Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, the brilliant engine tuner and NHRA icon, has died. He was 81.
Jenkins' legacy dates to the earliest days of Pro Stock, where he was an accomplished racer, known as well for his stick shift mastery behind the wheel as for his gifted wrench-spinning under the hood.
In the 1960s, more than 30 Jenkins-prepped cars set national records. At the 1970 Winternationals, he achieved the first nine-second run in Pro Stock, hitting 9.98. Chevrolet fans will fondly remember Jenkins' small-block racers besting many Hemi-powered Mopars.
"Jenkins' competition cars were always the ones to beat," said Jim Pickering, editor of American Car Collector magazine.
Among the pioneering innovations brought to drag racing by Jenkins are full tube chassis, strut-style suspensions, dry sump oiling systems, kickout pans, gas port pistons, cool cans, and slick-shift manual transmissions.
Underlying Jenkins' famed gruff demeanor was a true devotion to the hard work of drag racing.
I ran out to the body supply store early Saturday morning to get my Rage Gold body filler, some 2K primer, and DP90LF sealer. I'm not going to make the same mistake as I did on the '71, the '66 is getting a coat of epoxy sealer before the base coat! I cleaned off a few areas and started applying my filler and sanded it down. The bodywork has officially started on the 1966 Chevelle. Now I just need to keep on it, as Zach has reminded me that he is getting the keys to the '71 in 4 months. The pressure is on.
*UPDATE* I found this article "Using Body Filler", by Reed Overson, who lives in Bismarck, North Dakota, and has been a bodyman, painter, sales rep, and technical rep for thirty years. Reed used to work as a technical sales rep for the company that makes Rage filler, and knows the chemists that developed the resin for it. Good read here!!!
I know it isn't much, but I got out to the garage and did some work! I cleaned up the drivers-side glass and painted the channels and tracks, along with a few of the parts I had sand-blasted a few months back. I even removes the quarter glass weather stripping, which needed to be replaced, and am ready to put the glass back into the drivers side. I'm afraid if I remove the other side, I'll never figure out how to get in all back in again. It's like a puzzle in there! I should get some sealer and more body supplies soon, it's getting warm enough now.
There has been no progress on the 1966 Chevelle in recent weeks. I haven't even made into the garage. I've so consumed with work lately, and I have not even ordered the parts I need to finish...this isn't good. The weather is starting to get better, a few days here and there. Today I have to get back to it and do something, anything, to get me back moving in the right direction.
Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, the brilliant engine tuner and NHRA icon, has died. He was 81.
