More EP and Mod VP, 1977-1981

[Smokin' Joe]

1. Neck and neck with Louis Collins at Lake Dallas, June 1977. Jay Cox sent me the money, I bought the red/white 13' Allison/Stinger from Meatball Murray in the fall, rebuilt the motor (identical to mine afterward, and as fast). Jay drove the rig at Guntersville and it sunk during the race! But he went on and won the 1978 EP Closed course Nationals with it.

2. Havasu 1978, worst ride of my life while it lasted. I was taken out early after being hit during the start by a Checkmate. Fred Schoellkopf's rig, steering on right side with ride guide steering-we didn't have time to do it right that year. All three Mod VP boats that I drove were owned by Fred. Alan Stoker ("John's Custom Marine") won in 1978. Alan was, in my recollection, the only OMC driver to be able to run with the Mecurry loopers after 1981.

3. Taking off after pit stop, Havasu 1979. Motor on loan from Evinrude, courtesy of Tom Ireland and Jim Nerstrom. Alan Stoker ran 2nd with his self-built Evinrude 235, Kenny Shaw won with the factory sponsored Johnson. Bill Muncy ran the 2nd factory Evinrude on a Glastron and bounced unmercifully around the rough course.

4. Two EP speed records held in 1985, my straightaway record was never broken.

5,7. 235/Laser, Havasu 1981. 13/50, not competitive because at the driver's meeting under gearcase waterpickups were allowed, allowing the Mod VP tunnels to jack up the motors and run with the gearcases above the water. Speeds went to 100 mph, but V-bottom speeds stayed at 85 mph. This was the beginning of the end of V bottom racing in APBA. Louis Collins won a year earlier with a 225 Mercury on 'Texas Twister', but was disqualified for allegedly cutting the right-turn buoy. I saw the video, it appeared on the video that he did not cut inside the buoy. In any case, the video did not show him cutting the buoy. Because of the small lift strakes on the outer chines, the Laser came out of the hole fast (the strakes tunneled water to lift the transom), then ran faster down the straightaway because instead of spilling up the sides of the boat, air was directed opposite the direction of flight. The boat also turned inside every other boat on the course. It was the most fun ever to drive that boat for 4 hours even if it wasn't competitive.

6. Team decal from 1979. I still have it.

8. Today's activity

9. 3rd place in 1979 (where the decal in item 7 was first used).

10. Page 1 of a 1982 Trailer Boat article

[Skoontz]

They need to bring back the Vees. Plain out most fun looking boats on the water, espcially when they had to be counter steered to keep straight.

[Smokin' Joe]

You can't see it in the picture but the skeg is 'cupped' with Bondo on the 1981 235, that straightened out the motor and eliminated blow out with the short gearcase hub (the 1979 motor had no blow out problem, it had a longer hub).The off set-bungee cord was tight enough that I could nearly turn loose of the wheel wide open, but had to work hard to go straight or turn right at idle speed ... .





They need to bring back the Vees. Plain out most fun looking boats on the water, espcially when they had to be counter steered to keep straight.

[Skoontz]

Joe:

We stopped the rock by installing solid mounts and raising the engine slightly. It was weird, the solid mounts all but stopped it, but when I hit the up buttom ever so slightly, the rock stopped, dropped it and the rock came back. Plainly weird if ya ask me.

It seemed around 1981, is that not when OMC ruined the 99 cubic inch 140 by making it a looper with one of the larger gear cases? And that gear case was the V-6 gear case you haad to correct?
It seemed all kinds of the problems you corrected came about at that time period.

My best motor was a 1979, 99 cu in 140 Johnson, it had a steady diet of 155XS Merc grain silos and loved them. The motor would get the runs every now and then, eating only Mercs could give it indigestion so every now and then I would have to find some Yickifgion engine to give it balance it's diet.

[Smokin' Joe]

Hi Skoontz,

We didn't have a problem with the motor rocking since we tied it down with bungee cord (also used bungee on the steering bar to offset the torque). The 140 looper didn't come out until 1988 or thereabout, I was out of racing after 1985. It was believed at Havasu '81 that one needed a nose cone plus the wedge on the skeg to avoid blowout, Roark Sommerford was unhappy that I wouldn't let him bondo a nose cone on my short gearcase's bullet before the race, but I was afraid it'd break and run my run. So I ran 4 hours with the wedge alone (was the only one to do that) and had no blow out problem. Before the wedge, blow out had really plagued the short-bullet gearcase. OMC sometimes made 'improvements' that made the motors slower. Witness the 3 cyl. 75, 1975 was faster than 1976, which was faster than all later models on a V bottom. To be fair, I also had a 1979 75 that, on a tunnel, was as fast as my 1975 model, but not on my V bottom. There, the big skeg and heavy rods and pistons killed the performance of the 1979 motor. The other thing was that the bigger carbs of the '79 motor didn't work on my '75 model, slowed the older motor down. I ran with original '75 small throat carbs, ignored the larger reed stop insert, and set the record in EP (70.560 mph) that was never broken.

Joe



Joe:

We stopped the rock by installing solid mounts and raising the engine slightly. It was weird, the solid mounts all but stopped it, but when I hit the up buttom ever so slightly, the rock stopped, dropped it and the rock came back. Plainly weird if ya ask me.

It seemed around 1981, is that not when OMC ruined the 99 cubic inch 140 by making it a looper with one of the larger gear cases? And that gear case was the V-6 gear case you haad to correct?
It seemed all kinds of the problems you corrected came about at that time period.

My best motor was a 1979, 99 cu in 140 Johnson, it had a steady diet of 155XS Merc grain silos and loved them. The motor would get the runs every now and then, eating only Mercs could give it indigestion so every now and then I would have to find some Yickifgion engine to give it balance it's diet.

[Smokin' Joe]

They need to bring back the Vees. Plain out most fun looking boats on the water, espcially when they had to be counter steered to keep straight.

Move to Minnesota and run GT-Pro .... . Lake Wobeggon country!
The old 35s on a light boat are a lot of fun for ex racers like me.

[Skoontz]

TEmpting, but uit might be more fun just to get a bunch of guys to run them down here....Hell we sure could have used them at havasu yesterday and today....

[Smokin' Joe]

TEmpting, but uit might be more fun just to get a bunch of guys to run them down here....Hell we sure could have used them at havasu yesterday and today....

I'd say so too! But I wouldn't set foot in an 11' boat at Havasu, 18' was short enough...

[Skoontz]

I'd say so too! But I wouldn't set foot in an 11' boat at Havasu, 18' was short enough...

You should have seen the 9' boats running Havasu! Smooth as glass at 7AM...Then 10 rolled around... I have to say for the most part, boaters on the lake were pretty respectful when they saw the races going on and idled around. Other than the Dreamcatcher ferryboat, which threw 4' rollers off transom....

[Smokin' Joe]

You should have seen the 9' boats running Havasu! Smooth as glass at 7AM...Then 10 rolled around... I have to say for the most part, boaters on the lake were pretty respectful when they saw the races going on and idled around. Other than the Dreamcatcher ferryboat, which threw 4' rollers off transom....


Which year or years?

[Skoontz]

As soon as Mark gets me the pics from the weekend, which will be very soon, I'll post. So, this year 2010, this last weekend. Havasu was a great time and some really good racing, even though the boat count could have been larger.

[Smokin' Joe]

As soon as Mark gets me the pics from the weekend, which will be very soon, I'll post. So, this year 2010, this last weekend. Havasu was a great time and some really good racing, even though the boat count could have been larger.

Fantastic! I really enjoyed the atmosphere there in 1979 and '81. 1978 was the worst (if short) ride of my life.

[mercboat]

Joe, I am trying to find the race results for the 1981 Havasu MOD VP race.
I have one of the Hydrostream V Wings that raced there that year, and am wondering how they placed. Thanks, Joe Wallace.

[Smokin' Joe]

Joe, I am trying to find the race results for the 1981 Havasu MOD VP race.
I have one of the Hydrostream V Wings that raced there that year, and am wondering how they placed. Thanks, Joe Wallace.

Joe,

I have the complete results, I think, in a file in Houston. I'm in Austria, remind me next August and I'll look.

Best,
Joe

[racer55]

Hey Joe,

Hope things are good with you, those were some fun races at Havasu. If I remember right Fred Bowden won in 81, he and Mike Miller had the 2 tunnels with bottom pick up units. It was rough that year, I know I lead day one (tunnel std pick ups) and broke out front about half way thru day 2. I thought Louis got penilized for cutting someone off, I remember them with a sign on the point telling Louis same lap I think it helped me more than him. We had the blow out problems you mentioned on day one and switched to a thru hub prop for day 2 helped lap times a bunch.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Alan Stoker

[Smokin' Joe]

Hey Joe,

Hope things are good with you, those were some fun races at Havasu. If I remember right Fred Bowden won in 81, he and Mike Miller had the 2 tunnels with bottom pick up units. It was rough that year, I know I lead day one (tunnel std pick ups) and broke out front about half way thru day 2. I thought Louis got penilized for cutting someone off, I remember them with a sign on the point telling Louis same lap I think it helped me more than him. We had the blow out problems you mentioned on day one and switched to a thru hub prop for day 2 helped lap times a bunch.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Alan Stoker

Hi Alan,

Really a surprise and pleasure to hear from you. I'd looked on the web only a few weeks ago to see that John's Custom Marine still exists. I think you mean 1980 that Fred won and Louis was penalized, but it was '81 that the under gearcase water pickups were allowed. I didn't run Havasu in '80. I think that in '81 it was the black tunnel/Mercury that won, the driver later ruined his arm and a fundraiser was held for him after a race. The fund raiser was held around a swimming pool somewhere near Pasadena (I visited Fred Bowden that weekend). You and I were assigned to walk around the pool collecting pledges (it was a big honor for me to be assigned the job along with the best OMC motor builder and Havasu winner!). I met your parents and liked them a lot, and really admired your motor building.

Very best,
Joe

PS After hearing from you I've added a few words to my original post, you triggered my memory.

[racer55]

Joe,
I thought Kim Howard won in 82, extremely rough that year I broke and got in a customers boat that was down 2 laps and got back to the same lap and finished second. Bowden took off a sponson that year, I may have to look at some old magazines. 78-80 I ran stock 235s 81 was the first modified one and it was fast until I hit something and put a hole in the boat,

I won in 78,80,84, and I think 90 Louis was penalized in 80 I was chasing him.
Fred in 81 with bottom pick ups and Kim in 82 the fund raiser was at Sandy Gilcrests house in Orange Park Acres with the boat in the pool. At least thats my memory but its a long time ago.

Shop is still going Johnscustommarine.net we still build boats and engines.

Al

[Smokin' Joe]

Joe,
I thought Kim Howard won in 82, extremely rough that year I broke and got in a customers boat that was down 2 laps and got back to the same lap and finished second. Bowden took off a sponson that year, I may have to look at some old magazines. 78-80 I ran stock 235s 81 was the first modified one and it was fast until I hit something and put a hole in the boat,

I won in 78,80,84, and I think 90 Louis was penalized in 80 I was chasing him.
Fred in 81 with bottom pick ups and Kim in 82 the fund raiser was at Sandy Gilcrests house in Orange Park Acres with the boat in the pool. At least thats my memory but its a long time ago.

Shop is still going Johnscustommarine.net we still build boats and engines.

Al

Al,

Yes, Sandy Gilcrest, Kim Howard, thanks for providing the names I'd forgotten. Sandy built Eliminator Boats, right? I think Kim won in 1981, but can't prove it til Aug. in Houston when I can pull the records out of my file. Here's what impressed me in 1981. At 85 mph I was of course unmercifully lapped by tunnels running upward of 100 mph. Here's how one tunnel, probably an Eliminator ran, and he often lapped me coming into the far turn, after the right hand turn: I could see completely under his sponsons at the rear, the boat was trimmed up very high, and near the turn buoy he'd 'land' and set the boat, run through the turn, then 'take off' again after the third buoy. I wished I'd had a camera!

Best,
Joe

[Skoontz]

Joe,

I have the complete results, I think, in a file in Houston. I'm in Austria, remind me next August and I'll look.

Best,
Joe

I was going to ask you if Tirol was as in Tirol Austria. Beautiful country.

[Smokin' Joe]

I was going to ask you if Tirol was as in Tirol Austria. Beautiful country.

Yes, we're near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, really land-locked. From this computer I see the lift station on the Zugspitze. Wayne Baldwin asked me to post some local photos but I can't remember which thread that was. I particularly like backcountry skiing with our lightweight steel edge cross country skis, but I also frequently go into our cellar workshop where we've got two two rebuild projects and a bunch of props: a 1980 Johnson 35 and a 1978 Evinrude 25. Can throw the motors in the trunk and drive to the Baltic in July, a 15 hour trip.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Another beautiful shot---different season--Joe. Skoontz....go to Lars Strom Super Swede for some more pics taken from Joe's home.

[Skoontz]

Awesome Joe. KT's mom was an Austrian immigrant, spoke many languages fluently, from Vienna. I have always said you can take a photograph of a sewer pipe in Austria and would ahev to really work hard to not have it be beautiful.

[ePerformanceMarine]

The COR 2.0L class you can run a V bottom boat, it is not just for the Mod Vs. If I still had my old '82 Sanger V Bottom boat I would love to race it in this class. As it was very easy to drive and very quick. Yes it had a Bad *** Black Max/2.4L on it.