Don Carlton
David Romigh
Gang -
Don Carlton came up in conversation this past weekend, talking with a
couple friends about how much Pro Stock has changed in almost 30 years.
All I knew was that he had passed away, but didn't know any of the
specifics...if anyone out there can help?
Thanks for the info, sad tho it might be...
-Dave sends..
Joe Ogiba
I think he crashed in testing at Milan MI sort of like Lee Shepherd's crash
with the R&M Pro Stocker.I remember in 1971 Don Carlton had the baddest PS
around next to Ronnie Sox.
If I remember correctly Bill Jenkins (Grumpy) won the first NHRA PS race
at the 1970 Winternationals but Ronnie Sox won most of the races in 70-71
untill Bill came out with the Vega small-block PS in 1972.
Joe
David Romigh wrote in message <3560CD5F...@erols.com>...
Franklin Amiano
On Mon, 18 May 1998 20:07:59 -0400, David Romigh <dro...@erols.com>
wrote:
>Gang -
>Don Carlton came up in conversation this past weekend, talking with a
>couple friends about how much Pro Stock has changed in almost 30 years.
>All I knew was that he had passed away, but didn't know any of the
>specifics...if anyone out there can help?
>
>Thanks for the info, sad tho it might be...
>
>-Dave sends..
>
>Dave, Gang, I'm not real good on Pro Stockers. But, I seem to remember Don was killed in a Colt during Tire Testing in Michigan(?) Franko
Robb Lowe
Carlton was the badboy of his era. He was Chrysler's factory engineered test
car/driver. Him and his tuner-friend-guru Ted Spehar. Ted started off on
Woodward Ave. at a gas station increasing capacity on oil pans, and tuning.
This caught someones eye at Chrysler, and he started a relationship with them.
After Carltons death, which was in Colt Hemi Pro Stocker on a big holiday < it
was either july 4, labor day, or memorial day> Ted told me that the seatbelts
either broke or came loose, and Don died from the being slung around inside the
car. Theres no way of telling now, but had it been a national event, there
would have been paramedics on the scene and maybe they could have saved him.
You mentioned Grumpy winning the very first PS race. Thats true, and its true
that Chryslers < read that S&M, and Carlton> DOMINATED everything in site for
the next two years. NHRA factored the hemi in such a way much like Nascar that
everyone pretty much HAD to run something else. Chrysler in that era reminds me
of Microsoft now.. they went all out, did it best, and pissed everyone else
off. But thats just my opinion.
-=Robb
PS - Ted Spehar is alive and well in Detroit these days, last I talked to him
he was working at K-tech engines < K something or other >. They use to build
all the engines for the IROC series.
David Romigh
Gang -
I appreciate the info so far..I knew it was at the track, during some kind
of testing.. and had an idea that it was in a Colt.. anyone know the year?
And yeah, the Motown Missle WAS probably the most dominant car in the class
for the first couple years..after that, when the NHRA decided to refactor
the weight breaks to give the small-block racers a fighting chance, it
started to become impractical to run a Hemi in P/Stock. Chrysler kind of
went the route of smallblocks for a while (Bob Glidden's Arrow and Dick
Landy's Omni come to mind right off), but then nothing for almost a decade.
The funny part is that the B-1 heads that were Chrysler's "next big thing"
have actually been around since '83 or '84 - the first mention I saw about
them was in a Hot Rod magazine article from '84 (June, I think - I've got
the article around somewhere)..
Sorry this started rambling - just LOVE talking about this sport, y'know?
-Dave sends...
Robb Lowe
IT aint ramblin... its bench racing and for most of us its what we do best!
Back when I was dealing musclecars, a guy contacted me to buy or sell for him a
1974 < I think> Dodge dart sport/plymouth duster < they are pretty much the
same car except for minor trim> It was not only a Don Carlton/Mopar Missle car,
but the factory test mule for the small block program. This car was the testbed
for all the W-2 head stuff, and ALOT of trickery that only the minds at
Chrysler, Spehar, and Carlton could conceive. Lightweight everything, and who
knows what all else. Anyway, this guy had repainted blue and called it
"Addicted" it was a pretty car.. but he wanted like $15,000 for a roller....
which was way to much for it not to be restored. Anyway, last I heard a couple
had the car and restored it to former glory. Its either in private hands or
sitting in Garlits museum.
-=Robb
RACECARART
>And yeah, the Motown Missle WAS probably the most dominant car in the class
Dave, Robb, Gang,
Based on the numerous times I saw the early Pro Stocks(and pre-Pro stock heads
up cars of '68-'69) the dominant cars were the Sox & Martin team and Jenkins
without a doubt. The Motown Missle wasn't around in the pre-pro stock years
but when it did appear it caused a sensation to be sure with it's construction
but...
It was more of an ET, mph, qualifier car than a real killer in eliminations.
Sox, Jenkins, Booth and a number of others more than made up for the Missle's
advances with their driving.
The whole package/combination as always is what made for dominance in actual
competition and Sox, Martin & Jake King were dominant. The only times Sox lost
was if he screwed up or the car had trouble, both extremely rare things.
Jenkins was king in the pre-pro stock heads-up days.
The Missle's time did come though, but not in the very beginning.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Robb Lowe
Joel as usual is 100% right. The missle was a test and R&D car more so than a
touring racer. Sure, Carlton wanted to win, but he knew going into the deal
that what he was learning was going to be shared with the Mopar collective.
Sox&Martin didnt share quite as much from what I understand. Carlton was an ace
at driving, being one if not the most consistent driver available which is why
Chrysler selected him. This plus his ability to remember minute details of a
pass long before Datapaks made him the perfect candidate for this mission. He
to me is as missed as Sneaky Pete Robinson and Lee Shepherd for their
innovations and talent.
-=Robb
RACECARART
>The missle was a test and R&D car more so than a
Robb, Gang,
The missle was one of, if not THE fist to use a milled engine block that had
all the junk taken off... any uneeded bosses, webbing etc. It also was one of
the first to use disc brakes I think, among many other things.
They ran a clutchflite trans too, a modified Torqueflite with a clutch for the
explosive start but shifted like an automatic w/o need to use the clutch pedal.
Not new but not real common either. Not everybody was Ronnie Sox with a
4-speed!
I'm talkin' about the early versions now, not the later cars.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Mark Panos
David Romigh wrote:
>
> Gang -
> Don Carlton came up in conversation this past weekend, talking with a
> couple friends about how much Pro Stock has changed in almost 30 years.
> All I knew was that he had passed away, but didn't know any of the
> specifics...if anyone out there can help?
>
If memory seves me right, it was either July 5 or 9 or 1977. Don was
killed while driving his altered-wheelbase B/A Colt.
After 1972, I don't think Spehar had much to do with the Mopar Missle.
At that point it was Carlton, Clyde Hodges, and forgive me but I cannot
think of the others. Somehow Stu McDade was involved with this, also.
The Challenger was the first car I remember to have onboard telemetry,
even though it was VERY crude. This car was sold to Mike Fons, and who
knows from there.
The 1973 Mopar Missle Duster ( a Butler-Built chassis, I think) was the
REALLY trick car. It had very sophisticated on-board computers (for the
time). At the same time, Don had a 1973 Dodge Dart with his name on it,
and used it for match racing. This was built by Don and Clyde Hodges.
Another little -known fact is the existence of the Mini Missle. WHAT,
you say!? This was one of the Colts that Chrylser had built in
middle-1973 by Dan Knapp of Ramchargers fame. This was the first of 4
that I know of,and they were semi-finished. Carltons was taken to
Bulters for finishing, and was spotted there in sept/oct of 1973. Since
NHRA did not change their rules to allow an imported Dodge to run Pro
Stock, this car was sold unfinished to Lynnwood Craft in about 1975.
Yep, folks, you heard it here for the first time (maybe), the Mini
Missle still lives!
Don continued running the Mopar Missle in 1974, but of course even the
best Hemis were 2-3 tenths behind the pack at that unfair weight break.
By 1975, Don was running his own Dart (Mopar Missle went where?), and
under Rod Shop colors, which would be the colors he would run until his
death.
This is where the small-block development car comes in. The Rod Shop
was testing W2 heads in 1974, but the money dried up. Carlton continued
this testing in 1975, but there still wasn't a block that would stand up
to the horsepower. This block would show up in 1977, in time for
Glidden.
By 1976, Carlton (and Rod Shop, Billy Stepp, Ronnie Sox, et all) was
getting more competition in B/A and C/A from the other Pro Stock cars
that were having a hard time being competitive (Shaffirof), and needed
more advantage, This was when Don and Clyde built the "Gold" 1976 Colt
that was run at Indy in Sept 1976. This car was a winner, and may have
forced NHRA's hand. For 1977 if a car was 1967 or newer, and running in
Altered classes, it was required to have 20% engine setback. This would
effectively eliminate the cars from Altered, but a new trio of
classifications (A/FX, B/FX, and C/FX) were included to cover the
PS-type cars.
For 1977 the Gold body was removed, the front frame lengthened, and
longer 4-link bars were installed. A new fiberglass body was built (did
you know that Clyde Hodges did all of their fiberglass work, and
probably did the 'glass for 90% of the Colts built?). This car looked
different with the front wheels at the front bumper, and the rear wheels
at the rear bumper. If didn't work as well as Don and Clyde wanted, but
showed promise. A new chassis was built after Gatornationals, with the
rear wheels in a conventional position, and this was a screaming car.
This was the first car of its kind that I know ran an
under-1.00-60ft-time!
I had alot of time to talk to Clyde Hodges, and Jimmy, in 1980. Clyde
said that Donnie (that was what they called him) wasn't feeling well
that day, and had complained of the heat. It was decided to make one
more test run. The car may have blown a front tire at about the
1000-foot mark, and went off the pavement. Carlton obviously was trying
to steer it back onto the track, and that was when it barrel-rolled.
Donnie was dead when they got to him. THere were many rumors that he
may not have had a helmet on. It wasn't uncommon for some of the better
tuners to make a test run or runs without the helmet so they could hear
the engine better. Clyde says that he had a helmet on. Others who were
there have hinted he didn't. Doesn't really matter, because the very
talented Don Carlton was dead. Sad day in my life.
Sorry to be so long winded, but I thought you might like the story as I
know it.
Later!
Mark
PS I could post some Carlton pictures if you want.
Dennis Friend
Gang
This isn't related to Don Carlton, but
the Wayne County Speed Shop street roadster was
built with help from Chrysler to R&D
the 340.
Dennis
Robb Lowe
It never ceases to surprise me as to what I find out in this NG. No matter what
the topic, or the subject, someone knows it, and knows it well! hats off to you
Mark, that was a great story, and it really filled in the blanks for the
Carlton stories. This is one for the "keep"folder. Thanks, and hope to hear <
and see > more from you.
-=Robb
PS - yes, post away!! I have one picture I will send thats Don out in front of
The Grump, Dart vs. Vega and hes passing him... kinda makes you feel good
knowing what an advantage the Vega had.
RACECARART
>Sorry to be so long winded, but I thought you might like the story as I
Mark, Gang,
I like a long post with information, thanks. Post your pics please.
According to an article in SS&DI(Drag Racing Monthly) awhile back Ford had a
test mule A/FX SOHC Mustang with all kinds of recording(telemetry?) equipment
back in 1965.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Robb Lowe
really? wayne county, back then? I was thinking they were all Chevy till the
80's. I know the Rod Shop did alot of Chrysler stuff back then.
-=Robb
Mark Panos
Wow, I hadn't heard that! I think this car was built by Ron Fournier
(spelling) for Francis Crider and Joe DeSantis. I remember it having a
Hemi, and running quite well, but it was sold to The Rod Shop and driven
by Gene Dunlop in 1975. On paper, the A/SR index/record looked very
easy, as the street roadster was basically a Pro Stock car. But,
aerodynamic drag was a bigger problem than anticipated, and the car was
just competitive, not a "killer". It was sold to Wayne County at about
mid/end of 1975.
As for Small Block stuff, when I was at the Rod Shop in 1980, there were
still probably about 10 or 15 W2 castings there on the shelf. THey had
1974 casting dates, and were the original prototype batch! One day I
will write about my visit there!
Later
Mark
RACECARART
> when I was at the Rod Shop in 1980,... > One day I>will write about my visit
there!
>Later>Mark <<
Mark, Gang,
Looking forward to your Rod Shop story Mark.
Did you know that the Rod Shop was voted into the S/S Hall Of Fame this year?
Team owner category. I was just researching for Rod Shop images to put on the
painting I'm doing for the HOF poster. Going to use the door lettering from
Dave Boertman's Jr. stocker.
Anyone interested in the whole list of inductees?
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Robb Lowe
Joel, you need to ask???????
Get to typing boy!
-=Robb