Here is Gene, who just turned 80. He raced his roadster today-- He did 150 on his rookie run.... When meeting up with these boys that had the early roadster he asked about their engine trouble then looked what they were running (early Cadillac V8 with 2 pot set up) and all he said was "Oh a Cadillac motor......not for me..." it was hilarious to see the look on their faces, Gene walking up on them like that...... How many of you are going to be racing when you are 80 years old???
im not sure if Gene ever left the lake, hes has been racing "the thing" for many years now. i helped him in the pits at el mirage last year when i was out there, all the guys that hangout around him are a great bunch. he is one of my hero's and a true legend, we are all very lucky to still have him. and his new roadster looks great. i met the guy that owns that roadster with the cadillac motor at back to the beach this year, nice guy and his car is spot on. i think there was a picture of it in the last Rod & Kulture, along with his other roadster. on another note, keep an eye on your lady friends when your around Gene thanks for the pictures, i really wanted to be out there this weekend and they helped ease the pain of missing it. Erik
Epic! Congradulations Gene & crew. Gos to show that if you do what you love doing, you never really work a day in your life! That car looks great. Nice paint I like the blue (refreshing) looks like his signature fade at the top. Also notice the numbers he's running 7532 that's in honor of the 75th year of the 32. FYI I think he has his workshop this month in Mojave. I took the last cl*** out there in April...that was one of the most rewarding expirences of my life. Do yourselves a favor and take this cl*** its worth every penny. Guys like Gene are one in a million and he's one of the most approachable, helpful and humble cats I have ever encountered. We should all strive to be more like him(80).... I just don't know if i could ever quit drinking and smokin' Godspeed on Sunday Go Windy Go!!!! ___the Trout P.S.....Nice work Charlie![/SIZE]
A friend of mine took some pics of the roadster at one of the workshops. he said the frame was the belly pan, a giant chunk of steel. He also had a pic of the engine, donated by ford-experimental- something like that. I would love to see some build specs of this car.
Gene races at almost every single meet. Bonneville as well...He never stopped....And doesn't look like he's going to. He told me last year he wanted to take some of his records back......Good luck Gene!
Here's one more of Gene and the machine after the winds picked up, as well as a few others that were there.
Gene is awsome. He showed us pictures of the car at the Midland workshop. They are using a VW front end in the rear of the car with trailng arms coming off it. I ask if it worked well and he said he would let us know. Looks like it worked pretty well. Also told us he was shooting for 240 on the Salt when they get there.
Thanks for posting the pics of #66 - Doug Robinson is mentioned in the Blairs Speed Shop aerticle in the latest TRJ - the man is a genious!
Here's some the only two picture I took when I took the hammer welding cl***. You could see the steel plates that make up a "legal" belly pan & the VW front beam the bottom beam (spring) was split to clear the driveline. ...Gene has magic elves like Santa!! http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x254/photochopper_work/IMG_8677.jpg http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x254/photochopper_work/IMG_8639-1.jpg
Gene is a stand up guy. My fuel pump on my shoebox took a **** on me at el mirage the run before last, and without a second thought or even much more then an introduction he magic'd a pump out of his trailer and i was back on the road. Thanks gene,
The Jalopy Journal
