Jerry Eisert, 74; mechanic built for Indy racers, actor, himself
deb...@comcast.net
By Jack Williams
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 4, 2006
>From the outside, it looked like an ordinary red Volkswagen. On the
inside, it was an unmistakable powerhouse, equipped with the biggest
engine Jerry Eisert could find.
He delivered it in the late 1960s to actor and auto racing addict Paul
Newman, who had commissioned him to produce "the fasted Volkswagen on
Earth."
For Mr. Eisert, a chief mechanic who designed and built everything from
hot rods to Indianapolis 500 race cars, no job, it seemed, was
impossible.
Not even the job of meticulously crafting or restoring three cars -
Chemo 1, Chemo 2 and Chemo 3, he called them - after being diagnosed
with colon cancer.
Mr. Eisert, the longtime owner of Eisert Racing Enterprises, died Feb.
23 at his San Marcos home. He was 74.
Before his death, he was about 75 percent finished with a three-window,
canary yellow replica of a 1932 coupe that appeared in the movie
"American Graffiti."
"He built it all brand new, starting with 2004 parts," said his
son, Danny Eisert. "He replicated the parts himself, designed
everything, and it ran unbelievably well."
For more than 20 years, however, Mr. Eisert's focus was the high-stakes
world of Indy car racing. He built professional relationships as a
mechanic and car designer with renowned drivers such as Dan Gurney, Al
Unser, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Lloyd Ruby and Peter Revson.
In 1966, he received the Mechanical Achievement Award for an Indy 500
car that best represented imagination and skill in design. A day before
the race, he installed a new Ford engine in the Chevrolet, which
started in post position 33 with Ronnie Duman at the wheel.
A chaotic, 14-car pileup eliminated the car in the first lap, bringing
Mr. Eisert to tears. Although crashes of that magnitude had a 50
percent death rate during that era, there were no fatalities or serious
injuries.
"Cars were flying everywhere," said his son, who worked with his
dad for many years. "It was a sad thing, not getting to complete the
race. He had dreamed of racing there; it was one of the biggest moments
of his life."
Mr. Eisert's Indy car, a sparkling gold No. 96, continued to occupy a
special place in his heart. It was raced over the years by Rutherford,
Revson, Al Unser, Greg Weld, Jerry Grant, Billy Foster and Roger
McCluskey in addition to Duman.
"About three years ago, we pulled it out of mothballs, just after Dad
came down with cancer," his son said.
"He said, 'I want to restore it before I go.' It kept his mind off
the disease." And he completed the task.
>From the time he and his wife, Lorraine, were featured on the cover of
Hot Rod Magazine in 1954, Mr. Eisert was recognized as potential force
in auto racing.
"I guess all I've ever done since I was in junior high school is
build cars," he once said.
Known for his wedge-shaped designs and his innovations, many of them
safety-oriented, Mr. Eisert was among the first to use racing wings on
cars.
"He was a futurist when it came to aerodynamics," his son said.
"When he first put moveable wings on cars in 1960s - he called them
'bat wings' - they were outlawed after a couple of years. Then, two
years later every driver had them. They were recognized for their
safety benefits in creating downforce. They became mandatory."
Mr. Eisert's early fortunes in the racing industry paralleled those of
Gurney, for whom he designed a Lotus 19 sports car that won the
three-day 1962 Daytona Continental.
"The car ran out of gas and had to be pushed across the finish
line," said Sherry Schaeffer, Mr. Eisert's daughter.
In 1965, Al Unser drove a rear-engine Chevrolet that Eisert built from
scratch to a championship at Pike's Peak. It was the lone Chevy of its
kind on the championship circuit at the time.
Jerome Arthur Eisert was born May 5, 1931, in Crookston, Minn., and
moved with his family in the early 1940s to Montebello.
Shortly after graduating in 1949 from Montebello High School, he opened
what he called a speed shop for fellow hot-rod enthusiasts.
He built his first sprint car in the early 1950s for competition on the
dirt speedways of California. At first, he wanted to drive as well as
design cars.
"He was involved in an accident, and Mom said he had to make a choice
- make them or race them," his son said.
When the Arciero brothers of Montebello asked him to prepare their
sports car, a 2-liter Ferrari, for the racing circuit, Eisert opened a
new chapter in his career. The Ferrari, driven by Bob Drake, won 11 of
13 races.
After he added a 4.9-liter Ferrari to his racing arsenal, Mr. Eisert
began his long relationship with Gurney, who later drove a Ferrari to
victory in a Grand Prix race.
But for Mr. Eisert, it was never all about competition.
What kept him going was the novelty of building a fast electric car,
creating a stylish dune buggy he called the Bugetta and reinventing the
ultrafast VW for Newman.
As for the unfinished "American Graffiti" coup, Mr. Eisert's family
is hoping to complete it in his memory.
Survivors include his wife, Lorraine; daughters, Sherry Schaeffer and
Lorrie Rea of San Marcos; sons, Daniel Eisert of San Marcos and Michael
Eisert of Laguna Niguel; and eight grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Grace Episcopal Church of
the Valley, 1020 Rose Ranch Road, San Marcos. Graveside services are
scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at San Marcos Cemetery, 1021 Mulberry
Drive.
Donations are suggested for colon cancer to the American Cancer
Society.
Hoodoo
>Jerry Eisert, 74; mechanic built for Indy racers, actor, himself
Thanks a bunch for posting this!
Related info -
From Sherry Schaeffer, daughter of Jerry Eisert.
"My father, Jerry Eisert, passed away very early on Friday morning
February 23, 2006, after a long battle with colon cancer. We are
having a memorial for him Saturday March 4th at 1:00 PM at Grace
Church, San Marcos. We expect a lot of family, friends and racing
buddies. I'm Jerry's oldest daughter, Sherry. I remember standing in
the pits and gasoline alley as a young girl. Knowing my Dad was
battling cancer my husband and I built a second home (with a huge
garage) on our property in Southern California for my parents.
Currently I have the 96 Indy Race Car in my garage. This car was
driven by Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Ronnie Duman, Greg Weld, Peter
Revson, Jerry Grant, Billy Foster & Roger McCluskey. Dad never stop-
ped designing cars, currently he has an unfinished hot rod with a
rear engine North Star Cadillac engine! My husband and brothers are
going to finish it in memory of my dad."
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http://www.oldracingcars.com/f5000/eisert/default.htm
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