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

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by davidbir

Chris could you describe to us ALL of the modifications to this car?
Many thanks, David B

Get ahold of a Sept. 09 issue of "Excellence"... it contains a lot of info in a really well done piece on the car.



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

[Banning]

Jeff Hailpern sent me this link.

Very cool vintage footage of cars being put together. Incredible machines.

This seems to be an era between Steam power, large flywheels, big presses, and the current modern way of car production.

Jeff said, "Couldn't help but notice the coach guys using cotton gloved hands to feel for dents. The best metal finishers still use that method today".

Fascinating 1936 Footage Of Car Assembly Line [VIDEO]

[Banning]

Last evening, two photographers and a writer from a major European Car Magazine came up to Mul to photograph the Carrera.

They took a few dozen here in my driveway. Later we went to the Esses and spent some time making runs.

Of course I had to warm up the tires. It was fun to hear the unique growl of the exhaust echoing off the canyon walls under full throttle.

Using time exposures, they got some awesome shots with streaking lights and flash at certain points.



When it got dark, off to Deadmans for some cool night shots.

Got some interesting looks from a guy in a Cobra and another one in a Corvette. While sitting in Deadmans I saw big eyes on those passing drivers.

These sample photos of mine that you see here are nothing. I saw the professional's shots and they are truly amazing. Really amazing.

I don't know how he got the effects he did but I'm still reeling from what I saw from his samples.

[Banning]

When the evening was over we all met back at my house.

It's been a while since the car made a fast run at night.

Had fun at Coldwater.

New set-up Mustang burned out taking off west full throttle.

Following, waiting for a clear vision ahead, Pow! Sling shotting by him in European Straight... he looked shocked, poor fellow.

Lost him in 2 turns.



Car ran a little warm probably because it was a warm night and we are air-cooled,

This article will take some time to come out. But the Car and Driver article will be in the October issue on sale in 30 days.

It focus's on Mulholland history while testing the Chrysler 300 on Mulholland.

They let me test the car on Mulholland and take them on a complete tour, wrecks below Mulholland and yellow-jackets included. lol

There's more to come.

[lfot]

Is this magazine available in the U.S.?

[Banning]

Originally Posted by lfot

Is this magazine available in the U.S.?

Hi Derek, sorry you couldn't make it last night.

I've been asked not to disclose the contents of the article or the Magazine until it goes to press.

That's reasonable considering the costs involved and the importance of not giving to competition.

Believe me when it becomes available this is the first place that will know about it.

And I'm getting copies of those incredible photos, thank you very much!

[jmz]

man I just love this thread.

[Banning]

Mulholland has been the home to many Hollywood Stars and personalities over the years.

For example, nearby in The Identicals, lives Warren Beatty.
Jack Nicholson's house is just east on Mulholland next to Marlon Brando's old house.

Musicians like Don Henley, members of Kiss, and Guns and Roses live on Mulholland.

I found out recently that a fine addition to the neighborhood has moved in.

Below and across the street Kim Kardashian has bought a house. (I had noticed re-modeling lately)



The name barely rang a bell so I looked her up.



Kardashian, 31, has rocketed to fame in recent years after gaining prominence as a friend of Paris Hilton and for having a sex tape. She appears along with her family on the E! Entertainment Television series "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and routinely graces magazine covers.

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

[ac27]

Your block parties get more and more interesting!

[Swiss Carrera]

Banning - i just bet that on some celeb forum Kim Kardashian has posted - "just moved in across the street from Banning - how cool is that".

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Swiss Carrera

Banning - i just bet that on some celeb forum Kim Kardashian has posted - "just moved in across the street from Banning - how cool is that".

I doubt it, but thanks for the sentiment.

Maybe she would like a spirited ride on Mulholland. Might be entertaining.

We can put Paris in the back, she lives nearby too, lol

[Murco]

New here, and I've spent most of this afternoon and evening reading your stories about Mulholland and loving every second of it! While I missed the heydays of the 70's I remember reading Hot Rod's article and after seeing King of the Mountain on HBO I knew I had to get to LA, even though I was only 15 in 1981.
After joining the Marines in 1985 I made it to 29 palms that summer and immediately bought a mint-condition yellow 1976 Firebird Formula 400 with my boot-camp money. I spent the next 5 months, and literally every penny I made, putting on a Herb Adams suspension, Goodyear Wingfoot (?) tires, rear-discs from a '80 Turbo T/A, rebuilding the 400 with a Comp Cams valvetrain, Edelbrock intake, Blackjack headers, rebuilding the Super T-10, and fiddling with the steering box. I wanted to come loaded for bear!
After assembly, tuning, and de-bugging it I finally made my way to LA in the spring of 1986. I hit Mulholland at dusk and was shocked at the rough condition of the road but loved the switchbacks and the challenge of it. Traffic was very light and I made a couple of squirts between corners feeling the car out, increasing speed with each run. The VSE suspension was pretty soft so smooth inputs were required and finding the limits of the cornering grip was a little dicey with those stiff sway-bars but I was having a blast and had accomplished a big goal at the time.
The thing that I didn't see, racers... None at all! I went back to Sunset for some cruising, ran up PCH a little ways and then went back to the Canyon and still - nobody. I was a little less confident late at night with the stock headlamps and I turned them off approaching every corner, waiting to find a couple of racers screaming around the bend - never happened.
My search for comrades had been a bust but on the 4th visit in April I found about a dozen folks sitting in what I think was the grandstand. I was a little disappointed that nobody was running as I drove up the road and the cars looked like pretty pedestrian Japanese cars so I didn't pull in and kept going.
I did pull into someone's driveway and sat for an hour or so until I heard two cars going at it at around midnight. They passed me, one a ZX turbo, couldn't tell the other - looked like a Corrolla GTS, and they were startlingly fast as they passed. My mind ran through thoughts of me hanging the Formula out hard enough to keep up with them, and my lack of training/experience overcame my ego enough to think, "maybe another time". Thank goodness, as I didn't have the skills at that point to push the car much beyond 8/10's and looking back this probably saved my neck and my car.
I missed the party but I did get to drive it, and I loved it. To read your stories and to see how many of you are still out there living close by has made this a wonderful surf-stumble!

BTW - The Formula still lives on as I built it in Southern California and I keep up with the owner, hoping to reacquire it one day!

[MulDr]

Stumbled upon this thread while trying to find out what the Coroner was doing at the Stone Canyon Overlook this evening (no, not related to Armstrong).

As an LA resident and Porsche owner for the 20 years of my adult life, and apparently a neighbor of yours, I've found this to be very interesting and fascinating history, Banning. I appreciate the insight, I am looking forward to the C&D article (a subscriber since age 7), and plan to buy your book to learn more.

But please tell me it was not you in the silver Corolla that nearly killed me earlier this year...

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Murco

New here, and I've spent most of this afternoon and evening reading your stories about Mulholland and loving every second of it! While I missed the heydays of the 70's I remember reading Hot Rod's article and after seeing King of the Mountain on HBO I knew I had to get to LA, even though I was only 15 in 1981.
After joining the Marines in 1985 I made it to 29 palms that summer and immediately bought a mint-condition yellow 1976 Firebird Formula 400 with my boot-camp money. I spent the next 5 months, and literally every penny I made, putting on a Herb Adams suspension, Goodyear Wingfoot (?) tires, rear-discs from a '80 Turbo T/A, rebuilding the 400 with a Comp Cams valvetrain, Edelbrock intake, Blackjack headers, rebuilding the Super T-10, and fiddling with the steering box. I wanted to come loaded for bear!
After assembly, tuning, and de-bugging it I finally made my way to LA in the spring of 1986. I hit Mulholland at dusk and was shocked at the rough condition of the road but loved the switchbacks and the challenge of it. Traffic was very light and I made a couple of squirts between corners feeling the car out, increasing speed with each run. The VSE suspension was pretty soft so smooth inputs were required and finding the limits of the cornering grip was a little dicey with those stiff sway-bars but I was having a blast and had accomplished a big goal at the time.
The thing that I didn't see, racers... None at all! I went back to Sunset for some cruising, ran up PCH a little ways and then went back to the Canyon and still - nobody. I was a little less confident late at night with the stock headlamps and I turned them off approaching every corner, waiting to find a couple of racers screaming around the bend - never happened.
My search for comrades had been a bust but on the 4th visit in April I found about a dozen folks sitting in what I think was the grandstand. I was a little disappointed that nobody was running as I drove up the road and the cars looked like pretty pedestrian Japanese cars so I didn't pull in and kept going.
I did pull into someone's driveway and sat for an hour or so until I heard two cars going at it at around midnight. They passed me, one a ZX turbo, couldn't tell the other - looked like a Corrolla GTS, and they were startlingly fast as they passed. My mind ran through thoughts of me hanging the Formula out hard enough to keep up with them, and my lack of training/experience overcame my ego enough to think, "maybe another time". Thank goodness, as I didn't have the skills at that point to push the car much beyond 8/10's and looking back this probably saved my neck and my car.
I missed the party but I did get to drive it, and I loved it. To read your stories and to see how many of you are still out there living close by has made this a wonderful surf-stumble!

BTW - The Formula still lives on as I built it in Southern California and I keep up with the owner, hoping to reacquire it one day!

Very cool story and Car Murco. Sounds like you had the perfect Mulholland sleeper.
Sorry you were disappointed when you were here, but by '86 the Police had clamped down pretty hard on the Racing and it was indeed a ghost town up here for quite a while.

Thanks for appreciating the stories that all of us Old Racers have posted from all eras of Mulholland Racing.

Hope you get your Formula back and make it to Mulholland again one day.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by MulDr

Stumbled upon this thread while trying to find out what the Coroner was doing at the Stone Canyon Overlook this evening (no, not related to Armstrong).

As an LA resident and Porsche owner for the 20 years of my adult life, and apparently a neighbor of yours, I've found this to be very interesting and fascinating history, Banning. I appreciate the insight, I am looking forward to the C&D article (a subscriber since age 7), and plan to buy your book to learn more.

But please tell me it was not you in the silver Corolla that nearly killed me earlier this year...

Thanks very much MulDr, thank Derek too for creating this unbelievable thread story about Mulholland and to all those who contributed.

To answer your question,
I love the color silver on a car, but you will never see me driving a Japanese car.

I'm sorry you were scared by some squid driver on Mul.
Watch out for the old ladies doing three point turns in blind turns, real scary!

[MulDr]

Originally Posted by Banning

I love the color silver on a car, but you will never see me driving a Japanese car.

Good to know it wasn't you. However, the car in question was parked in your driveway...

[Noah930]

Nope, we don't know nobody with a silver Corolla.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Nope, we don't know nobody with a silver Corolla.

Very funny Alereck! Ever since he has owed me money for some 911 camtowers, he's disappeared.

But I must admit the guitar is exquisite and beautifully executed.

Hello there Pal...

[slodave]

I don't own a silver Toyota.

Nor have I disappeared. You've got my number.

[Banning]

This is too interesting not to share.
That guy Ken Block is having too much fun at Universal Studios.
Incredible drifting skills.

...and some daring side showmen that really trust his driving.

ignore the comercials



Click here: Video: Ken Block tears through Hollywood in Gymkhana Four - AutoWeek

Video: Ken Block tears through Hollywood in Gymkhana Four - AutoWeek