Hey guys, thought I'd post here in case you haven't checked out the post on the classified section. My friend, Bob Mehler is looking for any info on his old car. Car was originally built by a guy in Poulsbo, WA by the name of Willy Gillette. It was silver, with the straight axle setup and cross-ram. It was raced here locally in Bremerton, WA. Then sold to a guy in Portland, OR. in the late 60's. Bob Mehler took a drive south and came across the car there in Portland where he bought and took home to Tacoma,WA and rebuilt the car into the race car you see here. Bob raced the car in the late 60's to 1973 or so before selling to a guy in Canada. (See attached ad from The National Dragster classifieds 1973) Bob raced the car in the NW at Bremerton, Puyallup, Shelton, and Arlington Raceways. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
This was Bob's first '55 he built - before the Dirty Ole Man '55. This was around 1965. What a clean street machine! He reluctantly sold it to a guy in the service - then later went looking for another '55.
as usual building another gasser , 66 nova and fixing to repair my old black car that got crashed, also a new 52 willys gassser for me for next yr... good see ya on here man. sam
You might want to try posting this on byron's gasser madness website. There is a lost and found section. Good luck on your search.
I know of another "Dirty ol Man". That would be me! Hey Doggie, What up? Give me a ring when you think of it. Are you two getting it together for tuesday? Lemay's this weekend? B.
I think I saw that car in the mid 60's at SIR ( PIR or whatever the name was then) or Puyallup drag strip. Once in a while one like that showed up on the Renton Loop in 1966 to shake things up a bit.
I recently discovered these gems from Bremerton Raceway of the Dirty Ole Man as it looked when Willie owned it. I'm thinking this was from July 65 to maybe '66 sometime. Many thanks to my friend, Ritchie Adamski who graciuosly let me scan some pics out of an old photo album. There are many more and I'll post as I get time. It would be great if anyone can add any history to these shots.
Bob Mehler loaned me his old photo album and here's a couple shots of The Dirty Ole Man '55 back in '65-'66. It was sold by Willie Gillette painted silver. It ended up in Portland, OR soon after, where Bob purchased in '66. He ran this way for a couple years before painting it orange, and going Hilborn injection. Check out the headers and the hood scoops (used with the cross-ram at the time). Still looking for info on the cars whereabouts?
Fantastic shots!!! I absolutely love it when these photos find there way out of closed up family albums. Good luck on your search!
Been in contact with the OP about another Orange '55 out in the hinterlands of Oregon. He made some calls and it's not the same car, but he dug up (and shared) a bunch of info about it anyway. Too cool. The man is serious. Good Luck.
Thanks guys...Been getting quite a few tips, mostly from guys that remember the car from its days before Bob Mehler bought in '66. Kinda cool. Got a tip from a guy in Port Townsend, WA that remembered the car when it was owned by Ron McFarland. Before that it appears it was owned and built partially by a guy named Bob Pontius (he supposedly built those crazy headers seen while it was silver) - during his ownership car was maroon/white. Still waiting for calls from these guys but it has been great to track the history. Hopefully someone will remember the car post '74. I got some ads running on Craigslist in WA, OR, CA and BC, Canada...
Here is your gasser. I remember seeing this on the street here in Prince George British Columbia http://www.canadianrodder.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9019&highlight=chevy+gasser
I don`t think I can help with the 55, but I do remember seeing a "Dirty Old Man" Vega Pro Stocker at Mission raceway in the mid 70`s, same racer?
In 1966 I was working at a tire store in McMinnville,Oregon. The "Dirty Ole Man" showed up in town, it was silver and the guy had just started working at the Chevy dealer in town. The owners name was Ron McFarland, and he was looking for some slicks. He ran it at the McMinnville Dragstrip, that is all I remember.
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