I'd love to be there .
Right now I've got a ton of work ahead of me .

I'm on it again .
The Speedmasters have been back from Offshore Outdrives for several months , the motors were just finished and some sub assemblies are ready .
I gotta get on fuel tanks quick .

Keep up the Great Work........... Keep the pics coming :):):)

Couple of drives fresh from Brian @ Offshore ( three months ago )

Ready to dress and dyno .

Looks good! The truck looks like fun also:evilb:

Thanks , the truck is my brothers's . Has a turbocharged LS motor .

I've abandoned the idea of running the 8 stack EFI systems for now and going to stick with single Dominators just like I ran in D class . They were reliable , simple and almost everything you could ask for .
I had a conversation with Jason Saris when ordering parts regarding the EFI system and at this point just want to get it wet . I'm going to eventually convert to EFI using the system Saris recommended . He is a wealth of knowledge .
He also suggested running the boat in Class 3 which will probably happen for a couple of races if I can get my chit together .
I'm still undecided on a cockpit but am leaning towards an open windscreen type canopy with 4 places .

Glad Pops could help!

Just read this whole thread... Awesome job! Always loved that boat, my dad used to take me to the races back in the late 80's early 90's. miss them days but great memories! Ok, now that I just killed 2 hrs at work I should do something. Lol

AEX,

I remember your boat clearly from a race in Rochester, NY back in 1989. I was the Race Director and you guys put on one hell of a show. In fact if memory serves me correctly, a picture that appeared the day after the race in the local newspaper got one of the chopper pilots in a bit of trouble with the FAA. It clearly showed him flying about 20 feet off the water right beside a pack of race boats battling it out. Apparently that was a no-no.

The other historically interesting thing about that race was that it was one of the very first "arena style" races where spectators could see the entire course from several vantage points on shore. Although some folks (racers) didn't like the idea, the spectators loved it and you saw what happened with the concept as years went by.

Wasn't your boat powered by Richie Zuhl small blocks at one time?

Keep up the good work on bringing the old girl back to her former glory.

Tom

Me too ! I'm very comfortable dealing with your dad .

Thanks so much ..... and shame on you ! lol
Where did you see the races ?

More like 10 feet . I coulda' shook his hand .
Several kind fans from Rochester mailed me newspapers following the race ! I have the photo ! I'll post it , You decide .
The engines were something I concocted .
Thanks for the words of encouragement . This project has been languishing too long .

Imagine back then there were always fans that would post office mail us a news paper . No internet or email . I am very grateful they took the time .

I believe this was a local boat back then? St Clair shores? The last race I seen of your boat I believe was key west 1990. I have been to just about all the Michigan races from back then. My dads friend used to drive for a few race boats and another throttled a bunch. Kirk Strehler and Red Crain. I had so much fun and seen a lot that I probably shouldn't have at that age! lol Party crowd!

Photocopied from a Rochester newspaper . Maybe I should have scanned

Sorry, AMERICAN EXPRESS was Not a Lake St Clair cat.

Just talked to Jason, said your sending the gimbals...you wont be dissapointed!

Yea, that's one of them. Although the photocopied version isn't quite clear, I'd put that chopper at what, 7-10 feet off the water? Great picture and great headline though! Thanks for the memories!

I'm sending Performance Marine some loot today , I know I'm in good hands there .
Your dad always gives me his undivided attention .

I'm going to scan original to see if it comes out better .
I wonder who took it ? Maybe we can get an original ?

Joe, Maybe you were thinking of EASTERN EXPRESS ( H2O's former race boat), the white SKATER? I remember hanging with 'Red' Crain, Kaiser and the rest from the LSCORA Race Meetings at a no longer there bar/restaurant at 9mile and Jefferson when I was Crew for PEPPERS RACING ???????? Miss those days', great fun :):):) I wonder what those guys are doing nowadays. Most of the St Claire Racers are on here and that is a great resource !!!!!!!!!!!!

Oops!lol wrong boat! I was totally thinking Eastern Express. Yes LSCORA, what a fun group that was. Kaiser's systems was always my favorite! I went to school with Reds step brother and see Red on the water every now and then. Other than that I don't know. I just got my boat 2 years ago so I am kinda just getting back into it.

I'm sorry, I was thinking Eastern Express. Your boat is awesome anyway though! Lol

Kirk Strehler was my next door neighbor up here in Chestertucky. Red the apostle of speed is a old friend who won his 50th race in Bob K's Motor City Magic, a Lake St Clair cat.
Cats like AMERICAN EXPRESS won so many races back then & I feel would still hold there own today in p class with OPA & SBI if rebuilt like this restoration.

I used to ride jet skis with kirks son at that house and we would go boating with them often. My dad still sees him but I haven't in a few years. The good ole days!

The American Express ran pretty well , but during the 1990 season balsa bulkheads started getting soft , wet and threw off CG . We put sand bags in rear compartments to offset which didn't help enough . Then we discovered wet stringers and transom so that was it . Fortunately the hull was foam cored and that is solid , otherwise she would have ended up in the scrap heap .
To recore a hull would cost two fortunes .

I used to ride jet skis with kirks son at that house and we would go boating with them often. My dad still sees him but I haven't in a few years. The good ole days!

Hmmm......

OPA Class 3 is calling you :) The Old How Sweet It Is found a nice home there!

The gimbals shipped to Performance Marine yesterday !

Here it is !
I got someone to scan and email me the photo that prompted an FAA investigation !

Jim,

You bring back some fond memories with that picture! You guys (all of the racers) put on one hell of a show here. That was my very first race as Race Director and my father died 2 just weeks before the race. I had to attend to matters here and then take my mother back home to North Carolina. I got back only days before the race and my team had stepped in and taken care of everything for me. You may remember me talking about that at the awards ceremony after the race. I'm sure he was smiling down on all of us during the race.

As for the chopper pilot, that was some awesome flying wasn't it?

Tom

Bad link?

http://perfmar.com/lake-george-performance-weekend/ works.

I don't know how well this hull would fare .
Two good things are when the bulkheads started going away I retired the hull from racing so it was never delaminated .
Second the new structure Itchiban Yachts built is literally aircraft composite quality and one of the nicest rebuilds I've ever seen . I'm so fortunate to have Bucky , Andy , Vinny and their crew as as dear friends .
Vinny Pard is presently in California heading up maintenance crews for for one of the America's Cup Challenge teams . I know he'll devise a process and oversee the fuel tank and cockpit installation on my lowly Chris when he returns to RI .
I'm still debating the cockpit , and the fuel tanks which need to be somewhat structural based on what was there originally . I don't want to bury the tanks in a bunch of foam to support the bottom . There was never any structure in these boats tying the bilge bulkhead to the front cockpit bulkhead except for the drop in cockpit liner that had a couple of feeble tabs from it's bottom to the top of tunnel . Some of you will remember these hulls had a tendency for the deck to delaminate then split from the gunnel to the shear just ahead of the bilge bulkhead .
Vinny needs to devise a method to prevent excessive torsional flex from occurring in this area without adding excessive weight .

You guys put on one hell of a show which was no small feat considering the misfortune you had endured .
Do you remember the entire fleet (except for us) going the wrong way at the start ? We were the only boat in the first start that turned in towards the beach which gave us a big lead .
During the race we actually broke down . We pulled off the course , performed an improvised plumbing repair and got going again . Thanks to that good start we held on to win our class .
Better lucky than good .

Oh I remember it! You should have heard the Coast Guard Chief on my radio. (The fleet was headed right towards him.) I assured him that everybody would get straightened out - and just hoped everybody would. Despite your repair time, you guys still pulled it off! lad you enjoyed it as much as we did. And as I recall, everybody donated their winnings to charity. I'm sure my dad was smiling.

The demo race we put on would be the perfect event to get you hooked into racing again...err...I mean...dial the boat in after the rebuild is complete :lolhit:

when is the demo race up thier johnny for this year.thank you

Your baiting a junkie , as naive as I am I've got at least couple of decades on you Sonny .I'd love to make your event and if I don't it won't be for lack of effort .
I talked to Jason today and all is well . My parts are in house safe and sound so hopefully this phase can go forward soon .

Good to hear my friend! Im sure you and Jason can swap stories for hours.

I have a few , he has many .

A friend has contacted that Rochester paper and is tying to get original photos from the race .
Who knows ?
Do you know Nuri Subuncu ? ( Chairman of the Board / Turkish Express ?)