27 replies to this topic

[bespoke]

I have been researching previous owners of my Genie and I have read that Ed Lowther won the 1964 and 1965 National C/Modified titles in the car. Is Ed still with us? Do any forum members have any photos of Ed racing the car? How about any thoughts or memories of his racing with the car or in general? He ran it mostly as #7 and it is alternately referred to as the Genie Ford and the Genie Mustang in the racing articles. Thanks.

[Bjorn Kjer]

If you use Search BB you will find more than 1 thread containin Genies (at least 4) ,but with a little patience , I am sure that Jerry Entin or other good guys will show up!
Regards Bjørn

[raceannouncer2003]

I don't know whether or not Ed is still with us. Apparently, he was from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Maybe these folks can help...

http://www.steeltownvette.com/

There seem to be lots of photos on the internet of Ed racing the Genie.

I can't seem to find results of Ed racing the Genie in 1965, though maybe he did. I checked here...

http://www.oldracing.../...wther (USA)

Also, I think other drivers won C Modified at the runoffs in 1964 and 1965. Maybe he won the Northeast titles?

Vince H.

[David McKinney]

His 1964 CM title was in the old-style SCCA National Championship, Vince. Then ARRC was a different beast
I can't help with 1965

[RA Historian]

Ed Lowther passed away a few years ago.

Lowther won the 1964 SCCA C Modified National Championship, the last held under the old season-long points system. From 1965 on the championship has been determined at the Runoffs. The 1965 SCCA C Modified National Champion was Joe (?) Starkey in a McLaren M1A. (McLaren Elva Mk I). Lowther did not win the '65 title.

The car was Ford powered. It was called a Genie-Mustang occasionally, I would suspect in order to capitilize on the then enormous popularity of the new Ford Mustang. Lowther won SCCA Nationals in 1964 at Marlboro, VIR, and Watkins Glen, IIRC.

I only saw the car run once, at Cumberland in 1965, where it was a DNF. If memory serves, it was a shade of blue in color.
Tom

[Jerry Entin]

Ed Lowther was another driver who wore glasses. He owned a contracting firm in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and had three children, who may offer more insight into his racing career. He won the 1964 C Modified National Championship. Ed Lowther passed away in 1999.
all research Willem Oosthoek.

[bespoke]

Thank you for the information. I will chase down some of these leads and try and get in contact with the family.

I have searched the internet and found several race entries with his name but only one photo -Raceannouncer2003 - can you tell me where you saw the other photos?

RA Historian - your memory is correct, the car was definitely blue at that time.

There were some newspaper clippings of Ed's races in the binder that I got with the car. I will try and put together a chronological race history and post it here in the near future. There was a claim in the documents that he won both the '64 & '65 titles but it sounds like the information I got on the '65 championship was incorrect.

[ReWind]

Originally posted by Jerry Entin
Ed Lowther passed away in 1999.

Searching the SSDI for a man called Lowther with reference to Canonsburg, PA, who died in 1999 I found only one Charles Lowther (b. 21 Aug 1926, d. 15 Apr 1999).
Can this yet be Ed Lowther? [Maybe his first name was Charles and „Ed“ was an abbreviation of his second name (i.e. Edward, Edmund or Edgar?)]

[Jerry Entin]

Bespoke: This comes from the research of Willem Oosthoek: Ed Lowther won the 1964 C Modified National title with 33 points. Runner-up was Ralph Salyer's Cheetah with 22 points. Of the eleven SCCA Nationals that year Lowther won the feature races at Marlboro, April 12, VIR Danville, April 19 and Watkins Glen, August 23. Wins were worth 9 points so there must have been additional placings for the Genie/Ford.
In 1966 Ed Lowther won the A-Production class for the Northeast Division with a 7 liter Shelby Cobra. He became National AP Champion by winning the Ap/Bp runoff race held at Riverside.

[Jerry Entin]

This item comes from the Marlboro race report in the July 1964 issue of U.S. Autosport:
"Lowther's car is the former Rodriguez mount, brought East by Bill McKelvey of Pittsburgh last year. It proved unreliable in the hands of Charlie Hayes and was sold to Lowther at Daytona Beach."

"He rebuilt it completely, including a strong new braking system and all new chassis components. At that, there was a borrowed engine. I was awfully cautious admitted Lowther after the race. " I had never driven a rear-engined car before so I slowed way down the last few laps."

Bill McKelvey was the name behind Scuderia Bear, well known for it's Ferrari entries in the early sixties. In all the black and white photos Lowther's Genie looks white with two blue stripes, connected at the nose.
all research Willem Oosthoek.

[Jerry Entin]

Rewind: I am pretty sure you have found Ed Lowther. Or Charles as his name was listed. In the 1964 Marlboro report. It says that Lowther is 37 years old, so he may very well be the Charles Lowther born in August 1926.

[bespoke]

That's the car. McKelvey raced it with Scuderia Bear. I have some great period shots of it in the paddock with the SB livery. It was originally blue (a few shades darker than when it ran in '63) but McKelvey re-painted it white with the double nose stripes during the first full restoration in mid-1964. That entire rebuild/restoration is chronicled in the September 1964 issue of American Rodding.

The car is going back to Huffaker Engineering at Sears Point to be returned to the original 1963 Dan Gurney/Pedro Rodriguez set up. Joe Huffaker Sr. who originally designed and built the car was there this past weekend when I visited their facility. I believe he is 80 years old. I started asking him about some of the scoops that were on the car and the original chassis and motor set-up. I couldn't resist asking him about his memories of Pedro and he said "Pedro was a great driver and he was very picky about everything". He meant it in a good way, saying that Pedro was involved personally in getting every detail right before he drove the car.

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by bespoke
There was a claim in the documents that he won both the '64 & '65 titles but it sounds like the information I got on the '65 championship was incorrect.

Bespoke, as I mentioned earlier, Lowther did not win the '65 title, Starkey did in a McLaren. However, what you have may be partially correct; that is, it may be that Lowther won the Northeast Division SCCA title. At that time the SCCA was divided into six divisions, with the points leaders from each meeting in the end of season Runoffs to determine the National Championship. Hopefully someone will be able to check this out and let us know.
Tom

[Jerry Entin]

Bespoke: You probably have seen these great pictures by Allen Kuhn. I am putting them up for the forum members who haven't seen them to enjoy. They are Pedro in the Genie and Pedro sitting in the engine compartment with a young Joe Huffaker at work.
above photos copyright Allen Kuhn.

[Jerry Entin]

Pedro at Riverside with a young Roger Penske tucked in behind him in his Special.
above photo Allen Kuhn-copyright Allen Kuhn

[Jerry Entin]

RA Historian: I don't know if this helps but for 1965 the C-Modified Champions for the different divisions were: Northeast: Bob Brown, Malibu Special. Southeast: Richard Macon, McLaren Elva and Buck Fulp, Lola T-70 they had a tie for the Championship. Southwest: Joe Starkey, McLaren Elva. Central: Charlie Cox, Cooper Monaco Ford, probably a King Cobra. Midwest: Your friend Dick Durant, Durant Special and the Pacific Coast: Ray Wolff, El Lobo Special, which looked like a Kurtis to me.
Joe Starkey won the run-offs at Daytona. No mention of Ed Lowther in the 1965 results.
all research Willem Oosthoek.

[bespoke]

Thanks Jerry. I contacted Allen Kuhn immediately after buying the car and got my hands on about 15 other photos. Great stuff. There are a few shots of Pedro posing in the car with the models that they had at the track (Riverside). Hair styles have certainly changed a lot since '63.....

[bespoke]

I think I may have traced one source of the confusion on the 1965 title. There is a copy of an advertisement from a 1965 Road & Track in my documentation. It is an ad for Champion Spark Plugs that shows Lowther in the Genie and it congratulates him on winning the national title with no year specified. I don't know what month the Road & Track ad is from but if it was later in the year someone may have assumed it referred to 1965.

I'm going through the articles and it look like he won the Marlboro Nationals in C/M in 1965, and there's a reference to what appears to be a second tier race that he won in 1965 called the Nelson Ledges. After going through some of this material I am pretty sure that he did not win any national or regional titles in 1965. Thanks for the help and the clarification.

For anyone that is interested I just found more of the top point totals from the 1964 C/M National Title:

1. Ed Lowther 33 Genie-Ford
2. Ralph Salyer 22 Cro-Sal Special
3. Bud Gates 9 Genie-Chevrolet
4. Bob Grossman 9 Ferrari (anyone know the model?)
5. William Wonder 9 Genie-Ford
6. Sherman Decker 6 Cooper-Ford
7. Dick Durant 6 Durant Special
8. Oscar Koveleski 6 Ferrari-Corvette (??!!)
9. Augie Pabst 6 Lola-Chevrolet (I am assuming a T70 spider?)
10. E.R. Smith 6 Dex (?)
11. Jerry Dunbar 4 Jaguar D-Type
12. Ed Gelder 4 Ferrari-Chevrolet (?)

[raceannouncer2003]

Tim (Bespoke)

I saw these photos...the first two from Virginia, the other two from Cumberland:

http://www.virhistor.../6404-sc-01.JPG

http://www.racingspo...4-04-19-007.jpg

http://www.nationalr...&cat=all&page=1

http://www.nationalr...o.php?photo=345

Vince H.

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by Jerry Entin
RA Historian: I don't know if this helps but for 1965 the C-Modified Champions for the different divisions were: Northeast: Bob Brown, Malibu Special. Southeast: Richard Macon, McLaren Elva and Buck Fulp, Lola T-70 they had a tie for the Championship. Southwest: Joe Starkey, McLaren Elva. Central: Charlie Cox, Cooper Monaco Ford, probably a King Cobra. Midwest: Your friend Dick Durant, Durant Special and the Pacific Coast: Ray Wolff, El Lobo Special, which looked like a Kurtis to me.
Joe Starkey won the run-offs at Daytona. No mention of Ed Lowther in the 1965 results.
all research Willem Oosthoek.

Good stuff, Jerry and Willem.
Was not the Bob Brown "Malibu Special" a Genie Mk 10? Charlie Cox was indeed in a Cooper-Ford T-61 King Cobra, a car that has been restored and is now on the west coast and appearing at various events. I know the owner's name, but doggoned if I can recall it right now!
Tom

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by bespoke
For anyone that is interested I just found more of the top point totals from the 1964 C/M National Title:

1. Ed Lowther 33 Genie-Ford
2. Ralph Salyer 22 Cro-Sal Special
3. Bud Gates 9 Genie-Chevrolet
4. Bob Grossman 9 Ferrari (anyone know the model?)
5. William Wonder 9 Genie-Ford
6. Sherman Decker 6 Cooper-Ford
7. Dick Durant 6 Durant Special
8. Oscar Koveleski 6 Ferrari-Corvette (??!!)
9. Augie Pabst 6 Lola-Chevrolet (I am assuming a T70 spider?)
10. E.R. Smith 6 Dex (?)
11. Jerry Dunbar 4 Jaguar D-Type
12. Ed Gelder 4 Ferrari-Chevrolet (?)

Bespoke, I think that you have cleared up the confusion. The R&T ad explanation certainly sounds logical to me.

Regarding the above, Ralph Salyer's Cro-Sal Special was a Cheetah. He won the Road America June Sprints with it as a coupe, but then chopped the roof off and made it into a roadster. Seems that it was just too hot in the cockpit for Ralph's comfort. In roadster form Salyer won a second SCCA National that year, in August at Lynndale Farms in Wisconsin..

Bob Grossman's Ferrari.......could that have been the Scuderia Bear 275-LM?

Sherman Decker's Cooper-Ford was the special bodied ex-McLaren, ex-Penske car that Chuck Brandt traced on another thread.

The Lola that Augie Pabst drove was not a T-70, but rather was the Mk 6 GT coupe of John Mecom. He drove it at the 64 Road America June Sprints, but the car overheated badly, and Pabst was only able to bring it home seventh overall, second in class CM.

Jerry Dunbar's D Jaguar had a Chevy V-8 in it. It was originally the Loyal Katskee car, then went to Don Skogmo.

Tom

[Jerry Entin]

RA Historian: Yes, Brown's Malibu Special was a Genie Mk 10 with a 5 liter Chevy.
As for the color of Lowther's Genie/Ford, it appears to have been resprayed in the winter of 1964/1965. Champion sparkplug used a photo of the car winning the President's cup at Marlboro in 1964 in a July 1964 advertisement. It was white with two stripes and all four wheels off the ground, apparently testing that new chassis.

The July 1965 issue of Sports Car Graphics features a report on the 1965 Marlboro National again won by Lowther in his Genie/Ford. A photo shows the Genie, now in a darker color without stripes, at the same spot, again fully airborne. Good thing Lowther did not race a Lotus product.
all research Willem Oosthoek.

[Ol'_Motorhead]

No luck with finding Lowther's Mk. VIII but here's Don Wester's Mk. X at the 1965 Watkins Glen USRRC. I think Grossman might have been in a Ferrari GTO.
HTH.
Rob

[raceannouncer2003]

Tim (Bespoke)

I forgot this one:

http://www.steeltown...her-VA-64-a.jpg

Vince H.

[Jerry Entin]

Here is Ed Lowther practicing touch and goes. This is from 1964.
photo lent site Willem Oosthoek

[Jerry Entin]

Same car a year later. Ed Lowther in 1965.
photo lent site Willem Oosthoek.

[S&M Minis]

Ed Lowther's Genie Ford at the 1965 Cumberland Nationals.









Some shots of the car on-track at this event are in the thread on Shelby King Cobras.

Ed's 427 Cobra at the 1966 SCCA Nationals at Mid Ohio. For the "transporter" afficiandos it's the same trailer in one of the above Genie photos, the trailer also shows up in various pictures of Grady Davis and Don Yenko Corvettes. Of course, Yenko was also based in Cannonsburg, PA. At one of the Mid Ohio Nationals, possibly this one, Lowther stopped in the pits during the final race and still won. It was reported that he came in for a drink of water - because he could.







On the grid at Nelsons Ledges and in the paddock at Mid Ohio, both in 1967. The "AP" markings are different than in 1966 and the quick-lift jack blades have been removed from the front of the car. Eger Motors was a Ford dealership in Mckeesport, PA. Their radio ads included a song that emphasized "the eager Eger way", and the three figures on the door of the Cobra are singing with arms outstretched. The Cobra seemed to travel with a smaller entourage than the Genie, but I just now noticed the proliferation of white cowboy hats always around the Cobra. I suspect that Lowther may be the person leaning on the Cadillac tow car above.

[raceannouncer2003]

1963 Northwest GP, Pacific Raceways, Kent, Washington...first five photos are the Dan Gurney Genie, the last one is Ridenour in his Genie. First photo is Huffaker, Gurney, and, I think, Bill Fowler in white; third photo is Gurney, Jerry Grant I think, and Huffaker...



All photos by Ted Langton-Adams, copyright Eric Faulks.

Vince H.