What happened to the Mulholland "King of the Hill" RSR?

[Jeremy Cottrell]

What a great little map Jeff. Now I can be more specific with my stories, like I once spun a car at 7036 Mulholland Drive.

[Jeff Hail]

A not so well known group preceded the MRA, ACR, TVL and anything that came later. This not so well group of racers was called the “Hollywood Angels”.

It’s members included Steve McQueen, Bud Ekins, Don Gordon, Lloyd Thaxton. There were a few more “names” in this group I am trying to substantiate. I believe this was the Hollywood Elite that exploited Mulholland Drive as a playground. Well known and a little better off than the working class they chose Mulholland Drive as their sandbox. From what I understand this was not an occasional cruise across the hill but a regular high speed get together.

Steve McQueen…well I don’t have to get into him because it was well known he was a driver on Mulholland. Bud Ekins was the stuntman who performed the motorcycle jump in The Great Escape. Don Gordon was McQueen’s partner in Bullitt and also had a part in Papillon. These guys liked to drive at the limit. Bikes, cars you name it. High dollar toys.

Based on what I have found this group raced from Barham or Laurel to the ocean. Top speed all the way on food run’s to Malibu of all things. Loser buys the Burgers. From what I understand it was all about the driving, not a real race but a pack of bikes or cars just out for a high speed fun run…….but they didn’t hold back. You arrive last you pay the tab! Serious stuff!

I have heard rumblings that an unknown group existed before the known suspects. Now we know who they were. Meets with the “Angels” sometimes included Max Balchowsky of “Old Yeller” fame. Max was involved with setting up the “Bullit” cars and also “Herbie the Lovebug” . Seems Max and Steve McQueen got a long really well when it came to cars. Boys just want to have fun. I have a strong feeling a couple of Carradine's were known to frequent in those and a few years later.

[lfot]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hail

Stilts Place
The Universal Overlook.
Story goes:The Universal City Overlook, located on the north side of Mulholland Drive, provides views of the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Hills. Funded by a donation from Universal studios, it was built in 1984 concurrently with the Hollywood Bowl Overlook further east, to accommodate visitors to Los Angeles during the Summer Olympic Games.

That one is a crock. That little pullout was there long before. It was dirt, then a single paved three car space then in 1984 they doubled it in length. Who makes this crap up? Give em hell Gary!!

I can see my house from here!

[slodave]

I'm Baaaack!!!

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by slodave

I'm Baaaack!!!

Awwwwwwwwww
Geez..............don't sneak up on people like that Dave
You scared the hell out of us

[slodave]

Check this out:

One of the first things I saw on the rental car.

[TRE Cup]

whadda dose guys thinka they doin ? They a copya me ?

[porcupine911]

i wonder what the "three 'f's" are?

[lfot]

(slo)Dave's back!
Are we doin' Sunday morning?

[slodave]

Originally Posted by lfot

(slo)Dave's back!
Are we doin' Sunday morning?

I'll be there, with my new-to-me triangulated harness bar. Makes quite the diff with the Targa.


Dave

[porcupine911]

Originally Posted by lfot

(slo)Dave's back!
Are we doin' Sunday morning?

there's a pca autox on sunday.

[Jeremy Cottrell]

Really! Where?

[porcupine911]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Cottrell

Really! Where?

el toro (irvine). i think i'm taking my vr6.
http://www.pcaocr.org/

[vntgspd]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Cottrell

Really! Where?

Jeremy,

Bring the white car!!! There will be a few other early cars there (not mine) and I promise the course will not disappoint!

[TRE Cup]

Ken Miles used to have a shop on Cahuenga (was this at Barham or maybe the Dean Jeffries place? I didn't get the location exactly)
Ken was an incredible driver and self taught engineer that made his mark with MG specials and later the Carroll Shelby team Cobras. He was wickedly fast and spent quite some time up in the hills "testing" his (and I am sure ) clients cars
Sadly he died testing the Ford GT J car project at Riverside

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by TRE Cup

Ken Miles used to have a shop on Cahuenga (was this at Barham or maybe the Dean Jeffries place? I didn't get the location exactly)
Ken was an incredible driver and self taught engineer that made his mark with MG specials and later the Carroll Shelby team Cobras. He was wickedly fast and spent quite some time up in the hills "testing" his (and I am sure ) clients cars
Sadly he died testing the Ford GT J car project at Riverside

Dave,
I would bet Ken Miles's shop is where Jeffries place is today. I know he was "down the street" from both Competition Motor's shops (Vine and Ventura)

The cast of characters that Miles was involved almost simultaneously is wild.
Von Neuman, Vandagriff, Doane Spencer, Rolf Wutherich, Jack McAfee, Larry Reed (Rootes Group- Sunbeam), Carroll Shelby, Otto Zipper, Vasek Polak……….it just keeps going on and on!!!!! Ken was right smack in the middle and Mulholland close by.

Some photos of the infamous dealers at the time:

[TooTall]

Great photos Jeff. Jack McAfee passed away earlier this year. His son Rex races a Vette in vintage racing. I met Ken Miles son Peter a couple of years ago and he told a great story about his Dad. they were on the way to Riverside in the family Ford wagon towing a trailer with Ken's Porsche. Apparently Ken only knew one way to drive, all out. They took a sweeping offramp and Ken had the wagon and trailer all hung out with the trailer scraping along the guardrail. Peter said he that as a kid he thought that was normal and everyone drove like that. Ken Miles had two nicknames, "Teddy Teabagger" and "That Damn Limey". Probably depended on how bad you got beat as to which one you used. Ken Miles designed Paramount Ranch Raceway by driving his Beetle through the scrub brush to make a path for the bulldozers.

Kurt O.

[Jeff Hail]

The plot thickens:
It was Ernie McAfee's shop that Ken Miles worked at on Cahuenga. Just a couple doors down from Jeffries.

Siata's, Ferrari's, MG's, Sunbeams, Devins and the list goes on and on and on....McAfee is a story in itself.



Could you imagine what Cahuenga sounded like with this cast of characters in that neighborhood? Throw in Max Balchowsky at Hollywood Motors. This had to be a regular speedway especially with the beggining of Mulholland a few hundred feet away.

[TooTall]

Jack McAfee and Ernie McAfee weren't related. Ernie was killed at Pebble Beach in 1956 when the Ferrari 121LM he was driving went off course and hit a pine tree broadside. That was the end of racing at Pebble Beach and the beginning of Laguna Seca.

Kurt O.

[LateBrakeU2]

Jeff,those are great pics keep em coming! You really have done some great research and it does not go unnoticed..

PS in that last photo of the Comp motors locations is that the future home of Victory P&A in the 80's? I'm sure Dave B would know..