Jimmy Addison and The Silver Bullet

I've seen my friend Jimmy Addison's name mentioned here in the past and I thought I'd add some insight into the man and his passion. I write for a local metro Detroit auto publication called Cruis'news and it was in May of 2006 we published this eulogy for a man who was, arguably, as famous a street racer as Ronnie Sox was a drag racer. It's a bit lengthy but I hope you'll find the piece as well as the pics worth your time. More pics to follow.

Bill Stinson

 

More pics for the above story.

 

Anyone that cruised Woodward in those days remember the car. With all of the tall tales that some were telling out there you could always tell them that if they are running that strong then give Jimmy Addison a go. It also made for some good chatter as to whether he was going to run anyone that night. If we had our version of American Graffiti he and the Silver Bullet would have to be a part of the plot. Good old times which accounts partially for my constant obsession with high performance cars of the sixties-Jim

 

I remember the article Car Craft did back in the early 70's, Jimmy Addison and the Silver Bullet were as well known in my small Western Illinois High School as Sox & Martin, Grumpy Jenkins or any of the pro racers. The Silver Bullet was one of my dream cars as a teenager, it still is for that matter.

 

The last pic is of the restored car. The body and chassis and rear end are all original as Jimmy made them. The engine and trans are new, as the old motor that Jimmy lovingly massaged to get that half inch stroker in there, is long gone, and two people claim to own it. A Mopar collector named Harold Sullivan now owns the car and the restoration was masterful!

Jim drove it that day and (as I recall) ran a best 10:34 @ 132 mph through the mufflers. I hope you can read the small print in the stuff I posted. I can't get it any bigger.

Bill

 

Jimmy Addison and the SILVER BULLET are my heroes. I can remember sitting in my 12th grade english class daydreaming about street racing, and fast street cars. It was around this same time I read the story of Jimmy and the Silver bullet. I wonder if he ever counted the money he made street racing.
Jimmy White

 

"GET JIMMY ADDISON!" I remember that Car Craft story. Bad bad street racer that one...

 

Jimmy,

I asked him how much he raced for back then and the average was about $100 a race. Big bucks for 1969-70. There were a few for $200, but very few, he said.

Jim built and raced the Bullet solely to add more income for his family. Virtually no one believes me when I tell them that, but it's true. Fame never entered his mind. In fact, we had to convince him that he was famous when the restored Bullet was debuted so he would come out with us and sign autographs. He never could believe that anyone would have known or cared who he was.

 

What a hero!! It looks as if the article you posted is missing a page, Is it possible you could scan it? Thanks for taking the time to post this. Its funny when I worked at Mooneyham Blowers, Gene said one of the main reasons he raced was for extra income. When I told him the 554 coupe was one of the most famous cars built, he shrugged it off, as if it was no big deal.
Jimmy White

 

In the 60's we used to meet at Howard Johnson's at 10 mile and Evergreen on Thursday nights to race on I-696.The Southfield police made us start meeting at the Southfield Civic Center at Evergreen and Civic Center Drive because of the complaints of the Ho-Jo customers. The only time I saw Jimmy get beaten was when Tom Hoover came out one Thursday night with his dark green Coronet. They raced the best 2 out of 3 on I-696 and Hoover won both races. There were some great races out there. 2 cars would pull out on the expressway to race and we'd all follow behind them and block the lanes and shoulders and slow down to a stop so they could run each other from a dead stop.That area wasn't all built up at that time and the Xway wasn't crowded. Towards the end of the summer a Detroit news crew came out,took pictures and printed them in the paper.We we're not able to meet there anymore....Ah, those were the days.......Mike

 

I remember reading a story about the Jimmy and the Silver Bullet in a Muscle Car Magazine back in the mid-80's. The story stated he ran 4 Cadillac mufflers to keep it quiet. Real street racing!

 

Yep...but it still wasn't all that quiet. Tough to muffle 487 inches of radical Hemi. Each muffler had it's own pipe, two on each side branching off each collector box into 3 1/2 inch pipes. Worked extremely well.

Bill

 

I wonder if anyone would happen to have this article on hand... It'd sure be interesting reading.

 

didnt he run like 4 mufflers on it??? Wicked car!

 

SOME OF YOU EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO READ THE ABOVE ARTICLE ON JIMMY ADDISON AND HIS SILVER BULLET GTX STREET RACER. WELL, HERE'S THE WHOLE STORY, WRITTEN AS A EULOGY TO MY OLD FRIEND JUST AFTER HIS DEATH JANUARY 6, 2006.

Bill Stinson

 

These are the last pics I have of Jimmy with the Bullet.





I hope you enjoyed this snippet of Jim's life. He was an amazing engine builder and the finest driver I ever saw!

Bill

 

Great memories, thank you! Do you know if this is the old Howard Johnson building with updates or at least the right location? Comparing it with an old photo I guess it could be the same with some modifications?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10+mi...noid=ywQrsV24fBNwEUiSZLycnw&cbp=12,93.24,,0,0

Do you know the exact location of the Ted Spehar/Jimmy Addison Sunoco on Woodward? In the corner of Taunton there is a Valvoline Quick Lube but the original address of 1775 Woodward has uneven numbers which would indicate the west side of Woodward? Quite confusing.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=33300...noid=mKjjQivItty2j94ykn_uUQ&cbp=12,43.91,,0,0

Was the Gulf (or Shell?) Ted Spehar later had where this parking lot is now?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14+Mi...oid=6UkmQd0M9aekmwAOZaUqwg&cbp=12,330.99,,0,0

Was there a certain stretch of I-696 that was used for racing?

I'll be visiting Detroit during the Dream Cruise and would love to see the original locations of Chrysler racing/engineering history. Any help appreciated!

 

I recently had the opportunity to buy back an early 1972 Plymouth Duster Pro Stocker (body in white)
that I owned in the mid 70's, and later sold in 1986. When I originally bought
it in 1976, I was told it was an abandoned project (sheet metal too thin after
acid dipping) belonging to Jimmy Addison.I replaced the quarter panels, roof and
doors with new Chrysler parts and raced it throughout the early 80's as a Super
Gas car. The chassis work was already done, it has stock frame rails (built to 1972 rules) pre tube frame.

I would like to restore it to the way Jimmy would have
built it, with period correct pieces etc. Here are some pics
of the car when I owned it back in the 80's. I updated it to 1976 trim when it
was rebuilt.

If anyone has a recollection or information about it I would really appreciate it!

 

Early 80's pics

 

Badass! What a Ruler!

Tim

 

Ah yes, the "Silver Bullet". That's one of my all time favorite dream cars. I remember when the articles first appeared. I thought it was the baddest mopars on the planet.

 

I cant help with any facts or info.....but if that is what you think it is.........WOW! What a score.

 

I traced the ownership back to Jimmy, but I am still searching for info regarding who built the chassis etc. Here are some pics at the big "D" in 1983.

 

That is awesome! Silver Bullet II

 

My Silver Bullet story Toledo, OH 1971

Addison showed up at "The Secor Hut".......the White Hut drive-in
on Secor Road.

The detailed Bullet was on an immaculate black Bock Dragstar open
trailer being pulled by a equally pristine black Dodge shortbed stepside
pickup......the whole outfit rolling on chrome Cragar S/S wheels.

With the car setting there on the trailer I had a close-up view of that
magnificient exhaust system. Those four 500 cu in Cadillac mufflers
were much larger than the modern "Flow-master" sized renditions would
have you believe.

Several other (4?) trailered outfits had followed him down from Detroit
hoping for some side action.

My friend Trigger's dark green '69 Camaro had a tunnel-rammed open-
chamber aluminum headed Rat motor and had, in fact, ran low tens in
NHRA modified eliminator at Indy the previous year. With it's "Grump
Lump" hood scoop it looked like Wally Booth's car in a darker shade of
green. It had a 3" exhaust sustem all the way back to behind and under
the rear end allowing some occasional street driving but tonight, it too
was on a trailer.

They jawed for hours and then the whole entourage, with at least a
hundred "spectators" in tow, moved towards a 2-lane country road in
southern Michigan.

It was after midnight when we pulled into the stone parking lot of a small
church. The pastor's house showed a hundred yards away under a single
bulb on a telephone pole in the yard. The assembled multitudes had
stopped on the shallow grass ditches at both sides of the road and were
waiting quietly in anticipation.

As those of us in the tow vehicles finally moved in unison to lower the
ramps and unchain the cars the loud "chop-chop-chop" sound of a police
helicopter rapidly approached with a spotlight scanning back and forth on
the ground. At the same time, all of the lights in the house came on. The
spectator's cars roared to life and scatterred like church mice. We threw
our ramps in the back of the pickups and left immediately.

Back in Toledo we went to a Sunoco station on the old East Side that was
closed. The manager was in our group and unlocked the doors. There was
talk of arranging another attempt on another night. By now it was 2:00 AM.

As the core group huddled and talked in the office, there was a deep rumble
outside. We were surprised as a fully uniformed Toledo police officer stepped
from a year-old Superbird. It became apparent that all of these guys knew
each other when he asked who won. He expressed disappointment after
learning that the race never went off.

He got into his Superbird and pulled into the street. He let out a big laugh
and yelled "Anybody want to go for top end"? Then he did a huge burnout
and smoked his way into the night.

We all made our ways home as the night turned to day. I didn't see Jimmy
Addison again until we took our Hemi Duster to Carlisle in 1997. He was there
with Harold Sullivan, and the Silver Bullet.

Now he's gone.


Secor Hut circa mid-70's

 

My cousin, Chris Proctor worked at the gas station where the Silver Bullet lived. He was good friends with Ted and Jimmy and told me he used to work on the car with them. I remember growing up on Woodward Avenue and I-75 and seeing the Bullet race. What a car???????????

 

My brother built a Hemi Duster with an all-aluminum Hemi as an Addison/Carlton tribute.