[Fot] Fwd: Re: Group 44 car found

Sat May 26 05:42:51 MDT 2018

Jim,

She drove a Bugeye, which might be what you are thinking. I talked to Bob Tullius, who I have come to know well and who lives near me now, and he definitely built her a TR3 for the 1965 season, because as Bob phrased it, she was tired of getting beat in her MGB by the TR3s. So I am pretty sure she drove an MGB as well.

I got a lot of correspondence between Donna Mae and Bill Emery, who owned the car, I now have. They definitely knew each other pretty well and talked about him having her old car.

The car I got was originally red and then was painted pink, which is in accordance to the whole story. There are certainly not many pink TR3s.

I also have a letter from Emery (actually to someone on the FOT list, as I remember), where he described who the previous owners of this Group 44 car were and what parts were still on it and what he used on his race car, the bottom one on the stack.

Others mentioned what could be saved on this car. A cursory inspection tells us the frame, rear end, inner fender wells up front, and some of the other body panels are savable. The rest of the front end, some interior parts etc. are in boxes that came with it.

It blows my mind that the previous owner had had the car for at least 20 years, knew it was a Group 44 car and let it rust in his back yard and used it for parts, even cutting the left rear off of it and attaching it to his race car, again the bottom one on the stack.

As for the George Washington’s axe analogy, I totally get that, but there is quite a bit of original axe here and still usable. And everything I do and would to to this car goes right on to our website and into our magazine, so I have no desire to deceive anyone.

As for the danger in stacking the cars, they are strapped to one another, and out in my pole barn, so they are perfectly safe. The reason they are stacked, is the with all the other future projects I have out there and the room that my mighty ramp truck, that I will be brining to Pittsburgh, takes, I am starting to have to stack things up a bit.

The car on the bottom of the stack was raced or hill climbed since nearly new and has quite a history of SCCA racing. Other than the ugly flares and cage it could probably be gotten ready for Pittsburgh. it is that complete and nice.

I don’t really want to dismantle it to save the Group 44 car, as it is a nice car with its own history.

So that’s where things are at. I don’t need three TR3 race cars, but it appears that is now my number. I will let things sit as they are in the pole barn, until I get a couple more project cars done and then figure out a more decisive plan. 

See you all soon.

Tim Suddard
Publisher:
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Classic Motorsports magazine

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> On May 26, 2018, at 5:57 AM, jcox--- via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> 
>            	Subject: Fwd: Re: [Fot] Group 44 car found
> Check with Jeff Moore, Automotive Archeologists. That was Donna Mae’s HP Sprite.
> Jim Cox 
> Branson, MO.
> Jcox at bransonauction.com
> www.bransonauction.com
> 
> On Fri 25/05/18 11:06 , Bill Tobin via Fot fot at autox.team.net sent:
>>       Tim, I thought Donna Mae's car was found and  restored a few
>> years back. The car and Donna Mae herself were at the SVRA race  at
>> Mid Ohio a few years ago. I thought you were there too. Donna Mae was
>> a  hoot. Did she drive more than one? Good question about restorations
>> too. It's sure to  bring up a lot of discussion. See you at
>> Pittsburgh. Cheers, Bill  ----- ORIGINAL MESSAGE -----  FROM:  Tim
>> Suddard via  Fot  TO: fot at autox.team.net  SENT: Friday, May 25, 2018
>> 7:16 AM SUBJECT: [Fot] Group 44 car found 
>> And on another note, two more TR3s have just come into my life.  Bill
>> Emery has passed his late father’s two cars on to me, thinking I
>> might be  a good caretaker for them. 
>> After talking to Bill and Bob Tullius, and reading through his
>> dad’s  correspondence I am convinced one of the cars, (the very
>> rough yellow one) is  the Group 44 car that Bob Tullius built for
>> Donna Mae Mims to race in the  1965. I have also found the original
>> red paint and pink paint on the  car. 
>> So this brings up some interesting ethical and technical
>> conversations…  (also lots to write about in Classic Motorsports).
>> Can this car be saved?  Should it be saved? If you re-body some, or
>> all of it, have you really saved  it? While I know, from
>> correspondence that some of the Group 44 parts are on  the red car,
>> much of the Group 44 stuff is long gone. 
>> Tim  Suddard
>> Publisher:
>> Grassroots Motorsports magazine
>> Classic  Motorsports magazine
>> 
>> Phone: (386) 239-0523 • Fax: (386)  239 0573
>> www. GrassrootsMotorsports.com
>> www.ClassicMotorsports.com
>> 
>> 915  Ridgewood Avenue
>> Holly Hill, FL 32117
>> 
>> Upcoming  Events: 
>> 
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