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Jim Jeffords R.I.P.


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#1 Jerry Entin

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 14:41

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Nassau 1959. Wearing his familiar Day-Glo red helmet, Jim Jeffords in action with the Meister Brauser Scarab.
 

Jim Jeffords died on March 6, 2014 at age 87. He was a well-known SCCA racer: fast and aggressive, while working a regular job in advertising during the week. Born in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee, on December 6, 1926, he started his race career relatively late in life, at age 28, with a Jaguar XK-120. He competed until the end of 1960.

 

 

 

all research: Willem Oosthoek

photo: Willem Oosthoek collection


Edited by Jerry Entin, 26 March 2014 - 18:49.


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#2 Jerry Entin

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 18:31

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Road America 500, September 7, 1958. Jim Jeffords in the finned Corvette SR-2.
 
Driving the 500 solo and running third overall most of the race, Jeffords retired on lap 109 when the Corvette lost a wheel.
 
all research: Willem Oosthoek
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 26 March 2014 - 18:54.


#3 raceannouncer2003

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 20:15

Sorry to hear this.  Got to meet him at Monterey one year.  He had a huge motorhome with a Mini inside.  Nice guy.

 

Didn't he race with a vision problem?

 

VInce H.



#4 Jerry Entin

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 21:24

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 Jim Jeffords in the Nickey Scarab chased by Lloyd Ruby's Micro Lube Maserati 450S and Rodger Ward's Midget in the 1959 Formula Libre race at Meadowdale.
 
Vince:
 
Few people know that since childhood Jim Jeffords had eyesight in only one eye. It does not seem to have hampered his depth perception, but when about to get caught during vision tests before the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, he had to create a diversion by running his hand up the leg of the nurse administering the test. She cried... Please, monsieur Jeffoooooor! But it gave the driver a brief moment to see what number and letters were there.
 
Story told to Willem Oosthoek by Jim Jeffords

Edited by Jerry Entin, 26 March 2014 - 23:13.


#5 Vettefinderjim

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 21:46

Jim Jeffords passed on March 6, 2014 in Palm Desert, California his winter home. He was one of the all time great Corvette drivers,  and was inducted into the 2002 Corvette Hall of Fame at the Museum over Labor Day Weekend 2002.
 
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Jim was from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. In 1954, when 27 years old, Jim was married with four boys. He started his racing career in a Jaguar 120, 140 and a Mercedes Gullwing 300SL. 
 
In May of 1956, Jim met Ed Cole and said he heard of a Chevrolet sponsored race team was being formed. 
 
“How can I get on the team, Mr. Cole?” asked Jim. Ed said go see Dick Doane, a Chevrolet dealer from Dundee, Ill and promised a production Corvette to race at Road America. However one was not ready. Doane raced a Sebring Corvette at local hill climbs, and Jim thought the nut behind the wheel should be changed, but how was he to prove to the world that his driving talent earned him the right to drive the Corvette. 
 
On Jun 24 1956 at the ROAD AMERICA JUNE SPRINTS Jim hopped back in his old Jag 140 and went out against Dr. Dick Thompson, Fred Windridge, Bark Henry and Ed Davis. These were the Corvette drivers of the day. Jeffords drove the wheels off that little Jag and was leading the race with one lap to go, when on a downshift, the engine, popped a freeze plug and the car limped to a lesser than 1st finish. 
 
The fans and Ed Cole mobbed and praised Jim when he returned to the pits for his great driving ability. And as a reward, Jim was given Dick Doane’s blue1956 Sebring modified Corvette to race in other mid west events that summer.
 
That beginning led to:
 
December 7, 1956 Nassau factory entry in the new 57 Fuel Injection #36 car. 9th oa, 7th in class,
 
March 23-24, 1957 Corvette 12 hour Sebring team driver, in the new # 3, factory Corvette car, now with factory 4 speed, positraction and fuel injection and RPO 684 Brake/ suspension. The Nassau cars had only fuel injection, and 3 speed and the 56 race brake option.. Drivers: Kilborn / Jeffords/ Duncan, 2nd GT, 15th oa.
 
November 1957 was co-driver with Fred Windridge in his 1957 Corvette in Caracas, Venezuela with the remaining factory team drivers, Dick Doane, John Kilborn, Tom Pistone, and Dr. Dick Thompson all drove the new 1958 model Corvette. Remember this was after the AMA ban. This story is well written in Dick Thompson and Donn Hale Munson's book CORVETTE GUIDE, Sports Car Press 1958, PAGES 110-122. A wild story about racing the streets of Venezuela. Jim told me many stories about racing here and later in Cuba in 1960.
 
Dec 1-1957- *Nassau- Corvette #38, 16oa, nraf engine
 
January 1958 purchase of the 56 SR-2, vin 56F002522, Harley Earl race Corvette. 
 
Dec 4, 1958 Nassau car #14, 1958 Production Fuel Injection PPE1,  1oa, in both 5 lap and 25 lap Tourist Trophy,
 
In the spring of 1958, Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago retained Jim to drive Corvettes and head up a race team .He asked for maintenance and expenses. Jim was so positive of his ability, that he promised the owners, the Stephani Brothers that *
“If I do not bring you the Championship, then I will pay you back all the expenses !!! “
 
Nickey agreed, and they hired Ronnie Kaplan as crew chief, who took over the maintenance and race prep of the SR-2 which Jim now owned and was already painted Purple when Jim bought it. Along with the 58 and 59 Production Corvettes, all became ‘‘PURPLE PEOPLE EATER’’ cars and everyone went racing. The popular song “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley in 1958 created the color and marketing ideas. And how it worked. 
 
From January 1958 thru December 59, Jim and Nickey entered 21 race weekends (42 races) with the famous 1958 and 1959 “Purple People Eater” Corvettes at tracks across the country. Results: 29 first in class. 3 DNFs due to mechanical.
 
In 1958 Jim won the SCCA National B/P Championship and earned 7000 points in the SCCA . 2nd place was Fred Windridge with 4000.
 
In 1959 the SCCA changed their point scoring system. Jim won the SCCA B/P Championship again and earned 76 points to Roy Tuerke’s *54. 
Result: TWO first place SCCA *B/Production National Titles for Jim and the Nickey team.
 
During this time, Jim had purchased the SR-2 Harley Earl B/MP car and raced it also. A broken axel on the SR-2, and a broken fan belt and broken piston ring on the B/Production Corvettes were the only three problems that Jim and the Ronnie Kaplan crew endured that caused a DNF. 
 
Other Highlights:
July 12-13, 1958- lapped the field in a 20-lap race at Wilmot.
Sept 20,1958- Set course record by 3 mph at Watkins Glen
Oct 4-5, 1958- Set new track record at Vaca Valley, CA
Nov 29- Dec 8, 1958- Nassau Speed Week- Won 25 lap, 1st class, 1st OA, first American driver in an American car to ever do this. Then won 1st class, and 3rd OA in the Memorial Trophy Race.
 
Over Labor Day 1958, Jim met Lance Reventlow at the hotel lobby next to the Thompson, Connecticut Raceway. They had dinner and that meeting changed Jim’s racing direction. After the final season race in Riverside, California in November, Jim met Lance at the track the following Tuesday where Lance sold NICKEY CHEVROLET the *# 002 Scarab. Jim got the Stephani’s to add the car as “Nickey Nouse” to the racing stable. 
 
On July 18-19, 1959, at Riverside the Kiwanis Grand Prix Jeffords surprised the west coast racers and brought out the 59 Corvette “Purple People Eater III” to defend his SCCA National 58 title and race against the famous California Legends. Bob Bondurant, Dean Geddes, Bill Gaskins, Paul Masse, were listed in the top 6 Corvette finishers. West Coast rules were very different between east coast and west coast events. West coast racers used ‘retread tires’, and that upset Jim and his crew chief Ronnie Kaplan greatly.
 
The race was shortened due to a bad crash, and West beat East where Bondurant, driving his old 57 Corvette, crossed the finish line only 40 feet ahead of Jim. Jim had passed on the yellow flag, and claimed victory. Bondurant was declared the winner at the race end. That finish was protested by Nickey Chevrolet. 
Jim received a copy of a *letter from SCCA Chief John Bishop granting Jim the winner dated Sept 24, 1959 only last year in October 2013 from the Stephani Family who found it in file. The race photos and ‘‘winner’‘ story have been joked at race reunion events the last 54 years.
 
The 1959 season had its ups and downs with the Scarab, and changes in sponsorship did not help. But two victories in the professional USAC events at Medowdale (Chicago) stand out. In one of the events, Jim lapped the course four seconds faster than Chuck Daigh had done the year before in the same car. He won 1st in class and 1st overall in all three 100 mile races. His new lap record stood for some years to come.
 
In 1960, Lucky Casner, owner of CAsner MOtor RAcing DIvision ( CAMORADI USA )
by special arrangement with Zora Duntov bought two heavy duty #687 HD Brake/ Suspension optioned Corvettes from Don Allen Chevrolet in Miami. 
 
The #4 car was assigned to it’s first race at Grand Prix of Havana. On Feb 24,1960. Jim drove it to a first place finish in the GT race. 
On the following Sunday’s Grand Prix, he finished first again in GT class, and eighth overall. Jim did the victory lap with Fidel Castro’s son holding the checkered flag.
 
This is the only time that Cuba hosted a true international race in the 1957-60 time where every country in the world was invited to field their cars. And it was the only time the race was won by an American and American car. *There has never been a race in Cuba since this 1960 Grand Prix.
 
Jim and Bill Wuesthoff raced this same car at the 12 hours of Sebring in March 1960. **Once completed, they found themselves in 2nd place in class.
 
In June of 1960, Jim again joined Lucky Casner and co-drove the Birdcage Maserati at LeMans. Jim’s only European experience was not pleasant as “Lucky was not” and had an off course excursion that resulted in sand in the gearbox and a DNF 40th position. 
 
Later that year, Jim bought from Casner the Birdcage that Maston Gregory and Chuck Daigh had raced at LeMans, and raced it to victory at Road America beating Jim Hall in the first Professional Sports Car Race ever at Road America. This was the streamline Birdcage and was a much faster car than the cage he drove at LeMans. *
 
At Riverside in the fall of 1960, Jim raced the Birdcage. Billy Krause was 1st in his Birdcage, Bob Drake was 2nd in *“Old Yeller”, and Augie Pabst 3rd. Jim had a broken exhaust manifold, which dropped power way down on his Birdcage and that regulated him to 4th. If there was a consolation prize, it was that he beat Carroll Shelby who finished 5th. Shelby’s last race was a week later at Laguna Seca.
 
Before the 1961 season, Jim was struck by a mysterious allergy that almost killed him. He was in intensive care for nine months and that ended his racing career. 
 
In 1968, Jim interrupted his busy advertising business, and briefly returned to the racing scene as manager of the AMC Javelin Trans Am race cars. Ronnie Kaplan was crew chief and Peter Revson and George Folmer were the drivers.
 
Jim was on the Board of Directors for Road America at Elkhart Lake since 1958 and held many positions over the last 55 years
 
PorterfieldFreitasJeffordsampme_zpsf08ab
 
Photo taken in September 2005 at the FABULOUS 50'S REUNION EVENT at PARAMOUNT RANCH. ANDY PORTERFIELD, JOE FREITAS, JIM JEFFORDS AND JIM GESSNER on the scooter.
BondurantJeffordsReinhartGHayes8-02_zps2
 
BOB BONDURANT, JIM JEFFORDS, PAUL REINHART, LARRY HAYES, MONTEREY HISTORIC SOLID AXEL CONVENTION AUGUST 2002.
 
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NCRS NATIONAL CONVENTION MONTEREY CALIFORNIA AUG 2002. JOE FREITAS AND JIM IN FRONT OF THE 59 PURPLE PEOPLE EATER III.
 
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JIM WITH LONG TIME RACE FRIENDS FROM THE FABULOUS 50'S CLUB, JACQUES BELLESILE, AND ART EVANS
 
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CHIP MILLER, WHO FOUND THE 59 PPE III. WE LOST CHIP 10 YEARS AGO YESTERDAY MARCH 24. 2004. NOW HE AND JIM AND RONNIE KAPLAN ARE ALL TOGETHER WITH ZORA AND OTHERS. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. RIP


#6 Jerry Entin

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 23:16

 
 
Another little known fact is that the first Troutman-Barnes built second-generation Scarab, later known as the Chaparral, almost ended up with Jim Jeffords in Milwaukee, not with Jim Hall in Midland.
 
Originally Jeffords and Harry Heuer were the men who underwrote the project, placing orders and putting up $5,000 deposits for the first two T-B cars. They were looking for a new car to drive during the 1961 season and replace the aging Scarabs they both raced.
 
After a dinner party in Chicago in late December 1960 Jeffords became violently ill. He was rushed to the hospital and was out of commission for nine months. He underwent some 600 tests to find out what he was allergic to, but the doctors never found out what the problem was. Jeffords was put on cortisone and gained much weight. He was afraid he would never be able to compete again and called Jim Hall, his co-driver in the 1960 Road America 500, to see if Hall was interested in taking over his part of the T-B project. Hall agreed, paid Jeffords his $5,000 deposit and became the first owner of what he would baptize the Chaparral. Heuer got the second T-B car in October 1961.
 
It makes one wonder what Hall would have raced in 1961 if Jeffords had not fallen ill.


#7 Jerry Entin

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 13:49

Although Jim Jeffords is best known for his Big Iron competition, he raced a small car at least once in his career. It was not a comfortable experience for the tall Jeffords. At Sebring in 1959 he shared a 750 cc Fiat Abarth with Bob Kuhn of Ohio. Jeffords would not fit the cockpit so the seat was removed and he ran the race sitting on the floor. Persistent rain meant that he also sat in a pool of water that penetrated the cockpit. The car finished 30th overall.
 
all research: Willem Oosthoek


#8 JacnGille

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 14:21

Sad news.



#9 Vettefinderjim

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 15:19

CARD AND LETTERS TO
 
Box 843
18155 W.Wisconsin Ave.
Brookfield WI 53008
 


#10 Jerry Entin

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 17:03

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Jim Jeffords takes the CAMORADI Birdcage out for his final stint at Le Mans in 1960.
 
After CAMORADI's victory at the Nurburgring, Lucky Casner had a drivers problem for Le Mans. Without access to Moss [too expensive at $5,000], Gurney [one-race contract with Cunningham] and Shelby [money dispute after Riverside], Casner decided to drive himself and hired Chuck Daigh as co-driver for Masten Gregory. He moved Jim Jeffords up from a Corvette to his co-driver in a Birdcage.
 
It was Jeffords first time at Le Mans as well as driving a Birdcage. According to Daigh, Jeffords asked him at dinner during practice "Do you have any trouble with the car swerving down the long straight?" Gregory and Daigh looked at each other, because they had already pumped up the tires to get their car straight. Daigh recallled how Gregory needled Jeffords: "Well, you got a steering wheel, don't you?"
 
At night, during his second stint, Casner put his Birdcage in the Mulsanne sandtrap. After he excavated the car, the exhausted driver came in since his gearbox had ingested sand. It took a hour to clean things up and Jeffords departed again around midnight. He remembered: "On my first lap doing 150 mph down the straight my face got blasted by all the remaining sand in the cockpit." The gearbox packed up within two laps, ending Jeffords only European adventure.
 
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 27 March 2014 - 17:09.


#11 Jerry Entin

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 18:39

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Jim Jeffords in the former CAMORADI Birdcage Streamliner about to put a lap on Skip Hudson in Buck Fulp's Testa Rossa Ferrari
 
At Le Mans Jim Jeffords noticed the speed difference between the Gregory/Daigh Birdcage Streamliner and the more blunt-nosed Birdcages. Jeffords: "After Le Mans I asked Casner if he could send the Streamliner over for me. He said he would love to but that he could not afford it. However, he was willing to sell me the car. I think that Casner was charging me $17,000. After a couple of days back at the factory, he sent it C.O.D. to O'Hare Airport. Now, the USAC-sanctioned professional Road America 200 is next week and I am at Meadowdale as Chief Steward for a SCCA race. At the end of the day I am having a beer with John Bishop and Jesse Coleman Jr at the motel."
 
"They asked me 'How are you going to get that car?' I said: 'I have not figured it out yet. I don't have the available cash.' Coleman , the Chief Starter at Sebring and many SCCA events, came to the rescue by introducing a friend of his in Chattanooga, J. Frank Harrison."
 
"Harrison asked me: 'Would you sell it to me?' I said: 'Reluctantly, yes, under certain conditions. You supply the transporter and crew to collect the car at the O'Hare hangar on Thursday and take it to Road America. I drive it and you maintain it and take it to every major race for the rest of the season, including Nassau. Price: $17,000.'
 
"Harrison agreed and we took it to Elkhart Lake and won the race. Casner was not involved. We simply had no time to change the CAMORADI colors."

Edited by Jerry Entin, 27 March 2014 - 21:08.


#12 Frank S

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 02:33

Jeffords in the "streamlined" Birdcage leads Pabst and Shelby through Turn Seven, Times GP, November 1960:

 

orig.jpg

 

Photo by Don Dean Sheffield

 

The "Fabulous Fifties" reunion photo in Jim's post is mine.

 



#13 Jerry Entin

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 15:37

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After his victory in the July 31, 1960, Road America 200 Jim Jeffords is interviewed by legendary Road America announcer Ed "Twenty Grand" Steinbock. Jeffords finished 30 seconds ahead of Jim Hall's Birdcage, with Loyal Katskee's Birdcage in third.
 
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 28 March 2014 - 15:40.


#14 Jerry Entin

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 18:18

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Practice for the Road America 500. From the left: Harrison employee Ernie Gregory, Jim Hall, Jim Jeffords exiting the Birdcage and Hall mechanic Frank Lance.
 
Frank Harrison was a man of his word and when the next major sports car race came along, the September 1960 Road America 500, his transporter brought three cars for Jeffords to choose from.
 
Jeffords: "I invited Jim Hall to be my co-driver in this race and Frank Harrison brought three Maseratis: a brand new red Birdcage, the Le Mans Streamliner and a 450S. This last car was quite a handful, very fast on the straightaway but very heavy. You needed a Hercules to drive that s.o.b. It would wear out a driver real fast. Since the Streamliner was relatively tired compared to the new Birdcage, I said: 'Why don't we use the red car and we'll smoke them.' So we did."
 
Jeffords took the start and easily led the field: "I was not pushing the car at all. I was using the brakes. I was cornering it flat out, but I was not using the revs at all. Best handling car I ever drove. It was a treat. You could drive it by your fingertips"
 
"After Jim took over at the first pit stop, he was back in the pit within a few laps. He got out and poured a bucket of water over his feet. I said 'Jim, what the hell are you doing?'. He said 'You drive it!' so I just jumped back into the car and the moment I hit the brakes I knew we had a problem. The exhaust manifold had cracked and it threw fire right at the pedals. Flames were coming out!
 
I managed to get to Turn 12 by switching my feet back and forth, but there I spun it. Did a 180 degrees and still stayed on the track, but the car was undriveable by then."
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 28 March 2014 - 18:20.


#15 Jerry Entin

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 20:08

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The December 1996 cover of East Coast Maserati Club magazine Il Tridente featured Jim Jeffords and the Harrison Streamliner in action during the October 1960 Times Grand Prix at Riverside.
 
Carroll Shelby struck a deal with Frank Harrison to race the red Birdcage in the next two 1960 USAC events, at Riverside and Laguna Seca, so Jeffords was back in the Streamliner again.
 
The top photo shows the opening lap at Riverside, with Jeffords leading Augie Pabst [M.B. Scarab], Roy Salvadori [Cooper Monaco], Dick Thompson [Sting Ray], Jim Hall [Maserati 570S], Shelby [Harrison Birdcage] and the rest of the field.
 
 
Photos: Bob Tronolone [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

Edited by Jerry Entin, 28 March 2014 - 20:31.


#16 Jerry Entin

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Posted 29 March 2014 - 15:42

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Jim Jeffords cresting the hill at the Riverside straight during the 1960 Times GP, with Augie Pabst following in the Scarab
 
A few laps earlier Augie was still leading Jim. Jeffords: "At Riverside, for the first 120 miles, I could not beat Augie in the Scarab. He was just faster down the long straight. In Turn 9 he got all sideways. You see those two dents in the nose of the Streamliner? That's where I hit the rear bumper of the Scarab, which straightened Augie and allowed him to continue. I installed that bumper myself the previous year to protect the Scarab's fuel tank."
 
Once recovered from his brief mishap, Augie managed to repass Jim again and the two finished 3rd and 4th overall. Shelby took the red Harrison Birdcage to 5th overall.
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 29 March 2014 - 15:44.


#17 TIPO61

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Posted 29 March 2014 - 18:30

That  July day at Elkhart Lake was one of the Great Moments of my life thanks to Mr. Gregory, Jim Jeffords, the (then) Mrs. Jeffords, Albert James (Bert) Kemp and Bill Warren. This is my lame opportunity to thank them all again. R.I.P. 'Big Jim.' Thank you,

 

Errol (Bertocchi) Kaufman


Edited by TIPO61, 30 March 2014 - 02:08.


#18 Jerry Entin

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Posted 30 March 2014 - 03:27

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December 1960, Governor's Trophy at Nassau. Back in the red Harrison Birdcage again, Jim Jeffords shares the grid with Dan Gurney and Stirling Moss, each in a Lotus 19/Climax.
 
After Carroll Shelby won the 1960 USAC Road Racing Championship by gaining enough points at Laguna Seca, he retired from competition. So the red Harrison Birdcage was available again for Jeffords and he had a excellent chance winning the Governor's Trophy.
 
Jeffords: "In the Governor's Trophy on Saturday George Constantine in a Lister/Chevy and I were leading the pack at the last corner of the first lap. As you come in a bump causes you to be airborne. At that point I decided Constantine would play gentleman reasonably well and I would go on the outside, as I was coming in a hell of a lot faster than he was. While I am airborne, he moves over on me! I never dreamed he would do so, but the s.o.b. did! His knock-off nut got into my front wheel and cleaned it out. So I went spinning down the straightaway and the dust is everywhere. There were about 60 cars in the race and thank God the Birdcage was right-hand drive. Just as the car stops, Pedro Rodriguez in a Testa Rossa T-bones me. It was like an explosion in a shingle factory, with parts flying anywhere."
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection.

Edited by Jerry Entin, 30 March 2014 - 03:30.


#19 E1pix

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 21:34

Godspeed, Mr. Jeffords.

 

Thanks for all the great Road America programs I was so honored to be published in as a kid.



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#20 Jerry Entin

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Posted 02 April 2014 - 03:24

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Nassau Trophy 1960. Not the best start for Jim Jeffords, at the wheel of the Harrison Streamliner #35 again. The Birdcages of Gus Andrey [#25], Alan Connell [#26] and Jim Hall [#66] beat him to the Esso bridge.
 
 
 
With the red Harrison Birdcage damaged in the Governor's Trophy, Jeffords' only choice for the main event, the Nassau Trophy, was the Streamliner. Unfortunately, Harrison had just loaned the Streamliner's engine to Jim Hall, who suffered problems with his own Birdcage engine.
 
In an all-nighter the Harrison crew pulled the engine from the damaged red Birdcage and installed it into the Streamliner, so that Jeffords could take the start. On lap 19, while running 5th overall, Jeffords pulled out as the Streamliner began losing oil.
 
It was the final race for Jeffords. After he sold his part in the new T-B project to Jim Hall, he slowly got himself off the cortisone medicine. In 1968 he managed the TransAm Javelin team for American Motors. After that, he focused on his various car dealerships: Porsche, Audi, BMW, Saab, Mazda and VW. He also did a booming business selling RVs. Later in life, having spun off the car businesses. Jeffords moved to the West Coast to design and furnish upscale homes in the Palm Springs and Phoenix areas.
 
 
Photo: Willem Oosthoek Collection

Edited by Jerry Entin, 02 April 2014 - 03:29.