Hello, Wow, our kind of place. When my brother and I started our SBC build for our dual purpose hot rod, 1940 Willys Coupe, we had no idea that we would end up wearing wynns friction proofing jackets at Lion’s Dragstrip. The photo shows that the people who like and support drag racing have similar commonalities. The bright color Wynn’s Friction Proofing Jacket is one version. We were now down to one Wynn's Friction Proofing jacket. I used it to wear when we raced our desert racing motorcycles in that dusty environment. Back before the invasion of England with USA drag racers in 1964, as teenagers with our first drag racing build, were told by an old hot rod guy, dress to impress if you think you want sponsors to help out in the future. So, we still did not like white pants, so our garb was “clean” Levis, white t-shirts and a colorful Wynns Friction Proofing Jacket that was sure to catch someone’s eye. There had to be some limits for a teenager. At first, it was a little over the top, with its bright colors. Yes, we used Wynn’s Friction Proofing oil additive, so the jacket and product were a good part of the racing pits scene. At Lion’s Dragstrip, it is warm to hot during the day. But, every afternoon, the West winds are prevalent and brings coastal moisture to the whole area. White Penney’s T-shirts/Levis were the attire of the day, but after lunch, we all knew what was coming. So, these jackets were not only a little flashy, but also warm and lightweight. We did get inquiries when we wore those jackets. The Wynn’s factory rep was at the drags and made note of us wearing the jackets. It also helped that the Wynn’s Sales guy was at our local auto parts store when we were in there buying more sparkplugs and saw our jackets. This led to the Olympic Auto Parts Store becoming a big part of sponsorship as we moved to the next stage of the drags. My brother and I were on the other end, Levis and white t shirts, with a blue nylon jacket to top off the look. The style was based on the local teenage attire and it just played big time at the dragstrip, too. We still wanted our Levis to stay clean. We did have work Levis and presentation Levis. If and when we knew we had to work in our backyard garage, we wore our “work” Levis. When we were all ready to race, we wore our dress Levis to Lion’s Dragstrip. Like most, we all thought that little to none in the “under the car” repairs was going to happen. If it did, then a large blanket was spread out to keep us clean. Presentation was everything, at the drags and cruising around in clean Levis. If our mom had her way, there would have been two extra Levis (two extra white t shirts) packed in the trunk of the Impala for emergencies or the wandering splatter of oil/grease. Jnaki We were told by an old hot rod guy, dress to impress if you think you want sponsors to help out in the future. So, we still did not like white pants, so our garb was “clean” Levis, white t-shirts and a colorful Wynns Friction Proofing Jacket that was sure to catch someone’s eye. No, we were not sponsored by Wynn’s. That was as far as we would go without wearing white outfits. But it did catch the eye of the STP oil rep wandering around the pits talking to various racers. He wanted to know if we were sponsored by Wynns. He was impressed with our Willys build and results, so he was thinking about helping out… We were given those jackets by our friend from Los Angeles, along with several cases of the product that we used and gave away to our friends as part of our promotional speed shop ploy. We used the dark tint face shield for the desert racing rides. But, at the drags, we used clear ones or none at all. Then, after our drag racing days came to a sudden end, I used the colorful jacket on our desert racing motorcycle adventures. It came in handy when stuck out in the empty desert 45 miles from the pits, with nothing other than dust and scrub bushes for friends. The color could be seen by other racers who were willing to stop to offer some help. YRMV As far as longevity of our builds, we used STP and Wynn’s Friction Proofing oil additives in all of our motors. It was based on longevity and the simple suggestion from Reath Automotive. Luckily, our own expert mechanic from Los Angeles also knew the value of Wynns Friction Proofing and gave us several cases of the stuff. It worked and our motors lasted, what seems like forever, without any needs of a rebuild or repairs. But as usual, those items are considered by some to be a medicine man’s, carnival show product with little or nothing gained. So, their own story goes or the rumor mill abounds again. YRMV Could we do without them in our modified motors? Probably. Did we? No, as the general consensus of top engine builders were using the same products, so it must be good. Did they use the products as a promotion for the companies? That remains to be seen. We tore apart the original 283 SBC from months of racing and the several times, cruising around. The motor was spotless with no burns, marks or lots of wear. The internals were sold as we had to get new “blower” modified parts in the next 292 SBC build. So, the oil additive must have worked on the powerful motor when we were racing weekly. STP... yes, Wynn's Friction Proofing... yes... But when reading the local Drag News Weekly paper, advertisements do hit the spot with their come-ons and catchy slogans. The less brand name companies did not have the top racers in the ads, as it would have to be a paid sponsorship. So, a catchy slogan was the hope that someone would buy the oil additive over the name brands we all see everywhere. “NOTHING LIKE IT!” (with a misspelled letter/word, the product may give a different connotation…)
The Jalopy Journal
