Big Willy Daytona

[WilliesDaytona]

I dont have a scanner

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

go to your local pharmacy and get all the queen ones scanned and burnt onto cd's so we can see them, not seeing that car is KILLING ME!!-MATT

[Choppintime]

Just found and read this thread, great thread !! Found this discussion on another board. Thought some of you would be interested.

jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=937838 - 61k

[Charger_Fan]

Just found and read this thread, great thread !! Found this discussion on another board. Thought some of you would be interested.

jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=937838 - 61k

That link didn't work, is THIS the thread you're talking about?

There's some cool stories in that thread.


Oh & welcome aboard!

[Choppintime]

That is the link. Wonder why mine didn't work ??

Thanks for the welcome. I've been on the Cuda-Challenger board for a while and happened to stumble upon this thread.

[nascarxx29]

I can recall someone in our wing car club some years back.Had found the hemi daytona Big Willie buildsheet.I think it was maybe Randall M in Arkansas

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

it was probably the queens brodcast sheet

[Blap56]

Hello All,

    I live here in LA. I was reading the posts on Big Willie. I had the pleasure of meeting him for the first time on Sept. 20, 2006. He was walking here at the VA hospital with his wife. I talked for about 30 minutes with him. He says he still has the 2 Hemi (Keith Black built) Daytonas. He claims they run 6's. He also claims the Brotherhood track will open back up soon. I wonder about that though. The politicians don't want a track here. When I told him that, he said the new mayor here in LA gave the okay. He still claims the track will open soon. He is alive for sure. I have his phone number and address. I will go to his place soon and take pictures. Keep in mind though, he is getting older. He is still up and about but a little slower. I have another friend locally named Lurch who is well known around LA drag racing. Lurch says he is not telling the truth. I wonder also. I promise to try to get Big Willie and take pictures. I will get back to you all soon.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

he claims he has 2 keith black daytonas??? the king broke in half because of acid dippin and the queen was destroyed in an accident, maybe he still ahs the remains?-MATT GET PICS!!!!!

[Blap56]

he claims he has 2 keith black daytonas??? the king broke in half because of acid dippin and the queen was destroyed in an accident, maybe he still has the remains?-MATT GET PICS!!!!!

That is EXACTLY what he told me. If any of you are here in SoCal, lets meet and go to his house. I have his address and phone number. I told him I want to come by and see his cars. I have been busy lately, but I WILL go there soon. If they are there, I will take pictures. Again, if any of you want to join me, let me know.

[hotrod98]

 

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

SWEET if he had the remains of thsoe casr ma nthat would be sweet t osee-MATT

[nascarxx29]

If those or any parts of the 2 Big Willies daytonas are stil remaining.Would be a great discovery.Now there is LA dodge dealer daytona That had its motor built by Keith Black.Thats outhere I got pictures of it and its vin.The car is still in hiding

[Ghoste]

When you say the vin is in hiding, do you mean it's an unknown completely or that the vin is known by a tiny handful in the hobby and they just aren't telling at this point?

[nascarxx29]

I do have this cars vin.The car hasnt been seen or heard in quite sometime.This car may be confused as a missing Big Willie as keith black name is on this car to .Its a Y2 hemi 4 speed car.Same thing could be said about this superbird.It to hasnt been seen or heard of or mentioned about in quite sometime

[Charger_Fan]

Same thing could be said about this superbird.It to hasnt been seen or heard of or mentioned about in quite sometime

Just call that phone # and ask them where it is.

SWEET if he had the remains of thsoe casr ma nthat would be sweet t osee-MATT

Damn, boy...that post was a doozie!
You been hittin' your Dad's liquor cabinet?

[Aero426]

There was a story on that custom painted Superbird in the WW/NBOA newsletter a couple years back that debunked the tale of the car.   As I recall, the paint job was done at a dealership by the owner of the car who worked in the body shop.  Maybe Dave can find the article.

[hotrod98]

I was almost positive that Willy had sold off or otherwise disposed all of the wing cars some time back. Now he says that he still has some of them. I think someone may have misunderstood what he said. Would be great if he still had one or two.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

Hell yeah

[Troy]

When you say the vin is in hiding, do you mean it's an unknown completely or that the vin is known by a tiny handful in the hobby and they just aren't telling at this point?

He said: "I got pictures of it and its vin.The car is still in hiding". I didn't read that the vin was in hiding.

Troy

[nascarxx29]

Story on mystery painted superbird

[Ghoste]

When you say the vin is in hiding, do you mean it's an unknown completely or that the vin is known by a tiny handful in the hobby and they just aren't telling at this point?

He said: "I got pictures of it and its vin.The car is still in hiding". I didn't read that the vin was in hiding.

Troy

Well, actually when I was speaking of the vin, I was referring to the car.  I should have been more specific with my question.

[Troy]

When you say the vin is in hiding, do you mean it's an unknown completely or that the vin is known by a tiny handful in the hobby and they just aren't telling at this point?

He said: "I got pictures of it and its vin.The car is still in hiding". I didn't read that the vin was in hiding.

Troy

Well, actually when I was speaking of the vin, I was referring to the car.  I should have been more specific with my question.

I see. Well, unfortunately, I am not one of the few who knows where it is... 

Troy

[nascarxx29]

Last I heard any tail of this car it was at this time of the 80-s article,In Fresno CA in M Downings hands .From there and that point car could be anywhere in the world.The former owner of the car was a Holly Hedrich

[nascarxx29]

Big Willie Robinson and the Brotherhood, 1972As the Sixties drew to a close, the social upheaval seen in other spheres of society influenced drag racing as well. In the wake of the 1968 Watts riots, legendary street racer Big Willie Robinson figured out a way to use drag racing to change society. An imposing, muscular 6'6" Vietnam vet with a badass Hemi Daytona Charger and trademark bowler hat, Big Willie was the undisputed king of the late '60s- '70s East L.A. street racing scene. In response to the growing influence of drugs and street gangs, Big Willie and his wife Tomiko organized the 'Brotherhood of Street Racers' as a way to channel the energy of South Central youth away from crime and violence -- "peace through racing," as he put it. Working with local officials and police, Big Willie was the driving force behind the building of Brotherhood Raceway Park on L.A. harbor's Terminal Island. Before it closed in 1995, BRP was a popular destination for young South Cental racers and is widely regarded as the birthplace of import drag racing -- the 'Fast and Furious' scene. Efforts are now underway to reopen BRP, hopefully extending Big Willie's legacy to another generation of L.A. gearheads of every ethnicity.

Drag Racing Story of the Day!
The Brotherhood of Street Racers

By Dan Roulston

Back in the mid-1950s, when organized drag racing was pulling itself up by the bootstraps, there was a counter culture in the LA Illegal street racing was becoming a big, BIG problem. I was asked to speak to a forum produced by the LAPD. The street racers were loosely organized, but they did have some neat jackets and t-shirts. They were called the Brotherhood of Street Racers and were lead by their "Wally Parks" -- a moose of a guy called "Big Willie" Robinson and his wife Tomiko. We tried to get the BSR guys to come to LADS (as it was known then - Lions Associated Drag Strip). The vast majority of their cars could not pass tech inspection but they did draw as many as 500 cars at their races... usually in the industrial area of East LA.

There was one guy who did start coming to LADS to race. He was called "Charley the Painter." He drove a highly modified Dodge pickup that had a couple of haphazard ladders and paint cans (all thoroughly secured) hanging in the back. He received a ticket once for street racing and came to court. Now most of the other street racers were young guys wearing greased back hair and tee shirts but Charley was probably in his early to mid-'60s and wearing his painter's overalls, his usual racing uniform. The judge expressed surprise that Charley was in court for street racing. Charley's laid back response was "After I hit second gear, there wasn't any race." I think he was fined $14 or something, but won $20 for winning the street race.


More on Big Willie on this page

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2006/02/black_history_m.html