Greatest hot rod / grassroots racer?

What do you consider the pinnacle of the accomplishments of automotive tinkerers? That is, what do you think is the most that's been accomplished without major industrial support, by some careful thought and busted knuckles by people who thought they could do better than the factories. Ak Miller and "Caballo de Hierro" in Mexico, for example...

My vote goes to the '66 and '67 Formula One titles, won by the Brabham-Repcos: they were tube-frame cars, built in a garage, using an Oldsmobile V8 that GM had given up on, with lots of other street car parts in the engine and chassis. That was a tiny little cat that feasted on some big pigeons...

Wheels777

Andy Nelson for the win!

He has brought a "virtually" different car the to Challenge every year for 6 years (always contending to win the overall), made at least 3 major magazines, and that doesn't stop him from earning land speed records, additional builds with his kids, or just being a great guy overall.

I'm not just brown-nosing. Any guy that can lap valves with a belt sander is a major winner in this category.

Yep, Andy gets my vote too.

Mid tens for $2000 is certainly impressive!

In the beginning

Smokey Yunick........stock cars

Don Garlits..............drag racing

Tommy Riggins......... IMSA road racing

Jerry Hansen ...........SCCA road racing

Gurney Eagles.

Cobra Coupes.

Mini Cooper Rally.

And the opposite would be: That just did not work out well.

Mini rally grassroots? They were factory backed and Bmc already had a lot of experience rallying Austin healeys

chaparral wrote: What do you consider the pinnacle of the accomplishments of automotive tinkerers? That is, what do you think is the most that's been accomplished without major industrial support, by some careful thought and busted knuckles by people who thought they could do better than the factories. Ak Miller and "Caballo de Hierro" in Mexico, for example... My vote goes to the '66 and '67 Formula One titles, won by the Brabham-Repcos: they were tube-frame cars, built in a garage, using an Oldsmobile V8 that GM had given up on, with lots of other street car parts in the engine and chassis. That was a tiny little cat that feasted on some big pigeons...

i completely agree, as for the Gurney Eagle, it failed actually win the championship while the Brabham won two.

Bill Caswell.

How A $500 Craigslist Car Beat $400K Rally Racers

Is there some kind of Captain Hong or Hong King? I'd give that guy some consideration should he exist.

In addition to Smokey, I'd nominate Max Balchowsky for his Old Yeller efforts.

I like his engineering style:

Does Jim Hall count as grassroots?

Might as well throw Colin Chapman into the mix - the guy starts a car company as a part-time gig - had a few championships under his belt (7).

Jim Hall most certainly counts!! And wins!!! He built everything in his shop and of his own design. Chevy eventually backed him with engines, but the shiftable automatics and active aerodynamics were all Jim. He's my hero.

IMHO no one comes close to the "Grassroots" spirit as Max Balchowski. (Old Yeller) He cobbled together cars in his shop that gave the fastest cars in the world fits. I remember reading he used a big hill near his house as a "dyno".

Smokey Yunick is also on the list, but more for his Indy runs, than his NASCAR stuff. He usually had factory support for his NASCAR teams, the Indy stuff was straight out of his head--------ie Capsule Car

mguar wrote: Jerry Hansen? Are you kidding? He never got his hands dirty on any of the cars he raced.. While he was a clever, smart, and very talented driver. A mechanic he wasn't, nor was he a builder, designer, engineer, or anything else..

I was thinking ofputting an asterisk by his name because of that and the fact, I don't think he needed any factory money. He was a car guy and idea guy and His record of achievement was outstanding .

alex wrote: In addition to Smokey, I'd nominate Max Balchowsky for his Old Yeller efforts.

That is what I thought of first.

And the Mini rally team wasn't in any way Grassroots.

I know that he's a bike guy, but in the last 40 years has there ever been a privateer the likes of John Britten?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Britten

Did Tommy Ivo build his own stuff?

Ivo was also a TV star at the time and had funding from that so I don't think he could be considered "grassroots".

Ken Tyrell. Weren't all his F1 cars supposedly build in the machine shed at his sawmill?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Tyrrell

http://www.standard1320.com/Ivo/Buicks/TwinBuick/TwinBuick.html

Barney Navarro deserves mention. Anyone who would take on Indy with a Rambler six is my kind of guy.

How about Mickey Thompson, I just finished his autobiography for the tenth time. Good stuff.

Seriously? No one has mentioned Anthony Joseph Foyt!!

One of the most iconic car builder/racers in Indy history.

Orange Coyotes!!!!