brock yates

Kuhn at Paramount Ranch Part 2

April 10, 2023 By pete

Now here is a real American Hot Rod. It’s one of the greatest “Ford T-Buckets” to ever thunder around a corner. The 1924 “Bucket” got into Duffy’s hands from one Jay Chamberlain, a noted Lotus sports car driver and dealer, who got the parts from Emil Diedt. It was originally intended for short-track racing in 1950. Duffy put all the parts together, and they spelled “Eliminator” car number 184. The number 184 was to honor his Air Force Company Number. So was born what would become a true Legend, at least in Brock Yates’ mind.

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

You might wonder why we {Pete} chose this particular image to lead off the Drivers Section of my Paramount Ranch report? Duffy (Frank) Livingstone has his own legacy with motorized vehicles, being the Godfather to the “Go Kart.” I would like to start this out by paying tribute to someone who is on everyone’s favorite list, Brock “Cannonball” Yates. Brock had a special affinity for Livingstone’s creation called the “Eliminator.” RIP Brock.

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Making the Cannonball Run Movie P1

August 22, 2022 By pete

The owner of the Countach (left) with Tom Nash (center) and Guy Anderson (right).

Story by Guy Anderson
Photos copyright Guy Anderson

In 1980 I received a call from my good friend Jeff Glasserow, who worked in the film industry. Jeff worked for Ted Turner at the ‘Super Station’ WTBS and the all-new CNN center here in Atlanta.

Jeff called to inform me there was a new Burt Reynolds movie that was going to begin shooting in Atlanta in a few weeks. The subject of the movie was racing a Lamborghini in a coast to coast race called the “Cannonball Run.” The race invented by Brock Yates was officially called: “The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.” Brock Yates had written the script for the movie to be called The Cannonball Run and directed by famed stunt man and a participant in the original Cannonball run, Hal Needham.

[Readers: You do NOT want to miss this exclusive story! Editor]

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Making of the Cannonball Run Part 1

December 5, 2017 By pete

The owner of the Countach (left) with Tom Nash (center) and Guy Anderson (right).

Story by Guy Anderson
Photos copyright Guy Anderson
Warning: It is a violation of US copyright law to use these photos including use on Pinterest without express permission of copyright holder.

In 1980 I received a call from my good friend Jeff Glasserow, who worked in the film industry. Jeff worked for Ted Turner at the ‘Super Station WTBS and the all-new CNN center here in Atlanta.

[Readers: You do NOT want to miss this exclusive story! Editor]

The shooting location for the movie was located on the perimeter of I-285 close to the entrance of I-20 on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia. The Inn that was commandeered for filming was called the Old English Inn for obvious reasons. The movie execs, including the actors and extras, took over the property for quite some time.

The movie making at the Inn was almost non- stop. The action began in the morning and was still going into the night, depending on what sequence were being filmed. Outside of the film area, behind the barriers, is where the starlets could be found that wanted nothing more than to be “DISCOVERED”. These women were lined up behind the barricades in bunches. They wore full makeup and were dressed to the hilt including heels. Some of the ladies were so gorgeous that it was impossible to concentrate on what we needed to do.

My part was to supply some cars for the production and it was a toss-up on what cars would be most fitting for this movie. One of the cars we were going to include was a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 that was recently restored. Others that we used were a 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta, a 1972 De Tomaso Pantera GTS and a 1974 Dino Ferrari GTS that a close friend owned at that time.

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John Fitch and the Bridgehampton Oldsmobile

October 17, 2013 By pete

Original story By Eric Davison

Photography by: Albert Fisher, Eberhard Luethke, and Noel Werrett for the March 1966 edition of Car and Driver. Photos reproduced with the permission of Hearts Men’s Group.

It has been over a year since John Fitch died and I don’t suppose that all the great John Fitch stories will ever be told. He was a force of nature and while he always seemed to be the consummate gentleman, he was a fierce competitor, and while rules were rules, sometimes the application of common sense gave him an edge.

'An as yet beardless David E Davis checks the stopwatch.

In 1965, during his first stint as editor of Car and Driver, the late David E. Davis, Jr. conspired with his associate and good friend Brock Yates to do some wonderfully crazy things to make the magazine interesting, fun, and relevant. It would be hard for us old timers to forget the hypothetical match-up they created between a Pontiac GTO and a Ferrari GTO.

Naturally the story outraged Ferrari purists and tickled mightily the Pontiac fans. But it sure sold magazines and it sure did get talked about.

One of the other big ideas that they cooked up was a showdown between what were then called “super cars.” Invitations were sent to all the makers of such vehicles. The Pontiac GTO, Olds 442, Buick Skylark GS, Chevy Chevelle SS396, Mercury Comet Cyclone GT, and Ford Fairlane GTA; all these makers decided to participate. Wiser heads at Chrysler declined and warned that the folks at C&D were opening a real can of worms; basically an all-out track war. They were prescient.

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