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-- El Dub's Nostalgia VW corner -- |
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| 1- SCHLEY bros interview page 1 | 2- SCHLEY bros interview page 2 (soon) | |
THE VERY EARLY DAYS...
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I want to say a very very big THANK YOU to Mark & Paul for taking care of answering all my questions. All pictures from Paul SCHLEY collection and from my own personal archives. - Mark, Paul, can you tell me when and why you decided to drag race a small VW beetle? How old were you and what was your occupation at the time? We chose to race the Volkswagen simply because it was the only car we owned in 1963… We were 17 and going to high-school. Our first car was a model A Ford, and we would have loved to buy a muscle car, but our mom decided otherwise… She was scared we would be getting into trouble. If only she knew what we would be doing with our small VW afterwards… Our first ever beetle was a brand new black 1963 sedan, with white shoeshine lettering on its sides. It was nicknamed the “hairless beetle”… 
A very early picture with Paul on the wheel of that black '63 'hairless beetle". Note the ultra cool EMPI bus in the background! Let’s add that the black VW will remain the brothers’ daily driver, even under this guise. Their first ever run was made on the famous Lions dragstrip on the initiative of a friend, Ron Hodgeson, with an elapsed time of 19.70 seconds and a terminal speed of 62 mph. The engine, bought at EMPI and assembled by Dean Lowry, had a displacement of 1564cc (74x83mm) and was equipped with a Shorrock supercharger and Stromberg carburettor also purchased at EMPI. 
Two brothers proudly presenting their very first racing trophies... Picture circa '65... - You then decided to buy another beetle that would become your dedicated race car, built only for drag racing under the supervision of Dean Lowry… Could you tell us more about it? How long did you race with your new purchase? We did indeed put our hands on an old 55 that we stripped to the max in order to save some weight. We raced that car until October 1969 when Mark completely destroyed it while piloting it at Bug In 3. We think one of the welds on the home-made front beam gave up (read right column for detailed pictures of the crash…). 
Stripping the old reliable red oval in front of the family house... At the beginning, the two brothers installed the supercharged engine that was residing in the ’63, and managed a best of 16.01 with it, regretting not to dip in the 15s… That engine lasted a year until it gave up the ghost and was replaced with another 1564cc (74X83mm) powerplant that received a new set of double port heads that VW just released, a pair of 48IDA Weber carbs with home-made steel intake manifolds, and the few remaining engine parts from the old engine that were still usable. This was their first full-on race engine… 
One of the very best early race car shot!!! OCIR racing... Awesome picture! For the first couple of months, they didn’t give the car a name, but after a few 14 second passes they decided to give it a name that would stick for the next few decades: Lightning Bug... - Where does the name 'Lightning Bug' came from ? Don Burns gave it this nickname. Our VW went from 'Hairless beetle' to 'Lightning Bug' simply because we thought it sounded better and was easy to remember. 
Color picture of the freshly repainted '55 with some cool trophies. Notice the yellow 'Lightning Bug' sign painted on the roof and the Don Burns sponsorship... - Do you know why Don Burns was so active on the Volkswagen Drag scene ? Don Burns offered us a one year sponsorship because he wanted to promote his dealership. At the end of the deal, Joe Vittone stepped in and offered us some financial back up. Why? Because Dean Lowry had told him he wanted to work with us, and that it would be an added value for EMPI besides the Inch Pincher car. Joe agreed and the rest was history… |
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E-mail : eldub@cal-look.com
TO THE PIONNEERS OF VW DRAG RACING
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THE SCHLEY BROS TRUCKS...I always loved race cars tow trucks... I think they are part of the fun... They were everywhere back in the days... The Schley had their own trucks : a very cool Kombi and the famous 'chicken coop' hauler.
- The Schley VW Kombi
Paul SCHLEY recalls : "Mark and I bought and transformed the VW bus in 1965 to be able to tow the Lightning Bug to the tracks and carry some spares at the same time. But it got rear ended one day while Paul was on his way to a class at Loyola University…"
Picture are very rare not surprisingly... After all, you don't use to take pictures of your work bus... But I managed to find two cool ones...
Quite probably the best picture of the bus. Note the Lightning Bug logo'ed doors, the Cragar rims and the useful roofrack.
Race cars waiting in lines... The VW bus is just behind an early Lightning Bug...
- The Schley "Chicken Coop"
The Schley also later used an old Chevrolet carrier better known as the 'Chicken Coop' to haul the top chopped Lightning Bug.
Very very nice side view of the complete hauler and drag racer! For sure, the SCHLEY traveled in style with such a combination of camper and race car carrier...
Lightning Bug team (Mark, Paul and Bill HARMON) striking a pose by the carrier for a Drag Racing USA photoshoot... Picture is a thumbnail.
Here is a picture of the mobile apartment being built behind the Chevrolet truck...
The truck was also used for the famous Stutt Bee Gasser when Paul raced it.
The SCHLEY "chicken coop" was eventually used at event to help see the racing action... Just like in this shot from the Last Race at Lions dragstrip in 1972...
Engine wrenching...