Beautiful car for a great guy, hope to make it by.
Beautiful car for a great guy, hope to make it by.
69 Bahama T
S Reg# 2753
Roger has been blessed with great car friends all his life.
From his VW days...
http://www.dkpcarclub.com/dkphistory.html
an extract from "California Look VW" by Keith Seume
Grago's Karmann Ghia suffered its fair share of damage, mechanical and body. No less than thirteen engines were built for the car throughout its life as hard driving took its toll. However, it was at Bug-In 18 that fate took a hand and saw the car destroyed in a monumental accident which is described in detail in the earlier chapter on the Bug-In events. This lead to a show of club solidarity which remains unparalleled to this day.
Following the crash, Grago was loaded into an ambulance and driven to hospital but, while lying on the stretcher, all he could hear on either side of him was the roar from dual 48IDA carburetors as fellow club members escorted the ambulance to the Saddleback hospital. All the club waited in the reception area until the doctors decided that he was too badly injured for them to cope with and would have to be moved to another hospital. For a second time, Grago's ambulance was escorted by the rest of the club members. At least 15 members stayed until they eventually got thrown out by the medical staff and, over the next three weeks, Grago got constant visits from his friends in DKP.
While he lay in hospital, other club members had pooled together and bought him another '62 Karmann Ghia from Mike O'Neal. The Martinez family bodyshop donated a sizeable proportion of the paint and bodywork. Everything that could be salvaged from the original car was removed from the wreck and the new car built up to a sufficiently high standard to win best of show, less than a year later, at Bug-In 20. That was quite a day for Der Kleiner Panzers because club members took not only the Best Of Show award but also Top Eliminator in the drag racing and Most Represented Club. At that point, any doubts about the worthiness of the club to carry the hallowed DKP title should have been dispelled.
Great synopsis, Mike.
I will be at the event to film and interview friends of Roger for a documentary to be produced in 2015. It will cover Roger's complete history, from DKP II to R Gruppe to Porsche Motorsports NA. What the attendees contribute in words and emotion will go a long way towards validating what we all know. Roger is the man who made it happen for many of us. See you there.
Randy Wells
Automotive Writer/Photographer/Filmmaker
www.randywells.com/blog
www.hotrodfilms.com
Early S Registry #187
Travel change...now I'll get the opportunity to be there also...is this the official RSVP Thread?...Thanks'.../ Lars...
Lars Wikblad...
Early 911 "S" Registry # 527
"R" Gruppe # 314
I don't think so Lars..... I RSVP'd to Dan Reese off the R Grouppe message board... or Ray Crawfordis this the official RSVP Thread?
Chuck Miller
Creative Advisor/Message Board Moderator - Early 911S Registry #109
R Gruppe #88
TYP901 #62
'73S cpe #1099 - Matched # 2.7/9.5 RS spec rebuild
'67 Malibu 327 spt cpe - Period 350 Rebuild
’98 Chevy S-10 – Utility
’15 GTI – Commuter
OK, Thanks'...It says this at the start of this thread... "Please RSVP here by October 1" ...but I'll e-mail Ray as well then...Thanks'.../ Lars...
Lars Wikblad...
Early 911 "S" Registry # 527
"R" Gruppe # 314
That is a beautiful car, a true gentleman's GT. I don't know Roger, but I hope someday I will, as he certainly must be a very special person. What a fantastic expression of friendship.
David
'73 S Targa #0830 2.7 MFI rebuilt to RS specs
Will be an honor to be present...coming up from SD
Peter Andersson #2864
Pinstriped Early 911 Club #1