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- In Memory Of Jim Estes -

"I would like to pass on a few words to my friends, family and all others. On Friday, August 23, 2002, my grandfather, Jim Estes, passed away. With him passing away it was very much a hard thing to deal with but all of the friends we have made through drag racing made it much easier to handle. On Saturday morning, my dad and I went to Pacific Raceways to participate in the Super Chevy Sunday race. One of our competitors stopped me while I was walking through all of the racecars in the staging lanes and asked me if we'd lost a family member. I told him that it was my grandpa and what had happened. I was rather surprised as to how quickly the word traveled. He pointed out to me that our very close friend, Tom Montgomery, had put on the back window of his racecar a little message... “In Memory of Jim Estes”... that brought more then a couple tears to my eyes. While back at the trailer, I noticed that Mike Sumner and Michael Puderbaugh had wrote the same thing on their two cars. Then on Sunday, I must say that you can’t find any other form of motor sport that has the people that our great sport of NHRA drag racing has. They have all made things easier to deal with. I would like to thank each and everyone, without them drag racing wouldn’t mean as much to my father and I. Thank you everyone."  ~ Greg Estes

MY RACING LIFE

    As a kid growing up in Boonville California, I followed in my brother Bob's footsteps. We built wooden coaster carts to glide down the big hill near our home. Bob bought his first car, a 1947 Mercury coupe with an Oldsmoblile engine in it. Bob was always breaking the '39 Ford transmission and I was always helping him replace it. Bob took me to a car race at the Medocino County Fair Grounds. Back in those days (the late 50's), the cars were like the roadsters that they ran at Indianapolis at the time. These were open cockpit cars, a little hoop over the driver for a roll bar, tall skinny tires, and Offy engines. We sat right down in the front row and nearly got hurt when a car hit the fence and 2x4's and stuff flew everywhere. I loved the excitement. I became hooked.

    My first car that I built at age 15 was a 1928 Chevy "HOT ROD", it was just a frame that I shortened, a seat and a steering wheel. I learned a bunch. I'd race around the pasture, slinging mud and dreaming that I was a race car driver. Next came a '55 Chevy, built the 283 for it in my bedroom. I hooked up a toggle switch to the overdrive (made for 6 speeds forward), and with a 4.11 posi, this thing had plenty of balls.

    I got drafted during the Viet Nam days and spent a year in the Mekong Delta. When I got out of the Army in 1969, I moved to Santa Rosa California. Traded off the '55 for a '40 Chevy 2-dr sedan and some cash to my good buddy, Jim Miles. Got married and settled down, started a family and bought into the American Dream. I purchased my first new car, the "Motor Trend Car of the Year" in 1972. The Vega wagon was the biggest piece of crap to come out of a Chevy plant. Blew it up a couple of times and then got smart and dropped in a Buick V-6.

    In the mid 70's I helped Lauren Korpela race his '66 Ford Fairlane at the Petaluma Speedway. In 1981 I moved to Washington State, went to work for MacDonald-Miller Co, and started to help my friend, Tom Montgomery, at the drag races with his '57 Chevy. Tom's car was powered by a 327 that we fondly called the "WHISKEY MOTOR" (that's because Tom traded me a gallon of whiskey for it). Tom won the Championship at Bremerton Raceways in the mid 80's. I loved hanging around both Tom Jr. and Sr. I learned a bunch about small block Chevys and how to get them down the track consistently. Tom fell in love around this time.

    In 1987, With Tom's guidance, and with the help from lots of friends, I started building my own race car. My world kinda sorta took some real turns about this time. My wife of 17 years divorced me, my best friend, Tom, moved to Alaska to work and be with his love, and I went to racing a '70 Buick Skylark with that old Whiskey motor that I bought back from Tom. My teenage sons, Brian and Greg, helped me at the track and we stayed together as a family. In 1991 I got married and set a goal to win the championship at Seattle International Raceway. Missed one race all year (Mom's & Dad's 50th Anniversary) and was runner up to the Champion.

     Fast forward a few years, I bought a Super Gas car from Eddie Mola, got my competition license and started racing in a real tuff class of Super Gas. Super Gas is a 9.90 standard, using a heads up .4-second pro tree. It's Fast and Fun. In 2002 I sold the Monza Super Gas car and bought my current car, the "Roadster Project."

     I generally race out at Pacific Raceways (formerly known as S.I.R., or Seattle International Raceway) in Kent, WA, during the racing season, which starts in the spring of the year and runs until Labor Day. I also race at other NHRA tracks here in the Pacific Northwest.

• Mike Sumner - Stock Eliminator
• John Schwaller - Pro Bracket
• Hancock & Lane - Super Stock/Comp Eliminator
• Larry Fischer - Super Gas
• Brian Horn - Pro Bracket

Here it is, folks: "The Roadster Project!"
The Full Technical Specifications of the
"Gary Estes Mobile Repairs, Inc." Roadster

    As you can see, in the images [above] the car is almost together. Well, now it's all done.
I bought it unfinished as a "ROLLER" in October of 2002 from Bruce Larsen of Covington, WA. It is a Brad Hadman creation (Progressive Metal Craft of Tacoma, Wa.), a chromoly tube chassis with a funny car cage. Fiberglass Trends '27 Model T Ford body w/'32 nose and '29 fenders. Bill Scribner built the 9" Sheet Metal Fab Ford rear-end w/Koni shocks. Ford Nodular center section, 5.14 to 1 Richmond gears, Strange spool, Moser Engineering 40 splined axles. Wilwood disc brakes, aluminum drive shaft by Inland Empire driveshaft, w/Spicer u-joints, and yoke, prepped by Precision Driveshaft of Kirkland, Wa. We'll run a Chevy 2-speed Powerglide w/Dendenber case & a TCI valve body.

    The engine, from Marty Hack of Tukwila Wa., is a built 355" small-block Chevy with Brodix aluminum heads, T&D shaft rockers, Jesel belt drive, roller cam from Comp Cams, forged Cola crank, Crower rods, Childs & Albert bearings, Ross pistons. MSD ignition w/crank trigger. We use FelPro gaskets, and a combination of Edelbrock Intake and Holley Carb. GM PERFORMANCE PARTS. Ron Davis supplied the Aluminum radiator and Flexi-lite supplied the electric fan. Autometer Gauges & Tachometer, Biondo delay box, B&M shifter and Painless wiring compliment the driver's compartment. Hedman Headers supplied the header kit and Mike Scott of MOTORSPORTS UNLIMITED, TACOMA, WA. welded them together with Performance Coatings of AUBURN, WA. supplying the Cermachrome finish. Steve Glenn Enterprises of Pacific, Wa. fabricated the engine mounts and upgraded the chassis to meet the 7.50 E.T. Certified standard that DENNIS BOLEY of NHRA has assigned it. Goodyear tires mounted on Weld wheels round out the car. My good buddy Ted Studer from KENT, WA. applied the 2003 Toyota "Flaming Red" paint on the body and the black paint on the fenders.

    Our initial goal is to compete at the All Ford Drags [June 1] @ Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wa.