236 replies to this topic

[chuckbrandt]

McKee's have been pretty well represented in slot cars. I'm sure others who are more experts than I can fill us in on all that was available, but here are two bodies I have found both by AMT I believe. Mk 1 front and Mk 5 rear.

Chuck

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by chuckbrandt


This car? I confess I didn't look at that aspect very closely. There must be a hatch or door of some kind. You can sort of see parting panels for a door on the left side. You'd need to be pretty small to slide in that side window.. I don't think I'd make it.

Chuck

Chuck, I do not recall a Schkee (McKee Mk 20) ever being raced with this panel in place. All the times I saw them run during the years 1977 through the end of the 1980s they always had an open top. I suspect that the panel that is in place in the picture of Albert Wray's car is an accessory that was not used back in the day. If indeed it was, perhaps someone could post a photo, etc.?

Tom

[Duc-Man]

I was looking around the web for photos of the Schkee. It doesn't seem to have any doors at all. The parting of the bodypanels you see are from the front and rear hood. Here is it stripped down:

It doesn't look like somebody could actually step onto the sides of the car.
I also found a little gallery with detail shots of the car.
http://www.metaphors...975-Lola-Schkee
The sidewindows are screwed in all around. So they can't be opened like the 'doors' of the Chaparral 2H. They hade a hinge along the bottom and two quicklock screws to hold it shut.
Driver's 'door' Chaparral 2H

Thanks to the uploaders of those pictures.

[SCHKEE T332]

Getting in and out is easy. You are standing outside the car and you pick up your leg and put your foot through the little side window and then holding the roll bar stand up on that same foot while swinging the other leg up and over doing a little pirrouette manouver whilst removing your previously through the window foot. If all goes as planned you will be facing towards the front of the car. If not, simply bark out some sort of command to check the engine cover zeus fasteners or something similar. The roof panel is removable and latches from the inside, meant to be fitted by crew and latched by the driver once comfortably inside. Getting out is even easier and depending on the circumstances you either leap or jump. Try not to groan while getting up is what I always try to remember as it gives away my rapidly advancing age.

[RA Historian]

Reminds me of that Road & Track article from the late 1950s (for those of us from that era) L'Art d'Entree

[S A Dunbar]

Originally posted by Jerry Entin

RA Historian with Kurt Reinold. Kurt drove Bob McKee's F-5000 car in the day and did a very good job of it.
photo Paul Medici.

I realize I am replying to posts that are several years old, but I am just becoming familiar with the site and am having a great time reading the old threads.

Kurt Reinold is a great friend!

Kurt led over half of the 1970 runoffs race, only to crash after contact with Jerry Hansen. Neither finished the race.

Kurt was badly injured in a 1971 runoffs qualifying crash in his McKee - he experienced a terrible head injury. It took him years to recover. As part of his "therapy", he would come over to the house and play Ping Pong - which helped him with his hand/eye coordination!

[Sisyphus]

I remember seeing Kurt at the 1972 Elkhart Lake F5000 and believe this is a (very poor) photo of him in the paddock with his car.

I've always preferred the unusual cars--they were the spice that made racing so appealing in the days before everything became spec series.



Glad to know Kurt is still around.

Here is another McKee I shot--this is Dick DeJarld's M18.



Kurt did not show up in the program--maybe a late entry? At any rate Mike Yarborough is listed in car 53 which is identified as a McKee Mk12D, and Carmon Solomone, car 83, in a Mk12c.

What chassis did Kurt have? It looks different from DeJarld's which has flat sides around the cockpit so I'm guessing it wasn't a Mk18?

[RA Historian]

DeJarld had a Mk 12. The car Reinold drove was also a Mk 12, owned by Tito Nappi. The Yarborough car also was a Mk 12. Both the Reinold and the DeJarld cars are owned by Paul Dudiak, who had them at the McKee reunion at Road America in 2007. Albert Way has the Trowbridge car. There was one Mk 18 built, which looked quite a bit different from the Mk 12s. It was very low with a reclined driving position. It was built around 1974 and raced by Ed Midgley and Bob Goulet, among others. It also was at the reunion in 2007. It is owned by Tom Simpson.

It is very hard to try to identify the cars in your photos because of the size. Can't really ID the second shot that was posted.

Tom

[Sisyphus]

Yeah, sorry about the quality of the photos--I was a starving student then and could only afford an Instamatic. Race programs were not super accurate so maybe they were confused with the McLaren Mk18 which was the latest and greatest that year.

That race weekend was fantastic--Skip Barber qualified on pole with his F1 March 711--you could hear it sing all around the track over the 5 liters. He had some sort of problem early in the first heat but won the second over McRae's GM1 who won overall.

But you already knew that, I think.........

Thanks for the clarifications.

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by Sisyphus
That race weekend was fantastic--Skip Barber qualified on pole with his F1 March 711--you could hear it sing all around the track over the 5 liters. He had some sort of problem early in the first heat but won the second over McRae's GM1 who won overall.

Yes, that was interesting! The format that SCCA used for its F-5000 series at that time was two heats of about 100 miles each, with overall scoring based on who knows what. Barber was classified as sixth overall, with a DNF and a 1st in the two heats. Graham McRae was the overall winner in his STP sponsored GM-1. The Cosworth certainly sounded different than the five liter pushrod V-8s, didn't it!
Tom

[SCHKEE T332]

I regret I never met Bob Goulet. From the stories I 've heard sounded like a great sort of guy.
I bought the T333 he had. I am loading up a battery box right now for the 24 hours of Daytona that says "Sunbury Racing" on it. Used to be Bob's.

[RA Historian]

Goulet (the racer, not the singer in case anyone out there is confused) lived four blocks from me. Bought the McKee Mk 18 sometime around 1980 give or take. Eventually put fenders on it for the Can Am II races. Was painted blue for a while, also gold for a while. Renamed it the Sabre. Ran it to no great effect. Then he bought a Lola T-333 but with consumate bad timing purchased it just as the remains of Can Am II were put to rest. Ran it for a few years in SCCA Regional competition, also to no great effect. Faded out of racing in the early 90s and passed away way too young.
Tom

[xkssFrankOpalka]

Sorry to hear Clic is gone, I used to wrench the LMD when he had it, memory says it had NASCAR Ford side oiler engine, before that he raced a De Tomaso/Osca G mod car that Ollie Schmidt had. I remember him coming to my pit at Lynndale and ask me to look at the car, The flywheel had broken from the crankshaft. He moved south and I sold the De Tomaso for him. A few yrs ago I attended an Auction in AZ and met a fellow who had what looked like an LMD, except it had a Hemi engine in it I think, wanted to sell it at very high price. if anyone gets to contact his widow, tell her I said hello.

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by xkssFrankOpalka
A few yrs ago I attended an Auction in AZ and met a fellow who had what looked like an LMD, except it had a Hemi engine in it I think, wanted to sell it at very high price.

That would have been the Bob Montana Mk V. The LMD was the Mk IV.
Tom

[Jerry Entin]

Howmet TX 11 Turbine Racer in Roadster configuration.
This car set 6 International speed records near Talladega, Alabama on August 21, 1970


Side View of the Roadster in action.
Car built by Bob McKee


photos - Bill Wiswedel collection

[chuckbrandt]

Thanks Jerry for posting these. I never really knew this version existed except that MPC made a 1/25th scale model of it called simply "Can Am". The decals show Howmet Mark II just as in the pictures.

So what speeds did it reach to set records, and was there any front end lift at those speeds?

Chuck

[Jerry Entin]

Building the Bob Montana Chrysler Powered McKee
This picture was taken around Christmas of 1964.


Photo Bill Wiswedel collection.

[Pete Stowe]

Originally posted by chuckbrandt
Thanks Jerry for posting these. I never really knew this version existed except that MPC made a 1/25th scale model of it called simply "Can Am". The decals show Howmet Mark II just as in the pictures.

So what speeds did it reach to set records, and was there any front end lift at those speeds?

Chuck

Ray Heppenstall set the following FIA speed records for turbine cars in August 1970 on the access roads parallelling the interstate in front of Talladega Speedway (805 lbs. of lead ballast were added for the Class 3 runs).

Class 2 (cars over 500 Kg and upto 1000 Kg)
Standing Start 1/4 mile - 11.83 sec. 122.41 kph (76.07 mph)
Standing Start 1/2 Km - 13.48 sec. 133.53 kph (82.97 mph)
Standing Start 1 Km - 21.18 sec. 167.97 kph (105.61 mph)

Class 3 (cars over 1000 Kg)
Standing Start 1/4 mile - 13.87 sec. 104.41 kph (64.88 mph)
Standing Start 1/2 Km - 15.74 sec. 114.35 kph (71.05 mph)
Standing Start 1 Km - 23.92 sec. 150.50 kph (93.51 mph)

Heppenstall also recorded one mile times of 30.479 sec (118.115 mph) and 33.226 sec (108.365 mph), but that distance was no longer recognised by the FIA for records.

The Mark II Howmet was actually the TX coupe chassis #2 that Dick Thompson rolled at Le Mans in 1968. After Le Mans Heppenstall took the car to England to rebuild, where Maurice Gomm provided the Spyder bodywork. In the 1990s Bob McKee restored the car with coupe body for Chuck Haines; it’s now with Xavier Micheron in France, along with the Mk.II Spyder bodywork.

There’s more on Heppenstall and the Howmet at Howmet TX .

Edited by Pete Stowe, 20 August 2021 - 09:59.

[S A Dunbar]

Originally posted by Jerry Entin

This is the McKee Formula A car as it was called in the day. Now called F-5000 car. This is the car that Kurt Reinold drove.
photo Paul Medici

Who now owns this car?

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by S A Dunbar
Who now owns this car?

Paul Dudiak.
Tom

[S A Dunbar]

Thank you, Tom...

Shortly after asking the question, I saw you had already provided the answer in a previous post. My apologies...

[RA Historian]

No apology necessary. More than once I have asked something when I could have simply hit "search BB" and found the answer. Happens to all of us!
Tom

[ssperka]

I'm a little slow to chime in, just a couple of years or so, but here are my shots of the Mk II McKee (Chevette) and the Mk. IV (LMD), taken at the 1965 Road America 500 and
I was a little stunned to see what the Jerry Hansen Mk. II/Chevette looks like now. I'm sure that this was evolutionary, but not how Bob built it originally! It just doesn't look "right" to me.
-Scott

Edited by ssperka, 03 August 2011 - 15:28.

[ssperka]

Anybody have a clue which McKee Rolf Jung had at, or at least was entered for, the Runoffs in the early 70s?

Year: 1971
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
28.11.1971 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR+BSR] McKee Rolf Jung DNS
Year: 1973
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
3.11.1973 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR] 26 McKee Rolf Jung Rolf Jung DNA
Year: 1974
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
3.11.1974 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR+BSR] 26 McKee Rolf Jung DNA

Above is from RacingSportsCars.com summary: Rolf Jung

Edited by ssperka, 03 August 2011 - 15:37.

[chuckbrandt]

Anybody have a clue which McKee Rolf Jung had at, or at least was entered for, the Runoffs in the early 70s?

Year: 1971
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
28.11.1971 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR+BSR] McKee Rolf Jung DNS
Year: 1973
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
3.11.1973 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR] 26 McKee Rolf Jung Rolf Jung DNA
Year: 1974
Date Race No. Car Drivers Entrant Result
3.11.1974 US Champions Road Atlanta [ASR+BSR] 26 McKee Rolf Jung DNA

Above is from RacingSportsCars.com summary: Rolf Jung

Not ringing any bells with me. I have been trying to track down information on a car with a Fiberfab Valkerie body and McKee suspension bought as parts. It was evidently raced by Dick DeJarld as the "Maad Special". Picture of the car below, possibly you are looking at a next owner of this car?

Edited by chuckbrandt, 03 August 2011 - 19:15.

[ssperka]

Chuck, do you have a time-frame for the DeJarld car and where was it raced? When and where the photo was taken?

[elansprint72]

I tried to get on track pictures of all the cars during their parade lap, but I had some limitations. I missed the parade on Saturday because we were lining up for track touring. On Sunday a couple of the cars were missing, and I didn't get a good panning shot of the Mk 7 but I have one from last year I'll fill in when I get home. All images copyright Chuck Brandt, all rights reserved, please don't repost without permission.

Mk II Jerry Hansen's Chevette owned by Albert Way

Mk IV, the Skip Lehmann car that Mike Hall drove in the 1965 USRRC

Mk V, the Plymouth Hemi powered car driven by Bob Montana

Mk VI, the car Mak Kronn used to win the 1966 June Sprints

Mk VII, the ex-Bob Nagel car

Mk VII

Mk IX, the Howmet turbine, this being the third car built, the spare car, recently appeared at Goodwood

Mk XII, the Chuck Trowbridge car

Mk XII, the Tito Nappi car driven by Kurt Reinold, who was here this weekend

Mk XX, one of the "Schkees"

So there were three Howmet cars built (I always thought it was two; although my memory is not what it was!). Does anyone know which car has recently (reportedly) been sold to the ROFGO Collection?

[RA Historian]

Not ringing any bells with me. I have been trying to track down information on a car with a Fiberfab Valkerie body and McKee suspension bought as parts. It was evidently raced by Dick DeJarld as the "Maad Special". Picture of the car below, possibly you are looking at a next owner of this car?

Chuck, do you have a time-frame for the DeJarld car and where was it raced? When and where the photo was taken?

Took me a while to notice this. The photo was taken by me on Memorial Day weekend, 1966, at Lynndale Farms circuit, Pewaukee, Wis. Event was an SCCA Regional. DeJarld was third overall in this "Maad" Special, behind winner Dick Durant, Durant Special, and second place Gary Maher, Chaparral 1.

Photo copyright 2013 Tom Schultz

[RA Historian]

So there were three Howmet cars built (I always thought it was two; although my memory is not what it was!). Does anyone know which car has recently (reportedly) been sold to the ROFGO Collection?

Two McKee Mk IX (a/k/a Howmet) gas turbine cars were built in period. The third was built up later from parts.

Tom

[elansprint72]

Two McKee Mk IX (a/k/a Howmet) gas turbine cars were built in period. The third was built up later from parts.

Tom

Thanks Tom, so I'm not going mad! The one pictured above (in my quoted post #227) has a different exhaust arrangement from the one seen a couple of times at the Le Mans Classic, that has three large pipes at the tail.
Any info on which one has sold, folks?

Edited by elansprint72, 04 March 2013 - 15:42.

[a01butal]

Took me a while to notice this. The photo was taken by me on Memorial Day weekend, 1966, at Lynndale Farms circuit, Pewaukee, Wis. Event was an SCCA Regional. DeJarld was third overall in this "Maad" Special, behind winner Dick Durant, Durant Special, and second place Gary Maher, Chaparral 1.

Photo copyright 2013 Tom Schultz

 

 

I just found this topic and saw the mention of Dr. Dick DeJarld and his Maad special. I don't recall too much of the car in this iteration as it was raced and crashed the year before I started helping Dick on his cars. I do however have a few pictures of it, one in (I believe)1965 when he attended the Shelby Driving school at Riverside Raceway and then another of it after we rebuilt and rebodied it during the 66-67 winter with a Fiberfab Valkyrie body. This car was eventually sold to a guy in Colorado and replaced with the ex Budd Clusserath McKee group 7 car. The 1965 picture has James Garner standing against the car and it was in some scenes of his 1969 movie about racing in the US.   Dick also drove the McKee group 7 car in the beginning of Paul Newman's movie "Winning" at Elkhart Lake.  Dick was a great guy who without any reservation took me in basically off the street and introduced me to an exciting part of life I would never have had the opportunity to experience.  Unfortunately he left us way to early in 1987 at age 57 leaving a terrible void in everyones life that he knew.

 

Al Butterfield

 

 

Edited by a01butal, 06 March 2014 - 22:34.

[Bloggsworth]

When you have inserted the picture, the first time you press the post button, the picture often doesn't show, if you just refresh the page it usually appears - You are clearly not using IE11 or you wouldn't be able to use your browser after attempting to post a picture, you would have to C-Alt-Del out of the browser, download Firefox, and start again...

[a01butal]

I see my pictures now and deleted  my post about them not displaying.  Just didn't know it would take some time to show up.  Thanks anyway.

[Graham Clayton]

So much fantastic McKee history here! One stone remains unturned though. In mid-60's Bob McKee is said to have been involved in a joint venture with John Salathe and Don Yenko to produce a mid-engined road car powered by a Chevy V8. According to the Beaulieu Encyclopedia McKee was responsible for the frame & suspension, Salathe styled the body and Yenko was meant to handle distribution. The car was known as Salathe MACH 1 or just plain MACH 1.
Someone, somewhere must have a photo of it...?

 

 

[proviz]

Yes, the photo from Car & Driver cover. Just wish I could get my hands on that issue to see what's inside...

[group7]

proviz, a little here on the Yenko Sceptre.   http://blog.caranddr...shifter-no-204/ I do have that December '67 issue of C&D. just have to dig it up !

 

Mike (group7) in Canada

 

proviz, going back in this thread, I noticed you have been looking for information on this car since 2008, I will get to that issue, if you have not already done so yourself. some else here will probably beat me to it !

Edited by group7, 03 October 2015 - 18:57.

[proviz]

So, the MACH 1 was also known as Yenko Scepter! Strange thing there does not seem to be any mention of it in Bob McClurg's book about Don Yenko.