[TCracingCA]

Originally Posted by _e_w_

TCracing - I wrote a brief intro to a Mulholland based film and it's close to what you suggested. You can find it on page 351 (near the top). You mentioned that you have interviewed someone who knew Charlie, would you be able to clear something up? There was a poster that stated Charlie never drank and that some of the stories were not possible, because that's not who Charlie was (sorry can't remember what page).

If what this poster posted is indeed fact, then my take is there were 2 sides of Charlie. Around the house/family Charlie and Racer Charlie. This also gives Charlie a lot of depth character wise when speaking in film terms. If I'm way off base, sorry, I mean no disrespect.

Jeff Hail - The road being the main character of a doc is brilliant.

I have 2 Canon DSLR's. They are not the best camera's on the planet, but they are suitable for interviews. I do not have lights or audio equipment, but if there is anyone with lights, audio equipment, or anything that may be useful that is willing to team up, let's get the ball rolling.

Maybe it get's scaled back and instead of a full length doc we shoot and edit interviews to post up on a youtube page. I know there have been several attempts at a youtube page before, but let's give it another go. If a youtube page is started, I would strongly suggest consolidating all Mulholland related video clips and posting them on said page, so interested parties won't have to spend hours looking for this video or that video clip (videos will get appropriate credit(s) and links if desired).

One thing I've learned working production is when shooting a doc the filmmaker will often find a story(s) or a plot point(s) that they were unaware of. You never know what you may encounter when doing a doc or where the story may end up taking you or the viewer, so let's pull our resources, set up some interviews, and roll cameras.

He lived on Stanley Hills Drive- Laurel Canyon! The person that shared info lived a few houses down, born a few years apart!

He ran cars and bikes 1950s/60s (the friend said 1950s, but that doesn’t jive with his age!)! He unfortuately was not a drinker, not crazy, wild or reckless as claimed (many of us don’t think we were reckless either, Charlie did die in his Corvette in a known Canyon at age 37)! His friend described him more as a Priest/Guru type of the discipline! I mentioned in threads, we swept with brooms Turnbull Canyon, it was claimed he did that too up on Mulholland. At Turnbull we had some spots, where leaves or rain runoff got dirt on the pavement! Do consider we weren’t ever trying to run side by side or wheel to wheel. It was our thing to do a hill climb type format for FTD. But I am sure people did try to race, but pretty tight up there, but the fast cars could take people up there. Naturally someone that could handle a big block Corvette would look really fast to many! The truck was actually a 1/2 Ton GMC pickup with a V-6! His peak of racing hardcore was with a 55 Ford Coupe that was hot rodded out, stripped, he was a fabricator and liked to engineer, but worked in a regular garage, doing standard tune-ups and car repairs. This is the car that he drove against some of the earliest Cobras up there! He got the Vette in the Mid-60s it is claimed and built it as quick as possible, on shoestring budget! Newer Corvettes weren’t cheap yet, so I think he got it years later. Cars weren’t getting flares yet really, until the early 70s. The first factory flared Corvettes were around late 1968! His friend doesn’t think he would have had the money to take it to like Guldstrand, plus Guldstrand didn’t open his shop till 1968 (my Father was invited to the opening). Other facts, he did not own a Hillman, but a close friend had a Simca that they played with. Charlie died in Bouquet canyon in the Corvette.

Some guy wrote that Charlie was inspired by Guldstrand working on the Grand Sports, but he (Dick) wasn’t involved in that! He raced the 1966 HD L88 prototype Penske Vette at Daytona 24, and was paired with Thompson in the #001 car pictured in front of Hoopers shop at Sebring 12. Penske threw him off the team, then he did land the opportunity with James Garner one race only AIR Corvette Team! Dick wasn’t considered for the Lola T-70, and basically wasn’t happy and started into his new venture Shop. Garner moved his Headquarters to Sunset strip and garaged the Lola race cars at Riverside. Guldstrand took some of the money he earned, and took over the AIR garage, starting his business there in Culver City! In between Penske and Garner, on the name of being with Penske, he tried an Indy car ride, and NASCAR, but was nearly killed again in a major crash. Then he landed the job at Dana Chevrolet as he was recovering. He was passed over there for the Trans Am and the Race car drives, as the Owner wanted him to run the Performance Center. He did run the 1967 Camaro in weekend SCCA AS Class events!

Funny like on the Grand Sport- the former Sebring 66 racer in front of Doug Hoopers shop I pictured, that itself is a funny story! Doug campaigned a Grand Sport replica, body done by Bruno’s. The guy who bought the real Grand Sport took it to Doug for consultation, thinking the real one was the car Hooper had driven! No, but Hooper got the job to manage the restoration, and did a great job, farming things out around the Valley! A Donovan block was used to build out a worthy engine, as the L88 was long gone, missing!

Charlie was still a solid racer, who earned a reputation! Most of the guys in the heyday of the Clandestine Racing most famous days of the mid-70s when those articles came out, Charlie wasn’t really racing anymore, but definitely if he encountered anyone, we was willing to show his stuff! He died Dec 1982, so he was still running it fast thru the canyons (RIP at 37). The car was sold to him used from a Stuntman who worked on the movie Ronin, and was a 1966, claimed to be Marina Blue (not offered for 1966), so I believe it was Nassau Blue! He did flare it, the car was on the rough side. I haven’t had a chance to run down the SCCA Old Timer event yet! The guys running the Slaloms in the mid-70s had big dollars into their cars. The early 70s, not yet, as the race wears weren’t really out there yet for the public! The 1972 year was a major leap in Race mods on the Corvette chassis spurred on by the Camel GT series (IMSA).