John Fudge – 1960 Balchowsky Ol’ Yaller IX
1963 Ol’ Yaller Mark IX Sports Racer, the ninth and last of the Old Yeller race cars.
401ci ‘Nailhead’ Buick V8 Engine
4 Twin-Choke Weber Carburetors
310bhp at 4,200rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Coil Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Hydraulic Front Disc – Rear Drum Brakes
Max Balchowsky (January 15, 1924 – August 30, 1998)… was a prominent 1950s and 1960s American race car builder and driver, and was involved in the film industry as a stuntman and an automotive mechanic. He is remembered for his crude but spectator-popular underdog Old Yeller Specials that competed against many of Europe’s most exotic and expensive sports cars. From 1955 to 1960 Balchowsky raced his famed Old Yeller/Ol’ Yaller cars with much success. He won two 1957 SCCA National Sports Car Championship races out of fifteen in his group. When Balchowsky wasn’t driving his cars, some of the best drivers of the day took the helm, including, Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby, Bob Bondurant, Billy Krause, Bob Drake, Paul O’Shea, and Ronnie Bucknum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Balchowsky
Old Yeller and Ol’ Yaller Race Cars:
Balchowsky designed and built nine Old Yeller/Ol’ Yaller cars. His first two were named Old Yeller after the dog in Disney’s 1957 film who was yellow, mangy and unwanted. Disney didn’t like that so Balchowsky changed the spelling of his cars to “Ol’ Yaller.” The first two were crudely built and parts were sourced from junkyards but they proved very competitive with the high torque Buick V8 nailhead engine.[13] Cinematographer Haskell Wexler financed/sponsored many of the cars. He remarked that, “I never kept track of which Old Yellers were really mine or not. I paid for the right to be the owner and to be around Max and to be around the cars and to drive the car on the streets.”
Ol’ Yaller Mark IX … was built in 1963, it’s powered by a 310 bhp Buick “Nailhead” V8 capable of sending the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds due to the cars feather-like kerb weight. Interestingly the car was driven Elvis Presley (towed on a trailer, but made to look like it was driving) in the film Viva Las Vegas and it made an appearance in the Herbie film The Love Bug in 1968. It was sponsored by Haskell Wexler and raced by Ronnie Bucknum. Engine later changed to a Ford 427. Ol’ Yallers III and IX are part of the Petersen Automotive Museum collection in Los Angeles, California.
https://silodrome.com/ol-yaller-mark-ix/
Value: At the Audrain Concours Auction at the Newport, Rhode Island, International Tennis Hall of Fame in October 2021, Ol’ Yaller IX changed hands for $162,400 (https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/27295/lot/32/1963-ol-yaller-mark-ix-sports-racer/)
Driver of Ol’ Yaller Mark IX in the 2024 RMMR at Laguna Seca in August is John M. ” Chip” Fudge. He is a dedicated gearhead and avid collector of interesting cars and motorcycles including 56 lister Maserati, 57 ferrari 250 gt, 70 lambo Miura, 66 and 03 aston martin, 57 XK 140, 61 austen healy 65 gt 350 mustang (clone) 65 chevelle, 65 maserati Sebring and a few others. He competes in Vintage Race Road courses, La carrera Panamericana, Chihuahua Express and others. He belongs to the SCCA, CVAR, HMSA, Aston Martin Owners club, Maserati Owners club, Ferrari owners club
The Del Monte Trophy Race Group welcomes Chip and Ol’ Yaller IX to our race in the Cunningham Race Group at the 2024 Rolex Monterey Historic Reunion at Laguna Seca, California, 14-17 August.
Tam MacPartland, photographer and race car devotee and expert, wrote this on seeing this piece referred to on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MontereySportsCarRoadRacers/
“OY IX debuted at the 1963 Times GP at Riverside powered by a 427 Ford. I saw that engine blow spectacularly entering Turn 7 during practice/qualifying. I don’t think Max ever ran the car again with Ford power. He returned to his faithful Buicks. I thought Bill Krause was driving when the 427 blew, but the entry list says Ronnie Bucknum.”
https://www.racingsportscars.com/results/qualifying/Riverside-1963-10-13.html