Return to the Main Page
From: "David Herlinger"
To: "ALLEN WOOLLEY"
Subject: Fw: CORVETTES
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 19:20:55 -0800
Hi Al,
I have an interesting story if you have the time. I had a customer call the other night asking if I could rebuild a differential for him. I asked what kind of differential and he said a forty Ford. I thought he was sent to me by way of my brother being flathead vintage. I told him I could do it but I would really rather not do a flathead diff. because I have so much Corvette work right now.
He said it is a Corvette diff. I asked what year and he didn't know. I asked if his diff. is solid or independent and he said no it's an IRS. After about ten minutes of confusing talk I determined he owns a 1940 Ford with a 1963 Corvette rear suspension. I asked him where he lives and he said Palo Alto. He said he grew up in Palo Alto. I said that's interesting because so did I.
The conversation started getting a little more interesting when I told this guy about a Hot Rod 39 Ford with a Buick motor in it that I wanted to buy when I was about thirteen years old. He just listened as I told him all about that really nice 1939 Ford hotrod.
I remember it was original blue outside with original interior that was perfect. The car had a Buick v/8 that was painted red with a floor shift transmission. Remember this was back in 1956 and the Buick v/8's had only been out for a couple of years.
I used to go by and look at it after my paper route or after school. Then I told him the owner of this Ford was named Willy Thoits and that my Oldsmobile used to belong to his mother. She bought my Olds brand new. I owned the Olds for fifteen years.
Well after a little silence this guy says 'Well guess what your talking to Willy Thoits and yes that was my 39 Ford". "And yes that was my mothers Olds".
Turns out Willy owns Thoits glass company in Palo Alto. Willy graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1954 and has been drag racing, boat racing and Bonneville racing all his life. He's still messing around with cars and he still lives in the same house his parents owned where I used to go look at
his Ford. He has a son twenty eight.
I talked to Willy for over two hours on the phone and it seems we crossed paths a lot of times with mutual friends over the years. I asked Willy if he ever knew a black guy by the name of Art Gray who lived over on Fulton in Palo Alto. A friend of mine ( Bob Stevenson ) lived right up the street from Art Gray. Art Gray owned a blue 1932 Ford hotrod with a Cadillac motor. Art's 32 was a show car hotrod and he built the car all by himself.
Art was always nice to us and he seemed very smart. Art drove that 32 Ford daily. We would see him all over Palo alto all the time. This was all back when we were twelve or thirteen years old. That was back around 1956. As it turns out Art is Willy's life long best friend and he still owns the blue 1934 Ford and it's still in perfect condition.
Art still drives his 32 Ford now and then,but, he has a new Ford street rod with a 500 cubic inch Cad motor he just finished. Art spent the last three four years building his latest hotrod. Willy said they recently drove Art's new hotrod down to L.A and back to try it out. It ran perfect.
Willy said he is sixty five years old now, but, his friend Art Gray is eighty two. Willy says Art looks just like he is about forty years old except his hair has turned all gray. Art has two large garages full of cars he has built and is just getting ready to build another street rod. They both just love their cars.
THE END
Return to the Main Page