 'Those satisfactions are permanent.' - Warren Oates
Thanks to Eve Pribel for this most excellent shot of Khyro at the recent KMPR Shindig. Khyro loves the Tanner T-5 H-Mod, as its the only car he can see out of at the moment. It won't be long before he can see out of everything else at the shop!  Gage Schneider dropped off some of his father Guy's collection today to be safely on display at KMPR.
Guy, who passed away in October, was a huge part of our karting days, serving as my engine builder and later my mechanic from 1996-2004. He is greatly missed. Long before I knew his name, Guy was piling up karting championships across the country, and winning in a smooth, calculated style that was Guy through-and-through. A small glimpse of what was dropped off today: Guy's helmet and number plate from the 1982 IKF Grandnationals, held at TNT Kartways.  Yamaha 340 SRX #8A8-000512 is down to the bare chassis and tunnel, probably for the first time since it came to be in 1976.
 PJ is not a big fan of snowmobiles.
However, when he saw some items on Dad's SRX he thought he could improve on, we told him to go nuts. This, of course, came two days after the 30-questions pertaining to why a then-filthy snow machine was being unloaded into KMPR. Thus, the original cardboard air deflectors to allow fresh air to be fed under the crankcase have been substantially improved with the substitution of extra aluminum PJ had laying around. He made two in less time than it takes me to make a pot of coffee. Wait until you see the rear intrusion panel he made for the back of the sled. It puts factory-made pieces from the time to shame.  February 16, 2023:
The Rickster (Rick Dresang) returns to Eagle River with a 1976 Yamaha 340 SRX for some demo laps. The hair has changed, as has the sled and the pickup truck, but it'll surely be swell. He might even have a stand for it by then!  Frank Issacson, wheeling the 'Lyne Spl.' (Martin T-2) to a fourth-place-finish at Wilmot on October 14, 1962 for an SCCA Preliminary G and H-Mod race.
Thanks to everyone who showed it love this past weekend at KMPR, especially Eve Pribel for bringing her father's trophies and her mother's orange #33 sweater to reunite with the car, some 55 years after it last turned a wheel with their family. I had to bite my lip so I wouldn't tear up when she placed that sweater on her Dad's old car. As well, I learned a lot from some notes she brought, and the engraving on the trophies. For one, it raced at nearby Lynndale Farms in 1963. Lynndale was a short-lived road racing course from 1963-1967, situated in Pewaukee, Wisconsin just north of Hwy 16. After its closure, it became a subdivision, and its where my friend Bryce Dunn grew up. A scant 12 miles from where I was raised. The notes and ephemera she passed along also had a very sweet hand-written message from the late James MacArthur, son of racing legend Edward 'Sandy' MacArthur, from April 1991. Among other things, he mentioned the following: "One thing you might consider- there is a body and frame of a race car in the storage room that is decaying. I believe this 'car' is worth some money to the right persons. It is a total basket case from a rapidly disappearing era. My suggestion would be to sell this 'car' to an interested buyer, before the people who are most interested, i.e. the people who raced in that era, pass on." Lyne took up Jim's advice and contacted Gene Leasure, who already had Martin T-5 in Arizona. Gene had been in-touch with Frank Issacson before his passing in 1989, and he and Lyne struck a deal. A few months after Jim MacArthur's message, Martin T-2 was on its way to Arizona, and hopefully a new life. 30 years later, it arrived at KMPR along with T-5 and a slew of random parts thought to fit the car. Some do. Some are mystery meat. At present, the car is easily the saddest car in terms of shape and fatigue that has ever made its way to KMPR, but it pulled at the heartstrings of all of us this weekend, even PJ. It will fly again, it has to. We'll track down bits, and figure out how to fix up a car that was already showing wear in 1962- but we'll make it endure. The fact it was stored for so many years at Sandy MacArthur's shop also raise an interesting question. Currently, we have no information as to its ownership from 1967-1991, but based on the notes we can surmise that Frank Issacson reclaimed ownership of the car at some point and stored it at his friend Sandy's shop. But was it raced after 1967, and by whom? And why, now that its all hitting me so suddenly, is the top layer of T-2 painted the same color green as Sandy's Bandini and Giaur specials? Sandy had raced the car at Meadowdale in 1960 for Issacson when it was still plum in color, but did he perhaps purchase or borrow the car from Issacson after 1967? Forward into the past!  Dad's Manta Twin Trac (no k) in the winter of 1974-1975, when it was new and driven by California Speedway motorcycle racer Sumner McKnight. It sported a full rollcage, a rear wing, and a Kohler free-air engine. As we are finding out, the 'California Racing Team' of McKnight and the late Rick Woods used two Mantas and were somewhat factory supported by Mercury.
McKnight later ran Nascar Winston West, and started six Nascar Winston Cup events, with a top finish of 14th at Riverside in 1985. Thanks to Jerry Schmitt for pointing out some telltale signs of the chassis to us this past weekend. Jerry rescued the Manta a while back and in 2017 agreed to sell it to Dad, who raced it back in 1980-1981. |
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Kettle Moraine Preservation & Restoration
KettleMorainePR@gmail.com Hubertus, Wisconsin 'Where History and Integrity Meet' |