Love this car. Really nice model Phil. You captured the spirit of the car and the engine and cockpit details really make the car standout.
I have first hand experience. My step father, George Lehman, built and raced his own ASR and CM front engine Chevy road race “specials” in the 60’s in Cal Club. Being a racer and builder from Santa Barbara, George volunteered to help his friends Dave and Blake Gibbs restore Old Yeller after the Gibbs bought the crashed remains around 1977. George confirmed that Max and Ina Balchowski became involved later during the Gibbs ownership offering valuable advice about setting up the chassis, the Buick nailhead motor and its unique 6 carbs. The Gibbs, Ann and George Lehman, Vilander family and the Carlson family members helped prep the car, pack cars and travel to West Coast races including early Historic Events at Laguna Seca, Pomona, Riverside, St. Louis (street race) and Portland Raceways. George and Blake Gibbs were the principle builders, mechanics and they took turns racing the car. Mike Shapiro built and painted the entire body out of flat sheet aluminum using traditional mallet, shot bag and English wheel. Mike used original (crashed) body parts and magazine photos for reference. (Just like you did Phil) Dave Gibbs funded and inspired the program. The team really did a nice job restoring the car and getting all the details period correct. “Bringing it back”. “Nice. But not too nice” because it is, after all, “a junkyard dog.” Remember back in the 70’s there were few vintage race events and Old Yeller was considered an old, slow, uncompetitive race car. Very pleased to see this car celebrated going on 60+ years. The car was then, and remains today, massively popular with fans.
Phil. I have a lot of private photos and drawings that might be helpful if you need additional reference information. The Jay Leno feature show and Tam’s Old Car Race website offer excellent information as previously mentioned. Also you can see Old Yeller Mk II in the Elvis Presley’s movie “Viva Las Vegas”
In any case keep up the great work Phil and I’m looking forward to seeing your next modeling project.
- Scott Vilander, Santa Barbara Ca.
