05.24.03_659_BOH_UNK_0060

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Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
05/25/03	Russ Dodge	Joe, Bob Farlee photo, Langhorne Speedway, I believe 1965. Research should tell because of the number style only used briefly. Russ
05/25/03	3 Wide	I'm not sure what track this is from. The backstretch kind of reminds me of Trenton. I know Langhorne had the pits just off the inside apron across from the grandstand, but I don't know if you could see across the track there as you can here from such a low vantage point. My dad used to take us there and we would always park our pick up truck off the inside of what I think was turn 1. We had a scaffold set up in the back so that we could see the action from up high, but I never had this view of the action..
05/25/03	Greg	Its hard not to spot Dick Owen’s #16 car and Ford cab-over hauler. The person standing on the truck is Duke Washington. He was one of his first crewmen on his novice car in 1960 .
05/25/03	Jim Murrow	The things everybody remembers about this car were the sound, and the "belching" flames. In the late 50s, this car was a regular competitor at Alcyon. The driver, (most of that time), was Sal Moschella. The "Jimmy" 6 cylinder certainly had a distinctive sound. It would whine with a very loud, and throaty, "shake the bleachers" kind of sound, going higher and higher in pitch all the way down each straight - Then, when the driver backed off for the corner, it would whine down, just as loudly, getting lower and lower in pitch, until a tremendously loud POOOOMPH would signal the sudden blast of flames that would belch out of the 8 inch "Stovepipe" looking exhaust exit, located in the top of the deck lid. You always knew where the car was, even if you were looking at the other end of the speedway. I only remember it winning the feature once, against the fuel injected overhead V8 Modifieds at Alcyon. That night, the throttle stuck wide open, and Sal had to kill the ignition going into each corner, and switch it back on coming out. Maybe they should have rigged it that way permanently!
05/26/03	Walter Onora	I especially remember this coupe with Parker Bohn at Old Bridge Speedway. Being from Staten Island, we would make the Sunday afternoon shows at Old Bridge (combo shows with the ARDC midgets) The distinctive sound of the "659" screaming down the back stretch and the front straight, nothing like it!!
05/29/03	Jim Murrow	Well, I guess the mystery about which track thisis has been solved. If we look at the Langhorne 65 photo on this page, we can see the stone wall, the guardrail,(painted red on the infield side), the red guardrail posts, and the pattern of the white lines under the guardrail all match, so....It has to be Langhorne.
06/04/03	Tom Eppolite	Standing to the right behind the car is Ken Wismer & Ken Wismer Jr.
03/04/04	Jerry	Even thought I didnt start going to the races until 73, I still remember the boom and flame when Parker would go in and then come outta the turns!
11/17/04	Charlie Santilli Jr.	The #659 was derived from a Fan belt number not an alternator belt number. Back in those days, alternators were a "no-no" for Tom Skinner because he said they "robbed" horsepower. In that car, there were two 6-volt batteries under the seat. That produced the necessary power for the racing events. Not everyone realizes that Tom Skinner was "ahead" of his time with the suspension components that were beneath all of his coupes. The 6 cylinder GMC truely produced the power, however the real advantage was in the cornering speed the coupes were able to maintain, which obviously gave the car more straightaway speed. Charlie Santilli Jr. - long time Crew member #659
11/20/04	3-Wide	Thanks for the comments Charlie. I had heard the same thing from Parker as far as great cornering speeds on the #659. Here it is over 30 years later and we're all still talking about that 6cyl engine. Maybe we should have took a look underneath too, but usually guys who are good with motors are good with motors... guys who are good with chassis set ups are good with chassis set ups. Like you said, Tom Skinner is a unique individual and clearly was ahead of his time and I'm sure if he wanted to, could still be teaching all of us a thing or two... or three...
10/09/05	Dwight Clock	This is one of my favorite race cars, period. In a late 60's race at Islip Speedway, Parker had endured a lot of bumping from the late Charlie Jarzombek. Going in to turn three Parker positioned the car so that the ever present flame went shooting right into the cockpit of the low slung Jarzombek modified. Suddenly, there was a two car length gap between the cars that remained until the end of the race!

Photo ID #	05.24.03_659_BOH_UNK_0060_1
Car #:	#659
Driver (s) :	Parker Bohn
Location:	Langhorne, PA
Date:	1965 (Thanks Russ)
Photographer:	Bob Farlee (Thanks Russ)
Photo provided by:	Tom Eppolite
Comments:	I remember the #659 when it ran at Wall Stadium. My dad told me that he ran a 6 cyl GMC which gave the car a unique sound. I was also told that the reason for the # is that was the part # of an the ~~alternator~~ belt! (See note below)