Stahl Headers

[Geerhead55]

Originally Posted by BadBanana

OMG DOES THIS BRING BACK MEMORIES !!! Previously (1964) Jere had a 56 Chevy in E/S, also out of Cordia Chevrolet, when I was driving the original "Bad Banana" '57 283 fuel injected 9 pass wagon in F/S, owned by Ted hartman. We went to East Haddem CT to set the Nat. record; and Jere converted his 56 to F/S to also get the record. We did get the record, and also beat Jere in Eliminations. Ralph Truppi and Tom Kling of Truppi and Kling fame were, also there in their 58 348" F/S and after seeing the Bad Banana, they sold that car and built the '57 wagon "Terrible Tangerine" car.
I'm glad to hear that Jere is still around and kicking. I would love to know how to reach him. Please let me know on my e-address colbertdave13@gmail.com

First picture I've seen of him with a cigarette while racing,,, think that short fella from Malvern, Penn used to smoke a little too. The only one I can remember famous for that habit was Landy and his cigars,,, you guys remember any others??
Danny Durham

[BadBanana]

Sorry, I can't do it. I hardly remember it. It seems I drove it one day for some guy; and yes it was at Dunkirk. Can't remember much about it. Where, in Gods name, did you get this picture ??????????
I think I was about 18 years old !!!!!!!

[BadBanana]

Yeah, the "Grump" and Landy both smoked cigars - I do think I remember Jere with a cig. Not sure I ever saw Landy's cigar lit !!

I remember Jere saying to me at St. Pie, Quebec, when they used to have a National event there, and he was trying his hand at Pro Stock, how bad it was to be on the road. He said:

"Traveling sucks, you can't eat right, you can't ***** right and you can't F**k right - and what else is there !!!"

[Geerhead55]

Originally Posted by BadBanana

Yeah, the "Grump" and Landy both smoked cigars - I do think I remember Jere with a cig. Not sure I ever saw Landy's cigar lit !!

I remember Jere saying to me at St. Pie, Quebec, when they used to have a National event there, and he was trying his hand at Pro Stock, how bad it was to be on the road. He said:

"Traveling sucks, you can't eat right, you can't ***** right and you can't F**k right - and what else is there !!!"

Now theres some words to live by,,,, come to think about it, he nailed it when it comes to traveling. I am a little jealous however, by some of the travels taken by our modern "Western Swingers,,Southwestern Swingers and Eastern Swingers" like Larry and Patsy, Jack, and the others on here.
Danny Durham

[Hemi Moose]

I forgot about these Stahl tires...

[BadBanana]

Did you guys know that is where Moroso and Duffy had gotten their starts, working for Jere, and I heard living over a garage (not sure if that part is true)?

[BadBanana]

Hey H-Moose. I found, in another of your posts, the Jere Stahl G/S that I was talking about at CT Dragway running F/S, when we set the record with the B- Banana. It is in your post about old stockers in your bit about "Junior stockers"

[Hemi Moose]

Hey Dave, maybe post a few comments in that thread about the old 'junior stock days' and who had what just to get that topic rolling... Anyway here's another shot of the Jere Stahl '66 426 Hemi Belvedere prepared by Bill Stiles of 'Stiles Performance'.

[treessavoy]

OK, what's the story, is Stahl still maling headers or just kits?

JimR

PS, last I looked Jere's Hemi car was in Floyd Garret's Muscle Car Museum in TN>

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

OK, what's the story, is Stahl still maling headers or just kits?

JimR

PS, last I looked Jere's Hemi car was in Floyd Garret's Muscle Car Museum in TN>

I thought I saw a notice posted by Jere that he was no longer selling completed headers but was selling the parts that would need to be welded.

For those who never dealt with Stahl, rest assured that you didn't just call him up and order some headers for your car. He would insist on massive information including head specs, camshaft events, and almost every facet of your set up. Only then would he build a set of headers and they would be specific to your car, engine, and program.

I had the occasion to work with Jere some years back on a Pro Stock R&D project. There isn't enough bandwidth on the internet to properly explain the guy.

We would have hour long conversations where I struggled to keep up with his thoughts. It was almost like listening to a foreign language in that you'd grasp a bit here and there and try to put it all together. He uses a lot of science and physics to approach any problem and doesn't settle for "conventional wisdom".

I don't think he gets the credit due for being a true pioneer of the sport. He invented so many things we take for granted. At that time, in that area, we had some genuises at play. Think of Stahl, Jenkins, Moroso, Stiles - the list goes on.

If I'm not mistaken Jere was the first to use low pressure in the rear tires, adjustable collectors, bead screws, and was involved in the development of slapper bars. His refusal to accept "good enough" led to his legendary front tires and cable-driven tach among other items.

He was in a quest to qualify dynos, being tired of finding results that didn't reflect better performance on the track. He alone was responsible for a major step forward in getting repeatable and valid numbers. His emphasis on accurate measurement got him looking into data acquisition and he was one of the few who understood my insistence on much higher sampling rates than was available at that time.

As an example of his attention to detail, while working with dirt car engines he actually modified his dyno so that the engine could tilt to mimic the car going through a turn.

He's an unusual person to say the least, but he's one of a handful of people that really influenced my thinking and methods.