Original Precious Metal Questions

[CJAM427]

The recent discussion on this airplane made me think of two questions.

1 -Who built the race engines for this airplane when the Whittington's raced it?

2- Where did the the H model tail come from -was it cloned from their H model?

Photos are posted with permission from my good friend Jim Buxton. His dad shot these at Oshkosh in 1977, scanned and edited by me.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

The original beginning of Precious Metal was that Ralph Payne built the airplane for Gary Levitz at the Scottsdale airport. Ralph did a the mods to the airframe in house....the coolest of which were removed from the airplane before it got to the Whittington Bros. Ralph was able to come up with an H model vertical on his own, because he was connected that way. I believe when the Whittington Bros got the airplane Mike Nixon was building the engines.

When it was first built and flown to Mojave for the air races it had Prismacolor tape for numbers and Gary had covered the spinner in Gold leaf....Gary flew through a rain storm on the way to Mojave and when he arrived the gold leaf was dripping off the spinner.

I believe that the airplane belonged to Eddie Fisher in Kansas City before Gary got it. My Dad, Mom and I got to visit Ralph during the modification process and Ralph told us it was the straightest P-51 he had ever seen. Levitz hangar was awesome on that visit, the soon to be Precious Metal, his P-38, a Bearcat, and 5 Spartan Executives that Ralph was doing the annuals on....yes 5 Spartans! I wish I knew where all my Dad's pictures were located.
John

[knot4u]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

The original beginning of Precious Metal was that Ralph Payne built the airplane for Gary Levitz at the Scottsdale airport. Ralph did a the mods to the airframe in house....the coolest of which were removed from the airplane before it got to the Whittington Bros. Ralph was able to come up with an H model vertical on his own, because he was connected that way. I believe when the Whittington Bros got the airplane Mike Nixon was building the engines.

When it was first built and flown to Mojave for the air races it had Prismacolor tape for numbers and Gary had covered the spinner in Gold leaf....Gary flew through a rain storm on the way to Mojave and when he arrived the gold leaf was dripping off the spinner.

I believe that the airplane belonged to Eddie Fisher in Kansas City before Gary got it. My Dad, Mom and I got to visit Ralph during the modification process and Ralph told us it was the straightest P-51 he had ever seen. Levitz hangar was awesome on that visit, the soon to be Precious Metal, his P-38, a Bearcat, and 5 Spartan Executives that Ralph was doing the annuals on....yes 5 Spartans! I wish I knew where all my Dad's pictures were located.
John

The only person I ever met that owned a Spartan Executive also owned a Howard DG, they were both based at Santa Paula. You knew me by then. I lost that job, the Bearcat was more fun.

[CJAM427]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

The original beginning of Precious Metal was that Ralph Payne built the airplane for Gary Levitz at the Scottsdale airport. Ralph did a the mods to the airframe in house....the coolest of which were removed from the airplane before it got to the Whittington Bros. Ralph was able to come up with an H model vertical on his own, because he was connected that way. I believe when the Whittington Bros got the airplane Mike Nixon was building the engines.

When it was first built and flown to Mojave for the air races it had Prismacolor tape for numbers and Gary had covered the spinner in Gold leaf....Gary flew through a rain storm on the way to Mojave and when he arrived the gold leaf was dripping off the spinner.

I believe that the airplane belonged to Eddie Fisher in Kansas City before Gary got it. My Dad, Mom and I got to visit Ralph during the modification process and Ralph told us it was the straightest P-51 he had ever seen. Levitz hangar was awesome on that visit, the soon to be Precious Metal, his P-38, a Bearcat, and 5 Spartan Executives that Ralph was doing the annuals on....yes 5 Spartans! I wish I knew where all my Dad's pictures were located.
John

Thanks John!

What were the coolest mods on it?

5 Spartan's in one Hangar, that's amazing!!!

[Big_Jim]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Ralph doing what he did best....listening to the heartbeat of the Merlin. Reno '76

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Thanks John!

What were the coolest mods on it?

5 Spartan's in one Hangar, that's amazing!!!

Ralph told Gary after Gary told Ralph he'd sold the airplane, "Gary what you have sold today you will not be able to replace with only money!" In the Trade-A-Plane advertisement a discount was offered if the buyer took Ralph. LOL! There were several structural components that were lighter than a regular Mustang, in addition Ralph had built systems that made the airplane fool proof to operate.

[Big_Jim]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Ralph told Gary after Gary told Ralph he'd sold the airplane, "Gary what you have sold today you will not be able to replace with only money!"

More important, many years later when Gary wanted to go faster he asked Ralph to make Miss Ashley 'modified'. Ralph's comment was "No, we did that already, remember?"

They were two years into a five year modification program on PM when it was sold to the Whittington's. Ralph was understandably upset that his baby was taken away from him, but he also understood that bottom line Gary was a businessman. And though he had put the airplane up for sale in Trade-a-Plane, Gary wasn't expecting the brothers to pay the asking price....so when the deal came, he took it. Ralph also confided in me in later years that he believed he had built a racer that was faster than Gary was comfortable flying at the time.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

More important, many years later when Gary wanted to go faster he asked Ralph to make Miss Ashley 'modified'. Ralph's comment was "No, we did that already, remember?"

They were two years into a five year modification program on PM when it was sold to the Whittington's. Ralph was understandably upset that his baby was taken away from him, but he also understood that bottom line Gary was a businessman. And though he had put the airplane up for sale in Trade-a-Plane, Gary wasn't expecting the brothers to pay the asking price....so when the deal came, he took it. Ralph also confided in me in later years that he believed he had built a racer that was faster than Gary was comfortable flying at the time.

"No, we did that already, remember?"
Yes! And Ralph didn't let Gary forget that.

Don't think Gary was a bad guy. The family sold the furniture company, the buyer was laying a lot of people off right after Christmas, Gary flew down and hired them for his furniture company.


Never told story alert.

At the awards banquet at the Great Miami Air Race. Gary walked up to my Dad and offered him $75,000.00 dollars for the Bearcat. At that time that was $25,000.00 more than a Bearcat was worth. Lyle didn't think about it, he told Gary No. Bill Hickle commented to my Dad "That's a lot of money." Later that night when my Mom asked Lyle how he could turn the deal down so fast....He responded "Gary would have been killed in that plane, it was to nasty to fly for people without military training.

I talked to Ralph after Gary died, he was so very upset. He said "I worked so hard, for so many years to keep Gary alive, I told him I would have nothing to do with that Griffon powered abortion." That was the absolute saddest I had ever heard Ralph Payne.

As a more fun side note, Ralph Payne is who found the CAF their P-51C.... when he was up there looking at it he met Norma, the love of his life. I miss Ralph Payne as much as I miss my Dad and Greg Shaw.

[wingman]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

I hope Sledge comes up with some shots of the Levitz version.

Here's the airplane in 1980. Shiny, and friendly to sunsets. It really was a lovely Racer...

Neal

[knot4u]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Isn't there a story about the prospector on the cowl, maybe someone from around here painted it on the airplane?

[Big_Jim]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Don't think Gary was a bad guy. The family sold the furniture company, the buyer was laying a lot of people off right after Christmas, Gary flew down and hired them for his furniture company.

You know that was actually one of my favorite stories that sort of got overlooked. The Levitz family actually sold Levitz Furniture Company back in 1973...so they didn't really have anything to do with THAT company afterwards. Gary went off to Phoenix and opened Pruett's Home Furniture and ran that for a while. Then later in life he opened The Roomstore chain. It was in the late '90's (I think the year before Gary died) that the Levitz Furniture Company did all those layoffs at Christmas. Gary was pissed and embarrassed, because even though it wasn't his company anymore, it was his name associated with it. So as John said, Gary went out and rounded up as many of those employees as he could find and offered them immediate employment at The Roomstore.

[Big_Jim]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

I miss Ralph Payne

There are certain people who, for whatever reason, come into your life and forever leave an imprint. I have a handful. Ralph is one of those guys for me. And I think about him every day.

[CJAM427]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

Awesome info, thanks John & Brad!

Here's another from the Buxton archive, Miami 1979.

[wingman]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

This was a uniquely beautiful and charismatic Racer. It's hard to say why -- it was far less modfied looking than Miss Candace or the Red Baron. That unique genuine -H tail made a huge difference visually. This Racer always drew the eye...

Neal

[knot4u]

Re: Original Precious Metal Questions

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