This is a rather long story.
Alfa owner and club member, Christian Jaeger encouraged me to write my biography in January 2025. I didn’t originally include this story. I hope you find this interesting and I urge everyone to consider writing their own biography. I believe late in life is best. You may find out “what makes you tick.” You may be able to identify the many mentors who helped and guided you in your formative years. That is a phase of life where we often take so much for granted, especially the help from our parents.
George Pezold, Legal Council for the Alfa Owners Club, asked me in 1988 how I knew so much about fuel injection. There were three of us having cocktails in the lounge at the National Convention. J. Michael Hemsley was the third person. I responded briefly at the time, so here’s the rest of the story 37 years later.
I must have been born with a wrench in my teeth. At 4 years old as I was looking straight up at the war planes from my back yard in San Jose, California. I visualized a card floating down from above, an Ace of Diamonds that landed right into my hands. It came with a message: You have a gift and it is up to you to discover that gift and to play this card for the rest of your life.
Meeting Joe Davis
On a warm summer day in 1963, I saw a 1956 Plymouth sedan two doors down the street with big bold white letters, “Sieman’s Garage” painted on the side. (I knew Harry Sieman, I used to talk to him at his garage on 12th and Keys street in San Jose. I was 16 years old). I walked over and introduced myself to my new neighbor, Joe Davis and asked “Is that a loaner car from Sieman’s garage?”
“No, that’s my race car,” he said, “I race it mostly at Vacaville, a Drag strip near Sacramento.”
“That’s amazing,” I said, “A Plymouth with a Push button automatic transmission racing against fast 4 speed Chevys and Fords?”
“I believe if you control ‘Wheel Spin’ you will be quicker,” Joe said.
“But doesn’t the automatic transmission rob power as compared to a 4 speed?” I asked.
“It all happens at the starting line. My brother-in-law, an engineer for IBM, helped me study and modify the transmission throttle body that controls the shift points.” Joe led me into his house…there were over 35 trophies in the living room. “What about you?” he asked, “Do you like drag racing?”
“Yes, I have a 1953 Studebaker Starlight Coupe that I modified with a big Buick V8 engine, two 4 barrel carburetors, an Isky 5 cycle cam and high compression pistons.” I showed Joe my car the next day and he admitted that he didn’t believe me at first, that so many guys do the one-upmanship thing.
Street Drag Racing
I raced my Studebaker at Fremont Raceways a couple of times. However, most of the time we would “drag the main” on first and second streets in San Jose, just like in the movie American Graffiti. We would hang out at “John’s Drive-In” and often end up behind the big IBM plant on Koosher Ave: a newly paved ½ mile long 4 lane road nestled between acres of lush walnut trees. It was a perfect road that for some reason was unknown to other drivers. We staged drag races on the weekends.
Kids (teenagers) would be standing on both sides of the starting line. The only light was from the two cars lining up to race with perfect warm summer weather. Then one evening a patrol car accidentally appeared and drove smack into the kid’s secret race haven; cars and kids everywhere. The officer didn’t seem to know who to arrest first…the kids escaping through the orchards on foot or the cars getting away.
The officer made good use of his reverse gear and steering wheel, going forward and backwards, slamming the brakes and going in circles allowing the kids time to scramble which only took seconds. Maybe back then they didn’t teach how one patrol car with one cop could make multiple arrests. It was 1:00 am, pitch black except for the headlights of the patrol car going in circles. He must have been on his way home. I was on foot that evening, it was obvious that the officer was totally confused and may not have arrested anyone. We ran between the walnut trees, it was so dark then…we realized the orchard had been irrigated and we were in mud up to our ankles.
My First NHRA Race
February 1963, Joe asked me to accompany him to the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California. Pomona, Southern California was a good place to be in early February as there was usually a lull in the winter weather. Cool, crisp air, warm sun and no wind with famous colorful race cars and teams from all over the country set up in the pits ready to battle the competition. It was a Grass Roots sport back then with very little sponsorship money available. There weren’t any motorhomes or enclosed trailers, just station wagons and family sedans with a make-shift trailer hitch.
I had read a lot about the famous Supercharged “Gas Coupes and Sedans” which were common at the Southern California drag strips. Race teams: Stone, Woods and Cook, Big John Mazmanian, Chuck Finders, the Mallicoat Brothers and others were all there, lined up at the starting line. Indelible in my mind as I took my seat in the grandstands: Linda Vaughn was parading in the Hurst Shifter convertible wearing a pearl-white body suit with sparkly sequins, one arm wrapped around the huge shift lever. A crazed fan bolted from his seat and jumped the fence rail and charged towards Ms. Vaughn, he was subdued of course but there must have been a thousand other men in the stands with the same intentions. He got a standing ovation from the crowd.
First up at the starting line was Doug “Cookie” Cook in the Supercharged Olds Willys coupe, and Bones Balogh driving the Mazmanian supercharged candy apple Chrysler-powered Willys coupe staged side by side waiting for the count down of the “Christmas Tree” lights to go from 4 yellow cautions down to a big Green. Both cars pulled the front wheels off the ground and held them up for 30 feet under full acceleration. Drag racers call that “Weight Transfer.” We saw a few dragsters pop “Wheelies” in Northern California, but the Gas coupes and sedans in Pomona carried the front wheels like fighter planes taking flight. That was an intoxicating moment that marked the beginning of my NHRA career.
The next round of fuel injected, supercharged cars were the smaller and faster “Altered Supercharged” cars designated as AA Altered and BB Altered. Double A and B denoted “Supercharged”. Much to Joe’s delight, “B&M Hydros”, Van Nuys California had also extended the shift points of the GM automatic transmission that no longer shifted automatically; you simply held the throttle to the floor and shifted a short lever at around 8000 rpm. All those fast Supercharged cars had “B&M Hydro” stickers on both sides of the cars. They had to self start with their own starters (unlike the dragsters) since they could not be push started.
Visualize this scenario if you will: Two cars lined up at the starting line. The driver/pilot was strapped into the race seat, helmet secured, then the pit boss with a squirt can filled with gas positioned himself in front of the big Hilborn injector/air scoop and signaled the driver to start the engine while he squirted gas into the big air scoop. The big engines roared to life instantly. I’m watching from the grandstands and wishing I could be that guy. The Jameson, McClennan, Koontz Altered had a “For Sale” sign posted on the car. Joe Davis said he was interested in buying the car.
Davis and Ingram Race Team
Arrangements were made to meet at the upcoming “Smokers Meet” in Famosa, California in March. Negotiations resulted in Joe taking the title for only $2,700 for the little Fiat screamer which included the trailer, the equivalent of $28,000 in 2025. I accompanied Joe and on that return trip back home our partnership was cemented and we became the “Davis and Ingram Race Team”.
Joe was a calm, quiet sort of personality, polite and well mannered. He went to church on Sundays even when he was racing. He carried a change of clothes with a white shirt in the car and he would leave the track at noon to attend a nearby service. I never heard him swear. He still had his southern Kentucky accent and the worst thing he would say was “That cotton picking cat hair.” His mind was set on being a champion. Studying numerous race classes and the national records, Joe focused on the “Altered” classes that were not as popular or competitive. This turned out to be a brilliant decision. Soon, he transitioned from driving a modified stock sedan to a wild, short wheelbase, supercharged Altered.
I’ll explain briefly for those that may not know the fundamentals and dynamics of setting up a drag car chassis. The “Gassers” (Gas Coupes and Sedans) were allowed a 10% engine setback which moves the static weight to the rear. The Altered classes allowed a 25% engine setback. It was the combination of more rear weight, weight transfer, huge rear “Slicks” and insane horsepower that would prepare you for the winners’ circle.
By May 1964, Legendary custom car builder Joe Wilhelm painted the Fiat his award winning purple metal flake, a fine metallic base. Then, “Davis and Ingram” was painted on both sides of the car by a professional sign artist. I was stunned. Joe made me a partner, my name on the car and he never asked for a dime. Supercharged, fuel injected engines were foreign to us. The small block Chevy engine was an early 265 with a ¼ inch “stroker” crank, resulting in 292 cubic inches. A 671 roots supercharger sat on top of the engine with a Hilborn 2 throat air scoop that poked through the tiny Fiat body. The supercharger ran at 98% engine speed. The original exhaust headers were short, 14 inches long protruding straight out from the body.
The combination of the whine of the 671 at the finish line, the short headers and 9,500 to 10,000 rpm is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. That sound, the high pitched frequency, would resonate for two seconds after the engine was shut down at the end of the run. There was also the aroma of burned rubber and high octane fuel at the starting line.
First Team Race
Our first race was at the Kingdon Drag Strip in Lodi, California. Self starting supercharged cars were apparently never seen in northern California. The norm was to push start those cars down the strip, then turn around and get back to the starting line. We lined up the little purple Fiat (the big 671 supercharger exposed to the atmosphere) to the starting line for our first timed run. I was right behind with my push truck. I got out of the truck and stood in front of the car, with my gas squirt can, Joe ready to hit the starter, then I heard the track manager running towards me screaming, “get into the truck and get that damned car started!” He was standing inches away from the left bank of the short headers aimed at him, much like 4 cannons about to fire. Still screaming at me, I gave Joe the “Start Signal” then pumped the squirt can 2 times…the 4 cannons went off and, well, you can imagine the rest of that story.
Hard Lesson
Our next race with the small 292 engine was at Half Moon Bay, a West Coast track known for new track records due to the proximity of the track near the edge of the Pacific Ocean with desirable cool, high density air. Early that day as the fog cleared I measured 102% air density on our gauge. Typically we would only see a high of 97% inland. I put a smaller return jet in the fuel bypass hose which makes the engine richer to compensate for the greater air density.
When this car and many others in the 60’s were built there was a treasure of WW2 surplus parts. There was a large Army Surplus manual fuel shut off valve inside the car that had for some reason been disconnected. Joe decided to hook it up for safety. Half way down the track on that first run the engine made a loud cough and melted 4 pistons.
We found that the O rings in the hoses connected to the shut off valve on the firewall were dried out. That was the suction side of the fuel system, so it didn’t leak gas, but under full power it sucked air into the engine resulting in detonation. The effect is like a blow torch on top the pistons. We learned the hard way why the previous owners did not use that inside shut off valve.
We replaced the 4 pistons and set a new National record at Fremont Raceways around July of that year. We began preparing for the long 3000 mile trip to the Nationals in Raceway Park, Indiana.
Nationals
Wednesday, Sept 4th we arrived early at Raceway Park, Clermont, Indiana, just West of the Indianapolis Speedway. We unloaded the car in the vast pit area and found ourselves surrounded by 4 competitors also running in our class. They said, “You will be more than one second off that bogus record you set in California with those cheater clocks.” We said nothing as we proceeded to the starting line.
I had a flash back to the Winternationals February 1963 when I saw the pit boss in front of John Mazmanian’s Supercharged Willys, and there I was 17 months later preparing to fire up the Davis and Ingram BB Altered at the NHRA Nationals in front of thousands of race fans with 30 seconds of total silence.
I heard the announcer say, “Lined up at the starting line for their first timed run…the Davis and Ingram BB Altered Record holder from San Jose, California.” It was just me, my squirt can, a purple Fiat Topolino and Joe Davis in the cockpit. Our first timed run was .002 seconds off our record. That little car was very consistent with two runs right on our record and two runs just .002 seconds off.
Mighty Mouse
By mid-year NHRA changed the rules allowing more cubic inches without having to add weight. Joe built a new 364 Chevy engine which required a larger Hilborn fuel pump and a larger 4 throat air scoop. The 671 drive ratio was also increased to 1:1, to feed more air to the larger engine. The “little purple mouse” now looked like “Mighty Mouse.” We returned to Half Moon Bay, late September 1964 and lowered our record by .42 seconds. There’s a picture of that moment on our “Wall of Fame” page. “Hot Rod magazine, September 1964 “ Where it all began: Half Moon Bay’s 1964 NHRA Drag Race”. Notables in that picture: Andy Brizio, Ray Helm and Bernie Partridge, Div 7 manager.
Wide World of Sports
In February 1965, we returned to the Winternationals, with two National records, a “Best appearing car and crew award” and many class wins. The little Fiat and its crew caught the attention of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”. They interviewed us and a few other racers. Ten years later friends would still tell us they saw us on the Wide World of Sports. I couldn’t believe the power of National Television.
By late 1965 Joe and I parted ways; he converted the Fiat chassis (to the chagrin of the Ford Motor Company) and built the first “Funny Car in Northern California” powered by a Chevy engine. I began building the “Jewel T”, you can view the pictures and videos on this site, go to the “Wall of Fame”.
I will soon add the story of the Jewel T in a second edition of “My Fuel Injection Career” where I became possessed to build a street car with race-type fuel injection, and how I discovered Alfa Romeo.