Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Thanks, Bruce.
I was under the impresion that your Buick venture was an Easten version of Johnny Bartlett's Oregon-based '54 Buick Stocker effort, but that was just a typical assumption of mine. I was particularly interested because Bobby Roper's Buick was the only '53 I'd ever heard of anyone seriously attempting to go fast with, in Stock.

I can't vouch for the internals, but his stock appearing '53 "Roadmaster" ended up running low 16's at 83 mph with DynaFlow.... which kept the swapped-in 312-powered '54 Fords at bay.... LOL!

Thanks for the Buick saga. Did you retire it after that day, or work with it?

You never said whether it was a Special (straight-eight), or the 322 cubic-inch V8 Super or Roadmaster, which was new for '53.

Curious minds, et., etc., etc... :)


Bill, in Conway, AR

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Sure I did. Re-read !
Ha!

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Hey Bruce,
Let me take you back to my time of glory, 1963.
Place, San Gabriel Raceway.
Last race for the track.
I had a '63 Vette that I raced in Super Sport/A. I won class that night and set a track record, 12.90 @ 107, that still stands today. I also beat the national record which was 13.02. The win qualified me for Street Elininator, I wasn't running slicks, I had Casler Cheater Slicks. I lost to a Mopar wedge 4 speed and he got the $25.00 purse.
Back then it was a big deal. I've won more since getting to the second round at the Summit series.
I also had the pleasure of racing Gas Rhonda in the very first Cobra that Ford put on the track. I never could beat that guy. That was in mid '63. I sold my corvette and bought a Mopar. Then I found I couldn't win in it either.
I quit racing in '65 to raise a family and stated again in '95, I think that's when I met you, at Norton AFB.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Floyd Staggs
V787
www.staggsracing.com

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Okay; I missed that the first time through... sorry.

That's quite a saga!!!! I cannot imagine the degree to which that poor Chevelle driver was chagrined to have been beaten in the final by that Buick!

Did you ever race it again?

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

No. I sold it a couple of weeks later for $175 dollars. And after I got back from the Army I stumbled across an ad in the Kent newspaper for a '53 Buick . Yep, turned out to be mine and I bought it back. I guess you could say it was the original "BowTie Bomber" !

Hey Floyd - that musta been some fun racing in Ca. in '63. Back when Grossi had a REAL Pontiac!

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Scotch,

I, too, was present at S.G. Raceway for the last event forty-four years ago this week. Can't drive by that piece of real estate today without thinking about the good times we had there. Of course, the similar memories are attached to the locations that were Lion's, Irwindale (I swore to never drink another can of Miller Beer), OCIR, and the old Fontana track on Foothill Blvd.

Certainly a corner of drag racing history for the Los Angeles area.

Best,

c

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

I wondered if Chuck knew Floyd cause you both raced at the same tracks. Had Chevies... liked girls.....I think. hahaha...
Man it's already 85 inside my shop this Sunday morning. Dynoing another Poncho today.

Bill: I almost for got to mention. Although I didn't race the '53 again a few years later I tried to repeat the same thing with a '58 2 door hard top Buick. It was the "sport model" I can't remember the model at the moment but it was real nice. Had the 364. Black and white. I went to the final in it. But the story, it's another crazy story.....I got to get back in the shop, but I'll tell that one later. I have all of those ET slips too.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Hey. Bruce, you MAY have another Buick story, but you cannot....CANNOT top the original..... That was amazing...

I thought you must have been running it all the way in "Drive" from the timeslips.... Roper's car was a Super 2-door HT. I don't think he ever ran it until it had received dual exhausts and a 4-bbl, but that car ran in the seventeens with only those two mods...


Of course, he was a "tuner".... even back then.

Thanks again for the entertainment; that was so cool, that you actually beat a 4-speed Chevy V8..... Bowtie Bomber, I guess!!! :)

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Chuck, was that in July? I can't remember that close.
Yes, it was a ball back then. I only ran Lions one time. That light pole by the right lane scared the ***** out of me. I raced at old Fontana, San Fernando. Pomona and San Gabrial 3 times a week. Then during the week there were the street races that started at Henry's in Pomona. Do you remember Henry's Drive-in? We'd start out there then drive out to 16th and Haven and race till the cops ran us off. Occasionally we would go down to Chino.
Back then it was semi safe and a lot of fun. It was mostly for braggin rights.

I remember one Saturday at San Gabriel when a c-gas chevy rolled right in front of me. Nobody could see for the dirt and my dad thought it was me. He almost made me quit right then.
Floyd StaggV787
www.staggsracing.com

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

I'm reasonably positive that the end of the track came somewhere around the Fourth of July, 1963. For sure, I know that it was gone by the end of July because that marked the beginning of one of my several ill-fated marriages and when I got back into town to go back to work in September, 1963, the track was gone.

About that time I was spending a lot of my energy helping Ron Mandella run his max-wedge stationwagon in A/SA but I remember running my 406 Galaxie there at least once that summer. (That was not a good idea. In fact, the whole idea of the 406 wasn't particularly a good idea). After SG closed we ran mostly at the tracks you mention although I never went to San Fernando. Fontana got a lot of attention after they went to AHRA in early 1964.

The street racing venues I remember were based out of Henry's drive-in on Huntington Drive in Arcadia, Harvey's Broiler in Downey, and Bob's Big Boy in Colorado in Pasadena. At one point we ran a modified Corvette from the end of the on-ramp onto the Long Beach Freeway (southbound) from Firestone. When the cars weren't so fast there was always Old River School Road as well. I even remember laying in the gravel in the parking lot of the topless joint just south of the intersection of Rivergrade Road and Arrow Highway to put the driveshaft back in after we'd left SG Drag Strip at the end of the night. We arrived at the bar and there was someone who wasn't satisfied with the outcome of the track eliminations so the score was evened up on Rivergrade road after hours.

By the way, that wagon has surfaced again after being out of sight for the last forty years.

We should have assigned someone the job of taking pictures.

c

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Bruce, greetings from another Buick racer. Irwindale had been open a few weeks before they had their official "Opening Day Meet". We were running AHRA and had a record holding '63 Falcon and poor as we were, a '54 Buick Special 4 door tow car. We entered the Buick on a lark for a single car trophy for my pardner, and then lost first round in the Falcon on a red light. The Buick was in the back of the lanes and hadn't run yet so I came back jumped in and ran the Buick. 7 rounds later I'm running Dave Kemptons wife in the finals. I didn't win but got money, a new steering wheel, two tickets to a bar (free drinks) and a set of dual exhausts from Covina Muffler. (Remember those days!) One of the cars I had to beat was the wife of muffler shops Ranchero. The class index was 19 or 20 seconds, something like that, and I'd just leave and back into my competition. All went well until that final round, when Kempton (the tech man) found out I was running two cars. Next race, red light after I'd left the line. I still laugh about the "Opening Day of Irwindale". Thanks for the memories, Fred

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Man, those days. Love hearing about another winnin' old Buick. Red light AFTER you left the line? Sounds dastardly. We need to yak at the track sometime cause I'd like to hear more stories. And of course I got a ton too. Hey Chuck, where's that Wedge wagon now?

BTW: You all know the outcome - I won - but I can tell everyone is chompin' at the bit to know the final saga of the drama that day...... (Zzzzzzz) hahaha

My last run on my 21.70 dial..........






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Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Chuck,
Lying in the gravel, huh.
I remember one night out at 16th and Haven lying underneath my corvette hooking the mufflers back up while a cop was talking to my girlfriend siiting in the car. Yes, i was real skinny back then. They weren't issuing tickets for racing but if you made too much noise leaving, you would get one.
Those were the days. Too bad Bruce is so young. He missed a lot.

You know, thinking back on some of those nights out on 16th, we were pretty stupid. There would be cars lining both sides of the street for most of the quarter mile and we would race between them. I can't remember ever having an accident but that was only by the grace of God.
How did I live to be this old?

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Young! Why thank you...
I still got to see my share of what I consider unreal street racing around Kent, Cleveland and Akron Ohio in the '60's. In the summer I used to bike over to the local hot spot in Kent on Friday nights, The Short Stop, sometimes A&W.
One of my personal memorable moments - the guys were getting ready to gang up and head to Tallmadge, Ohio, just a few miles south to that A&W where some of the guys from Akron would come over, Tallmadge was east of Akron, so it was a decent spot to meet in the middle.

I wanted to catch a ride so bad, I'd been hanging around Ron McClusky and his double altered wheelbase '65 Hemi Coronet. He knew I REALLY wanted to tag along so he said, "Get in the back and hold on the to rollbar." Of course there was no back seat so I was sitting on the floor. I might have been 14 at the time and Ron's buddy rode up front. Ron's car was Kents baddest machine so it was a hell of an honor to be riding in the lead car. The guys were like that - the fastest car always led the pack.

"Bout halfway to Tallmadge there was a big hill and as you came down the other side, right at the bottom of the hill was a set of railroad tracks. Of course back then everyone pimped over the tracks like a snail. After the tracks there was a long straight-a-way. So each car after inching across the tracks would stop and let it happen. Remember I didn't know this the FIRST time.

So as Ron stopped after crossing the tracks he yelled, "Hang on!" and that....
ohmigod.......stood it up and slammed that Dodge against the rear bumper and I remember seeing the moon out of the windshield. No frigging kidding.

Damn....talk about being scared and knowing you were instantly "cool" at the same time.....everyone behind us had seen it. Bad ***.

As you can tell that ride was an experience of a lifetime. I wonder if Dave Sebring was there. He just got promoted to sales at TCI. Dave will tell you about McCluskys Coronet and lots of other wild Kent happenings. Like the time a guy brought a blown red 55 T-bird Pontiac powered gasser to town to pick on the guys. Unloaded it across the street from the Short Stop. I don't remember anyone taking him on. Dave will also confirm the night Ron's girlfriend or wife pushed the REVERSE pushbutton after going thru the traps at Quaker City one Saturday night. Spun it around but didn't hurt anything. This car was a true 10.80 street car in the late '60's. In Kent that was hot.

Man....and like you guys, that was just one night in what seemed like a million.
Street racing was a way of life. Glad we made it thru.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Hey Bruce,
You didn't answer. Didn't we meet when you announcing at Norton in '95?
I remember winning the bracket on my birthday. Diane had you announce it.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

I didn't know that was a question. Yes, I'm pretty sure it would have been Norton cause I hadn't started announcing full time at Pomona yet. Mighta been at Pomona.....Tell these guys about Norton....44 acres of concrete!

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

You guys should have seen it. It was Norton AFB when it was open and then it was a whole lot of flat smooth concrete. Bruce say's 44 acres, it seems like it was bigger than that. Oh well, I used to have something else that was bigger in my younger days.
I disgress. We only had 1/8 mile drags cause that's all the government and insurance company would allow. But is was flat and smooth. And the pits; you couldn't find a weed in all 44 acres. Nobody parked in the dirt. It did get a little warm but it wasn't dirty. There were k-rails the entire length and plenty of run off at the end.
Ahhhh, the good old days.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Floyd:
You were driving the truck at Norton right?

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Yes Sir,
Thats when we decide to get back into bracket racing with the hay hauler, or farm truck as you called it. We had a lot of fun,won a lot of rounds, won 1 race, runner up a couple of times and made some money at each of the ET finals we went to. That was running in the mid 13's. Ever since I decided to go faster, the luck hasn't been with us. Now we're running high 10's, with a street legal truck, and haven't gone very far in the brackets. I wonder how much it has to do with the driver. Diane always use to tell me, God rest her soul, leave it alone and adjust your dial. Just make it consistent. She was right. I still carry her picture in the truck all the time. Harold always points up to the sky and say's "she's watching us". Harold is quite a guy. And, I sure do miss her.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Indeed. I feel for you. She was great great gal. Everyone that knew her misses her. I was going thru all of my Norton pics to see if I had the truck or you guys, but it looks like I don't. I bet I have 150 pics of that place from when we set up the clocks and tested them with an airport security Caprice and my '65 Grand Prix to the last day. And lots of the Full Throttle reports on the races.

Looking thru some old mags last night I found a listing of a Ron Mandella winning A/SA in San Diego in 1964...Wonder if C. was there.....?

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Yep. Flat-towed the wagon all the way to Ramona and we blew the block apart in the first round. Second-worst engine explosion I've ever seen in a stocker.

Dave Kempton won the race.

Bruce, I'd really like to see that write-up some time. Any pictures?

c

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

C.
A bunch of pics but none of the wagon. Unless it's in the background somewhere. It has his name listed as Class winner. I 'll scan the list and put it up later, and get the name and month of the mag. And you're welcome to stop by and look at it. Must be a six page report. I'm still at the shop, but when I get home I'll get those yr/month specifics.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

C.
It's July 1964 Car Craft. Seven pages of coverage. 13.11 at 106 in a big wagon in 1964? No wonder it blew up. ha! Seriously, that was hauling butt. Did he have 4:88's in it?

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Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

OTS
Hey Bruce, do you know anybody around our area that can set up my ladder bars? I can't get the truck to hook up and I can't get it free, its so stiff it almost seems like it's in a bind.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Ramona was a very slow track partially due to the altitude. As I recall, it ran from east to west which would also put it at odds to the ocean breezes.

That's the earliest reference I've seen that identifies "Junior Stock" as an entity.

The line-up from that report was pretty much the way I remember it. The wagon ran mid-12s at Lions on a regular basis so we weren't terribly impressed with the times down in San Diego County. I don't think that altutude factors were used and I believed we were handicapped off the national record. Since we held the record it was no big deal. I remember that all class winners tore down at that race. A little different than modern Divisional races?

I recall a few other things about the Ramona race: That was the first event at which I can remember a christmas tree being used and the first at which I recall a handicapped start as we know it today. (At some point previously there had been handicapped starts using car-length spots.) Seemed pretty much like magic at the time. Note the presence of Mike Schmidt's Desert Motors B/FX Galaxie from Ridgecrest. Mike went on to win the national points championship in 1964 although Kempton gave him a run for the money through the early part of the season. The Hoefer cars (B/S and D/MP) were run by Bill Hoefer Sr., the father of Willy Hoefer (2006 Sportsman Bracket Eliminator National Champion) as well as Clarence and Alan Hoefer (current contenders in Super classes and Stock Eliminator). Bill Sr. finished the 1964 season as the National Champion in the Street Eliminator category. Unless memory fails me, Gas Ronda also did pretty well that year in his Thunderbolt although I don't recall if he won the national points chase.

Those were golden days.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Floyd take it to Phil Mandella in Montclair, 4721 Arrow Hwy. Unit C Phone 909 621-5531

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Floyd:
I'd be happy to look at the truck. Would it be easier to bring it to my place or do you have a flat driveway or garage floor there?
Email me at IndyWinner@DSLextreme.com or call the shop - 909-370-0389 - If I miss you leave your number.

C.
Cool memories. So you won Class but toasted the engine?

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

"Toasted" isn't exactly the right word. The broken rod clipped the camshaft and the rearmost portion of the cam went out the back of the block and took the converter and transmission case with it. Let's just say that Graham L. would have had a field day totaling up the oil-down damages.

Winning class at a points meet even in 1964 wasn't all that big a deal. I don't even remember if there were any other cars in the class. We were all focused on the then-new concept of running all the stockers off against the national records for an eliminator title and the fact that there was an opportunity to win something other than a trophy. After you've flat-towed all the way from L.A. to Indy to win a trophy, a toolbox, and a jacket, the idea of prize money presented a startling concept. Within a few months the local tracks had installed christmas trees and bracket racing was given a starting point. Up to that time, we ran brackets such as, all cars between 12.60 and 12.90 running off heads up. Handicapping became a real innovative idea.

c

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Thanks, Tony, but I don't think I can afford Phil. He likes high dollar super stock stuff and my hay hauler just don't fit that category.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Hey Bruce,
Do you have a drive on 4 post lift? That would make it easiest.
Check your e-mail.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

I do. Ol' Bernie Cunningham sold me one and installed for me. Good man that little dog pooper picker upper.

C. - I thought it odd that it took so long for bracket racing to come east. I have tons of local so.cal drag newspapers that show local (s. cal.) bracket races as far back as 1964. Richard McFarland and Grossi are in some of those reports.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

My little (6'7") brother bought a '64 mustang and started bracket racing in '64. He brought home trophies that were 3' tall. The best I ever got was about 18" with a lot more car in heads up class racing.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Hey Bruce,
I got my first 10 this morning. The track was semi decent and I ran a 10:991 in my 4000 lb hay hauler on pump gas.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Congrats! I would been there but I'm so backed up at the shop......congrats again and give me a call when you want to look at the suspension.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

That was with a 1.58 60' time. Think how good it's going to get when we get it hooked up.

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

Wow....that's making some power...

Re: Len Imborgno - Jim Skelly - Performance Preserves
 

I put this one together with the idea that it would be the last motor I will build.
The high compression stuff just doesn't live and I wanted a pump gas motor that would get me down the track and be able to haul some hay during the week.
It's a Merlin 111 block, Scat 4.25 crank , 6.385 Eagle rods, Mahle coated pistons, Dart Pro 1 heads, .230-.188 valves, Comp Cams .714, .714, 298/302 @ .050, T&D shaft rockers, Merlin X intake, 1150 Dominator, MSD, 2 1/8" headers, we used all the good stuff.
See you at the cruises.