Here's mine from SDAC 18, I'll see if I have any of 7 & 8
Heres a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TonRfkgC0NA
Here's mine from SDAC 18, I'll see if I have any of 7 & 8
Heres a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TonRfkgC0NA
Last edited by bradp; 12-26-2009 at 09:09 PM.
Brad Pennington-Proud SDAC Member 1987 Dodge Shelby Charger 1988 Chrysler Lebaron Premium Turbo Convertible 1990 Dodge Shadow VNT Competition 1 of 30
I was shocked to learn this. Bill was one of my roommates at SDAC-19. He was a great guy and just from following him around all weekend I had learned a lot from him. In the end he gave me some Original OEM decals, "lancer" mud flaps, and a radio to replace the one that didn't work in my SL. He was a great guy. My other roommate broke his Spirit R/T and Bill worked with him as long as it took to get the job done. Here is the pic...
There is Bill crouched down behind the tool box, "supervising".
He will be missed..
Shelby Lancer # 149... R.I.P.
Bill & I drove down together to Cinci for SDAC-19. We got to the motel without incident, but when I got my truck around to the parking area, I couldn't get it to go into Park. The lot there was not level and I turned the truck off without thinking. But then I had to sit there with my foot on the brake to keep it from rolling backwards (parking brake rusted up years ago). Without the engine running I lost vacuum and it took pretty good pedal pressure to keep it from rolling.
Bill was still checking in but I knew he would be by there in a few minutes. So I sat there holding the truck in place. When he drove around I told him what happened and asked if he had anything in his truck to block the wheels. He had a chunk of 4x4 that he put behind the rear tire.
We popped the hood and he saw the problem immediately. A shield on my exhaust slid down and the trans linkage was hitting it, keeping it from moving far enough to go into Park.
We let it cool for a bit and he got a blanket to lay on and a big screwdriver to pry with and in less than 5 minutes he had the pesky shield off and the gear shift lever moved like new. That was so typical of Bill, absolutely eager to help!
Barry
86 Shelby Lancer Prototype
90 Daytona Shelby VNT
91 Spirit R/T
For your questions about SDAC, please contact BadAssPerformance
Just wanted to post an idea I thought about today...
Seeing that Bill helped so many individuals at these SDAC events over the years and was very spirited in his sharing of knowledge and stories, perhaps an OFFICIAL Spirit award can be created in his name to serve as a reminder of how often he provided a lending hand without hesitation and lightened the mood with his character. In this way, he will still live on at our SDAC events. I think it would be a nice honor/commemoration of his dedication to the hobby/people within it.
I don't know if it'd be in the cards or not, but just a thought...
PM sent Billy.Originally Posted by DC Turismo
Barry
86 Shelby Lancer Prototype
90 Daytona Shelby VNT
91 Spirit R/T
For your questions about SDAC, please contact BadAssPerformance
good idea!!
RIP bill! enjoy your stay in shelby heaven
That's a great idea Billy.
Barry let me know if there is something i can do to help with setting something up if needed.
Chris
-Chris H
1989 Shelby CSX-VNT #91 E85 Powered
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
Shelby Dodge Auto Club National Member
SDAC Great Lakes Chapter & SDAC Ontario Chapter Member
A great loss to the TD Community. When I first met him back at the Big Boy meetings on Woodward, I'll never forget the "Intercooled" turbo New Yorker he was driving. It was probably the only Intercooled New Yorker in the mid 90's. His enthusiasm was contagious and his help through the years goes without saying. My thoughts and prayers go out to Bill and his family.
Dan B
Just an update, the fund we ran for donations to Bill's family is now closed. I went to the viewing at the funeral home yesterday at which we received a few more donations to the fund, and then the last one via paypal came in about 10pm last night. We raised $960 for Bill's family.
There was a good turnout of folks for the viewing yesterday, but bad weather and car troubles prevented me from attending the funeral today (about an 80 mile round trip).
Barry
86 Shelby Lancer Prototype
90 Daytona Shelby VNT
91 Spirit R/T
For your questions about SDAC, please contact BadAssPerformance
wow, never met him, but it always sucks to see that someone has passed away. RIP Bill.
I was away for a few days and then this site was down...I just saw this thread.
This is a shock and so sad. He was a strange guy, and a great guy! Was always
good to talk with him. He will be missed a lot.
Johnny
Great stuff for great cars! Poly engine mounts and bushings at: http://www.polybushings.com
2nd that
2nd that
Bill and I always had a great relationship. He liked to hear about my drag racing stories and I always liked to listen to his road racing stories. Years and years ago he handed me an oil pan baffle kit that he had made for me. Just out of the blue. That really caught me off guard and we became great friends. Then about 5 years ago or so he told me that he needed to find me a better steering wheel, as mine was all weathered. Sure enough, at either the very next SDAC event, or the next Mopar Nats, he handed me a red L-body steering wheel that was like brand new!
At SDAC 18, I busted an axle on my first pass at Milan. We busted (3) 1/2" breaker bars trying to get the axle nut loose. Bill came thru, saw us struggling, knew we were running short on time as Quick 8 qualifying was already on there 2nd round, and ran over to his truck and got a air impact. Then he helped us limp the car over to the track air, rig up the impact, and finally get the axle nut loose.
At SDAC 19 this year, Bill told me he was looking for set of 4 lug wheels for a van project he was working on. I was looking at a turbo G-head he had. We dug the 4-lug swiss cheese wheels I was hording out of our barn and I swapped them to Bill for the g-head.
At Mopar Nats this year, I stripped the teeth off my oil pump and intermediate shaft during a burnout in qualifying. Bill already knew what engines were where in the swap meet and helped us go pick one out after haggling the price down. We took it back to the pits, stripped it down, took out the needed intermediate shaft, put in another pump, and got my car back on the track. I gave the rest of the engine to Bill for his generosity!
I really loved Bill and will miss him dearly.
Same here....
James Reeves - Reeves Racing
World's Fastest 8 Valve - 146.88 mph
86 GLH-T 9.99 at 143.78 mph
86 GLHS #169 Mom's - complete Super 60 car
87 Shelby Z 14.16 Dad's - mostly stock, no sh*t!
88 Shelby Z 13.5 - been in storage for 15 years
03 SRT-4 12.24 Mom's
07 Charger 5.7L 12.48 Dad's
I havent been on in a few days, and just read this.. I am soo sorry to hear of the news. Greg and I got to meet Bill out at SDAC 19 this year and bought a few parts off of him.. he was a unique guy, but was very friendly and nice to deal with. He will definitely be missed. Thoughts and prayers extended to the family during this difficult time.
I've been offline for a few days but got a call from JT on Christmas eve with the news of Bill's passing. Sad news indeed and I my condolences go out to his family and friends.
SDAC-20 is going to feel a bit off without Bill there, seems like he was always the first person I ran into whenever showing up at SDAC. Putting a car up on jacks in the parking lot was like the "Bill Signal"; guaranteed that he'd be over in short order to make sure you had the appropriate tool/part to get back on the road. He always had a story for you, whether you had the time to hear it or not.
Bill is one of the few guys who probably has more parts than I do, and it was always a personal goal of mine to find the better deal in the Mopar Nats swap meet before Bill could get to it. I was never successful in that, and inevitably I would end up picking through the stuff Bill didn't want along with everyone else. I'm going to miss the friendly competition.
Barry, I have a few ideas for SDAC-20 in honor of Bill and will talk to you later about them.
Dave Tekampe
Director SDAC National
VP SDAC-Chicago
85 GLH-Turbo (DC intercooled)
86 GLHS #107
87 GLHS #148
87 CSX #161, #608, #674
88 CSX-T #529, #541
89 Shadow Competition Package and lots more...
Barry and All,
I read this original notice, read all the well wishes and remembrances of Bill and just thought to myself how everyone is right on about Bill. I recall helping out Steve Calder working on Nick K.'s car, I think in Chicago? Bill just jumped right in and practically took over. Bill always asked me how Sledgehammer was running, even when it wasn't running well. He wanted the common block 2.0 crank I bought in a bad way! Dave T. is right about the stories Bill always had. You were going to hear them whether or not you had time! You made time for Bill, you knew the story would be a humorous one in the end. So my message is to God, if you get tired of Bill's stories, send him back, we need guys like that here. R.I.P. & Godspeed Bill.
Steve Menegon
1989 T2 GTC (Sledgehammer)
11.872@120.21
1987 Shelby Lancer #574 - 13.79@104.65
2005 SRT4 ACR (Mamba) 12.612@110.96 (Now Junk)
2016 200S (The Silver Billet) 14.70@92.7
Bill will be missed by many. Always willing to help anybody, answer questions, give advice, or even get under your car and get dirty. And boy could he come up with the parts if you needed something. When Reeves broke his oil pump shaft last year Bill was there with one at the Mopar Nats. When Clark broke his shaft on his Spirit RT, Bill was there again helping him at SDAC.
I am happy I got to know Bill. He made you laugh and enjoy life. At the last SDAC I offered him a room on the last night of SDAC. He will be missed.
Bill, will see ya at the big swap meet in heaven !!
Jim
I couldn't put a face to the name at first, but once I did, wow... Definitely a positive presence, talked with him at '19 and GL meets previously. RIP and thoughts to his family.
RIP. I am so glad I met him at Topeka. So sad,
1989 FWD Turbo Caravan-2.5 TIII, GT35R, auto, a/c, cruise, pwr windows/locks, fully loaded with interior and ran with full exhaust. RETIRED FOR A FEW YEARS!
1984 Chev Getaway van, 6.2 Diesel with a remote mounted turbo setup burning WMO-For sale.
2003 GSW 2.0L TDI, auto, fully loaded, modified, 360K-wife's.
2004 GSW TDI, 5 speed, fully loaded, modified.
Aurora ignition wires for sale. Link to info
Super60 roller cams or custom/billet cams. Link to info
Oh Oh Oooh! Here's a few pics of Bill at Topeka. Sorry for the crappy camera!
JT
SDAC Director
SDAC-Chicago President
JOIN SDAC and your local Chapter TODAY! - SUPPORT the CLUB that supports YOUR HOBBY!
87 Shelby Z - 10.50@141.66mph
87 CSX #751 Clone - 12.88@102.88mph
www.badassperformance.com
Check out Turbo-Mopar Times!
Submit your 1/4 mile times HERE!!
Support SDAC! Join Today!
"I'm not some pro athlete with a bajillion dollars, I'm just an every man"
Note: The information and any images provided in this post are not for distribution outside this forum without the author's permission.
Yup - definitely a huge loss to this community.
Here's my last good memory of Bill:
At SDAC this year, I got an early call from Bill Baker in a panic. He told me that he locked the doors on his rampage before he went to bed, and now both door locks seemed to have stopped working and he couldn't get into the car. I went down to the parking lot and sure enough, you turned the key in the lock and nothing happened (both doors!). We spent about an hour trying to use antennas, coat hangers, anything we could find to try to slide in the window and unlock the doors. Then Bill G. comes over and with his usual smile and asks, "What's the problem?". Baker tells him the problem and then shows him how when you turn the key in the door lock, nothing happens. Well, Bill G. grabs the key, sticks it into the drivers side lock and turns it, and bingo - the lock turns and the door is unlocked! Then he proceeds to turn the key the other way and the door locks. We all freak out and go "whoah, whoah...don't lock it - what if it doesn't unlock!" With his usual Bill smile, he turns the key again and unlocks the door. Then he walks over to the passenger door and unlocks that side with the key too!!! Baker, myself and several other people tried and tried to lock/unlock the door with the key after that, and not one of us could do it.
To this day I'm not sure how the heck he did it, but I have to say that really left an impression on me about how talented Bill could be when it came to cars.
RIP Bill - your talent, willingness to help and endless stories will be missed.
Jon
Reply With Quote
