What happend to Herman Chapman - Page 2

Don Kennedy · 12-04-2010, 04:45 PM

I have a couple more stories one year we were at the winters and we all stayed at the Uplander in Upland, Ca I think it was during the late 70's and Herman wanted to pull his motor out of his race car and none of us had a hoist so Herman saw a truck from the telephone company with one of those tall hoist so he went over and had them back up the truck with the hoist to take the engine and out and put it back in .
The other story was Herman's station wagon that qualified number one with at that time nine inch slicks as he wanted to make a point about tires then he even decided to see if the car would go quicker on 7 inch tires which is did but according to him a little scary on the top end . lol by the way old timer Jerry I resemble your remarks lol

bill dedman · 12-05-2010, 01:40 AM

Dennis Maurer was formidible, too...

John Kelley · 12-05-2010, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill dedman

Dennis Maurer was formidible, too...

SO ???
He wasn't the character that Herman was !!

bobbyd6 · 12-05-2010, 01:52 AM

Yep, I knew Wayne Colton, even been to his garage in Winnepeg!! Wayne & Ritch Ahrens were friends so I knew him that way too. I did hear awhile back that Wayne still has the ragtop

bobbyd6 · 12-05-2010, 02:03 AM

Don I remember staying at the Uplander in '76 & while I was swimming I believe Lindsay Wagner came through the parking lot in a limo & had to get out to shut the door on one of our tow vehicles & Of course I missed it!!

Gary Smith · 12-05-2010, 10:13 AM

Anyone remember the wagon he ran at Pomona '79? All I remember was a green '68 or '69 Malibu wagon that looked "thrown together" with small tires running SS/NA and kicking serious class ***!!! Didn't know it was Chapman until the announcer mentioned it.

Alan Nyhus · 12-05-2010, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Smith

Anyone remember the wagon he ran at Pomona '79? All I remember was a green '68 or '69 Malibu wagon that looked "thrown together" with small tires running SS/NA and kicking serious class ***!!! Didn't know it was Chapman until the announcer mentioned it.

Gary, that was a '71 or '72 with the low h.p. 402 motor.

It's been a few years now, but if I remember correctly..... the motor was rated at 300 hp in the '71 and 240 hp in the '72. It was the same combo that Buck Kinney ran in his Chevelle convertible. Herman also did his motors. -Al

Chuck Beuthel · 12-10-2010, 06:42 PM

In 1973 I bought my first real race car, a Super Stock Nova. My quest for more performance, quickly lead me to local legend Herman Chapman. I had watched his 69 Chevelle, 65 Chevy II and 67 Chevy II wagon run and they were all fast, even though they looked less trick than most street cars. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about building engines and racing. If I just got one of Herman’s secret Lunati cams and a set of his trick rings, I knew my car would run like his. Of course it didn’t. He showed me I didn’t know everything as only Herman could. His no nonsense, work hard, don’t spend money on trick parts that don’t work attitude, was a perfect match for a young racer with little money, but a lot of enthusiasm. Herman would always make sure I had the parts and machine work I needed to make the next race. He taught me a lot about engines, racing and hard work. In the days before incremental times and data loggers, he was a master at watching a race car and knowing what it needed to run faster. With Herman’s help my car got faster and faster. We became friends and did a lot together. I could write pages of stories about Herman. Unfortunately a story that started about 1995 stands out most. Herman gave me and about twenty of his other friends and customers the opportunity to invest in an invention of his. It sounded great. It was going to revolutionize the camshaft-valvetrain industry. We would all soon make a LOT of money. I gave him my money and waited. I haven’t heard from him since about 1998. I think only one person made money on that deal.

OLD INJUN · 12-12-2010, 11:58 AM

Aaah haa and how many of you guys will fess up to giving him money ? I would say beach in florida not cabin in colorado mts. Hey ldfjr how much did you put in on his retirement fund? Also was there a check post marked wahoo ?

Eddie Rezac · 12-12-2010, 06:09 PM

[QUOTE=OLD INJUN;227351]Aaah haa and how many of you guys will fess up to giving him money ? I would say beach in florida not cabin in colorado mts. Hey ldfjr how much did you put in on his retirement fund? Also was there a check post marked wahoo ?
Don,
This is the first that I have ever heard of this! I invested my money made from our drag racing days into education, and it paid off. We now have a high school coach-educator, an engineer, a writer-politician, and a business-woman. One of them even has a drag car.

12-04-2010, 04:45 PM	#1
Don Kennedy VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Portland TN Posts: 1,590 Likes: 3,876 Liked 904 Times in 237 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman I have a couple more stories one year we were at the winters and we all stayed at the Uplander in Upland, Ca I think it was during the late 70's and Herman wanted to pull his motor out of his race car and none of us had a hoist so Herman saw a truck from the telephone company with one of those tall hoist so he went over and had them back up the truck with the hoist to take the engine and out and put it back in . The other story was Herman's station wagon that qualified number one with at that time nine inch slicks as he wanted to make a point about tires then he even decided to see if the car would go quicker on 7 inch tires which is did but according to him a little scary on the top end . lol by the way old timer Jerry I resemble your remarks lol __________________ Don Kennedy 7701 SS

12-05-2010, 01:40 AM	#2
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman Dennis Maurer was formidible, too... __________________ Bill

12-05-2010, 01:52 AM	#4
bobbyd6 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cozad, Nebraska Posts: 316 Likes: 365 Liked 96 Times in 37 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman Yep, I knew Wayne Colton, even been to his garage in Winnepeg!! Wayne & Ritch Ahrens were friends so I knew him that way too. I did hear awhile back that Wayne still has the ragtop __________________ Bobby Devine

12-05-2010, 02:03 AM	#5
bobbyd6 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cozad, Nebraska Posts: 316 Likes: 365 Liked 96 Times in 37 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman Don I remember staying at the Uplander in '76 & while I was swimming I believe Lindsay Wagner came through the parking lot in a limo & had to get out to shut the door on one of our tow vehicles & Of course I missed it!! __________________ Bobby Devine

12-05-2010, 10:13 AM	#6
Gary Smith Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 820 Likes: 9 Liked 132 Times in 30 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman Anyone remember the wagon he ran at Pomona '79? All I remember was a green '68 or '69 Malibu wagon that looked "thrown together" with small tires running SS/NA and kicking serious class ***!!! Didn't know it was Chapman until the announcer mentioned it. __________________ Gary Smith "another broke racer spectating"

12-10-2010, 06:42 PM	#8
Chuck Beuthel Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 22 Likes: 44 Liked 9 Times in 3 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman In 1973 I bought my first real race car, a Super Stock Nova. My quest for more performance, quickly lead me to local legend Herman Chapman. I had watched his 69 Chevelle, 65 Chevy II and 67 Chevy II wagon run and they were all fast, even though they looked less trick than most street cars. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about building engines and racing. If I just got one of Herman’s secret Lunati cams and a set of his trick rings, I knew my car would run like his. Of course it didn’t. He showed me I didn’t know everything as only Herman could. His no nonsense, work hard, don’t spend money on trick parts that don’t work attitude, was a perfect match for a young racer with little money, but a lot of enthusiasm. Herman would always make sure I had the parts and machine work I needed to make the next race. He taught me a lot about engines, racing and hard work. In the days before incremental times and data loggers, he was a master at watching a race car and knowing what it needed to run faster. With Herman’s help my car got faster and faster. We became friends and did a lot together. I could write pages of stories about Herman. Unfortunately a story that started about 1995 stands out most. Herman gave me and about twenty of his other friends and customers the opportunity to invest in an invention of his. It sounded great. It was going to revolutionize the camshaft-valvetrain industry. We would all soon make a LOT of money. I gave him my money and waited. I haven’t heard from him since about 1998. I think only one person made money on that deal. __________________ Chuck Beuthel

12-12-2010, 11:58 AM	#9
OLD INJUN Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 160 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman Aaah haa and how many of you guys will fess up to giving him money ? I would say beach in florida not cabin in colorado mts. Hey ldfjr how much did you put in on his retirement fund? Also was there a check post marked wahoo ?

12-12-2010, 06:09 PM	#10
Eddie Rezac Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 155 Likes: 11 Liked 63 Times in 7 Posts	Re: What happend to Herman Chapman [QUOTE=OLD INJUN;227351]Aaah haa and how many of you guys will fess up to giving him money ? I would say beach in florida not cabin in colorado mts. Hey ldfjr how much did you put in on his retirement fund? Also was there a check post marked wahoo ? Don, This is the first that I have ever heard of this! I invested my money made from our drag racing days into education, and it paid off. We now have a high school coach-educator, an engineer, a writer-politician, and a business-woman. One of them even has a drag car.

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