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

[Parabolica]

Ahhhh, geeeez. I see you people have had the pleasure of Frank. Hopefully he's had his 10 minutes and will just go away...

Hey Jeff, do you know if this is a guy named Phil?


Do you remember Victor? A big hispanic guy. Lived near Grant. Think he had a Jetta.

And while I'm at it, what about Gary with the El Camino (IIRC) and Chuck with the Javelin? They hung out in the lot past Laurel after the last big crackdown and the closing of Bowmont.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Parabolica

Ahhhh, geeeez. I see you people have had the pleasure of Frank. Hopefully he's had his 10 minutes and will just go away...

Hey Jeff, do you know if this is a guy named Phil?


Do you remember Victor? A big hispanic guy. Lived near Grant. Think he had a Jetta.

And while I'm at it, what about Gary with the El Camino (IIRC) and Chuck with the Javelin? They hung out in the lot past Laurel after the last big crackdown and the closing of Bowmont.

That's Phil Markowitz. I'm still friends with him. That picture is of him on the cover of the Herald Examiner article about Mulholland Racing.

"Old Man Gary" who drove a Ranchero with a big arrow on the side, still frequents the eastern end of Mulholland Dr. He reads late at night.

Chuck with the Javelin moved to Hawaii. He is happy being a photographer for Hustler Magazine. Chuck is the last real "Die Hard" of Grandstands. lol

The hangout just past Laurel is called Truckstop. Some of us gathered there earlier in this thread. Kind of like the good ol days.

[Parabolica]

Hah, I thought so... I remember when he had that 924. I think we went to Pierce college at the same time. He had a 930 then. We ran in different circles but knew each other because of our cars.

I didn't want to say "Old Man", but yeah, that's how he was referred to back then. I remembered it was a Ranchero shortly after posting. Glad to hear he's still around.

Why is it so easy for me to picture Chuck a Hustler photog??? LOL! Just kidding... He was a fixture up there, and one of the ones that was arrested with me in a sting in ‘81... LOL! I remember it well because I had just turned 18 and it was the 2nd time I got arrested in a couple of weeks... I remember we also made the local papers (wish I still had a copy)...

Funny how big this thread got. I have a friend from Sweden that asked if I had seen it and if I was one of those mentioned. He mentioned that someone else he knew said you were a ghost up there. I told him that I had to agree. In all the years, hours and miles I spent up there, I think I only saw you once, at that was during the day.

I was in my Z and had just turned onto Mul from Coldwater when I noticed a silver Porsche coming up fast behind me on the European straight. I remember thinking, “ok, let’s see what you got” and just as I started to get on it, you not only flew past me, but continued to pull me the whole rest of the straight!

That REALLY surprised me. A friend of mine was a GT-2 National Champion and I built essentially the same engine he was running in his race car (which was bult by Frank Leary and a claimed 318 HP). I went into hot pursuit, but slowed for the 2 foot wide stream of water going across the first right turn that you just bombed right through... LOL!

I got back on it within a turn or two, but by then I could see you were long gone and backed off.

Much to my surprise, you were waiting for me at Beverly Glen in the left turn lane... When I pulled up you looked over, past the hot blonde in your passanger seat, and gave me a big grin. I think we had a brief exchange before the light turned green and you took off down Beverly Glen. For for the longest time I wondered who that was...

Did you hang out much up there? Did you come up in another car when you weren't making runs in the Porsche?

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by Parabolica

Ahhhh, geeeez. I see you people have had the pleasure of Frank. Hopefully he's had his 10 minutes and will just go away...

Hey Jeff, do you know if this is a guy named Phil?


Do you remember Victor? A big hispanic guy. Lived near Grant. Think he had a Jetta.

And while I'm at it, what about Gary with the El Camino (IIRC) and Chuck with the Javelin? They hung out in the lot past Laurel after the last big crackdown and the closing of Bowmont.

Vic drove a Scirocco. Scary part is I think he STILL lives by Erwin Street Park. His brother Joel played in a band with a few others I know.

Who's Frank :0

[Parabolica]

That's him!!!

You really have some memory Jeff! Do you know what he's up to these days? We were pretty good friends then, and one of the few people I hung out on the hill with...

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Parabolica

Hah, I thought so... I remember when he had that 924. I think we went to Pierce college at the same time. He had a 930 then. We ran in different circles but knew each other because of our cars.

I didn't want to say "Old Man", but yeah, that's how he was referred to back then. I remembered it was a Ranchero shortly after posting. Glad to hear he's still around.

Why is it so easy for me to picture Chuck a Hustler photog??? LOL! Just kidding... He was a fixture up there, and one of the ones that was arrested with me in a sting in ‘81... LOL! I remember it well because I had just turned 18 and it was the 2nd time I got arrested in a couple of weeks... I remember we also made the local papers (wish I still had a copy)...

Funny how big this thread got. I have a friend from Sweden that asked if I had seen it and if I was one of those mentioned. He mentioned that someone else he knew said you were a ghost up there. I told him that I had to agree. In all the years, hours and miles I spent up there, I think I only saw you once, at that was during the day.

I was in my Z and had just turned onto Mul from Coldwater when I noticed a silver Porsche coming up fast behind me on the European straight. I remember thinking, “ok, let’s see what you got” and just as I started to get on it, you not only flew past me, but continued to pull me the whole rest of the straight!

That REALLY surprised me. A friend of mine was a GT-2 National Champion and I built essentially the same engine he was running in his race car (which was bult by Frank Leary and a claimed 318 HP). I went into hot pursuit, but slowed for the 2 foot wide stream of water going across the first right turn that you just bombed right through... LOL!

I got back on it within a turn or two, but by then I could see you were long gone and backed off.

Much to my surprise, you were waiting for me at Beverly Glen in the left turn lane... When I pulled up you looked over, past the hot blonde in your passanger seat, and gave me a big grin. I think we had a brief exchange before the light turned green and you took off down Beverly Glen. For for the longest time I wondered who that was...

Did you hang out much up there? Did you come up in another car when you weren't making runs in the Porsche?

LOL
After thinking awhile about it, I do remember that day.
I was taking Paula Oxley for a ride, she lived in Beverly Glen Park and is the sister of Chris Oxley.
He was part of the John Hall crowd of buddies that mostly lived in the Park. Others included were Dave Gainey, Brad Zazetti, Ted Lin, and some others from nearby like Mark Mitchell, Bart Rome and some I can't remember at the moment.

John had told me to give Paula a good ride that day, she needed proof that a Porsche is a fast car for Mulholland.
Well, we drove to the Racecourse and by the time we reached Grandstands, she said in a panic voice "Pull Over, I gotta throw up"

Paula got out of the car and heaved for a short time. She asked me to slow down after getting back in.
Of course I complied. We had dated a couple of times and were just friends.

On the way back to Beverly Glen I saw a set up Z car in front of me in European Straight and quickly apologized to Paula saying we had to "take it to the limit" once again. With fear in her eyes, she said OK, go for it. I remember pouring it on since I rarely did this during daylight hours. I said please don't throw up in the Carrera and off we went.

This area is close to home and my favorite place to race Mulholland so I was able to pull out the stops and really go for it.
Yes, I can remember you pulling up to my right side at Beverly Glen as I was going back to the Park to take Paula back home.

And I think we did say something to each other with both of us smiling.
Fun times, thanks for bringing back the memories. We all had a blast back then didn't we?
I'm just grateful I never hurt anyone and that I am still here to talk about it. Crazy times...

I didn't hang out at Grandstands like Johnny did or Chuck Turner did. They spent every night up there. I would sometimes come up in some other car. It was important to rarely show up in the Carrera as the cops were on the lookout, especially after the incident across from Fire Stn 99 that was so scary.
Talk about a close call, hahahaha.

[Parabolica]

Yeah, I've been very fortunate. Of all the years, and thousands of miles (well over 100K now), I never wrecked a car, and only laid a bike down once.

I never really ran in any of the 'groups' up there; pretty much, like today, did my own thing. I had several cars I chased spinout, and when I started riding bikes; same thing; several riders I rode with went down. I decided fairly early on I would just drive/ride by myself so as not to push people too hard, and so I wouldn't be pushed into doing something stupid myself. There's always going to be someone faster on any given day. Fangio, Clark, Senna, Schumacher et al, didn't win EVERY race they entered. Ego's are probably the biggest reason people wreck. You gotta know when to back off, or when it just isn't your day...


As for Frank's comments, and if he'd been there in the day he'd know, the scene then isn't really all that different than it is today.

Just like the Snake, the press sensationalized what was going on, and always played fast-and-loose with the facts. I can't speak to what is was like prior to '79, and Charlie sounds like a real character, but I frequented both the Snake and the racecourse on a regular basis since '79, and the only real difference is that the Snake has always seen major action during the day, whereas the Racecourse saw it at night.

People tend to get a little crazier at night, and plenty of late night hooliganism goes on at the Snake, but you wouldn't know when you aren't there.

Frank has judged an entire group of people, and entire scene, at a different time, based on one sensationalized TV segment without realizing people could look at the videos of the Snake and come to the same conclusion of the people that hang out up there, including himself.

The videos of the Snake, like the sensationalized TV segments on the Racecourse, are a very small peek, of the very worse, of what really goes on there. Most, if not all of the stupid driving (lane crossing and drifting) and MC crashes on the Snake, are not 'regulars'.

In all honesty, IMHO, and I've been frequenting both for many, many years, the Snake has always been far more dangerous than the racecourse ever was... And that's primarily due to the shear volume of MC's and cars that go through the Snake in a single day. It's just a numbers game...


But yeah, Chris, it was a different time then, and a lot of fun! We certainly did things then that we wouldn't do today, but it WAS a different time, AND we were kids...

I REALLY do miss those days. I remember skateboarding to Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday nights to look at all the cars, and couldn't WAIT to join in on the fun one day. There really hasn't been anything remotely close to that whole scene since...

Then, when I discovered Mulholland, my life changed forever... LOL! When you stop and think about it, that hill took a LOT of our time. Not just the time hanging out talking with friends, or the runs, but the countless hours working on the machines getting them just right. The testing. The fine tuning. The exhilaration went you got it all right. When you nailed a run from Sepulveda to Cahuenga, without seeing another car.


Yes, those were the days...

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Banning

By now most of you are wondering what will Banning do with this "Targa".
That's what I was thinking the day it came home to Mulholland.

I do not wish to offend any Targa lovers out there, but this won't do for my "sports purposes".

To tell you the truth, I bought it for other reasons and didn't care if it was a Targa or Coupe.
But after looking it over carefully and seeing the beautiful bodywork someone did...
Around 6 thousand dollars in bodywork was just done, and I paid 3k for the car.

And how close it is to running again, I thought...
Wait a minute!

We can save it.

Originally Posted by Banning

We are going to do a Targa to Coupe conversion.

Seems to me that there may be more innovative ways of strengthening a targa to surpass the rigidity of a coupe without making it an actual coupe.

I'm not the expert, you are so I'll leave you to your work.

That's a killer Elise/Exige , love the open top - very innovative.

[Banning]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Seems to me that there may be more innovative ways of strengthening a targa to surpass the rigidity of a coupe without making it an actual coupe.

I'm not the expert, you are so I'll leave you to your work.

That's a killer Elise/Exige , love the open top - very innovative.

Yes, there are kits to stiffen and strengthen the Targa Body.
But we still would have the problem of heavy rear glass in a rear engine car, and in a Targa only the floor pan connects the front body to the rear body.
This results in body twist, especially in hard corners and bumpy surfaces.

In order for the suspension to be fully independant, the body must be rigid with no twist.
A full rollcage would do this because it connects the front to the rear like a coupe roof does.
When combined (coupe and rollcage) it virtually eliminates any twist in the body.

Thanks for the compliment but I am not an expert at much except maybe hunting down the gophers in the yard. The little devils really go for the cactus.
Over the years I have found that most "experts" are not really one at all whether it be a Lawyer or Doctor or Mechanic or whatever.

We as human beings tend to over-rate ourselves, perhaps for our own egos sake. But there is always someone smarter or faster or anything else you can think of. As a result I don't claim any expertise.
Besides, I think of myself more of a Jack of all trades (and a master of none), as the saying goes. LOL

[Banning]

Have to catch up on some of the work to do on the Type 34 VW



The Roll Bar was about 2 inches too tall for me, so I cut it off some months ago.
It also had a X brace back support that I didn't care for. I'll replace it with simple straight tubing.



The Roll Bar can be seen sitting in the rear tray.
Also visible is the cutting torch remains where the X brace was cut off.



To get a clean mark around the pipe to use as a cutting guide, I used a pipe cutter for one rotation.
Two inches exactly.



The circular saw with a metal cutting blade did the trick.



Other side went well also, clean cut.



I feel like a geek in these but it's better than losing an eye, especially when cutting or grinding metal.
Two times before I've gotten metal slivers in my eye from not using enough eye protection.

[Banning]

Before we can weld the main hoop back into the car, we need to remove the flash from the X brace that was left, with the cutting torch.



Have to cut carefully so the torch doesn't cut into the hoop bar.

[Banning]

Got too close on one side, in one spot the torch blew thru and made a hole.



Used the Arc Welder to fill in the hole and depressions made by the cutting torch.



After re-grinding the area, no imperfections remain now.



Important to primer any bare metal, will finish sand later.



Both sides look good.
Ready for installation.

[Banning]

After some adjusting with the grinder, all surfaces line up well.
C clamps were used to temporarily hold both parts of the main hoop together.



Then small tack welds were put on both sides and alignment was checked again.



The Roll Bar now is welded back on, all around the cut off joints.



Only the back bars remain to be installed.



Just for thrills, I put on the Targa roll bar cover, and it fits perfectly width wise. Ruben looks skeptical.



Not sure about this, looks kind of funky.

With the 911 project we are turning a Targa into a Coupe.
Looks like we can also turn this VW Coupe (now a Spyder since I cut off the roof) into a Targa, LOL

Any advice or opinions? Please don't state the obvious, I already know I'm nuts...but I am having fun.

[Banning]

After a lot of sanding and scraping, it looks good.
One final vacuuming.



Floor is ready to paint primer on it.



Just doing the front first, both sides.
I'm using a piece of cardboard to shield the brake pedal assembly from paint over-spray.



Love those fumes...



What a difference. This is going to look great when it's done.



Will finish the rest of the floor this week. Big job.
A little more sanding is needed to finish the back part of the floor before primer.

[crimson ghost]

Not a fan of the Targa bar on the type 34.

[Noah930]

Not to dredge up the recent past too much, but just saw/heard Ronin drive by in his white Lotus barchetta while filling up at the corner of Van Nuys & Magnolia.

[lfot]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Not to dredge up the recent past too much, but just saw/heard Ronin drive by in his white Lotus barchetta while filling up at the corner of Van Nuys & Magnolia.

Saw him Sunday coming down the snake as I was going up... fighting the urge to flip him off.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by lfot

Saw him Sunday coming down the snake as I was going up... fighting the urge to flip him off.

Heh heh. Suddenly everywhere the guy goes he's got people flippin' him off for no apparent reason. (Just a joke, Frank, if you're still reading.)

Actually, in true Mulholland spirit, instead of the bird it should be a thrown beer can.

[ronin RS211]

Banning dude, let's get together for a little cruise away from the posers and hosers, haters and master baiters if you feel like it.

Here are a few videos I took yesterday… These are a little better than Laurel to Coldwater

RS 211 Lotus Testing New Gear Ratios - YouTube
RS 211 Getting Spunky Cyn. - YouTube
RS 211 Lotus is Quick - YouTube

PS to the haters that don't know **** about me flip me off as much as you like I'm looking at the road not some poser wanna be. It must suck being you.

[lfot]

Originally Posted by ronin RS211

PS to the haters that don't know **** about me flip me off as much as you like I'm looking at the road not some poser wanna be. It must suck being you.