If you're curious the first G&R Maverick was the blue one. Basically a street car...tubbed, etc. The second, the red one, was built from the ground up to be a Pro Stock vehicle.
OK, so I read this whole thread... Thought I would address a few questions and comments. FYI Love the site..great to see the passion for these vehicles, for the folks who ran them. Fans make the sport. Also...Great pics! I'm in one of them. The pic of the blue 'Shotgun Express' is the first I have seen in that paint job. The paint job reminds me a bit of the Super Stock Mustang they fielded. So.... 1. My name is Jeff Gapp. Wayne Gapp is my father. 2. My father does have his charter boat captains license, spends the winters in Florida and loves it down there. 3. He did NOT sell out to Jack Roush. After he left racing he ran his own successful business till '88 and then retired. 4. Regarding Brent Hajek's Pinto. Keep a couple of things to keep in mind. The 1973 Pinto was the vehicle that won the World Finals and therefore the '73 NHRA Champion. The 1974 cars did not win NHRA but IHRA. When I review images of the vehicle that Mr. Hajek possesses I can spot a variety of details that are clearly incorrect for that vehicle. I cannot state categorically that the vehicle he possesses is NOT one of the G&R Pinto's. I can state that the details are incorrect for the time period. 5. Regarding the 4-door Maverick. I know quite a bit about the history of that vehicle and can tell you that any claims to a restored 'Taxi' are, at best, a stretch of imagination. As a poster earlier stated, the vehicle was completely destroyed in pit accident. If you would like to see a picture of the 4-door Maverick that Mr. Roush has...go here: http://www.gapponline.net/?p=499 The above are pictures that I took in the late summer 2009 at the Roush museum. Note the fiberglass front, new chassis, ford maverick brougham 4 door body. Clearly...not the same car. Note that the 4-door Maverick was a sheet metal 70 Maverick from the headlights to the A-pillar and a 71 4-door Maverick from the A-Pillar back. The sheet metal was acid dipped and then foam supported. If he wants to recreate the vehicle...more power to him...it's just not the original. Please feel free to comment and I'll answer as best I can. Thanks again for all the great posts. -Jeff
Welcome Jeff!! great to have you here, we would love to hear and see anything you know about the prostock mavericks and comets, they were the reason I started liking mavericks and comets back in the 70's!
It's funny to see the taxi in your pic, Jeff. The brown four door that was used in that project, built by Holzman Race Cars, was sitting for sale on my way to work in someone's yard. I saw most of the build up at Holzman's. It's neat to see it in your photo.
Back again... A couple of questions: Good question. It very well could have been. The lowered stance, the aluminum behind the grill and bumper attempt to give the car more of wedge shape. Makes me wonder about the angle of the aluminum behind the grill... Then again, it could have been an effort to make the vehicle look 'current' with the time. Generally the answer that I get to these questions is 'We were trying to win races and make a buck...I don't remember why we did that.' See here: Keep the questions coming if you have them. I've been working my Dad to write up his history in racing. We'll see how far we get as he's not the kind of guy that looks back much. No, not at this time. When I was a kid we built a early 80's Mustang with parts that were laying around in the shop. A friend of mine knows some guys at Ford Racing that had a car entered into the 24 Hours of Lemons (http://www.24HoursOfLemons.com) at Nelson Ledges. I'm going to run the Gingerman race (South Haven, MI) assuming I get an entry. That will be my first foray into any form of racing. I've got a couple of sponsors. Should be fun...assuming we don't blow up on the first lap! I'm going to see if my Dad wants show up. We'll see. Thanks for the info about Holzman Racing!
Gapsster! thanks for the info. i dont know much about the Taxi but at my grandparents welding shop theres an old poster with the Taxi on it.
I have 1 of those. True story. Back in the 1980's we had a stack of them...about a foot high...in the shop...sitting under a lathe...to catch cutting oil. Ahh...hindsight.
Man what a great topic,or conversation, this is one of the neatest threads I've read in a while. If you could get your Dad to talk, what a story he could tell. I'd buy it!! Nice of you to share your memories, keep em coming Bossed
