wow! Someone out there make a Smokey Yunick tribute Chevelle!

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/08/20/photos-from-the-25th-woodward-dream-cruise

I didn't know that Smokey had an AAR Eagle! It only raced once, then sat for 30 years in his shop, partially dismantled

Only four of these cars were built in 1969, with the car shown here being delivered to legendary racing team owner and master of racing engine trickery “Smokey” Yunick. It was equipped with a 159-cubic inch DOHC turbocharged Ford V-8, producing upwards of 800 brake horsepower! Numbered as the #44 “City of Daytona Beach” car, it qualified 11th for that year’s Indianapolis 500.

Veteran Joe Leonard qualified Smokey's gold speedster 11th and ran as high as second before mechanical issues. Finished sixth despite having to change the radiator

Equipped with Hilborn fuel injection, four-speed Hewland LG500 transmission, rack-and-pinion steering, front and rear independent double-wishbone suspension with adjustable coil-overs

The Santa Ana, the second Indianapolis car created by British designer Tony Southgate for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers (AAR), was named after AAR’s hometown. Based upon the original Eagle design, it featured a wheelbase extended by 3½ inches, with an all-new chassis and extended offset bodywork, making it the lowest and widest AAR racer to date. USAC rule changes required the use of wider wheels, now 10 inches in front and 14 inches in the rear, while other new features included ventilated disc brakes, an improved roll bar design, and Gurney’s brilliant helical-toothed steering box, which provided more rack-and-pinion travel.

During the race, Leonard moved up through the field to 2nd and was chasing the leader, Mario Andretti, when an errant hose clamp punctured a hole into his radiator. Living up to his slogan, “The Best Damn Garage in Town,” Yunick had his car and driver back on the track within 14 minutes, and Leonard would finish the heated race 6th overall. Nonetheless, Smokey was disgusted that the aforementioned hose clamp had cost him the race and took the Eagle Santa Ana back to his shop. There, after only one race, it was partially dismantled and then left to sit for the next 30 years.

It wasn’t until just before his death in 2001 that Yunick agreed to sell #44. The Eagle was then fully restored by a team that included famed Indianapolis car builders A.J. Watson and Willie Davis

https://www.facebook.com/groups/808547945893612/permalink/2261256230622769/

there are a few unsung heroes that history may let fade away from history books, but they'll outlast us all among the stories told at race tracks...

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/petty-shelby-smokey-garlits-granatelli-parnelli-set-pace-1967/#016-struggles-1967-static-side-smokey-mug-car-13-daytona-jpg

I heard a new story about Smokey Yunick, and the innovations he did to improve speed on his race car

he mounted his generator (or alternator) behind the grill, with a fan on it where normally it would have a pulley, and let the wind spin the damn thing instead of it's parasitic loss on the engine power

another story new to me, and probably not true nor accurate, is that he asked to borrow the Chevelle templates before the race to check his car, at which point he made duplicate templates that only fit his car, and returned the new templates that only fit his car to NASCAR.

another new to me story was that on one car he'd stood on the roof, creating a high pressure zone over the car at speed, and ending in a nearly inverted air dam at the back of the roof. Inspectors balked, but Smokey said he'd rebuilt a wrecked race car, and hadn't fixed the roof.

one I've never heard of before is that he used a helmet made of lead, hanging inside the car during inspection to make weight, then left that in the trailer and handed his driver a regular helmet for the race

http://digg.com/video/henry-smokey-yunick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=40&v=lePZF17Tz3U

thanks Steve!

Smokey's Duct Tape aero enhancement on a 1957 Chev Cameo pickup at the Daytona Beach NASCAR speed trials.

Paul Goldsmith Smokey Yunick and NASCAR Official Mauri Rose next to the masking tape and cardboard instant streamlining 1957 Chevy Cameo for 132.353 mph.

The flagman is 16 time Indy driver Cliff Bergere.

they had tried speed testing a 55 earlier, and only achieved 117

Salute of the Day! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, a Smokey Yunick tribute car at the Settrington Cup at the Goodwood Revival

Who ever did that deserves a pizza!

Seriously, that's just amazing to get a shot at sponsoring a car there, or whatever the situation is, and decorating it up with lettering, and the Smokey black, gold, and 13.

fantastic!

https://www.facebook.com/320574491294246/photos/a.327217990629896.85151.320574491294246/1162513900433630/?type=3&permPage=1

There isn't any info that pops up with a simple search, but, some very famous people (Smokey Yunick, Mickey Thompson, John Fitch, Betty Skelton) were in the 1959 Mobile Economy Run

The Mobilgas Economy Run: A History of the Long Distance Fuel Efficiency ... By Dave Hermanson
 
https://books.google.com/books?id=vVHmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131&lpg=PA131&dq=Los+Angeles+to+Minneapolis+Mobil+Economy+Run&source=bl&ots=sTn9-7u4af&sig=hB8mzqgXK7VgwpkgQh3adXdBpVQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLkdyS4vbXAhUV9GMKHVWVDdIQ6AEINTAC#v=onepage&q&f=false

the Smokey Yunick / Gurney Eagle, and the Yunick / Kurtis Kraft Indy roadster, are both coming to auction. You still have time to sell a kidney

https://journal.classiccars.com/2017/11/20/gurney-yunick-indy-cars-join-worldwides-scottsdale-auction-docket/
http://worldwide-auctioneers.com/auctions/details.cfm?vehicleID=24&id=61

Marc just noticed the Smokey Yunick sign in Cars 3! ! ! How'd I miss that?

Compliments to Pixar for the respect they showed to Smokey...

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/04/cars-3.html

It's Smokey! Dang, that is straight incredible attention to history and respect for the source!

Smokey is a 1947 Hudson truck and old friend of Doc Hudson. In the movie, Smokey also operates his own autobody shop, Smokey's Automotive Services.

 And they got Chris Cooper to voice the Smokey character... very cool. I've enjoyed Chris Cooper in several movies, Horse Whisperer, Bourne movies, Lonesome Dove, but especially Lonestar.

Smokey Yunick was the engine builder for Marshall Teagues "Fabulous Hudson Hornet"

Herb Thomas, Marshall Teague, Tim Flock, Dick Rathmann and others would give Hudson 80 wins from 1951 through 1955, dominating the sport and forcing the Big Three into providing factory support for stock car racers running those cars.

Thomas sold his 1952 FHH when he got a new Hornet in 1954, and it slipped into obscurity, and was driven on the street by new owners that had no idea that under the paint was a championship winning race car.

It came up on the radar in the 70s when an owner learned it had "severe usage parts / race car parts" and 10 years later he sold it as it was not running, and taking up space.

The guy he let slip the secret to was the last Hudson dealership proprietor, and he bought it from the owner in the 80s, but stored it for another dozen years, and finally restored it for the 1998 Eyes On Design car event, and other cool shows that appreciated the history making race car.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/05/05/original-fabulous-hudson-hornet-nascar-racer-to-be-added-to-national-historic-vehicle-register/

They are also honoring Bruce Meyer's Manx number 1!

http://varietylatino.com/2016/cine/noticias/disney-pixar-revela-poster-oficial-cars-3-294263/

ordered by a very determined young man, he had it only months before getting drafted for Nam, and left for the jungle after putting 15,000 on the Z/28. It only has 15692 now

See, he put racing parts on it at 15442 miles, and it's not streetable anymore. He's driven in 140 miles since 1978.

After the Z/28 was converted to a Service Component car, it was no longer suitable for everyday street driving. The competition metallic brakes have to be warmed up before they will really stop the car. The full-race Second Design cam and valvetrain are lumpy. The cross-ram dual quad intake from Smokey Yunicks parts auction is really strictly for racing. The twin 600 carbs have no chokes, so it’s a bear to start the car.

But he still has the car he ordered in Dec 1968

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/smokey-yunick-parts-hood-15000-mile-unrestored-1969-chevrolet-camaro-z28/

the Hurst Floor Shift Special, ala Smokey Yuinick

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/

We all know the story of Smokey's Chevelle getting checked by Nascar templates, here are the photos of the 67 that was the 7/8ths of all the legends

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/

Smokey Yunick broke more than 300 Bonneville records with a “stock” 1967 Z/28

He built a stock-bore 445hp small-block and 540hp big-block that contained “optional heavy-duty parts” that were production components available from Chevy, which they had to be for eligibility. Both used solid lifters. Muncie four-speeds and Positraction 12-bolt rearends suspended from stock leaf springs completed the drivetrain.

The three Camaros he built were said to be Z/28s, though they may have started out as pedestrian Camaros with Z/28 markings. Smokey stressed that he deviated from stock by only adding rollbars, magnesium American Racing wheels, and 10.00-15 rayon racing tires.

On their way to Bonneville, Smokey called HOT ROD’s Jim McFarland to come meet him at Riverside Raceway, where the Bud Moore Mercury Cougar team was practicing for the upcoming Mission Bell 250. Smokey flat towed one of the Camaros for this detour. When he got there somehow he was allowed to unload the Camaro at the track, where this shot was taken. With Lloyd Ruby driving they broke the Trans-Am qualifying record.

Smokey was immediately kicked out of Riverside, with a big smile on his face.

At Bonneville in October 1967, a 10-mile course was marked off on the salt, and with driver Mickey Thompson and stock car drivers Curtis Turner, Bunkie Blackburn, and Johnny Patterson, they spent 12 days breaking hundreds of flying-mile records

http://www.hotrod.com/features/1603-how-smokey-yunick-broke-more-than-300-bonneville-records-with-a-stock-1967-z28/
http://www.hotrod.com/features/1602-smokey-yunicks-mysterious-no-13-camaro/

I've been wanting to watch Ameri Car na, but since I don't have cable, I was hoping it would go to Netflix. Nope. But, it's on YouTube

for more episodes, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBMsqJf_Rhke-qyKgSfds2g

Duntov's test mule

This one-off white-on-red 1954 Corvette is referred to as the ‘Mule Car’ due to the fact that Zora Duntov himself used it to develop the performance capacities of future Corvettes. Smokey Yunick, built the engine.

http://www.highline-autos.com/great_garage/53/The-Lingenfelter-Collection--Well-Engineered

what was the real deal on Smokey’s Chevelle? Macsmotorcitygarage.com did a side by side comparison

this graph overlay is perfect for analyzing the dimensional differences

the things that are immediately noticeable are the front bumper sucked back into the front, the roofline is froward a couple inches, the wing windows are forward a couple inches, but even more pronounced are the rear tires, forward about 6 inches maybe.

the old rumor about it being 7/8ths size is easily proven nonsense, just simple math. A 7/8ths size Chevelle would be almost 10 inches narrower and more than two feet shorter (length not height) than a full-scale version.

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2013/08/21/the-truth-about-smokey-yunicks-78-scale-chevelle/#more-25211

Smokey Yunick, I haven't mentioned before, flew for the Flying Tigers

One of the B17s he flew was Smokey and His Firemen

After a couple years of flying B17s in Africa and then in Europe in the 97th Bombing Group of the 15th Air Force out of Amendola Airfield, Foggia, Italy where he did 52 combat missions, and then was transferred to the Pacific theater where he flew search and rescue with the 7th Emergency Rescue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Yunick
http://www.smokeyyunick.com/bio.php

a Smokey Yunick story I hadn't heard before

Jalopnik just posted a top ten list of awesome cars that were banned from racing, and the Chevelle was mentioned with a story I hadn't heard. They didn't mention the 7/8th scale, they told why he pulled this trick off, once. And this may be just a yarn, but "he proved the car's legitimacy by using the first body template in Nascar. He measured his race car, and then put those measurements on a Chevelle pulled from the parking lot. They matched exactly. The officials were not aware however that the test car also belonged to Smokey."

Smokey Yunick's contribution to the SBC was huge

Yunick had an intuitive understanding of engines from racing in NASCAR and preparing the Corvette motors for Sebring in 1956. Iskenderian also had a huge reputation from working on high-performance engines for Ford and Chevy.

“Smokey Yunick was the professor of the small-block,” says Tower. “He saved GM millions. He found out by racing what was weak and what wasn’t.”

Under the influence of people like Yunick, Iskenderian, Duntov and racing director Vince Piggins, the Chevy small-block would become the most successful production-based racing V-8 ever, winning thousands of races in SCCA, NASCAR, Trans Am and even IndyCar over the decades.

Yunick also worked with Zora Arkus-Duntov and John Dolza from Rochester Products on mechanical fuel injection, which debuted with the 283-cid V-8 in 1957. It was the second American engine to claim one horsepower per cubic inch; a limited-production 1956 Chrysler Hemi had beaten GM to the punch.

Tower recalls working with Yunick on exotic combinations, too, like porcelain cylinder walls and nickel alloy blocks. "I worked on the rings and the bores. We started to figure it out, but it was just too expensive to add porcelain at the foundry. But we did use nickel in our racing blocks."

As a testament to its staying power, in 2000, the Chevrolet small-block V-8 was honored by Wards Auto as one of the 10 Best Engines of the 20th Century.

http://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/Articles/2015/02/06/American-Engine

The earliest known Corvette race car, shipped to Smokey Yunick for race prep, went to auction this weekend, but didn't hit reserve

The earliest-known Corvette race car. This Daytona Beach "NASCAR Unit" was created by Chevrolet Engineering for NASCAR stock car racing, and was probably a dual branding effort between Chevrolet's Ed Cole and NASCAR's Bill France. This effort was part of Ed Cole's push to save the Corvette from extinction (700 sales in 1955) and Chevrolet's first effort in creating a brand image of speed and performance lasting through seven generations of Corvettes. This Daytona Beach NASCAR 1953 Corvette Convertible is one of two, a 1953 and a 1955, that were built/rebuilt by Chevrolet Engineering to be equipped with dual-quad high-output 1956 engines, 3-speed close ratio transmissions, heavy-duty rear end assemblies, plastic tonneau covers, small racing windshields and relocated gauges per Mauri Rose. Work was done by Chevrolet Experimental Shop and Garage, subject title: "Rebuilding of NASCAR Corvettes for Stock Car Racing," dated November 3, 1955. This project was under the direction of Ed Cole and the conversion was under the supervision of three-time Indy 500 winner Mauri Rose. Delivered to Smokey Yunick's shop Daytona Beach, FL, in early February 1956 in time for promotional NASCAR photos with Bill France Jr. and Joe Hawkins, and the subsequent February 12-26, 1956, Annual Winter Daytona Beach Classics, which included the 7th Annual International Safety and Speed Trials and Stock Car Races (race number 27). Prior to rebuild by Chevrolet Engineering, this 1953 VIN #211 and a 1955 Corvette VIN #399 were raced by NASCAR's legendary Thomas Brothers (Herb & Don), Junior Johnson, Jimmy Massey, Ralph Liguori, Johnny Dodson and Gwyn Staley at the Bowman Gray Stadium, Martinsville Speedway and Raleigh Speedway in 1955 (race numbers 55, 62 and 92). After the February 1956 Daytona Beach races, this car returned to the grit and grime of the legendary North Carolina NASCAR race tracks, primarily Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, where it was driven by Pee Wee Jones, Bobby Myers, Gwyn Staley, Junior Johnson, Ralph Liguori and Jimmy Massey with race numbers 3, 16, 27 and 116. In 1958, Mr. Leslie Gray Tuttle purchased #211 from NASCAR and received the GM MSO and became the first titled owner of #211, and over 50 years later, Mr. Tuttle provided conclusive evidence that helped identify #211 as the original NASCAR Daytona Beach and Carolina racer.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1953-CHEVROLET-CORVETTE-ROADSTER-RACE-CAR-178496