Article on George Williams

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by thomas sheehan

Here is a picture that I believe Tom Kasch has posted before.....
(of George Williams at Bowling Green)



and here is one that Bill Truby took of the Meek Bros pinto

Wow, a wheelstanding 4cyl Vega...George Williams...THANK YOU!

I remember seeing photos of his Vega, but not like that... Granted the legendary "Grump", got me interested in drag racing with his '72 Winternationals winning Vega, but it was George's Vega that motivated me to buy one for me, and to race it too! The last I saw of my car (that I bought new in '76), the then owner yanked out my 140c.i. engine (and turbo 250 auto), and replaced it with a Pontiac 151c.i. engine & a 4spd! Yucky Yuck Yuck!!! I would've bought it back (if it was left with it's original power train), and it would've been my stocker racer instead of my Cavalier, because it would've been easier to work on, and I wouldn't have had to deal with computers. If anyone (in or around Brighton, Co.) knows where the car is, please let me know...I'd like to have it back! The vin on it is IV77B6U220942. That should show how much I loved my Vega...again thanks in no small parts to George Williams, and "Da Grump"!!!

[Rory McNeil]

I seem to remember at the Seattle National event, maybe around 1979 or so, George Williams Z/Stock Vega panel/ wagon was there, as was the Cook & Leong Hemi convertible. I THINK that was the year that Calvin Queapama won Stock in a V/SA 61 Impala 4 dr hardtop, over a fast A or B/SA car (Cook maybe?) At that time, Williams Vega was black, and if my memory is correct, I thought that it was called "Rampage" at that time.

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

I seem to remember at the Seattle National event, maybe around 1979 or so, George Williams Z/Stock Vega panel/ wagon was there, as was the Cook & Leong Hemi convertible. I THINK that was the year that Calvin Queapama won Stock in a V/SA 61 Impala 4 dr hardtop, over a fast A or B/SA car (Cook maybe?) At that time, Williams Vega was black, and if my memory is correct, I thought that it was called "Rampage" at that time.

Good memory........

[art leong]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

I seem to remember at the Seattle National event, maybe around 1979 or so, George Williams Z/Stock Vega panel/ wagon was there, as was the Cook & Leong Hemi convertible. I THINK that was the year that Calvin Queapama won Stock in a V/SA 61 Impala 4 dr hardtop, over a fast A or B/SA car (Cook maybe?) At that time, Williams Vega was black, and if my memory is correct, I thought that it was called "Rampage" at that time.

That was 1980 And Cal Queapama won the race Ray Cook was the runnerup B/SA.
Ran the final round 3 times.

[mopar68]

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen C/EA (?) Comp car. The few times I briefly chatted with him in the pits I found him to be a personable fellow. He always had time to answer a few questions this Hemi "head" asked. And to a racing fan that means a lot.

I remember seeing the B/SA Cook & Leong Dodge Challenger ragtop at Englishtown many times. Just curious, Artie, why did you guys end up selling all the Stock Eliminator Challengers you had (Hemi-powered ragtop and hardtop, 440 Six Pack-powered ragtop). Did NHRA re-factor them, rendering them uncompetitive; or did their value as collector cars come into play?

I remember one bracket racer from Staten Island (Dom Burris) had one of your Challenger ragtops for sale at one of the swap meets at Englishtown in the mid-late 1980s. From what Dom told me, it was it was an original 440 Six Pack convertible, and he (by 1980s resto standards) restored it as such but decided to keep original C & L race car paint and lettering. I don't remember if he told me it was ragtop number one or two. Were any of the Dodges numbers matching Hemi cars?

Thanks,

M68

P.S. One more question: How long did you guys run the S & W Dodge-sponsored B/SA 1971 Charger R/T (Superbee?). Was that an original Hemi car?

[art leong]

Originally Posted by mopar68

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen (Volare?) Comp car.

M68

Ray was killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida a few years ago.

[art leong]

Originally Posted by mopar68

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen (Volare?) Comp car.

I remember seeing the B/SA Cook & Leong Dodge Challenger ragtop at Englishtown many times. Just curious, Artie, why did you guys end up selling all the Stock Eliminator Challengers you had (Hemi-powered ragtop, 440 Six Pack-powered ragtop & Hemi-powered hardtop). Were any of them numbers matching Hemi cars?

I remember one racer from Staten Island (Dom Burris) had one of your Challenger ragtops for sale at one of the swap meets at Englishtown in the mid-late 1980s. From what Dom told me, it was it was an original 440 Six Pack convertible and he (by 1980s resto standards) restored it as such but kept original C & L race car paint and lettering intact. I don't remember if it was ragtop number one or two.

M68

We only had 3 cars total. One convertible (first car) started life as a 318. That car had weight problems due to a fire. We sold the body to Scott Dalhberg from Minnesota.
The second convertible was originally a 383 That was the car we won so much with.
We sold it to someone in Staten Island in 1982 He put a 440 6 pack in the car later.
The hardtop car was a partnership effort With Fred (Dick) Smith It ran A/SA most of the time. We did try a 383 but were unhappy with the results. It wound up with a 440 6 pack in it and is still being raced in Division 1.
We did the motors for a couple of other hemi stockers Mike Masgistro, and Mark Wollf.
Everyone of our cars has won at least one NHRA National event.

[art leong]

Originally Posted by mopar68

Speaking of Ray Cook, whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him was at the Summernationals about twenty years ago with his Cook & Liquori Dodge Aspen C/EA (?) Comp car. The few times I briefly chatted with him in the pits I found him to be a personable fellow. He always had time to answer a few questions this Hemi "head" asked. And to a racing fan that means a lot.

I remember seeing the B/SA Cook & Leong Dodge Challenger ragtop at Englishtown many times. Just curious, Artie, why did you guys end up selling all the Stock Eliminator Challengers you had (Hemi-powered ragtop, 440 Six Pack-powered ragtop & Hemi-powered hardtop). Did NHRA make them uncompetitive? Were any of them numbers matching Hemi cars?

I remember one racer from Staten Island (Dom Burris) had one of your Challenger ragtops for sale at one of the swap meets at Englishtown in the mid-late 1980s. From what Dom told me, it was it was an original 440 Six Pack convertible and he (by 1980s resto standards) restored it as such but decided to keep original C & L race car paint and lettering. I don't remember if he told me it was ragtop number one or two.

M68

P.S. How long did you guys run the S & W Dodge-sponsored 1971 Charger R/T (Superbee?). Was that an original Hemi car?

The 71 Charger was an original Hemi car And had quite a past. We could never get a straight answer about that car from the Chrysler guys. But it was less than 3000 pounds with a steel headed hemi. And no baggage.
That car grossed over $100,000 street racing.

NHRA never factored our combo It was always 440 hp. We quit because of the acid ported heads. It was use them or get outrun, or quit We chose to quit.

[John DiBartolomeo]

This might be long and I apologize for it, but below is the story referenced on George Williams and written by Richard Brady in the May '10 edition (debuted in February) of Drag Racing Action.

As I’m sure you’ll all aware of, we’re coming up on the 50th edition of the NHRA Winternationals held at Pomona. And I’m quite sure some of you reading this have some sort of memory about this event. As a photographer let’s just say I have more than a few.
Going to Pomona each year was the start of my season as a traveling drag racing photographer. When I say travel, I mean it quite literally because until recently I drove to every event I attended each year. Going to Pomona was no exception, though I do recall flying there maybe twice.

For years I had read about the race, but I was serving in the Navy so it wasn’t until 1973 when I was finally able to get to the event. Lucky for me, I was friends with the eventual runner-up in Stock Eliminator that year, losing to Les Young. You might be thinking gee, “that’s neat,” but you need to know just how special this was.

George Williams, was running a Z/S Vega panel wagon then, complete with a four cylinder engine. I don’t recall the actual numbers but I know he didn’t miss the win by much. Being there to see it made the trip much more special. That was also the year of the Dons, as Don Garlits won Top Fuel, Don Schumacher in Funny Car and Don Nicholson beat Don Carlton in Pro Stock. This is just one of many memories from this track.

There also were years that I jumped in with George on one of his trips to Pomona, sharing the ride and costs. One trip he and I both recall with fondness (?) is 1978 when a blizzard hit the state of Indiana where he and I lived. Indiana can be a real mess during the winter if a good storm sets in. I shoveled snow for three days (sometimes three and four times a day) just to be sure my car could get over to his place. He was over there doing the same thing. Not only did he have to be sure his truck could get out, but he had to shovel out the trailer to be able to load up the race car also. I’ve never been one to just call the police for advice, but this was one time I asked the highway patrol if the interstate we were going to use could get us south so we could eventually link up with any interstate heading west. Obviously they couldn’t guarantee our success, but we made it and it was certainly an experience!

I had lived in the Midwest states which always have winter snow. When there is a real blizzard it’s truly unbelievable what you see when you’re the first out and trying to travel somewhere. I’ve seen cars buried in snow banks and 18 wheelers either abandoned or just left sitting any which way. The interstate truly looked weird. We were able to keep moving (not at full speed), but eventually we got out of the snow and slush and were on our way, arriving several days later in Pomona!

Once there our choice of motels placed us just off Holt Avenue in some dive that seemed to reflect being built in the 30’s or 40’s! Of course we were trying to save money so no matter how uncomfortable we might be - it was cheap. I seem to recall an army of ants crawling from the closet up a wall next to the television and disappearing in a crack in the ceiling. Then there was this tom cat that showed up at our doorstep every single night when we got back from the track. I fed him some scraps, but I got the bright idea that we had to stop and get some cat food (this, at a time in my life when I could hardly afford to feed myself). Due to the unusual weather that year, I think we were out there for three weeks trying to get the race done and in the books.

As photographer, the part which always strikes me is what you see when you first got to the track that made the place memorable: the big banner hanging right over the start line, Mt. Baldy and other mountains shining in the background with sometimes snow at the tops (if you were lucky and the sky wasn’t cloudy), plus the three story tower sitting to your right. These things were as important as the cars and stars of the event, making it a must race to attend each year.

What happened to the racer friend I went to Pomona with? He was again runner up in Stock Eliminator in 1978, beaten in the final by Jeff Powers. Other winners that year were Kelly Brown in Top Fuel, Don Prudhomme in Funny Car, and Bob Glidden in P/S.
Today, George continues to work at a Chevrolet dealership and amazingly still has the same Vega under covers in his garage. He didn’t get his first major event win until the next year when we both attended the 1979 Seattle race, but that’s another story I’ll have to… Remember When. -Richard Brady

[mopar68]

Originally Posted by art leong

We only had 3 cars total. One convertible (first car) started life as a 318. That car had weight problems due to a fire. We sold the body to Scott Dalhberg from Minnesota.
The second convertible was originally a 383 That was the car we won so much with.
We sold it to someone in Staten Island in 1982 He put a 440 6 pack in the car later.
The hardtop car was a partnership effort With Fred (Dick) Smith It ran A/SA most of the time. We did try a 383 but were unhappy with the results. It wound up with a 440 6 pack in it and is still being raced in Division 1.
We did the motors for a couple of other hemi stockers Mike Masgistro, and Mark Wollf.
Everyone of our cars has won at least one NHRA National event.

Artie,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

"We sold it to someone in Staten Island in 1982 He put a 440 6 pack in the car later"

That's the guy, Dom Burris (Burreis?).

Yes, I remember Magistro's car. I didn't know it had a C & L Hemi in it.

"The hardtop car was a partnership effort With Fred (Dick) Smith It ran A/SA most of the time."

I don't recall seeing that car run. The only pic I saw of it was in an early-1980s issue of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated featuring an article on you guys. And that reminds me, I believe it was in that same issue, SS & DI was supposed to feature an upcoming article about a turbocharger installation on your Dodge(?) station wagon tow car's engine. However, it was never published. How'd that work out, i.e. turbo?

M68