Trying to add a little more to the HAMB than a snappy one-liner, although I do enjoy some o' those... bear with me. Just thought I might try to post some pictures of the 32 roadster thats been in the family since 1960. Dad traded his 55 T-bird (pearl w/burgundy scallops, no colored pics) for it. The 32 originally came from California, brought to Memphis by a sailor who got stationed at the Naval Air Training base in Millington(which is just north of Memphis) . Marshall Robilio bought the roadster from the sailor in '48 (the whole Marshall/roadster story in another post of mine) The car was originally black, channeled, eyebrows over the back wheels removed, with a Merc flathead. Marshall changed it to light blue in the mid-50s. I found evidence of the light blue in the door jams when I was cleaning it before getting it dipped. Another neat thing that backs up the from California story was found when I was cleaning the insides of the doors out (leaves and the old tar paper material). In the bottom of the drivers door, I found the remnants of a Los Angeles Times newspaper. It was badly deteriorated, but I could read enough of it to find that it was from January 6, 1948. I couldnt believe it lasted that long, after all of the years of being in the weather, two or three paint jobs, and wet leaves laying on it. Dad said that people used to roll newspaper up and put them in the doors to keep the windows and stuff from rattling. I've got a small line on a Robilio in Memphis that Ive got to catch up with, to possibly get some more information on the pre1960 days of the car. Update: I did catch up with Marshal, which is a great story, I posted it in a second part to this story, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/my-32-story-part-ii-48-to-60-w-pics.268369/ The car got into 'big block' drag race trim in the late 60's. Stan Summerfield, a guy who worked with dad, talked him into racing it. Stan kinda took the lead on the deal, since we were getting into race horses at the time, just not enough hours or money to go around. Mom and Dad both worked at Kimberly-Clark, Dad a mechanic and Mom in the payroll department, just a working class family.(the 'play when your hurt, work when your tired' living ethic) Having a drag car around was really something special. The earliest picture I have of it is Dad (in the hat) and Stan standing beside it at Stans mom or grandmothers house in Memphis, 1968. These pictures are just inside the staging lanes at Lakeland Dragstrip, out east of Memphis. A short story on the name the car got (a name weve called it forever), Zot. It came from the B.C. comic strip. It was the sound the anteater made when attacking its prey. It was such a popular thing in the 60's that the University of California Irvine named the anteater as its mascot. Heres a clip from their web page: On November 30, 1965, the Anteater was officially chosen in a student election as the mascot of UC Irvine, and "Zot!" the cry that an anteater was imagined to make when attacking its prey, became the campus battle cry. The choice was hailed for its originality, winning over the second place choice "None of these" and the more common if less imaginative Eagles, Unicorns and Seahawks. Inspired by Johnny Hart's comic strip, "B.C.," the anteater was, at first, not very well received by member of campus administration who felt it was too "far out" and undignified to represent the campus. Some speculated that the anteater would not last. But the student body was behind the long-nosed, furry mammal all the way, and 40 years later, the Anteaters still prevail. So Zot just seemed to stick. The car was pretty quick in the 1/4mi., so the name was also appropriate. The best time that I remember written in shoe polish on the cowl of the car was a 9.27. The last time written on the car, still legible before I got it dipped, was a 10.60. I talked to Stan not too long ago and he said that it had ran better than the 9.27. From what Stan could remember on the motor: It was 427 chevy, .015 over, open chamber chevy race heads, LS-7 factory cam(about a .610 lift or so), and about 13.5 compression. Pete Jackson fuel injection, 4-speed at first, then a turbo 400 from TCI, dual point Mallory, roller rockers, 4.56 Pontiac big car rear. He says the best speed in the quarter, that he could remember, was 134.86mph (this was in the late 60's). These are out behind the house. August 1969 Me (on the drivers side) and brother Dave. I was 9 at the time. Dad gettin home from work A little track tunin. Then it got a new paint job and new name, Outtasight. You can still see the name Outtasight on the doors today. Thats one of the reasons I havent put any paint on it. It just brings back good memories to actually see it there, it makes the memories real. It was painted silver to match Stans 68 corvette (w/427) tow vehicle. Can you just see if that pulled up today: 427 68 vette towing an A/SR hot rod on a two wheeled trailer??!! What a pair! It even had the lace paint job on the doors. The trim and pinstriping were metallic blue. The blue thats on the grill shell today is the blue from the Zot days. The silver just faded and peeled away over the years. The car ran at the tracks in the Midsouth, around Memphis; Lakeland, Halls, Carlisle, and more I dont remember. You might remember Lakeland from the movie Two-lane Blacktop. It was the dragstrp they stopped at on their cross-country ride. I remember seeing some of the cars that showed up in those scenes at the track. Notice the wing at the starting line in the movie. Its right beside Zot leaving the line in the black and white photo here(pullin the front wheels no less!!). Here it is going back together with the flathead, kinda back to its roots. Some may disagree with this direction, but Im having a blast being able to drive it around more. It may change again, some day in the future, who knows. One thing is for certain, its part of the family. There are memories of it just like any other person in the family. Its the part of the HAMB that I enjoy, the people that have a history and fond memories to share about their cars they still have today. How the cars kind of aimed their life in different directions at different times, like the people we meet because of them. Im definitely not a buy and sell kinda guy. Its a comfortable feeling riding around with an old friend. First trip out, and we rode in the rain for about 3hrs At the Round Up (below) in '07 (I believe), next to Jack Marinelli's roadster. Thanks Jack, for lettin the Georgia boy hang out with yall! Nice folks, Jack and the Steves (Zaring and Dale) Went to the Round Up a few years in a row, a BLAST!!!!! A shot of 'er doin' some dirt draggin' late in '07. What a blast!!! Thanks for the read if ya got down this far.
Awesome pics and story! That pic of you and your brother is neat, you guys must've thought you were pretty cool! I like that you put the car back on the street. It's more user friendly than an injected big block rocketship. That thing must've been a handful!!
great story , you and i are about the same age and as a kid we used to go to memphis on a regular basis , my dad also ran a few cars in memphis and north Ms. i cant say as i remember your dads ride but im almost certain its possible.. great pics and story , thanks for sharing that and am looking forward to seeing the car completed..
You could have restored it to it's '69 form....... & wouldn't have been able to hop in it & ride for hours at a time. I love the direction you've taken. Also love the fact that it's still in the family. The Pizza Hut sponsorship is great! I bet you ate good on the way home from the track. Neat car. Neat story. JH
Nice, I love a fully detailed thread, especially ones that involve family history. I like where the car is going as well as the truck. Great post.
Great story! Love it. Thanks for taking the time to post it! Looking forward to seeing your car again at the Roundup.... Malcolm .... a Corvette tow vehicle... unreal.
Cool story! Lucky man to have the car in the family for so long. Sure wish that I had my car from '62. I was stationed at NATTC Memphis in '65-'66. Went to Lakeland, at least I think that it was Lakeland, a couple of times. Bill
That's got to give you a warm feeling knowing the car is still in the family after all of those years. To have one of Henry's origonals and surviving this long is rare indeed. Especially being raced AND street driven. It has kinda come full circle with the flathead going back in. Do you still have the big block that it was raced with? Frank
Wow! That's my old stomping grounds!I use to go to Lakeland before they had the wing and the bridge. I'm wondering if that might have been Marshall Robillio? He's still around and lively as can be.He's 80 and still riding motorcycles.He ran a beautiful B/R in the 60's. A sad note is that Lakeland is going to be finally turned into a subdivision.It was WAY out in the country back then.It hasn't been used as a drag strip in years.I sure had some great memories there. Great job on the car.I think you've done a great job on its "evolution".
Expect a big crowd at the Round Up! I know I'm looking forward to seeing this piece of history in person. Tjanks for putting it on here. jerry
Thanks for the kind words guys. It sure takes time to try to do it right. I can really appreciate what some of the folks here go through to get the really good posts up. Thanks Ryan, for havin' this place to share what we love to do. A couple o' guys have asked about the motor, I don't know where it ended up. I have to ask Stan the next time I e-mail him. Yeah, sad news on Lakeland Dragstrip. They're finally gonna build houses on the land. I heard that they were going to leave the strip as a road, but you know how that can change. Again, thanks for all the nice comments. I'm just a regular guy like everybody else. I'm sure there's more good stories out there. See y'all at the Round Up
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