Hi William, Denny's famous Register knows it all 05984 Matthias Urban Registrar with Denny Schue's Dino Register
"The Polish Racing Drivers arrived in their Chevy van less than an hour later, in 2nd place." The daytona must have taken the scenic route
Dignini, I suspect that van had 3 or 4 50 gal. barrels of petrol in the back and numerous piddle-packs and food/water. No need to stop for anything assuming no cops or breakdowns. Excellent strategy! In '83 when Diem and Turner set the record in their 308, they had overhead coverage via friends in an airplane checking out traffic and cops during daylight. How tempting! Bill
Bill Tempting and fun, probably speed limits today would allow a decent run, In recent cross country trips we have timed arrival at cities like Chicago and St Louis at 4.30 to 5.00 am to avoid the jams. GPS to help avoid traffic jams, its a different game now.
Every year Pebble Beach hosts a 10 day trip to Monterey called The Pebble Beach Motoring Classic. The group gathers for the start in from my home town, Kirkland, WA and ends in Monterey for the Pebble Beach weekend, see more about the annual event here: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance : Events While the trip could easily be done in 2 long days on modern highways, they have chosen to concentrate on a more scenic and meandering route as they feature things like several wineries and Grand Lodges in the Cascade Mountains. Many of the cars are quite elegant and varied in their background, but the longer route accommodates this which would end up being beneficial for us to resolve the Dino problems we encountered in this story. Last August, 2012, several other Dino owners who live nearby mentioned that Cannonball winner, Jack May, was attending The Pebble Beach Motoring Classic and alerted me that there was a first day gathering that I should attend. Since it was just a mile from my house at The LeMay Automotive Museum, I ventured down there and met Jack and Iris May with Dino 05984. Photos on starting day: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Some of the cars are extremely rare, elegant and varied as a group that is driving to Monterey through the mountains. They arrive from all around the country, usually transported in by truck. To see some action of these wonderful cars that participate in this driving event, please view the video of the 2012 Pebble Beach Motoring Classic departure here: http://youtu.be/gW_h1tY4LuQ . Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
When it came time to start 05984, the starter would not engage but did "click". Jack chimed in that the battery and starter had just been replaced in Florida but after some investigations, the LeMay museum crew determined it was because the battery had been on the transport truck for well over a week and things like the clock had worn it down. They connected a charger and gave it a high Amp charge to boost it and it started. This would prove to be the start of our problems ... Note: I also saw that jack had added the summer/winter heater shutoff valve from Ferrai 330 series cars. Smart idea Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Pebble Beach Motoring Classic was due to depart the next morning and I told Jack that what he really needed was a full charge on the battery rather than the quick boost that the crew had just given him. I invited Jack & Iris over to my house to have a cool beverage and we sat around talking about Dinos and the Cannonball Run while my shop charger tended to the battery. Coincidentally, a few weeks before I had bought his poster so asked him to autograph it for me, which he did. This is where the problems were just beginning ... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Didn't you and Carlo Durante (of Alfa of Tacoma) end up having to do emergency repairs - including R&R-ing his alternator - to get Jack back on the road?
So after our cool beverage and fun discussion I noticed the battery Ammeter indicaed the battery had taken a good portion of the charge. It was also nearing 6PM when Jack announces that he needed to get Iris back to hotel to freshen up before the group's evening dinner party which was a very elegant yacht cruise around Lake Washington. We shake hands, say goodbyes and remove the charger wires from 05984's battery. It had been on for a few hours and the charger's ammeter showed it was taking the charge nicely. Confidence was up, smiles abound and we say departure salutations as Jack and Iris get into 05984 Jack turns the ignition key and the starter clicks... but does NOT enagage. Lather, rinse, repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat. Jack and Iris get out and we scratch our heads, brainstorm and start to trouble shoot what it might be, the battery was definitely not the culprit. I cleaned terminals, checked wiring and replaced fuses. I then recalled the guys at LeMay had previously jumped Jack May's battery with a 250Amp mode from a massive charger. The prior summer I had the ignition key electrical contacts behind Neiman ignition key switch fail on my Dino and I always have a spare set Dino, so replaced that but still no starting action. This only left one thing; the starter, which was strange as it was brand new. As I remove the trunk firewall carpet, We discovered 37 years before during teh winning CannonBall Run Jack had taped receipts there! After a gas stop the cops tailed Jack causing one plug to foul and they needed to buy a new one, here were the receipts Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Cool thread. Given all the discussion of various Cannonball Run records in this thread, you may want to get a copy of the '32 Hours 7 Minutes' movie that was made recently. I found it very enjoyable. I won't post a link to where to buy it, for fear of being hauled up on advertising charges... But here's the IMDB link. 32 Hours 7 minutes (2013) - IMDb
You folks might want to take a peek at pages 58 and 59 of the OFFICIAL 1970-1989 RACING PHOTO THREAD in the "Other Racing" section of Racing and Tracking, where I recently posted some photos and remembrances from the inaugural Cannonball Run race in 1971, if you have not already done so.
A nice piece of history, thanks. Really enjoyed the read. Some direct links to the posts if anyone else wants a look. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/other-racing/182830-official-1970-1989-racing-photo-thread-58.html#post142238517 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/other-racing/182830-official-1970-1989-racing-photo-thread-58.html#post142240430 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/other-racing/182830-official-1970-1989-racing-photo-thread-58.html#post142245080 http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/other-racing/182830-official-1970-1989-racing-photo-thread-59.html#post142253410
Some folks are still challenging the 'record' - Alex Roy completed a solo effort a few years back and was successful. The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World: Alexander Roy: 9780061374999: Amazon.com: Books I've read his account, and his use of certain 'electronic' aids, as well as a spotter-plane along critical routes helped overcome modern impediments to the record. I've read every book and article available on the Cannonball, but got-into the lore after the Mid-Atlantic meet or I would have been there. I did manage to see the winning Daytona at a FCA track meet in Atlanta one hot afternoon, I have a photo of it with Yates/Gurney stencils on the door.
The movie I mentioned in my earlier post follows Roy's attempt after looking at the history of the events. It's worth a watch if you're interested in the subject.
Jack amazed himself when we pulled back the trunk carpet and he found the receipts from the CannonBall Run that he taper to the trunk firewall. Find out why Jack did it and what event along the Cannon Ball Run that they represent: HINT: This is not the time he was jailed on the Canonball Run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euBuxzjOWKw&list=UU0jbpmdvejgsstuLgglvxQA&index=2
I've always admired Jack May and his co-pilot, Rick Cline, for their terrific escapade in 1975. At the time I was living in Redondo Beach, CA, about 1.5 miles from the Portofino Inn where the Cannonball ended . . . and I didn't even know it was happening. The next day it was well covered in the L.A. Times. I still have the article. At the time, I owned my first Dino, S/N 03800. Fast forward 15 years, 1990, and I'm living in Herndon, VA (near D.C.), after retiring from 32 years in the USAF and I own S/N 08118 (still do!). The local region of the Ferrari Club of America--the Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR)--is trying to come-up with a clever theme for the 1991 FCA Annual Meet to be held in the greater Washington D.C. area. I suggest, "Let's honor the three Ferraris that have won the Cannonball Rally!" The idea was approved and the rest is history. Part of that history is a fabulous poster my talented wife did for the event honoring Jack and Rick and the other winners. I've attached the two MOCK-UP SKETCHES (THEY ARE ROUGH, ORIGINAL ART WORK, NOT THE FINISHED POSTER) she proposed to the MAR leadership. They chose the one with the palm trees and N.Y.C. profiles. I liked the one with the names and times below each car. In any case, ENJOY! It was a great event. We invited all the winning drivers and navigators to the event, but only the Daytona and Brock Yates were able to join us. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
After eliminating battery, wiring, fuses, ignition key contacts and confirming the electrical at the starter we were only left with one thing; The starter. This is strange as it was brand new. We pulled the starter and bench tested it to find the mating gear was truly not extending when power was applied. This was the problem. It was after 9PM and the Rally was to depart early the next morning. I called Alfa of Tacoma's Carlo Durante at home and explained the situation. He told me to bring the starter to his house that evening and he would take it to be repaired at his electrical shop first thing in the morning. We drove down to Carlo's home dropped the starter off then had a late dinner. The route on the first day was a beautiful section of road through the mountains and with a little luck we could get Jack back on track a few hours behind the group. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The next morning Carlo had the starter to the electrical auto shop on a RUSH order. What they found was that the solenoid piston was interfering with the casing causing binding. The milled it down to allow proper operation. The final shop comment was that the parts of this gear reduction were made up from different Japanese manufacturers and mismatched. Jack had purchased it from GT Car Parts. Total Bill was $75 and we were out of there by lunch and back to my house to install it NOTE: I found the problem strange as I've been running one of Martin's gear reduction starters for 3+ years without a problem (http://www.ferraristarters.com/Dino.html) This one was sized differently and the electrical terminals were angled differently. Not all gear reduction starters are the same Image Unavailable, Please Login
Oh but the story is not over yet! After working well into the night, diagnosing the electrical, removing the starter and hustling it down to Carlo's Alfa of Tacoma for repair, then picking it up the next morning, re-installing and FINALLY getting Jack and Iris on their way to catch up with the group, I found that Jack didn't know the way. In fact, he had never been to the Pacific Northwest, so I offered to drive ahead in my car to lead them to the base of the mountains where they would have only three turns and 150 miles to catch up with the group. But first I packed them a gift box from WA State; a couple of bottles of local wine and Dino glasses since they had been stuck seeing the underside of a Dino rather than our countryside. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
We were going through the last populated town before the mountain passes, a place called Enumclaw ,when I happened to think to myself "just one more stop light before the open road and I'll pull over and shake hands so they can drive off into the distance". I imagined Jack would then probably launch off into his CannonBall Run driving style and become a blurr of warp speed. It was at this moment I glanced in the rear view mirror and behind me I noticed the white Dino had stopped in the road at the last light. Completely immobile. Frozen. Dead stop.
When I returned we pushed the car off the road into the parking lot of a small, local pub. The clutch cable had broken and we needed a flat bed so called for one. A crowd quickly formed and through all this adversity Jack always kept a positive outlook. In fact, he welcomed the crowd to several great stories. At one point we were all rolling with laughter and I realized I HAD to capture it on video. Here is a short video of Jack while waiting for the flat bed telling about him racing in the Trans-Amazon. As he says, it was "One of stupidest things I've ever done!" [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi8RkZdCLCQ]JackMay TranAmazonRace - YouTube[/ame] Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
...and back to my garage... again Normally a broken clutch cable would be the end of every forward progress with parts having to be Fed-Ex'ed in but since I was in the middle of my restoration I had a new one sitting in my house waiting to be installed. Jack was in luck and I spent another long night under his car, but we got him on his way a second time. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
