Folks Of Interest Al Maynard crossed the finish line last night,.. RIP my Friend

I got a call this morning,.. Al finally lost his fight with cancer. As long back as I can remember my involvement in Hot Roding, Al has been there,... I seen him at the registration table at Autorama set up last year,... When I asked him about his health, and said, I herd you weren't feeling so well,... he gave me that goofy smile and said,... "Don't believe everything you hear".

The dedication, involvement and contributions Al gave to Hot Rodding,.. could easily fill a book or two. At Hershey and Carlyle he always had the best stuff A sign and a saying,..
"Honestly I'm not making a dime on this stuff"

Once again,... I am sorry to say the world of Hot Rodding became a little smaller last night,... The knowledge, ability, stories, whit, wisdom & personality of a truly Great Guy,... Is forever silence to us,....

But Al will live on in our hearts and minds with stories, jokes he told, things he taught us,.. and a life lived with true Hot Rod p***ion,....

So-Long my Friend,..... You'll not be forgotten.



And here is Al when he was inducted into "the Circle of Champions" At the Detroit Autorama, Last February.

 

****!......

 

R.I.P. Al......

 

Sad to hear....R.I.P. Al

 

a long fight.R.I.P.

 

Sorry to hear this. R.I.P. Al.

 

Sad to see we have lost another "brother". R.I.P. Mr. Maynard.

 

Sad to hear.

 

i hope some of the detroit area members will post Al's history. it is impressive. R.I.P. Al.

 

May you rest in peace Mr. Maynard and my condolences to your family.

The picture of Al racing the '57 Chevy shows another great racer, Harry Luzader, in the other lane.

 

I judged a lot of shows with Al, always a gentleman and fun to be around.

RIP

Mick

 

Sorry to hear this.

Rest in Peace Al.

Charlie

 

I had a chance to meet Al and go up to his place a couple times in the mid 90's, nice guy and a ton of rare chevy parts. RIP.

 

RIP Al super great guy to talk with always full of our game!! god speed

 

Al was a real good guy. I remember watching his 57 run in the photo above and told him it was always my favorite 57, which it was. The last time I spoke to Al was in 2010 after I had finished a battle or two myself with cancer and we wished each other well. Cancer has claimed way too many good people. I am sure he is in a better place albeit I still shake my head-Jim

 

condolences to the fam r.i.p.

 

Rest in peace Al. I'm glad to call you my friend. dwight

 

Damn! I knew he wasn't feeling well lately, but, he kept sayin' he was fine...Al was always very cool to me, and always made it a point to say hello, even if he was busy and couldn't talk...his memory of Chevrolet part numbers was amazing!

 

Al Maynard Jr. was the older of two boys born to Albert And Elsie Maynard. Fondly referred to as "Big Al", His interest in cars began when he was only 12 years old when he purchased his first car, A 1932 Ford Tudor from Mason Iron & Metal.

Then in 1957, for the pricey sum of $20.00 plus $40.00 shipping, Al purchased a 1932 Ford 5 Window coupe from a Traverse city Mi. Junkyard. The coupe was equipped with a hopped up "B" 4 Cyl., a 39 Trans, A roll bar and a cut out rear window.

In 1958 That coupe was entered in the Detroit Autorama, at the State Fair Grounds, Big Al showed it again in 1961 when The Detroit Autorama found a new venue called Cobo Hall,... However this time it featured a 270 H.P. Corvette Engine and 4 speed transmission.

Al eventually sold the coupe, but a few years later repurchased the Deuce Coupe, And it sits quietly this day in his garage,...

Big Al has supervised the judging of more than 150 ISCA shows in the U.S. and Canada, Al has been the chairman of the Grand Rapids Autorama,.. as well as serving as Co-Chairman and also Chairman of the Detroit Autorama for 6 years.

Al competed on a national level Drag Racing in the NHRA,.. In 1968 Al became a member of the MHRA "Compe***ion Spe******ts". And was active in the MHRA seamlessly until just recently.

Please note: this is a "Readers Digest" version of Al's amazing life in the world of Hot Rods,... I will really miss seeing Al at events, swap meets, and the annual MHRA Banquette,....

 

The last time I saw Al was at that very 1958 Autorama when I had a '46 Lincoln coupe entered. That was many years ago.
R.I.P. AL. Maynard

 

Al beat Harry in that race. He pulled a perfect light. in the original picture the yellow and green bulbs were both lit and one wheel of Al's Chevy was already in the air. Incredible win and Al deserved it big time. He'll be missed.

 

I had always seen Al at Carlisle and Hershey. I would stop by his spaces to see what cool gems he had, but never spoke to him. A few years ago he bought a few parts from me and sat on my tailgate for a half hour, invited me to stop by his shop for a visit as if we knew each other a long time. He left his mark!!

 

Sad to hear. RIP Al.

 

Al was my friend and I will miss him

 

Sorry to hear about Al. I met him when I lived in Detroit in the 60's and never forgot his p***ion for Deuces and Chevrolet parts. He will be missed.
Lynn

 

Al and I were friends since 1961. God bless you Al. May you rest in peace.....Mike Farris

 

Al helped me out with some parts on a couple projects. He was an amazing guy with tons of knowledge. God bless his family!

Mike

 

This is becoming a far too often occurence lately...sad.

 

Yeah,... it really is,.. Just to think how much knowledge and history has been lost in recent years,... This is why it's so important to share all of this with the young guys coming up,.. don't let the part of history that we can p*** on get lost forever.

Share what you have,.. If its no one in particular,... Share it here on the HAMB,... I truly believe "The Real Deal" young Hot Rodders would love to hear it. (IMHO)

 

R.I.P. My friend.

Guys I beg of you all, especially you guys who grew up doing this in the 50's 60's and 70's p*** on your knowledge no matter how angry or bad the current generation seems. Don't give up on them/us and p*** on not only your knowledge but your morals and respect.