is Dick Paddock's. He was the long-time chairman of the Sunriser. It was held together mostly with bondo and rubber bands.

Lots of power, no handling whatsoever.

Except for that solitary shot of the Gremlin (which may be dead or just resting ) there seems to be a trend in the pics Dan took regarding machines owned by Dick - they have the hoods up and folks are messing with them!

Kind of reminds me of my Doo *** weekend with Forespring last month where he picked me up at the airport in one Subrau, traded it for another before going to Aberdeen (after getting a jump start) but then had to borrow McQuaid's WRX to get me back to SeaTac Monday! There's probably just so many rally issues to deal with there's no time to fiddle with cars - which seems kinda odd if you think about it too long.

 

[Jens]

Finished the rally, too, I see. At least it wasn't identified as Hourihan's Porsche.

Yeah... what's the point in rallying if ya don't finish?

Hourihan had a Porsche? I thought it was a 510, or Volvo, or some other squarish sedan. I don't remember; those dendrites in my brain are long dead.

 

[jandreini]

Yeah... what's the point in rallying if ya don't finish?

Hourihan had a Porsche? I thought it was a 510, or Volvo, or some other squarish sedan. I don't remember; those dendrites in my brain are long dead.

He had all of those, too, but his final rally car was a Porsche.

 

[Doug Woods]

He had all of those, too, but his final rally car was a Porsche.

Joe:

How did he manage to fit into a Porsche? The Volvo was a tight fit.

Doug Woods (who co-drove for Bob in his 510)