IT's about F'ing time!

[speeddemon]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Dave's Loss to the sport is related in impact for those that weren't around to the same effect as Dwight's retirement.

True...but at least Doc is still around.

But you have to think, somewhere upstairs Z, Ken B, JRS, RLP, GRL, and a host of others are sitting around the hangar plotting the next great thing in 'Big Time Air Racing". What I wouldn't give to have a seat on the floor for that conversation when my time comes.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Brad,
Don't forget the prince of personality, The warmest guy that ever graced a pit anywhere, Randy Scoville. Randy is the epitome of what happens to wrenches when they go, No funeral and the family sells their stuff. Bein' a boat guy you should know.
John

[speeddemon]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Brad,
Don't forget the prince of personality, The warmest guy that ever graced a pit anywhere, Randy Scoville. Randy is the epitome of what happens to wrenches when they go, No funeral and the family sells their stuff. Bein' a boat guy you should know.
John

Wow. I got a pain in my heart just reading that. How could I forget Randy? He was one of Dave's original 'shop kids', wasn't he? Much more than just a 'wrench'.

One of my favorite memories of Randy was actually something I saw on television. Back in the mid-late '80's, there was a show called The Exciting World of Speed and Beauty on ABC. They did a spot on the '85 Reno races, and showed this great clip of Randy coming up and giving Steve a big hug just after he climbed out of the Super Corsair. I think Randy was working for Champion Spark Plugs at the time...does that sound right?

[zeusbear]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Hey Matt and John, Bear here............I know it has been a long time. I was searching around and came upon this site. Thank you both so much for all the kind words you said about Dad. I miss him everyday! I just got back from Florida to accept his Induction into the Drag Race Hall of Fame. I went with my husband and our younger son, we had a nice time. It was great that they thought of Dad after some 40 plus years out of drag racing. I hope you both are doing well....send me an e-mail if you get a chance.................Bear ( Denise)

[BellCobraIV]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Bear,
It's great to hear you are out there and doing well, I'll shoot you an E-mail, If you don't get one from me then I-M me I have also been looking for little Dave recently.

[goglidegood]

Remembering big Dave Z

Hi Folks-

A special hello to Denise.

I was an airport kid who hung around Van Nuys in the early to late ‘80s. I remember meeting Matt Jackson and little Davey Zeuschel in December 1983 when Matt had a T-33 at the north end of the field and I came up and started asking questions.

The next years were the pinnacle of an airport kid’s life. I recall first meeting Dave Zeuschel spring 1984. He was very cool to me and tolerated all my endless questions. I drove him nuts a lot of times.

Dave was very generous to me and really kind, too. I remember him taking his son and me to the Del Taco on Saticoy and Balboa. And another time letting me come along with them and Chuck Thornton to Bage’s restaurant, where Davey and I were so skinny and not that hungry and Chuck said: They’re not eating! Zeusch laughed, and Thornton added: “underachievers!”

One of the nicest and coolest memories I have of Dave Zeuschel is driving with him to Solo Performance in North Hollywood to pick up his Cobra from servicing back in 1986. We rode there in that powder blue Ford Ranger stakebed. Then driving back to Van Nuys all along Sherman Way on the way back, and Dave all the while knowing I was having a blast in my favorite car and the great SanFerVal weather.

My questions could be tiring: Hey Dave, are the tail surfaces on the Mustang laminar flow, too?

Come on, George, you know the answer to that.

You mean they are?

You knew that.

Another snapshot: Big Z was working on Angelo Regina’s Mustang, doing something with the Merlin engine. For Dave to fix it, it required me moving the propeller while he adjusted sitting up on a ladder with his hands inside the engine case. That propeller is like 400 to 500 pounds, right, with those four heavy blades. I was 5’10” and weighed 115 pounds... (...don’t worry; I’ve made up for that in the two decades since...!) I put my shoulder against a blade and hands on the trailing edge of it to move the prop, but just in increments. These were to be infinitesimally small movements, because Dave needed precision adjustment. Once I moved more than the eighth of an inch steps we were doing, maybe a quarter-inch and Dave hollered: You’re hauling ass on me, George!

Zeuschel expressions that I copied for years were “choice” and “what a guy.”

Dave Zeuschel said something to me at least twice that I use to this day, and every time I do, I think of him.

One time Jim Beasley’s P-51 Bald Eagle was in for servicing. Dave always let me climb into airplanes. Even tho’ I had sat in P-51s plenty of times, I couldn’t get enough.

Hey, Dave, is it all right if I sit in it?

Well, George ... okay ... only because it’s you.

Of course there was mirth and sarcasm and a lot of wit in those words, but also a lot of warmth.

Only because it’s you.

When I teach class now or talk to people and I get asked a question that is easy for me to agree to, I usually answer with “only because it’s you.”

The main thing here is that I had an idyllic teenage phase at the airport, and Dave Zeuschel was a part of the scene that made it a wonderful time. I think of him and remember good times, which is why I write this message.

-George C

[zeusbear]

Dave Z

Hi George, Thank you so much for the great note about my Dad. He was the King of funny and unique sayings. My favorite was "There's no class like no class!" In fact someone mentioned that saying at his airport memorial.
My husband and our younger son all went to Florida to accept his induction into the International Drag Race Hall Of Fame. We had a great time and toured the Don Garlits Museum where Dad was pictured and his achievements displayed all over the museum. His name has been added to the memorial drag race stone as a hall of fame member. It is just so sad that his life was cut so short he could have enjoyed the honor himself.
I mentioned to Matt Jackson that you wrote a nice note about Dad and he said that he recently saw you at a talk he was giving. He asked me if I remembered you and I did. My brother Dave also remembers you and said to thank you for those funny memories. My brother hangs on to all those stories since he was only 15years old when he died.
Anyway, Thank you again for thinking of our Dad and taking the time to share your memories with us.
Denise and Dave

[BellCobraIV]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Denise,
About a week before your dad's accident Rick Shanholtzer and I went to Sierras with Dave for lunch. You know the little mexican restaraunt in San Fernando. (yeah, one of fifty!) Well the three of us talked about projects that were going through the shop, and you dad and I blew through about four baskets of chips before lunch got there, but Ricky had none, a couple of weeks later Rick and went back to Sierras and rick was eating chips, I told him that I thought he didn't like chips because last time we went there he didn't have any. Ricky said "between you and Dave I was afraid you guys would eat my fingers if they got near the basket!"

Some of the stuff I learned from your dad still gets used everyday, and it still counts. From the Technical to the philosophical, Dwight Thorn and I were working late on one of several occasions, and lamented the fact that more than anyone else Dave's loss had up until that point changed the face of competition at Reno the most. Now with Dwight's retirement, it becomes even more obvious that there were only ever two guys that were masters of the "Hot Water Toilet" as your dad sometimes called it.

Give me a call I have located a really neat print taken of your dad with Pete Jackson, Kent Fuller, a couple other guys and some new kid that had just bought Ivo's old car and put one your dad's motors in it, you know Prudhomme, first time off the trailer brand new car, record.

[speeddemon]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Some of the stuff I learned from your dad still gets used everyday, and it still counts. From the Technical to the philosophical, Dwight Thorn and I were working late on one of several occasions, and lamented the fact that more than anyone else Dave's loss had up until that point changed the face of competition at Reno the most. Now with Dwight's retirement, it becomes even more obvious that there were only ever two guys that were masters of the "Hot Water Toilet" as your dad sometimes called it.

VERY interesting observation, John....something I was contemplating myself as I was reading George's posting. The 'names' for the hot engine builders just keeps getting shorter. Perhaps it is because it is becoming a lost art, perhaps it is because some choose to keep a lower profile, and perhaps some have just become jaded?

What's Mike Nixon doing these days? Been about 20 years since I heard anything about a decent Nixon 'racing' engine.

[RichH]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

I think he's been quoted as saying he won't do another "race" engine... as in he'd rather preserve than "beat up" the vintage hardware.

[goglidegood]

More Dave Z

Hi All-

Dave Zeuschel was a mentor and kind-hearted. Yes, April 25 marks twenty years since we lost Dave. And twenty years go by quick: I was 18 in 1987 and it seemed that the impossible happened. Now I’m 38 and I still look back, but really only at the good times.

The Los Angeles Times ran a Metro story in Spring 1984 that showed Stiletto coming together at the Zeuschel Racing Engines shop in Sylmar. Here was this aerial view from inside the shop with this incongruously small wing on a bare fuselage. Those louvered top wing panels and that cockpit displaced several feet aft. It was so slick and svelte and clipped and cut, it looked like half a P-51.

“Hey Dave, you didn’t tell me you were building an air racer! That’s totally radical!”

Keep in mind that I was 15 and every weekend at the airport was like a collection of months; a young person’s sense of time and chronology are limited, so everything seems like an eternity. Thus, I probably only knew Dave a few months, but it felt like years and why wouldn’t I know about Stiletto, right?

Dave would often have me hop on the airplane tractor "tug" as we drove out to a tie-down spot to watch Pete Regina, Angelo Regina, Joe Kasparoff, Skip Holm, or Matt Jackson take off in Mustangs. Dave in his blue collared shirt and that youthful face, always ready to crack wise.

There was no reason for Dave Zeuschel and Matt Jackson to like me; I could be a pest. But they took me in and let me be strange and talky and hyper and scatterbrained. Dave and Matt each were the only guys who would ever do this: Get in his car, lean across to open the passenger door, then say: “Come on. Let’s go for a ride.” It could be a trip to the other side of van Nuys, or to the 7-Eleven, or to another town. And Dave always let me know that I could have anything in the hangar refrigerator, which was perpetually stocked with sodas and candybars.

One time I asked Dave about Jeannie in comparison to Strega and Dago Red and Somethin’ Else – I was evaluating the entire highly modified racer Mustang fleet and their hallmark low-profile race canopies. This was before Stiletto was rolled out. I mentioned that while Jeannie was beautiful, it seemed like there was no visibility in the thing. Dave scoffed at everything but Jeannie.

“But Dave, that canopy is so small.”

“Jeannie has a real race canopy, George. Those other guys? I call them touring canopies!”

And anytime he mentioned the Tsunami racer ... he never mentioned it! It was always “Salami.” I swear to you I can hear his voice right now, the timbre and inflection – Salami – and it is as hysterical now as it was nearly a quarter-century ago.

Twenty years ago this week we were all in a hangar at Van Nuys to mourn Dave and send him off with solidarity. The fact that we write about him is a tenet of faith: by remembering Dave we keep his spirit with us, and thus he is very much alive in our hearts. Dave, I know I talked a lot, but thank you for the kindness and the safe place for a teenage Valley Boy to grow up and have character-building experiences. Those blissful airport halcyon Saturdays.

-George Constantin

We should all get together this year at Valley Ranch by VNY and share more Dave Z stories.

goglidegood@yahoo.com

[goglidegood]

More Dave Z

Hi All-

Dave Zeuschel was a mentor and kind-hearted. Yes, April 25 marks twenty years since we lost Dave. And twenty years go by quick: I was 18 in 1987 and it seemed that the impossible happened. Now I’m 38 and I still look back, but really only at the good times.

The Los Angeles Times ran a Metro story in Spring 1984 that showed Stiletto coming together at the Zeuschel Racing Engines shop in Sylmar. Here was this aerial view from inside the shop with this incongruously small wing on a bare fuselage. Those louvered top wing panels and that cockpit displaced several feet aft. It was so slick and svelte and clipped and cut, it looked like half a P-51.

“Hey Dave, you didn’t tell me you were building an air racer! That’s totally radical!”

Keep in mind that I was 15 and every weekend at the airport was like a collection of months; a young person’s sense of time and chronology are limited, so everything seems like an eternity. Thus, I probably only knew Dave a few months, but it felt like years and why wouldn’t I know about Stiletto, right?

Dave would often have me hop on the airplane tractor “tug” as we drove out to a tie-down spot to watch Pete Regina, Angelo Regina, Joe Kasparoff, Skip Holm, or Matt Jackson take off in Mustangs. Dave in his blue collared shirt and that youthful face, always ready to crack wise.

There was no reason for Dave Zeuschel and Matt Jackson to like me; I could be a pest. But they took me in and let me be strange and talky and hyper and scatterbrained. Dave and Matt each were the only guys who would ever do this: Get in his car, lean across to open the passenger door, then say: “Come on. Let’s go for a ride.” It could be a trip to the other side of Van Nuys, or to the 7-Eleven, or to another town. And Dave always let me know that I could have anything in the hangar refrigerator, which was perpetually stocked with sodas and candybars.

One time I asked Dave about Jeannie in comparison to Strega and Dago Red and Somethin’ Else – I was evaluating the entire highly modified racer Mustang fleet and their hallmark low-profile race canopies. This was before Stiletto was rolled out. I mentioned that while Jeannie was beautiful, it seemed like there was no visibility in the thing. Dave scoffed at everything but Jeannie.

“But Dave, that canopy is so small.”

“Jeannie has a real race canopy, George. Those other guys? I call them touring canopies!”

And anytime he mentioned the Tsunami racer ... he never mentioned it! It was always “Salami.” I swear to you I can hear his voice right now, the timbre and inflection – Salami – and it is as hysterical now as it was nearly a quarter-century ago.

Twenty years ago this week we were all in a hangar at Van Nuys to mourn Dave and send him off in solidarity. The fact that we write about him is a tenet of faith: by remembering Dave we keep his spirit with us, and thus he is very much alive in our hearts. Dave, I know I talked a lot, but thank you for the kindness and the safe place for a teenage Valley Boy to grow up and have character-building experiences. Those blissful airport halcyon Saturdays.

-George Constantin

We should all get together this year at Valley Ranch by VNY and share more Dave Z stories.

goglidegood@yahoo.com

[speeddemon]

Re: More Dave Z

“But Dave, that canopy is so small.”

“Jeannie has a real race canopy, George. Those other guys? I call them touring canopies!”

Great stuff, George!

I seem to recall Z calling the canopies on Dago and Strega "fishbowls" too.

[goglidegood]

Re: More Dave Z

I seem to recall Z calling the canopies on Dago and Strega "fishbowls" too.

Hi Speed-

Thanks for the note. Fishbowls!

I'm not sure if it was Dave or me mirroring his views, but I have feeling this was at least inspired by him: that Rare Bear was a "Bondo Bucket." When he tricked out a 1972 Ford Ranchero with a wicked creamy orange paint scheme, he noted to me the flawless body, fenders and quarter panels. All dings had been filled with lead. "See? Not Rare Bear!"

Dave's little comments that bordered on cynicism were a riot.

As you can tell, I’m new to the forum this last week, but have seen the website for a while, and am an old race fan who's never been... Dave even offered a trip up in the caravan in Stiletto's winning first year 1984 ... but I was starting my junior high school year and couldn't risk a week away. Then again in 1986, but alas, started college...

Maybe this year I'll do it, now that I live back in Cali after a decade away. It's not like I can't afford to go see them.

Great job on the forum posts, Speed. And cool to read John Slack and Griffon Girl and all the others.

-George

[invader696]

Re: IT's about F'ing time!

Since I'm only 23, I never met Dave Zeuschel, however I've been reading about him since I was 3. Air racing has always been huge to me, and I have searched most every magazine I could find from the old days. I also have a few O'Leary books with Dave in the pit of some Mustangs and then the F-86. It wasn't until I read this thread, that I realized some of Dave's biggest projects were my favorites. The F-86 shots in the book I have, used to amaze me because of how perfect she looked. She wasn't shiny and flashy...she was just right. There are some nice F-86s nowadays, but none quite grab me like N86Z did.

Jeannie and Stiletto were also the perfect racers to me. I only wish the full treatment had taken place with Stiletto as planned. I can't imagine what she would have looked like with the Griffon and pointy spinner up front. She should be the epitome of a racer. I'm thankful that Jeannie still lives on as well. The fact that he had the balls to clip a Mustang that short says volumes about his abilities.

To also point out what he did for the warbird community and the Mustang alone can not fully be put into words. Every warbird enthusiast and Mustang owner, owe a bit of thanks to this man.

I'm glad that I've been fortunate enough to see the magazines and books that featured Dave. Without them, this thread and name would be just that to me...a thread and name. Instead, it is about a man that I would have very much liked to meet. Consider yourselves lucky.

Ryan Harris