Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

When Barbara and I aren’t racing we spend a lot of time participating in military vehicle shows, parades and events that bring awareness to and honor our veterans. I found this article posted on one of the forums I read. I think it came from Army Jeep Motors.

This is legendary Wally Parks and his modified 1941 Ford GP V8 jeep (most probably re captured from the Japanese) he built while on tour in the Philippines in 1945 nicknamed 'sigue na' meaning 'gotta go.' The story is that Wally Parks got a Ford V8-60 out of a surrendered Japanese truck and put it into this little jeep. In a letter he wrote home he said, "Things are going fine and my little V-jeep is really a peach. It really goes, and I claim to have the hottest thing on the island."

Wally Parks was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. Parks Family Collection, Wiki, http://landspeedracing.com/2013/news...ection__1.html

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

That link is not working for me.

Here's a little info and old pic,

https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeep/commen...eep_willys_he/

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

Thanks for posting the link to the photo. I didn’t have any luck posting it.

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

4543 that pic is awesome !





Jerry
Retired 3490 3492 STK SS SST

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

Jerry. Thanks. I posted the original article. Christopher posted the whole thing with the photo.

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

That’s why NHRA was what it was

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

If you’ve never been to the NHRA Museum (officially the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum) in Pomona it is very worthwhile. Includes a lot of historical info on how Wally transitioned from the salt to drags. Many cars on display that will remind you of the “golden age” of our sport. Free entry with your membership card.

Re: Something about Wally Parks I never knew.
 

Bill Maudlin's short story, "The Affair of The Wayward Jeep", was based on something like Wally's deed, but occurred in the Korean War.

It was required reading in my "lit" class my Junior year in high school in 1961. It was always one of my favorite short stories; so much so that I remembered the name of the story to Google it.

Jerry