Hi Mark, Sorry the magazine email I forwarded to the list did not
come
thru where the web site showed in color ...... and you could just click on it
......
maybe it loses that feature when it is sent by the autox-team deal, so I will
forward
it seperately to you . I no longer have any connection to a magazine
publisher
since Tom McMullen and his wife Deanna were killed in the crash of their
personal plane in Guthrie, Oklahoma, a few years ago. I met Tom back in 1955
when he
was a sub sailor stationed in New London . We worked on our cars, engine
swaps, a lot of customizing, and were at the drags a lot, even before I
started running with my lowbuck gasser . He went to California on my advice,
and was a millionaire publisher about seven or eight years later,
after starting AEE Choppers, which made motorcycle goodies and, later,
complete choppers, even renting them to the movie studios . Next came TRM
publishing with Street Rodder magazine, and later Trucking mag, and many
others,
even some on guns and survival . This changed to McMullen Yee publishing
later
on, and now is known as McMullen Argus . Tom was the most unbelievable
character that I ever met, and most that knew him would agree . His flamed
deuce roadster became world famous in rodding circles, and in earlier years
won its class at the Winternationals with his second wife, " Wild Rose ",
driving it.
Tom also ran the roadster at Bonneville on year and turned either 166 or
168 mph with it . He ran the car, often on the LA freeways, with a 4 - 71
blown
small block Chev, and at one time it got its' motivation from a Scott injected
6 - 71 blown big block Ford . He had many wild cars and trucks, a deuce
phaeton
or two ...... brought one back east on one of his many visits back here, and
took Doug, Darrell and I riding around in it . He also had a Twin engined
Austin
sedan he ran in that outlaw racing scene in the south end of LA . I think
they
eventually legalized somewhat down on Terminal Island near Long Beach . I
believe his last project vehicle was that little school bus he built .......
he called me
several times to go out and help him finish it . Tom and Deanna had just
built
a very large and fantastic home up in the mountains of Colorado, and this was
to be their retirement home, complete with a recreated silver mine, named "
The Tom
Cat Mine "on his property, and of course a large shop to play with his toys .
The airplane crash denied them the chance to ever live in their retreat
from many years of living in the very fastest lane of LA living . He always
wanted
me to go back to LA to work for him ...... but I did not wish to pull my
three kids
out of school and relocate them ...... and we had a number of arguments on
this .
On his last visit to us, Tom and Deanna, and Mary Ann and I, dined at
a
restaurant overlooking the Thames River, and I told Deanna how Tom' s sub,
the Angler, had made many training runs, right past where we sat, back in the
mid 50s when many of the old " dirty diesels " were still in service . This
was
the same time when Tom told me how he wanted to get away from LA, and
all about the beautiful home they were building in scenic Colorado ...... I
knew
the name of the nearby little 19th century mining town, but cannot recall it
now .
I could go on and on about Tom ...... a poor kid from Toledo, Ohio,
who went on to found a multi million dollar publishing empire, with twenty or
more monthly magazines, mostly car oriented ...... and to being president
of the LA Ferrari owners' club ..... I think he said he owned three of them
......
but I have really gotten off the track here, Mark, as I just wanted to reply
to
your question as to whether I knew anyone in the publishing biz . The
answer is no, but I just got to thinking about this wacky guy I knew for
almost
forty years ...... he had three wives, several fabulous homes, dozens of way
out rods, customs, jet planes and bikes, and had spent ...... and was worth
...... millions of dollars at his demise . He was truly one of those" with
the most toys "
However, we must realize all those toys we like to have do not
guarantee
happiness ....... I never had the gorgeous cars and homes Tom had ...... most
people never attain the wealth he did ....... but I am very happy with my
wife,
three grown up children, two beautiful grandchildren Jade and Klay, and my
new garage and the collection of junque cars n' parts n' mags n' stuff ......
very happy,
and very fortunate to still be around ...... unlike so many of my racing pals
of
yesteryear ....... in fact, today, the 19th, I hit the BIG 65 !!! Never
thought
that would ever happen ! Mark, two other events this year that made me
proud : One was several weeks ago when I walked my daughter down the
aisle at her wedding ....... a great occasion ! The other was when I watched
the car my sons had converted from the six cylinder clunker I had inherited
from my eighty four year old uncle ...... go down the course at Bonneville,
with Darrell at the wheel, and exceed the B / BFALT record by over two mph
....... 259.038 MPH with only 10% nitro in the tank, and despite the blower
belt
totally self destructing before the last timing lights !!! You gotta know
that I
was pretty proud of the two kids that used to hang around in my garage from
the 70s to the 90s, on this occasion ....... and my old friend Tom was never
as fortunate in this respect ....... I hope this, my 65th year, will be as
good
to me as all the others, even if I can' t swing $$$ my own hot wheels, which
has always been the real slippery ' 27T modified roadster in my mind since
high school days of 1950 . Thanks for listening to what turned out to be an
awfully long winded reply, Mark, and yes, I' m gonna subscribe to that new
nostalgia rod " little " mag ....... lots of long winter nights ahead !
Bruce, a few hundred miles north of ya .......
" SMILE AND THE WORLD SMILES WITH YOU ........
CRY, AND YOU CRY ALONE "
....... Frances V. Ferguson to her son, 1952 May she rest in peace .
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