Bruce,
Jim is still in NY. He has a partner in the Fl business. He is back racing a
Pro-Mod with IHRA after being the SuperChevy Champ 2 or 3 years in a row with
Freddy Hahn doing the driving. He's running a '53 vette with an Alan Johnson
block
in it.
I think the Opel owner your refering to was from Ohio, last name of Mazzi ,
maybe!?! The car was a newer verison of Jim's car he crashed HARD in. Both had
392's in them...didn't it!
joe
FastmetalBDF@aol.com wrote:
> Joe , You are probably right ----- I had his ( Jim Oddy )
> name in the
> aging memory banks in regards to a Hemi - Opel that I have only read about
> ,
> never actually seen . Would have to dig thru too many old drag mags to
> verify
> that , so didn' t mention him . Maybe he and Jim Zakia were both involved
> with
> Opel drag cars , or possibly the SAME Opel ? I don' t have the
> facts on
> this , but , as you know , Jim Oddy is a highly respected engine builder ,
> especially here in the Northeast , although I believe he has relocated his
> business to the Sarasota , Florida area . Speaking of Opels , for a
> time I
> used to ride to work with a young guy in his Opel Kadett , and he was
> constantly
> trying to impress me with his great ability at handling this nimble little
> car in tight
> traffic and around curves where he was way over his head ( ? ) and ability .
> He
> seemed to delight in cutting off trailer trucks , and any other truck or
> large car ,
> and derived great pleasure from " ultra tailgating " large trucks ,
> especially if
> they were doing 70 or better ----- I mean like 4 feet behind the
> truck' s rear !
> I can still picture those channel iron rear truck bumpers right at my
> eye level,
> and JUST ahead of the hood ------ my eyes must have looked like saucers !
> The final straw came one morning when he was running later than usual ,
>
> so picked the pace up a little , and plowed off the road on a curve ,
> directly at
> a huge rock ledge , which was the last thing I saw , and to this day I
> have no
> idea of how that Opel did NOT plaster itself ( AND US ) all over that
> ledge !!!
> After getting a " normal " ride home with another co - worker that
> evening , I
> informed my wife that she and Douglas would be " grounded " for the rest of
> the week , during the day , as I needed her car for work until I
> finished the
> small block swap on my car . It all worked out OK , and about a year
> later
> another friend told me that my former " chauffer " had lost his license for
> several
> years for ------ what a SURPRISE ------ reckless driving !
> He would have been something with a HEMI in it ----------
> maybe a few more dollars in an undertaker' s pocket ?
> Bruce F . in warming up Connecticut ---------
> Thanks for the degrees , Skip , how much is the postage
> ?
|