1968: Walt Day's Plymouth

Spring 1968 found Walt Day and crew with a yet unfinished Oldsmobile for the figure-eight modified division, but with the willing driver and previous seasons points champ Bill Williams available, something had to be done to fill the gap. That filler turned out to be an entry for the stock division, a 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury 2-door hardtop. The car was purchased in running form from Roberts auto wrecking of Lynwood for the grand sum of $45.00, and built in six days (yes, less than a weeks time)! 1968 was the premier season for the stock class and they were basic as can be-gutted with roll cages and maybe a double center welded into each front wheel for good measure. Still, six days is a pretty tall order for the construction of any race car, and needless to say the Plymouth didn't get a professional paint job. Several weeks later when Walt came home Saturday afternoon to pick up the car, he discovered it had been semi-professionally re-coated by wife Jan , and Bill Williams, having used up an entire case of gloss-black spray cans. Walt remembered them being almost as black as the car!
With wild Bill behind the wheel, the Plymouth was really burning up the track-literally. Obviously the 361 cubic inch big-block 3-speed stick combo was too much for the light Plymouth chassis and limited allowable modifications, as the rear tires went up in smoke; a pair every Saturday night! It was unusual for any race-car to challenge Walt's expertise, but the Sport Fury proved to be the bad apple. Even so, Bill cooked rubber to at least Three main-event wins before the '59 was replaced by a longer and much heavier 1957 Desoto sportsman hardtop, equipped with the Plymouth's running gear. Cliff Pierce took over as wheel man in this very successful combination, with at least three mains, and three seconds in the final half of the '68 season. Cliff's chief competition was Roger Estrin in a '58 dodge, and ironically Bill Williams, driving the second half of the season in a '59 Dodge for Dynac of Marysville.