The Hollish Bros. Coupe (restoration shots)

I have to thank the Hollish Bros. for providing me with their original photo album, timing tickets from the Nationals, the low ET trophy and endless amounts of calls from me. Without them this whole project would still be a pipe dream. (the jacket is still a mystery) It showed up in the mail one day around thanksgiving about 6 years ago in a box with no return address, the Happy holiday's card said " Was going through the attic and came across this, thought you might enjoy it, Happy Holidays" that's it!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????? I thought Joe sent it to me, Nope. Then i thought Jiggs sent it - Jiggs would not have sent this!!!!! so maybe it was a wife? Oh well, I'm very greatful to have it.

 

This was filmed in 1959. I know what box say's (1958) but Detroit dragway didn't open until the first week of Sept. 1959. The Nationals was the first event to be held at the brand new state of art complex.....funny thing is, I think that was the last time it got updated. It was tore down in the late 90's. THANKS FOR POSTING THIS VIDEO. I'M NOT SMART ENOUGH TO FIGURE THAT KIND OF STUFF OUT.

 

I'm looking forward to it, will you have your comp / coupe there?

 

Thanks for posting the info on this rebuild, looks like it is moving along nicely. I'll have to do something on my Lyndwood this weekend.

 

We'll be there, but it seems NHRA wants us to have a fire system and a driver with a competition license. The Fiat was originally only going to be a Crackle Car, but the project got a life of it's own. I may only run it at non-NHRA events, but we'll see if they will let us do an 1/8th mile exhibition burnout at Bowling Green.

 

The gentleman in the tan shirt and brown pants that's working with Todd and Steve on the car is Dave Timoszyk. He's one of my favorite subjects to shoot at Milan Dragway. If you have the July 2008 issue of Hot Rod Deluxe you might recognize Dave from the article I wrote called Gasser Family. The Timoszyk family has so many cool Gasser's it would take a small book to detail them. They are a six Willys family. This is Dave's 1940 Willys. Dave's brother Dan built the 10,500 rpm small block in this ride. Dave like's to tach it up to to 9800 for the launch. I can only give you a photo of what that looks like. The sound is incredible. These guys are my Hero's. They're doing the Lords work keeping the old school way of racing alive.
Mike TPG

 

yeeesssssssss

 

MIke, that was Tim in the pictures. I know they all look alike!!!

 

Earth to Mike, Earth to Mike. I'm so sorry, you would think I would get the names right. Please tell TIM I'm on more cold and flu medication than the law allows.
Mike TPG

 

Mike. The VHS tape is in the mail today but I believe Monday is another federal holiday. So you should see it sometime next week. While I was recording it I noticed that according to the narrator the Hollishes ran their rear-engine A coupe through 1958. The first mention of the car that you guys have is at a New York state dragstrip for some kind of regional meet. And Don Garlits was there with his Swamp Rat. But I also noticed that the push vehicle for your car was a black '57 Ranchero. How cool would it be if you guys could recreate that?

 

The Meet you are refering to is Montgomery Fuel and gas Invitational in Montgomery NY it was 2 weeks after the Detroit Nationals, the big run-off was between Garlits and Art Arfons,Gabby bleeker, Ottie Smith, And Jiggs Shamblin driving the Hollish Bros Miscalculation No2. Jiggs did manage to get it to go 9.63. I'd love to see that footage!!!!!!! The push vehicle was Jiggs 57 Ranchero black frenched headlights and i think a Cad engine. Jiggs also was the first gas dragster to go 150mph. He was standard 1320record holder for quite sometime.

 

You got off work at 12. You should be on your way home to finish the body mount tabs!!!!!

 

Rich I'm licensed and I will bring my own fire system.

Cackle cars are great, but race car's are a hell of a lot more fun. Put a fire system in and I'm sure think they might let you make a couple of your license runs.

Steve

 

it may be kinda ugly but in a reallly cute sorta way

 

Time to post Steve Timoszyk's Funny Car. Please fill in the details Steve.
Mike TPG

 

Great thread, I'll be back at Bowlin Green again this year and i want to make it a point to meet with all the guys on this thread. Thanks, oj

 

I just got of the phone with Joe Hollish. In the few minutes I was able to stay on the phone. Joe told me about what it was like to be part of the early days of Drag Racing. The footage that PunkAssGearhead88 posted above takes on a life of it's own after you talk with Joe. Back then, the NHRA was in it's infancy in the midwest. The NHRA had a pretty heavy west coast bias back then. Joe and his friends from Ohio were looking to make their bones in this sport and show what they could do. When you watch that old footage, you can see Art Arfon's allison aircraft powered car and Ohio George Montgomery in the beginning of his career. If you get bored google either one of those names and enjoy reading about guys from the midwest that gave a kid like me someone to root for when I went to the strip. Not that I didn't like the west coast guys, but how do you not root for the Home Town Heros. I can't wait to get more info and share it.
Mike TPG

 

About Bowling Green....we should be able to try to pit together, but I don't know who we have to schmooze to make that happen. It looked like they tried to group the cars by class last year.
A HAMB Racerfest would be cool. Maybe as many as 20 or more!!!!!

 

bad ass story,man

 

Oohhellyeah!!!!!

 

You know what, I thought the same thing but I wasnt sure, thanks for verifying! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

Awesome, another one back from the dead, I like it.

 

Cool stuff and cool story. My Dad received the 1967 US Nationals winners circle photo of our Willys the same way you received the Jacket, no note and in an envelope with no return address. to this day 7 years later we have no idea who sent it. I'ts really cool you have some of this original stuff to go along with the car.

 

great thread

 

Need more of this thread, the basic frame design in the Hollish coupe - who's design was that and why did it become outmoded? What didn't lend itself to be used past this particular era?

 

It was a built by Scotty Fenn of Chassis Research. I'm interviewing Joe Hollish for an upcoming article on the Coupe. Here's a quote from Joe Hollish about the chassis. It reveals the ever present stretching of the rules that was such a big part of the sport in the early days.
Joe Hollish wrote "Fenn's chassis was unique at the time in that it was very lightweight; it was made out of very thin steel tubing. Probably 1020 steel--aka exhaust pipe. The NHRA didn't favor that because at that time they had a hardon for 1/8" wall tubing. A psychologist could make a connection between that and the relationship between Wally Parks and his squeeze. Barbara. (actually, she was one hot chick). A mini-war started between Fenn and the NHRA and if I recall correctly Fenn produced articles in a newsprint drag race periodical out of Salt Lake City (I think). Fenn argued that his lightweight chassis was as safe as a heavier one in a crash . Fenn could have very well been an engineer, as his arguments were quite reasonable. In any event, NHRA required that rollbar structures had to be 1/8" tube and you had to drill holes in the rollbar so the inspectors could verify the wall thickness. Jiggs and Hartong solved that quandary by heating up the tube, dinging it down appropriately and filling the crater with weld, then grinding it down and drilling the hole to satisfy the NHRA inspectors. Foolish, perhaps from a safety standpoint, but We were young and restless at the time."

I'll keep this thread updated as the work progresses.
Mike TPG

 

I have a copy of the letter Scotty included with the blueprints he sold to prospective customers. The letter is from Norman L. Pedersen, A.I.A, Architect & Engineer. It discusses the various tests his company did on a Chassis Research TE 440 frame. It basically verifies Scotty's choice to use the 1020 steel. In the closing paragraph he relates how 1020 was seriously concidered for use in aircraft structural frames during
WW II.

I include a copy with each blueprint. Check the Misc. Classifides for particulars.

Bottom line was Wally made the rules and if you wanted to play his game, for better or worse, you met his rules. Scotty was a stuborn SOB, and it eventually cost him his business.

 

too cool...from seeing the plans of it talking at Detroit a year ago till now....bad ass..gonna be at Cobo?...see you at B.G....MATCH RACE!

T. Hilton

 

Hilton, don't be given Todd any ideas. Were workin hard enough to get ready for BG!!
Steve

 

Thanks for the explanation. I suspect there is a bit more to it but it'll wait for another time.