if you see any of the "Exciter" let me know. I'm looking for my dad's drag boat racing pics... but I think they got tossed out at some point but he ran at the Estuary around that time.
Hey Choptop, Is that a "Taco" mini bike you're sitting on in your avitar? I remember Taco 22's and Taco 44's as being THE mini bike to have in the sixties. I ask because I remember the Taco mini bikes as being a purple color. I think ( I could be wrong), the difference was that a Taco 44 had a sprung fork in front, and shocks in back, as opposed to the rigid framed 22. The 44 maybe had a bigger engine. Hey! It's not a dragboat, but us older guys from that era would know about mini bikes!
Here are some photos of my younger years. My best friend Jack Lowe sitting in my Sanger and my last ride at Perris Skiland. Pull starting that thing was a chore LOL
Porter man, Your friends "Bad News" boat looks like a Stevens hydro. It is isn't it? I try to keep some records on the Stevens boats. If you could PM me with a year and hull number, I could add it to my records, which would be great. I remember a red and white Stevens hydro at Parker, in the sixties, called "Cold Duck" which had a tunnel-rammed 427 Chevy. There was also another Stevens hydro that I remember seeing on a trailer in a campground on the river (Parker) called "Mr. Quick" and it was powered by a blown 392 Hemi. As rare as these boats are, I'd sure like to find out what happened to them.
That Stevens belongs to my friend Brian, it is a 1967 and has been a local boat to lake minnetonka ever since, it was originally built with a cross rammed L88. the boat has allways been named Bad News
I started this thread and havent posted any pics yet. Heres a couple I found of my uncles boat "WILD THING" It ran SoCal in the early 70's mainly at Marine Stadium. After this one he ran another Hydro "THE GRIMM REAPER" heres one of my dad painting it after paint
Faded, Great photos of your Uncle's boat. If I'm not mistaken, that's a Hydro-Flite hull. I believe the owner of Hydro-Flite was a guy named Ron Ehde (I may have spelled his last name wrong). Again, a rare boat. Say what you will about all your 454's and 468 truck blocks, but the old 427 L-88's revved and hauled a**. Cool.... And check out the tow vehicle...get down with your bad self....
goddamn I love this thread!!!! One of these days my DiMarco flattie (V-drive, of course) will see the water. Keep 'em comin' boys!!
Around 1963, George Snizek & "Charlie Dodge" Hagenmayer, the drag racers who owned Pacers Auto, Inc. in Oceanside, NY supplied Hemi-powered engines for the SK Ski Racing Runabouts of American Powerboat Association racer - Sandy Lil Reb MacNicol.
Barry McCowan and Don Edwards (with Bob Silva) are responsible for compiling the book "Drag Boats of the Sixties". Here's Don in his record holding "Golden Komotion" on the launch ramp at Ski-Land(Perris)
This thread both makes me feel both good and bad. Good that there is interest in this these types of boats and seeing the cool pics. Bad in that I have yet been able to get my 2 in the water. Bummer, another summer lost by not being in the water. At least they are both close to being done. In the meantime, I get to see what others are doing or have done. boat on left is a '74 Rogers jet with 14-71 blown 541" Pontiac boat on right is a '72 Hondo vee drive with blown M/T HEMI Pontiac one day............. Other priorities have kept me from finishing them but my time'll come. Steve Hosting- 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! March 27-28, 2010 Phoenix www.nostalgicshowandgo.org
I'm still looking for my father's Oakland Estuary Drag Boat pics ... but in the meantime, here's a pic from the early '70s of a family friend's ski boat: That's Gary, the owner of the boat, sitting on the bow ... me sitting on the starboard side ... and Gary's son Marc sitting on the stern ... those were Good times!
Awesome picture that tells the story of how it was! Thanks for sharing it...and feel free to post some more when you find them.
Murpa, The hull I.D. number on early Stevens hulls can be found on the inside of the transom, around the center somewhere, hand written upside-down with a black magic marker, on the wood under a coat of resin, approximately 1" high numbers. Later hulls had an I.D. Data plate on one of the stringers up near the driver's seat area. Put your head under the gunwale at the back and you should find a number on the transom. High tech huh?
Thirty-six years ago,in 1973......early one morning, my family's hydro was swamped by a big day cruiser going by too slow and too close. Picture #1 shows what a v-driven submarine looks like. Picture #2 We moved it up into shallow water, put long boards under the hull to lift it up like levers, and started bailing. Picture #3 shows the boat on the trailer finally. Believe it or not, between Dad, my brother and myself, we all hustled and the boat was in the water again and running by noon that day! That's me bent over the boat, with my butt facing the camera in photo #2. The day cruiser owner never even stopped. I haven't liked anything over 21' since...
Wheeler, Where were those photos shot? It looks a lot like the old Thunderbird Lodge beach and launch ramp, nextdoor and just down stream of Branson's Resort. Could it be??????
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