Re: [Chrysler300] 300F "SPECIALS"

[John <spiers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Charlie - 
First, I must say I wasn't even born until 1962, but I do recall reading an article regarding Andy Granatelli and a 300-F Special, which I can only assume from memory that he owned.  He claimed, driving it on pavement, it would do 60, 90, 120 and 160 in the four gears.
I would have loved to have been looking' over Burt's shoulder during the '60 Daytona Speed Week trials.
John Spiers
Lake Worth, Florida




________________________________
From: Charlie Valentine <cross.ram@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Burton Bouwkamp <northburt@xxxxxxxxxxx>; chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, January 6, 2010 9:39:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] 300F "SPECIALS"

  
Hi Burt, 
I also enjoyed reading the article. 
Thanks for your part in making this happen.
I have a few questions that you may be able to answer. They have to do with running on the beach, sand.
Was the beach ( sand  ) prepared in any special way? How was the start of the time trial? From a dead stop?  How did you not keep from burying the rear wheels in the sand. Do you think that the speed results would have been higher on what I will say "better conditions", a macadam or concrete surface ?

Thanks for any information that you may share.
Happy 300'ing

Lion Charlie Valentine
300G, 1962 300 Sport Convertible
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Burton Bouwkamp 
To: chrysler300@ yahoogroups. com 
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 8:03 AM
Subject: [Chrysler300] 300F "SPECIALS"

Rich,

It was exciting to read this documentation. I was in charge of planning, preparing and running these six 300F "specials" on the beach (Daytona Beach) in February of 1960. After an embarrassing Chrysler showing at Daytona in 1959, my boss Chrysler Chief Engineer Bob Rodger assigned the job of getting the "top dog" recognition back for the Chrysler 300. We did it with the 300F after a team effort that took nearly a year. The next day after the speed trials, the Daytona Beach Morning Journal newspaper headline "CLASS 7 BEACH RECORD FALLS" brought tears of pride to my eyes. One year's efforts by a half a dozen engineers and mechanics had paid off!

I of course know Gregg and talk to him about once a year.

Three minor corrections in the documentation:

(1) Six "specials" ran at Daytona - not seven. The seventh fastest car was a 
standard production 300F driven by R. C. Wooten. At 126.6 MPH he was 15
to 18 MPH behind the "specials".

(2) Tim Flock (not Warren Koechling) set the old record (139.4 MPH) in a
Carl Kiekhaefer prepared 300B. I was there in 1956 but had nothing to do
with preparing or running this car. Bob Rodger sent me to Daytona in 1956
as an observer and to help Brewster Shaw (local Chrysler dealer) in any way that
I could.

(3) Goodyear designed and built the special "Bluestreak" tires for these cars. I am unaware 
that Gregg had any design input. The tires absorbed less than 10 HP/tire at 100
MPH. Normal bias ply tire power absorption at 100 MPH is 15 HP. (Many of our suppliers made 
meaningful contributions to this flying mile effort. For example, Perfect Circle made low tension 
piston rings for the motors in the "specials".)

Burt Bouwkamp

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