John Walsh (and his younger brother, Tommy) built & campaigned this '32 Highboy Roadster in the late '50s: excerpt from the 1957 National (Oakland) Roadster Show program from the November 1957 issue of Custom Rodder magazine circa 1958 at Kingdon Drag Strip in Lodi, CA excerpt from the 1959 National (Oakland) Roadster Show program
In the mid '80s, John became a partner in the famous #333 (Dennis) VARNI ~ (Tom) WALSH ~ (John) WALSH ~ (Tom) CUSACK Bonneville Roadster: It wasn't until 1991 (at the 43rd Annual Bonneville National Speed Trials) that John got some "seat time" in the multi-record setting #333 (Chet) THOMAS ~ (Tom) WALSH ~ (John) WALSH ~ (Tom) CUSACK Bonneville Roadster. Running in the B/BSTR (Street Roadster) cl***, John ran a two-way average of 213.853 MPH . . . setting a new cl*** record . . . and gaining him entry into the prestigious Bonneville 200MPH Club: NOTE: My father's urn was strapped behind John during those record setting runs: . . . later that same day, my father's ashes were ****tered over the flats.
In the '60s,'70s, & '80s; John was the Auto Shop teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, CA: . . . and HAMBer David @gtopillado Pillado (whose Deuce Hiboy was a 2026 AMBR Contender) was one of Mr. Walsh's students
My condolences to you, his family and friends. Shop cl*** must have been interesting with him as teacher!
This is really a sad day for me. I have wonderful memories of Mr. Walsh at Sequoia High School teaching all us kids basic mechanics and introducing us all to the Hot Rod world. He taught my Uncle Tom when he went to Sequoia in late 60's and me in late 80's. I remember Brizio coming to Auto Shop (Its what we called it) to visit him and we talked about that at the AMBR this year. When he polished a part under the dash of his 32...we as kids asked "why are you doing that? No one can see it...." He answered "Because I know it's not". A simple statement that made a profound impact on me being a car painter the rest of my life. He was my car HERO and I'm grateful to have known him and get a nod and a smile when he was pleased with me. Rest in peace Mr Walsh and thank you for everything. Dave Pillado
He is one of my heroes too, always impeccable cars and a record setter to boot. I remember the protests about body mods on the ‘32, it was the missing windshield stop on the cowl that was the issue. A w/s stop was ‘gl***ed up and pop riveted to the cowl for the next year’s event where the record was promptly reset by the team again. Godspeed Mr. Walsh.
Larry - We remember the protests as well . . . and FYI, the "cowl windshield stop" was actually aluminum (not fibergl***) . . . you can see it in my photo from 1990 (before they painted it): . . . and here's a photo of the #333 Bonneville Roadster in the "75th Anniversary Deuce Room" at the 2007 GNRS . . . that shows the "cowl windshield stop" painted:
I appreciate the correction John, I had seen it painted in Street Rodder magazine and ***umed a fibergl*** one was made.
I remember being at the West Coast Nats in Pleasanton several years ago. This guy was showing his buddy all the trailered cars and he points out John's 3 window. Says to his buddy "see, he didn't drive, there's no bugs on it. I glance up at the registration card on the windshield.....John Walsh, Pleasanton CA....shook my head.
Here's John's obituary on : John Banning Walsh 1936 - 2026 With love and deep sorrow, we announce the peaceful p***ing of John Banning Walsh, 89 years old, on July 21, 2026, at his home in Pleasanton, California with his family by his side. John was born in Syracuse, Kansas to the late Thomas John Berman Walsh and the late Sylvia Isabelle McGlew Walsh. John was a remarkable man and lived his life p***ionately with his family, friends and a deep caring for his country. He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Mundee Jo Holtzclaw, from Vallejo, California, his sons, Brett Garett and Brady Paul and his brother Thomas of Danville, California. He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Lo***o of Arvada, Colorado and his parents. John was raised in Alameda, California where he attended grammar school and graduated from Alameda High School. He was dedicated to his career as an instructor of automotive technology with a master's degree, from San Jose State University. He treasured his lifelong friendships with the men of Delta Upsilon and looked forward to his summers as a tour guide in San Francisco with Gray Line Tours. He enjoyed alpine skiing and he dearly loved his dogs. His p***ion for fast cars began when he was a boy working on them with his younger brother, Thomas. He was a member of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club with a record speed of 213.853 MPH. John couldn't p*** up a jar of mayonnaise, a cube of ****er, or a carton of ice cream. Doing things the right way brought meaning to his life. He tirelessly worked on refurbishing our houses with a natural ap***ude. It seemed there wasn't anything he couldn't do or wouldn't do for those he loved. The family will hold a private memorial gathering after cremation. John will be deeply missed and forever remembered. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to your favorite charity. To send flowers or plant a memorial tree in memory, please visit our flower store.
My brother (Paul) and Fred Taleghani (Mr Walshs' student teacher aide) had dinner this Saturday night and we talked about Mr Walsh. Fun times at Auto Shop! Here's a true story. A student was working on his brakes and cl*** was ending. He figured he'd finish the car another day and left the car on the lift. As we were closing the shop Mr Walsh said "lower that car on the lift, you never know there might be an earthquake". We did as instructed. As we drove to Taco Bell the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit. We also would do a full tune up on our cars with Auto Shop equipment Friday Night before we would go out and drag race on Canada Rd. He let us have total access to the shop when we needed it. Fred still says " I still can't believe we had so much access to the shop" my response was " he saw himself in us as kids". He was a AWESOME teacher.
@gtopillado - Thanks for sharing the stories about your Auto Shop teacher . . . I wonder if "Mr. Walsh" knew his students were drag racing on Cañada Road? . . . I'm guessin' John did considering Cañada Rd has been a popular location for street racing since the '50s: excerpts from the San Mateo Times, March 11th 1957 issue
Was popular when I was young. So was 3rd Ave in San Mateo and also at the end of Great America Pkwy in Santa Clara. Was a long time ago.... I'm sure he knew but what could he do about it? As far as us, we were "good kids", just gear heads. Racing up there just faded away as the next generation wanted Miata's instead of Mustangs. Fred was telling me how pissed off he was with the protest with the cowling issue on his 32', I don't remember it. He said "I heard him complain about it daily" lol. We use to joke about the red station wagon that he used to push the Roadster to speed. That car was so rusted because of the salt. The wagon was always at the shop too. Fond memories.
D'oh! . . . I almost forgot about the "Nerd-Mobile": Speed Week 1992: Yours truly (hard at work) standing on top of the "Nerd-Mobile" push wagon ... with Chet Thomas strapped into the ****pit of the #333 A / Blown STreet Roadster ... and crew members Ray Lenz & Dennis Dobbeck giving Chet a peptalk The "Nerd-Mobile" pushing the #333 A/BSTR off the starting line The "Nerd-Mobile" pushing the #333 A/BSTR back to the pits
. . . .just a correction -- The 1991 C/STR record of 213.853 on the tablet is incorrect, probably with the cl***ification shown. Probably C/BSTR -- Blown. The first C/STR (Unblown) to go over 200 was in 2003 -- San Berdoo Roadsters, 201.689.
@Stan Back - The "tablet" is indeed incorrect . . . the "hand-painted show sign" should actually read B/BSTR: B engine displacement: 372 cid Big Block Chevy B "blown" (i.e., Supercharged or Turbocharged): Mooneyham 8-71 (intercooled) supercharger STR: Street Roadster cl*** . . . not C/STR. NOTE: In 1990, the #333 Street Roadster (with a blown 372 cid BBC) ran in the A/STR cl*** . . . as prior to 1991, supercharging or turbocharging bumped up the engine cl*** up by one letter. - @HEMI32
So sorry to read of his p***ing; so many of our heroes we read about , are moving on. Thanks so much to the members who have posted their memories of Mr Walsh.
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