Anyone out there have pics. of the"Jolly Dolly" 1939 Chevy Coupe Gasser

Fred -- you are correct about Bob saving everything he took out of the Jolly Dolly when he installed the Willys front axle and cut out the firewall to allow for the 10% engine set back. That is why I have the original firewall, dash cluster, bumpers, radiator, etc. in boxes in the attic above my garage. Valuable items which belong with the car.

 

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread!!! And a very special Thanks to Dave and Charlie, for all of the info,pics. and stories! What a great G***er,with History. Thanks Again , Steve

 

hey dave mark moore here ,what ever happened to the world of wheels and the ramrod car shows ,remember seeing this car there every year !

 

The Ram Rods Car Show at the Wasington D.C. National Guard Armory eventually moved to the D.C Convention Center downtown. World of Wheels took it over somewhere along the line, but the Ram Rods still ran it for them up until just a few years ago. The Ram Rods are still in existence in suburban Maryland.

You are right, the Jolly Dolly was in that show every year for a long time. That's why nobody else ever won 1st Place in that catagory!!

Good to hear from you Mark. DH

 

Heres a picture of it from Aquasco in about 66, my Dad was good friends with Bob,and I grew up around him, Harry Peepers, and my "Uncle" Rufus Boswell or "Chief " as I called him, back in the 70's. Its so great to see her in the good hands of Charlie Gauthier and to hear of its restoration to the "Glory Days" of drag racing, someday I would love to build a clone of "Chief's" "LiL Bit" 39 2dr sedan, its on the bucket list anyway. The Jolly Dolly, LiL Bit, and Harry's 39 coupe were always the cleanest cars there, heres a pic of LiL Bit from the same time.

 

........Three of the most beautiful cars to ever make a p*** down the drag strip

 

........Three of the most beautiful cars to ever make a p*** down the drag strip

Yes they were, well at least one is still around for people to see, I wish Harry's was, but after he p***ed on the car disappeared, here is another pic of Jolly Dolly I found.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

Here's Harry Peepers 6 cyl g***er. years later he dropped a SBC in it and drove it to all the shows in the 80s-90s. It was a "clean piece" too. I still marvel that they both had tags and were street legal when they raced them. Harry was a great guy too.

 

Yes, Harry was a Cl*** Act and as Bob, truly missed , I will have to comb through Dads old photo box and scan some photos, there is pics of the Jolly Dolly, Harry's coupe from the 80's Southern Maryland Street Rod days, and the LiL Bit before and after the wreck. Brian

 

I'd love to see some Southern Md St rod pictures. I'm sure I would recognize a bunch of them. I was there.

 

Did the Jolly Dolly have fibergl*** parts? The front fenders do not have the lower Vents in them!

 

I have to go to my Mom's and drag out my Dad's old picture boxes and just dig around to see what I find, the old Polariod One Step pictures that I took when I was a kid are all but faded now, I will see what treasure I can find, I'm sure you and my Dad knew the same people, he was in it a long time.

Pro39, I think the version with the one piece hood and scoop is a fibergl*** lift off with fibergl*** fenders, but the last time I saw it in the 80's it was all original steel, but it was more of a street rod at that point. Brian

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Thanks Brian, I noticed that the front fenders had no vents in them. Steve(pro39)

 

In response to PRO39, the Jolly Dolly was all steel until 1963 when fibergl*** fenders were added (no slots for the bumper brackets). Then in 1966, a one-piece fibergl*** hood with a scoop was added. Interestingly, at various times the scoop faced frontwards and other times it faced rearward (Bob obviously was trying different things).

Then in 1969 when the blown and injected big block went into the car, Bob created a one-piece fibergl*** front end.

None of those original fibergl*** parts are known to exist. The steel fenders and hoods that are currently on the car are the original ones.

 

Thanks for the info Jolly dolly. I have a source for fibergl*** parts locally(Michigan), if you are ever in need. Thanks for preserving the old girl! Steve

 

I recently recieved a great picture of Bob Bernardon standing behind the Jolly Dolly with his Jolly Dolly jacket at the drag strip in Petersburg, VA. It appears this picture was taken in late 1960 or early 1961.

Check out the large aluminum fuel tank in the trunk. And, do not forget the white socks and black loafers!

That is Jim Davis' 1932 B/Gas coupe parked next to the Jolly Dolly.

 

Very cool. Love those old black and white photos.

 

I'd love to have that jacket! I love the black and whites too, I have been going through some of Dad's picture albums and found some pics of Bob's garage working on the car and of the "LiL Bit" sedan and coupe in Chiefs garage with my Mom and Dad working on it, and on the track, I have to get them scanned and put on a disc then get them on here to share, I still have a bunch more to look through. Thanks for the photo Charlie... Brian

 

Brian,

Appreciate you going through the old pictures. Is it possible to get a copy of a disc with any and all pictures of the Jolly Dolly to add to my collection? Send me an email at JollyDolly@aol.com and I can give you a mailing address.

Thanks, Charlie

PS The jacket is hanging on the driver's seat in the Jolly Dolly -- exactly where it should be.

 

For those who like the old black & white pictures, here is one which was printed on 8-24-57 (probably taken a few weeks earlier) of Bob Bernardon and the Jolly Dolly and some of his friends -- probably members of the Gear Grinders of Hillside, MD.

 

Here is the picture I forgot to add above.

 

Hey Charlie, I have a few more boxes to go through but when I get them scanned I will email them to you, no problem. That is so cool you have that jacket, and its right where it needs to be. Love that picture too, what a time to be around. Brian

 

Here is some pics I found, more still to look through, some of these are of the "LiL Bit" coupe after the sedan crashed, the first one is the "Jolly Dolly" on the trailer at Aquasco 1968, the second is LiL Bit and Jolly Dolly in the pits and ready to run each other at 75-80 1969, the rest is the LiL Bit coupe...More to come, Brian

 

The Spring issue of Rod & Kulture magazine printed some vintage pictures of the Jolly Dolly in the Letters to the Editor section.

 

It doesn't get any better than that fine rig. Thanks for the nice coverage of the great guy and his great hot rod. ~sololobo~

 

Charlie has done a fantastic job keeping the Jolly Dolly original with the right pieces. He was definately the right man to own this piece of drag history. I glad that I have got a chance to meet him through the S&S racing team. They are the best bunch of guys you could get to know.
Charlie has given me some tips,and alot of inspiration on my current 39 Stude g***er project. We hope that next year we could get the two cars together at one of the g***er reunions in 2013.

 

Heres a couple shots of the coupe at Man***es a couple years ago.

 

Here they are.......

 

Randy, thanks for the kind comments. I must tell people to take a serious look at the Stude you are restoring, since it is being done RIGHT. For those who saw the car (still in the middle of restoration) at the York event in July, you already know this will be a WINNER when completed. I can not wait to be parked next to it!!!!

 

Thanks......shes coming along real good. We have the frame and suspention all done and are working at getting it in the body shop in the next couple of weeks. The goal is to get it done by March of 2013. Hope to see ya at one of the shows soon.