the team that would have won the 1968 Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest nationals at Indy, out of 53 entries, got disqualified because they smoked the tires on the way to get the trophy
this last photo is from the 1966 National Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest in Detroit
My brother went to vocational school and was in the Plymouth trouble shooting competition in the late '80s. I don't think the cars they used would have been able to smoke the tires!
and that might be why you are not entertaining me. I not only discover the fun, interesting, and true stories - I share them without a bit of care if you don't believe that such amazing things happen. Good luck to you and whatever other source of entertainment you favor now that you've decided I'm letting you down with bullcrap
This IS NOT about the 1966 Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest as the title depicts. I know because I am in the bottom picture which is a correct picture for the 1966 National Contest which took place in Detroit, not Indy. There was also not a High School 1st Place and a Vocational 1st Place in 1966 as pics 5&6 depict. Just one First Place Winner was awarded in 1966 which actually resulted in a huge disagreement, after which the rules were changed. (In 1966, First Place was given to a vocational school from Dearborn while the high school car immediately behind them got 2nd, even though that car was perfect. The issue was that the vocational contestants had bent the throttle linkage to adjust the idle, while the high school contestants properly adjusted the cable to the linkage to achieve the correct idle. While the award issue was not corrected, the disagreement also drew attention to the difference between the two schools of study where vocational students received automotive classes full time, while the high school students took Auto Shop as one of many classes. It appears that Chrysler conceded that issue by creating two award classes.) Back to the post: Proof that the original post title is incorrect also lies in the fact that the cars shown are Plymouth Roadrunners which did not come out until 1968. If I had to guess, those cars are 1969 and the background appears to in fact be the Indy infield. Bottom line: Correct the title year to 1969 and disregard the last picture from 1966 and you are good to go! (And yes, I was one of the contestants in the high school car that received 2nd Place at the 1966 Nationals. You be the judge...)
that I got the year wrong is obvious, I don't know how none of us looking at it missed that! Thank you for the additional information, I was getting the info and images from the source I linked to, and that seems to be a dead link now, years later, so I'm unable to see why the last photo is misplaced with the 68 or 69 contest. thanks! I hope you still fondly remember and enjoy that contest!
Absolutely! That contest changed my whole life, and possibly saved it. As a senior I was graduating and had already taken a test to join the Air Force. Vietnam was in full swing. I scored a 98% in mechanics, so the Air Force was going to train me as a jet mechanic. Imagine that! The First-Place team received a $1,500 scholarship each, and we received $1,000 each. That was enough to pay for me to attend College for the first two years. The morale of the story is that this Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest changed young students lives for the better! I am very appreciative.
wow, that is the most! I will post this, and share this incredible story... it's just wow! Good for you! What did you do with college, and where did life lead you? and thanks for the follow up!
Part I: In the 1966 picture, the man on the left is our Washington High (Fremont, CA) high school teacher, Mr. Dwayne Blevins. He was so mad when we were not awarded 1st Place and argued to no avail with the judges who gave First Place to a vocational school from Dearborn, MI. Their reasoning was that it had been 2 1/2 hours of cars getting disqualified and they were afraid they would not get a winner. We were right behind them, next in line. Mr. Blevins went on to become a Junior College automotive technology instructor, after which he became a crew chief for a NASCAR team. I remember he had his own dirt track race car that he often worked on after school. He also became a pilot flying vintage jets. I next saw him 50 years after the contest when he flew a vintage military jet into North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. He said I would recognize him because he would be carrying something he wanted to give me. He was waiting for me in the parking lot carrying his Richard Petty blue hand toolbox with 1966 National Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest in big white letters on the sides that he got from Plymouth at the time and had saved since then. (Richard Petty had actually fired the starting gun at the 1966 nationals after stating, "Gentlemen, start your engines!") ...
Part II: -- The next person in the promotional picture is me (Tony Loya), followed by my contest partner (Chuck Fabbri), and then followed by a Chrysler-Plymouth executive. Chuck took his contest scholarship money and attended the same Junior College as I and majored in Automotive Technology. He worked for Sears as a Master Mechanic for many years and then owned his own automotive repair shop where he developed and held at least one patent that I know of for a Chevrolet rear differential specialty repair tool. The son of a Bank of America branch manager, he had natural mechanical skills and a love for Chevy El Caminos. During the contest I got stuck on a fuel problem I couldn't solve. Chuck calmly asked if he could take a stab at it if I worked on the electrical problems. He fixed the fuel problem in no time. I knew right then and there he was a better mechanic than I and that automotive tech would probably not be in my future. Chuck is no longer with us. -- As for me, during my college registration process the counselor asked what my major was going to be. I replied that I didn't know because I wasn't supposed to be there. She looked puzzled and then gave me a class catalog to look at while she attended to other students. When she returned, she advised she was going to assign me all state required classes to which I asked if I could at least pick one elective. I had seen a class on Introduction to law enforcement that caught my eye. She commented, "Oh, you're going to be a cop." I said no, and that it just sounded interesting. She replied, "Nobody takes that class unless they are going to be a cop." She was right. I achieved an AA degree in Police Science and went on to a four college to get a BA degree in Law Enforcement Administration. I subsequently retired after a 27-year career with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), followed by an 18-year second career with the Office of National Drug Control Policy and their High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. All this because of the Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest. -- There is another part of the story that I must mention. To be in the contest, we had to be sponsored by a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer. Across from our high school was such a dealership, Edgren Motors, owned by Mr. Lloyd Edgren. Mr. Edgren worked his way up from starting a small repair shop to owning his own dealership. As a mechanic himself, he never forgot his roots and wanted to give back. Through his dealership he supplied our school's Driver's Education cars and sponsored our contest teams over the years. After my education and after securing my career with the DEA, I went back to thank Mr. Edgren for making a difference in my life. I never forgot that he also invited my parents and I, as well as Chuck and his family, to his dealership to take photos after we returned from Detroit. He was also there when Chuck and I received our scholarship checks. Sadly, when I returned, Mr. Edgren had unexpectedly passed at a young age. The dealership was also no longer there as it had later burned down in a fire. -- I don't know whose idea it was at Chrysler to create the Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, but I know it affected many lives for the better, from dealerships, to teachers, to students. It made the world a better place by making opportunities. I hope it survives in some form at Chrysler. If it doesn't, Chrysler should consider reviving it, as it has a rich history. Mr. Blevins, Chuck and I, and Mr. Edgren, are but one story.
thank you Tony! I added these two comments to the other post https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2022/12/i-just-learned-something-very-amazing.html in addition to these comments here... wow, 27 year with the DEA, when they certainly had their hands full, the 70s, 80s and 90s. Amazing! Much appreciated history that you've related for the people like me who are interested in the contest!
My brother went to vocational school and was in the Plymouth trouble shooting competition in the late '80s. I don't think the cars they used would have been able to smoke the tires!
ReplyDeleteThe tire smokers know who won. So do 53 others. And whose got a better story?
ReplyDeleteVery good point, astutely so.
DeleteI think the story is bullcrap.
ReplyDeleteand that might be why you are not entertaining me. I not only discover the fun, interesting, and true stories - I share them without a bit of care if you don't believe that such amazing things happen.
DeleteGood luck to you and whatever other source of entertainment you favor now that you've decided I'm letting you down with bullcrap
This IS NOT about the 1966 Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest as the title depicts. I know because I am in the bottom picture which is a correct picture for the 1966 National Contest which took place in Detroit, not Indy. There was also not a High School 1st Place and a Vocational 1st Place in 1966 as pics 5&6 depict. Just one First Place Winner was awarded in 1966 which actually resulted in a huge disagreement, after which the rules were changed. (In 1966, First Place was given to a vocational school from Dearborn while the high school car immediately behind them got 2nd, even though that car was perfect. The issue was that the vocational contestants had bent the throttle linkage to adjust the idle, while the high school contestants properly adjusted the cable to the linkage to achieve the correct idle. While the award issue was not corrected, the disagreement also drew attention to the difference between the two schools of study where vocational students received automotive classes full time, while the high school students took Auto Shop as one of many classes. It appears that Chrysler conceded that issue by creating two award classes.) Back to the post: Proof that the original post title is incorrect also lies in the fact that the cars shown are Plymouth Roadrunners which did not come out until 1968. If I had to guess, those cars are 1969 and the background appears to in fact be the Indy infield. Bottom line: Correct the title year to 1969 and disregard the last picture from 1966 and you are good to go! (And yes, I was one of the contestants in the high school car that received 2nd Place at the 1966 Nationals. You be the judge...)
ReplyDeletethat I got the year wrong is obvious, I don't know how none of us looking at it missed that! Thank you for the additional information, I was getting the info and images from the source I linked to, and that seems to be a dead link now, years later, so I'm unable to see why the last photo is misplaced with the 68 or 69 contest.
Deletethanks! I hope you still fondly remember and enjoy that contest!
Absolutely! That contest changed my whole life, and possibly saved it. As a senior I was graduating and had already taken a test to join the Air Force. Vietnam was in full swing. I scored a 98% in mechanics, so the Air Force was going to train me as a jet mechanic. Imagine that! The First-Place team received a $1,500 scholarship each, and we received $1,000 each. That was enough to pay for me to attend College for the first two years. The morale of the story is that this Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest changed young students lives for the better! I am very appreciative.
Deletewow, that is the most! I will post this, and share this incredible story... it's just wow! Good for you! What did you do with college, and where did life lead you? and thanks for the follow up!
DeletePart I: In the 1966 picture, the man on the left is our Washington High (Fremont, CA) high school teacher, Mr. Dwayne Blevins. He was so mad when we were not awarded 1st Place and argued to no avail with the judges who gave First Place to a vocational school from Dearborn, MI. Their reasoning was that it had been 2 1/2 hours of cars getting disqualified and they were afraid they would not get a winner. We were right behind them, next in line. Mr. Blevins went on to become a Junior College automotive technology instructor, after which he became a crew chief for a NASCAR team. I remember he had his own dirt track race car that he often worked on after school. He also became a pilot flying vintage jets. I next saw him 50 years after the contest when he flew a vintage military jet into North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. He said I would recognize him because he would be carrying something he wanted to give me. He was waiting for me in the parking lot carrying his Richard Petty blue hand toolbox with 1966 National Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest in big white letters on the sides that he got from Plymouth at the time and had saved since then. (Richard Petty had actually fired the starting gun at the 1966 nationals after stating, "Gentlemen, start your engines!") ...
DeletePart II: -- The next person in the promotional picture is me (Tony Loya), followed by my contest partner (Chuck Fabbri), and then followed by a Chrysler-Plymouth executive. Chuck took his contest scholarship money and attended the same Junior College as I and majored in Automotive Technology. He worked for Sears as a Master Mechanic for many years and then owned his own automotive repair shop where he developed and held at least one patent that I know of for a Chevrolet rear differential specialty repair tool. The son of a Bank of America branch manager, he had natural mechanical skills and a love for Chevy El Caminos. During the contest I got stuck on a fuel problem I couldn't solve. Chuck calmly asked if he could take a stab at it if I worked on the electrical problems. He fixed the fuel problem in no time. I knew right then and there he was a better mechanic than I and that automotive tech would probably not be in my future. Chuck is no longer with us. -- As for me, during my college registration process the counselor asked what my major was going to be. I replied that I didn't know because I wasn't supposed to be there. She looked puzzled and then gave me a class catalog to look at while she attended to other students. When she returned, she advised she was going to assign me all state required classes to which I asked if I could at least pick one elective. I had seen a class on Introduction to law enforcement that caught my eye. She commented, "Oh, you're going to be a cop." I said no, and that it just sounded interesting. She replied, "Nobody takes that class unless they are going to be a cop." She was right. I achieved an AA degree in Police Science and went on to a four college to get a BA degree in Law Enforcement Administration. I subsequently retired after a 27-year career with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), followed by an 18-year second career with the Office of National Drug Control Policy and their High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. All this because of the Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest. -- There is another part of the story that I must mention. To be in the contest, we had to be sponsored by a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer. Across from our high school was such a dealership, Edgren Motors, owned by Mr. Lloyd Edgren. Mr. Edgren worked his way up from starting a small repair shop to owning his own dealership. As a mechanic himself, he never forgot his roots and wanted to give back. Through his dealership he supplied our school's Driver's Education cars and sponsored our contest teams over the years. After my education and after securing my career with the DEA, I went back to thank Mr. Edgren for making a difference in my life. I never forgot that he also invited my parents and I, as well as Chuck and his family, to his dealership to take photos after we returned from Detroit. He was also there when Chuck and I received our scholarship checks. Sadly, when I returned, Mr. Edgren had unexpectedly passed at a young age. The dealership was also no longer there as it had later burned down in a fire. -- I don't know whose idea it was at Chrysler to create the Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, but I know it affected many lives for the better, from dealerships, to teachers, to students. It made the world a better place by making opportunities. I hope it survives in some form at Chrysler. If it doesn't, Chrysler should consider reviving it, as it has a rich history. Mr. Blevins, Chuck and I, and Mr. Edgren, are but one story.
Deletethank you Tony! I added these two comments to the other post https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2022/12/i-just-learned-something-very-amazing.html in addition to these comments here... wow, 27 year with the DEA, when they certainly had their hands full, the 70s, 80s and 90s. Amazing! Much appreciated history that you've related for the people like me who are interested in the contest!
Delete