Summary of Dick Anderson’s Career (Rev 8-19-2018) Dick has been the #1 Inventor & Innovator in Racing Shocks, springs & suspensions – for over 40 years.
I spent most of my life in Auto Racing: When I was 13, in 1952, some older boys in the neighborhood took me with them to a Stock Car Race (Jalopies – mostly late 30’s fords). I really enjoyed it but was confused: Why did many cars in the back of each race roll- over? In the last race, the Feature – about ½ of them rolled over! I found out they got paid $5 roll-over money – they were going to at least get gas money to go home. I was hooked! At age 14, I was selling Flathead Ford parts (new, used & speed equipment) out of my “bedroom” in Crystal Lake IL (about 50 miles NW of Chicago) and built my first Hot Rod in 1954, a ’32 Ford 3-window coupe with a full- race flathead in it – never got beat! But, when the 55 Chevys came out, one of my buddies bought one and he came closer than anyone before him, so I put a Chrysler Hemi V8 in my “Deuce Coupe” in 1955 – problem solved! I worked full-time as an Electronic Development Engineer (late nights & weekends through High School) from age 15 to 19 – did the production engineering of all the electronic coils used in the very 1st Microwave Relay Station System) and was “mentored” by one of the best machinists ever, George Stevenson (George made the specialized production equipment we needed for the Electronic Coil business I was working for, CoilCraft – still a leader). In 1957 I partnered with a local ¼ mile dirt-track champion and we build a Chrysler Hemi powered “modified’ that was “God-awful powerful”, set track records but rarely won (they were pure junk back then – and we knew NOTHING about handling at the time). I was lucky enough to get some small scholarships that enabled me to study Mechanical Engineering a few years and then it all developed into a Speed Shop in the late 50's (A&A Drag Specialists – we did lots of special machine work and built drag chassis in addition to selling speed equipment and doing engine swaps (I think I put a Chrysler Hemi into every car made during the 50s) - then I was “mentored” by a past President of the American Welding Society (he taught me many rare skills, like torch welding “pot-metal”). In 1960 I joined the U.S. Air Force – they sent me to Russian Language School at Indiana University, then I learned how to use it in San Angelo TX (it was close to Mexico, so I decided to learn Spanish while I was there), went to Japan where I worked in Military Intelligence as a Russian Linguist and learned “broken Japanese” while stationed there in early 60s. I continued my Spanish Studies and later became a Spanish Linguist too (during the Cuban Crisis, I was quickly sent to Key West FL).
While in Japan I knew there would be no car racing so, I decided to race motorcycles. I saw immediately that 2- cycle engines were the way to go – much lighter & faster – so I chose to race a Tohatsu 50cc. It was the smallest class but Tohatsu far outclassed everything else – it had 6HP at 10,000 RPM - they even had a Special Racing Model, with a, imagine this, a 4-Speed transmission, special exhaust & more. The local dealer ordered one for me & he nearly got his Dealership Franchise yanked – they did not want any AMERICANS winning any races! I got mad & decided I would beat them all with the standard 3-speed. Rules allowed anything. Us “GI”s were like millionaires there then & because I chose the smallest class, I had enough money to buy several extra cylinders & everything else I needed every payday – I ground, filed & reworked everything – I learned about 2-cycle motors (these were “piston-timed” engines – the placement, height & shape of the ports is everything – essentially the cam timing as well as the valves & porting). I was too big to be competitive in the National Events but the Factory’s top rider eventually quit the team to ride for me – I weighed in at 158 lbs with full leathers & a helmet – he was only 87 lbs.! The bike was 115 lbs. wet. We beat ALL the factories – their teams would fly in en-mass while we would arrive, Papa San (the Tohatsu Dealer) & me, in one of these tiny little 3-wheel pickups. I had different cylinders & heads for different sized tracks, my hottest one made peak power at 20,000 RPM and we ran around 22:1 compression ratio. My pistons & rings were only good for about 3 or 4 miles because the engine ran so hot – around 700-800 degrees (blue hot), but that was usually enough to finish – in 1st Place! Toward the end I built a water-cooled head – probably the 1st one EVER on a 2-cycle race-bike – in 1962. That did it – I could run flat-out forever – nothing could come close to us. I’m sure all the Japanese Motorcycle Manufacturers & Racers were very happy when the Cuban Crisis called me out of Japan. I got out of the Air Force in 1964, I worked a short time for an auto parts distributor. Me & my partner, Paul Meyer, also started “The Carrera Company” (Carrera means Race in Spanish & Paul’s mother was from Mexico – it had a good ‘ring’ to it). At first it was a part-time business -we were one of the first to build complete "fixtured" Sprint Cars In 1964 - 1st to have interchangeable chassis & replacement parts that “fit”, we also did lots of specialized welding: Cast iron, bronze head repairs to cast iron, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, zinc, pot-metal and, of course, chrome-moly tubing“. Our slogan: “We’ll weld whatever the other welding shops can’t do!”.
Then, I found my “real opportunity” in SPEED, with the biggest Speed Equipment Distributor in the World (CB Sales, Chicago) where I quickly became the Manager and got to know all of the founders and “King-Pins” of the Speed Industry (they were all from the West Coast in those days). Then, with my “connections” & a rapidly growing Speed Industry, I saw a new opportunity and spent a few years as one of the first Speed Equipment Industry’s Mfr’s Reps (AMAX Sales - I was the "A" & Max Phillips was the "MAX") – we represented the best names in Speed Equipment (mostly from California) in the 6 Midwest States. Carrera became full-time for Paul when we saw opportunities for new products and got into manufacturing speed equipment in late 60's under the “Carrera” brand. Carrera was just one of the great lines we “repped”. Do you remember CarreraTM “Wheelie-BarsTM" - bolt-on traction bars for leaf spring cars, and Carrera Lift-Kits?,
In 1965 we “accidentally” discovered how important shocks were to handling (nobody made anything good that you could buy back then so, nobody really knew anything about shocks). Monroe gave custom shocks to the USAC Sprint-car Superstars & would not sell them to anybody else – PERIOD. One day we were pitted next to Gary Bettenhausen at Wausau WI when we broke 3 shocks in a small accident. USAC didn’t allow its Superstars to run non-USAC tracks, so Gary, and many others ran under pseudonyms during the week – they had to pay their bills! Because we had no spare shocks (in those days we were constantly trying crazy stuff – lots of English & European Adjustable Shocks – none of which worked very well), Gary offered to loan us a set of 4. He said: “But, I’ve got 40 shocks - 4 for each of the 10 tracks we run – and I don’t know which ones to lend you! I asked him what HE does when he breaks a shock. He smiled and said “I pick the ones for the track closest to what we are running on.” OK, he went through his little book & picked us out a set of 4. Our driver, Itch Daniels – brother of the very famous at the time, Scratch Daniels, went out in the next race and blew them away. He was so excited that his smile “wrapped around his face twice” – he had never driven a car that handled so well. It had picked up almost 2 seconds per lap – unheard of. Gary was excited too. He had no idea his shocks were that good – he had never races with anything but them. He too wanted to know WHY? Paul & I said we would figure out how to build something to test them with - we had never even heard of a shock dynamometer, or dyno – to see what was different. Could we borrow them again for the tests? Gary said “sure, you can test all 40 of them if you’ll give me the results”. This led to us designing our first “Rube Goldberg” Shock Dynamometer (so we could tell what we actually had) and the beginning of a great relationship with the Bettenhausen team (brother Merle raced Midgets & brother Tony Jr. later raced Stock Cars). We tested Gary’s shocks, a lot of stock types and all the goofy “sophisticated European adjustables” we had been playing with -we found that these Monroes were DIFFERENT – Way Different than anything else we tested. This was our “Moment of Revelation” – we knew we had something - but, now, what to do with them? We started trying to modify different shocks to make them more like the Monroes – this wasn’t easy – we knew NOTHING about shock design in the beginning. Then Ray Smith, a renowned USAC builder/owner from Easton OH, offered to help. He had fielded every type of USAC Car on every type of track and he had won many Championships – he still had ALL the shocks and he had taken notes – he knew which shocks worked or didn’t work, for all kinds of track conditions. This was a big break. We started modifying shocks like crazy and “learned the hard way” how to make them work like the Monroes. And, along the way, over a period of about 3 years, we learned how to develop new valvings – to do a lot of things we had not originally thought of. Monroe & Gabriel both had a line of Tie-rod Shocks for Stock Cars. Monroe gave away tons to the NASCAR guys for free & Gabriel tried to sell theirs, but we weren’t into Stock Cars yet. Later, we found the Monroes were all too stiff for the rear on short-tracks and that we ALREADY had exactly what was required.
Eventually, in 1967, we decided that there was a market for these Racing Shocks – if we could figure out how to get someone to make them for us. There were 4 shock manufacturers in the USA at that time: Gabriel, Monroe, Delco and Blackstone. First, we went to Monroe – they threw us out. They were winning all the Stock Car & Sprint Car races – they didn‘t want ANY competition. Gabriel was about the same – they already had Stock Car shocks and didn’t want any form of competition either. Delco told us they only made Original Equipment shocks & replacements – they had ZERO interest in Racing. So, I went to Blackstone. I found that they made cheap shocks for the chain stores, they made only one basic size & design and didn’t even have a WAY to test them - in Their eyes, If they didn’t leak they were PERFECT! Obviously, Blackstone was not what we needed – we needed Quality & Consistency.
About this time Japan was trying to enter the Automotive Aftermarket. They knew nothing about our market, except that it was big – they were anxious. I spoke a little Japanese so we decided to look into it. I went to the Japanese Trade Center in Chicago and found that there were 3 shock manufacturers in Japan: Kayaba (KYB) was biggest, so I started with them. I sent them a telegram and they said they would welcome me to their Engineering Labs in Japan for conversation & negotiation. Paul & I saved our money till, in 1968, we finally had the required $847 for my plane ticket and a bit more for expenses. When I got there I was surprised to discover that they were far advanced over any of our domestic manufacturers – they had a completely automated, computer controlled factory in Gifu – trucks were automatically unloaded and the parts went wherever they belonged on conveyor belts & overhear lines – they even had automated ways of dyno-testing their shocks – their quality was far superior – just what we wanted & needed - WOW! However, I also knew I would NEVER be able to trust them – all of Japan was still sore about WW-II. I would somehow have to get them to produce what we needed without them knowing why or how we used them. I had to invent some elaborate mis-information at their level. (Time-Travel forward: My hunch turned out to be exactly right - In 1972 they decided to copy my line & try to steal our Racing Shock business. My deception WORKED – their cataloging & application info was TOTALLY Wrong and their whole “Copy Carrera Project” failed – it was a giant flop!)
We added Racing Shocks to the Carrera line in 1968 [Chrome Plated - first Drag Shocks, then Oval Track, then High Performance Street Shocks, then Coil-Overs & Springs and even Air-Shocks] – I invented & patented a novel shock mounting that allowed us to cover the entire street market with only 10 part numbers instead of more than 100 in other lines. Everybody wanted to sell them – they looked good, worked better and the Dealers could afford to inventory them. We were first company to make ONLY Racing Shocks in USA.
Perhaps the most important thing I invented was the “Coil-Over Kit”. Coil-over shocks existed, mainly in Europe, but they were custom-made shocks and very expensive ($500+ at the time – when our racing shocks sold for $25). We needed a simple, reliable & strong means to attach a threaded tube to a conventional design shock without adding any length to the assembly. One day it came to me, roll a groove in the O.D. of the shock body, put a snap ring in the groove & then slide a threaded tube with a tapered counter-bore at the bottom down over the snap-ring so it would lock in place – Voilà! This changed auto racing forever. Any shock could now be converted into a Coil-Over.
About that time, in 1969, I started a collecting military bolt action rifles (and old military pistols in 70’s).
I pioneered Coil-Overs on Stock Cars in early 70's (which became the standard for all “top-end” short-track racecars). Denny Ruis, of Montgomery AL, had the 1st NASCAR Late Model with Coil-Overs in 1972 (Carreras of course, the car was built by Lee Hurley of HESCO in Birmingham AL). Buddy Baker drove the car once and said it was the best handling car he ever drove – the only one that could run at the bottom at Birmingham. Shortly after that, I met Tiny Lund at the Snowball in Pensacola FL. He was instantly impressed with the idea of Coil-Overs – particularly when he saw how well my friend, Marvin Fillip, did there with his Carrera Coil-Over equipped ‘55 Chev. [Marvin Fillip, my friend & a Carrera Distributor out of San Angelo TX, had done pretty well out West. His sons, Corey & Chet, did well for themselves in racing too – Chet has driven top cars in Indy, Daytona, USAC, NASCAR, Super-Mods, Sprints, Midgets. Corey was his crew chief and eventually formed ARS (Advanced Racing Suspension) in Indianapolis, a Carrera Rebuilder, where both Corey & Chet still manufacture really great Racing Shocks for the very best teams.]
Tiny & I hit it off well & became instant buddies. Tiny decided to let me design a Coil-Over car for him. His 1st Carrera Coil-Over car, a NASCAR Sportsman, was a ’65 Chevelle. It was a great success – won almost everything it raced in - and started the enormous trend of Coil-Overs on Stock Cars. I had a big drawing table in his shop, where I did a lot of the design work and I carried a pocket slide-rule always, to calculate everything (this was long before electronic calculators were invented). So, Tiny decided to knick-name me “Slide-Rule” – it stuck – that’s how most stock car racers came to know me – for many years.
Soon after, came a Grand American Car – a ‘70 Camaro. On several occasions, I went “barn-storming” with Tiny & his team (of 2: Roger Byers was the crew chief & Al Constantini, “The Wop”, his mechanic). We went all over the Midwest – for weeks at a time – in either the ’65 Chevelle or the ’70 Camaro - every night a different race- track. Then, after usually winning, and often setting a new track record where he had never ever been before, at night we would do “The Tiny Lund Teardown” at our motel – pull the mattress off the bed & put in on the floor so the 4 of us could sleep in a single-bed room (we didn’t have “too much money” but we sure had a lot of fun). Then, we consulted the Speedway Directory to choose where we would go race tomorrow night. Of course, these cars were NASCAR legal - this usually meant they were too heavy & had too small a motor. He was one Hell of a Driver & the car handled. We even ran a few USAC Championship Races - they had FITS when he won with a NASCAR car – with a tiny 350 against their 426 Hemis.
About this time, in 1972, KYB decided to copy my line & steal our Racing Shock business. However, as I said earlier, their cataloging & application info was TOTALLY Wrong and their “Copy Carrera Project” was a big flop! They did, however, introduce KYB Gas Shocks for aftermarket use (under a license from DeCarbon of France), which was done well and prospered to this day. Obviously, our relationship was over - so, I went back to Monroe & to Gabriel, to see if they were now interested in selling me. Heck YES! They both were fully aware that I was doing well – much better than they were - in Racing Shocks and decided to sell me anything I wanted. The first thing I did was have Monroe make Tie-Rod Shocks for me – because virtually all stock cars used them. But I added the soft #3, #4 & #5 Valvings, which gave us a great advantage on short-tracks - they didn’t have any of these essential valvings! We could kick their butts anywhere – anytime. I decided all my coil-over stuff would be made by Gabriel – their design was functionally better and I could get them to roll the groove that I had invented to make regular shocks into Coil-Overs - we were on our way.
I could see that Stock Cars were about to become a big deal for me – there were 10 times more Stock Cars than Sprint Cars. At that time, all the technology was coming out of the South and I knew I could do well if I could attend the races on a weekly basis.
So, in 1974 I packed-up my tiny factory (with ONE employee) and my young family and we moved to Atlanta. I was a little concerned about freight to my existing customers, who were mainly far away in the North – but, the Unions had things so screwed up then that I found I could service ALL my customers up North faster & cheaper from Atlanta – what luck! It worked. I immediately started to cover all the major Southern Tracks and we had great success. The stock car chassis builders all over the country quickly found that they could build a coil-over car that was lighter, faster, more rigid, easier to work on – and offer it at a lower price than conventional sub-frame cars. Our business grew in leaps & bounds.
I’ll never forget the 1st race I went to from my new home in Georgia. Lee Hurley took me to a race in Birmingham – promised to introduce me to all the top racers, which he did – to help me get started. He introduced me to the 1st guy and then pointedly added “Dick’s a DAMN YANKEE!” I almost died! He was going to “ruin me” and my chances of establishing rapport right from the start! But, they smiled, shook my hand and treated me very well – I was confused! Only later, did I realize that this was one of the best COMPLIMENTS that could be paid to a “Yankee” – a Northerner that came to the South and liked it so much that he decided to STAY there.
I learned a lot about handling and suspension design and who knows how many racing & physics books I read (also, I give many kudos to Larry Rathgeb, head of Chrysler Race Engineering – the man that brought Technology & Engineering to auto racing). We developed the 1st means of a racer determining the actual spring rate of his torsion bars and the significance of spring rate to handling. Then, I did the same for coil-springs – nobody even had spring raters yet! I gave hundreds of seminars to professional racers all over the country, and even in other parts of the World, on the physics of racing, so they could understand what affected handling and how to set up their cars accordingly.
We were the only Racing Shock Mfr. in the US until about 1981 when everybody started to copy us (we “trained” most of our competitors),
I had started going to Daytona during Speed-Week in 1973 with Tiny Lund. I could see that most of the top racers – the Leaders from all over the country were there. To them it was their Mecca – the place where they could see what the new stuff for the next year was going to be – a preview of the year to come. I got to thinking it would be the perfect time & place to put on a giant Oval Track Trade Show in late 70’s. One of my best friends, Jack McCoy thought it was a great idea. He convinced me to do it when he offered to be a partner (Jack was the all-time biggest NASCAR West Champion, was the biggest Speed Equipment Distributor in California & was the McCreary Racing Tire Distributor for the whole West Coast). In 1977, during Speed Week, I went to Daytona to try and find a place to put on our show. There were no convention centers at all. The biggest thing I found was the underground parking lot at the Plaza Hotel – it was right on the Beach and would hold several hundred booths – I made a deal with the owner. We opened the 1st Oval Track Trade Show (OTTS) during Speed-Week in February of 1978. We allowed all Dealers in FREE and invited all Racers – for a small fee. It was packed - a tremendous success. In later years it brought even more racers to Daytona. But, there was a problem – we were sold out & hundreds more manufacturers wanted in.
The next year, 1n 1979, we backed it up with a new, never been done before Trade Magazine, Oval Track Dealer News (OTDN), an industry that had been largely ignored by the Trade Mags that catered to the Drag & Street Performance Markets. It too was a big success. I made what may have been the 1st shock dyno in the USA with an electronic, oscilloscope read-out in 1975, then a computer controlled “Digital Shock Dynamometer” in 1982 (to measure the actual damping force or performance of a shock absorber). It had a CRT display and was controlled by a Commodore 64 – the top of small computer technology at the time – it still runs!
Carrera developed nearly every racing shock and racing suspension design innovation during the 70’s through the 90’s (many of which became the standards that are still leading today):
- 1st to make & market “Only Real Racing Shocks” in the USA. - 1st to invent “the coil-over kit” - a practical & simple means of making coil-overs out of conventional design, mass produced shocks. This completely revolutionized Stock Car & most other racing in the USA. - 1st to produce & promote Coil-Over Shocks in America. - 1st to mass produce several types shocks for virtually all forms of auto racing. - 1st to offer Chrome Plated shocks & coil-over springs – looked good & easy to clean. - 1st to “figure out” actual spring rates & wheel rates on Open-Wheel Racecars (Midgets, Sprints etc.) & offer an easy means of calculating rates for torsion-bars & coil-springs. - 1st to bring true technology to the “every-day” racer – particularly Stock Cars – we pioneered Roll-Couple theory & calculations. We even offered a dedicated “Electronic Calculator” that was programmed to make anybody able to find what they needed for & about their race car’s suspension and to understand “WHY”. - Designed the1st coil-over shocks on a NASCAR car – 1972 (Denny Ruis/Lee Hurley – Montgomery AL) - Designed 1st first all coil-over NASCAR short track car – Tiny Lund’s Sportsman Car in 1973 - 1st to get Coil-Overs legalized for NASCAR and most all other racing organizations. - 1st to offer a complete selection of Coil-Springs – in many lengths & in small increments of Rate Change. - 1st to offer 3-way Adjustable Shocks, for virtually all types of racecars, in a steel-bodied low-cost construction. - 1st to make an electronic read-out on a Shock Dyno. 1975 - 1st to introduce “gas cell” shocks to racing (dramatically less fade, would run at any angle without “internal foaming”, reduced unsprung weight when run “upside down” (previously impossible), - Founded the 1st “Oval Track Trade Show” – in Daytona Beach - 1978 - Founded the 1st Trade Magazine - “Oval Track Dealer News”- for the Oval Track Racing Industry - 1979 - 1st to make a NASCAR Racing Shock that only required ONE single shock on each wheel for Super- Speedways. - 1st to designed & market “Axle-Dampers” used by rear leaf-spring racecars. They allowed improved traction and the use of unheard of low spring rates. - 1st to make a complete line shocks & coil-overs for street rods – every length & valving. We went to dozens of Street Rod National Events & weighed hundreds of Street rods for FREE. Then, most importantly, we devised an easy & reliable way of getting the softest rates, most travel & best ride. - 1st to offer mass produced racing shocks with special, replaceable Spherical Bearings – they were bigger & specially designed to last many times longer than the commercial units later used by others. - Invented many shock absorber innovations, that greatly increased shock response & reduced fade. - Held several patents on shock related parts, ideas & processes but he never bothered to patent most of his unique & original ideas. - most of his Held patents on Hyper-Shocks (a means of separating all gas from the shock oil and slightly pressurizing or preloading the valves to dramatically speed-up reaction times, allow reliable “upside-down” shock operation (to reduce unsprung weight) and reduce shock fade of conventional dual-tube shock designs. - Designed many special suspension systems used by all the major racecar chassis manufacturers. - Designed the 1st successful 5th-coil & torque-arm suspension setup for Stock Cars, which greatly improved traction everywhere, especially on rougher tracks. - Designed the 1st 6th-coil setup, which greatly improved braking, especially on rough tracks. - Designed the 1st “Cantilever” or “Rocker” suspensions for Stock Cars. - 1st to offer light coil springs guaranteed within 2% of their rating – FOREVER – to NEVER take a set. - Possibly the 1st in the Speed Industry to computerize all phases of our business, starting around 1979. - Added CNC production machines a few years later, better quality. - 1st to offer mass produce Aluminum Shocks - at a “reasonable” price - in the WORLD. (ours were “affordable” – European ones at the time cost over $500 each), - Pioneered remote reservoirs & pressurized dual-tube shock designs in the early 80’s, - 1st to offer Remote-Adjustable racing shocks – adjustable damping from the cockpit – during the race. - 1st of offer mass produced, fully user rebuildable, Gas Pressure Racing Shocks. - 1st to offer an entirely new piston/valving design for mono-tube Gas-Pressure shocks that enabled us to produce our proven response curves, allowed newer, better response curves and much improved repeatability. - For the 1st time, we made it possible for racers to rebuild or re-valve their own Gas Pressure racing shocks and get predictable, consistent, repeatable damping forces. - Developed virtual quality control standards that made Carrera unrivaled in damping force tolerances, repeatability and production quality (right up to the day I sold Carrera) - 1st to design, promote & market “2-Step” spring setups for Stock Cars. - 1st to design electronically controlled “MagneShock” Racing Shocks, using M-R Fluid. - Patented a means to precisely control the resultant damping force of an M-R shock when quickly changing from one damping force to another, regardless of whether the change was small or large.
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I got involved in “antique” cars in the late 80’s (collected and drove them daily - all the cars I could not afford when I was a teen-ager – mainly 40’s & 50’s cars including all the “orphan” cars – the brands that disappeared - I had about 30 old cars at one time and I still have a few.
I did a lot of suspension engineering and “top-end” shock & coil-over production for small mfrs. of specialized vehicles (and a few big ones) – even the MARTA Train at Atlanta Airport had Carrera Shocks – we improved the ride and our shocks lasted 10 times longer than the originals. ------
When it came to cars, shocks & racing, Dick was always looking for something better. He was pretty sure that Electronics would somehow enable a faster, electronically adjustable shock that would revolutionize auto racing – this became his goal.
In 1996 he happened on M-R fluid (Magneto-Rheological Fluid instantly changes viscosity in a magnetic field) – he was pretty certain that this could develop into his, and every other racer’s, dream. He signed a licensing agreement and was 1st in the World to do all the basic research & development of Computer Controlled Shocks – MagneShocks - that used M-R Fluid. By changing the viscosity as the fluid goes through an electromagnet in the shock’s piston, they offered nearly infinite & instant damping adjustability (1/4,000th of a second). We had to research & develop everything - there was zero prior knowledge or experience. It was an entirely new technology. We got the first ones working in 1999 and won an SCCA National Race right off, then they won a few a few NASCAR short-track events in 2000, and our big breakthrough was computer controlled truly “double-adjustable” systems in 2001,
When he sold Carrera, in 2004, he retained MagneShocks and went on a new, “never ever before” course. He developed a system for racers that offered complete & instantaneous electronic tailoring of the response curve. His “SDS” (Selectable Damping System) offered Hundreds of Damping Curves – all “instantaneously selectable” without any disassembly, rebuilding, revalving or even physical adjustment of the shocks – incredible - for virtually all types of racing. It even offered some curves that were impossible with hydraulic shocks. He developed the very first “ultra-fast” Active Damping System for big Motorhomes in 2004 – it was fully automatic – rode better & handled better – AT THE SAME TIME – this had never been done with any form of shock absorbers . And then, his “AMRDS” systems (Active Magneto-Rheological Damping System) was developed for the U.S. Army in 2005-2007. It offered Active Damping Control, which meant this system would actually “Read the Road” – calculate the required damping in “real-time” and automatically update to the desired damping – 4,000 Times Every Second. It was essentially a “bolt-on” as the shocks contained all the sensors needed to measure every motion of the vehicle and the suspension – just connect the MagneShocks to the computer and it was ready! Dick’s system offered the U.S. Military advantages far beyond what the Army had even hoped for - some vehicles could go more than twice as fast over rough ground. They started with the “Hum-Vee” (HMMWV) but made systems for many vehicles, from a small fast-response attack vehicle to big trucks and even medium tanks. Next, he developed 3rd Generation MagneShocks for auto racing and started selling them in 2009 (MagneShocks.com), that allowed one to “program” and make any conceivable damping curve (even some that were impossible in any form of hydraulic shocks) for the same shock – without having to even touch the shock (let along disassemble it to rebuild or revalve it) – you could even program in up to 5 different “valvings” for each shock and instantly access/change any of them at any time right in the middle of a race,
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Dick did do a little driving too. When they “resurrected” the Mexican Road Race in 1988 (it was the most important & highly promoted International Race in the World from 1950 to 1954), he decide he had to go – it had been his dream since childhood. He had hoped to go to the 1955 race, when he would have been 16 years old, to get a job as a gopher, working for FREE on one of the teams. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled for 1955, so his dream went “poof”. In 1988 two Mexican Car-nuts convinced their government into letting them re-run the race – the same cars (1954 or earlier) over the same 2178 mile course. Dick thought, I am not going to lose this opportunity twice in one lifetime. His best buddy, Jack McCoy (the all-time biggest West Coast NASCAR Grand National Champion) said “Let’s Race It!” They decided to build a ’54 Lincoln – to carry on the Legend (Lincoln had won spectacularly in 52, 53 & 54 – do you remember all the Hot Rod Lincoln songs?). Rules required an engine of the same maker with up to 30% more displacement and plenty of safety mods. (so they built a cage, added disc brakes and dropped in a Ford 351 Cleveland). Their car was fast, but they had no idea what they were doing - in a Road Race/Rallye type event - so they screwed up most everything the first year. They learned a lot, lightened the car a TON (literally – from 5,000+ lbs. to under 3,000 lbs.), got real GN brakes, Carrera Shocks and all the other good stuff, and made a Grand National Car out of it – but with less weight & more power. It “looked” like a stock, albeit lowered, 1954 Lincoln Capri – but with its 700HP+ engine & all the aerodynamics of a brick turned sideways, it was capable of 180MPH. They won 1st in his class in the 1990 Mexican Road Race (La Carrera Panamericana), in his “highly modified but 100% legal” 54 Lincoln. He was even 2nd overall (there was only a few seconds difference over the 2,178 miles) as he even beat the C-Type Jaguar in 2 out of the 7 days (this Jag was the fastest sports car in the World in 1954 – no previous production car ever come close to any of the Sports Cars – Dick completely stomped all but this one). He did run several more years, winning most of the days each year, but his luck would give out on ONE day each time, which prevented another overall win. Each year he was so fast that the race promoters would change the Rules to ban anything they could see he had – made it illegal for the next year. He had 5 different motors, each year smaller than before, and innumerable wheels, tires, bumpers, height jackers, transmissions, spoilers, air dams & more - he even had to add over 500 lbs. of “ballast.
In 1994 Dick took his “Hot-Rod Lincoln” to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah – something he had wanted to do all his life. It had his smallest motor, 305 cu in with about 620 HP. After passing his “driving test” (you have to make a few slower runs first), he got to stand on the gas! The car’s back end was trying to spin out for the whole run – he had so much tire spin that he literally had to hold his breath for 3 miles – it threw a “rooster-tail” of salt about 50 feet high behind the car. The tachometer told him he had gone 187MPH – WOW – better than he hoped for. However, when he got the official Timing Slip, it said 156 MPH. The car had so much aerodynamic lift in the rear that he had seen 31 MPH of tire slip. No wonder he was holding his breath! Nick Arias & Louie Senter, some of Dick’s “old-time buddies” and life-long veterans of Bonneville, told him to put some lead in the trunk – “we’ve got lots of it” – to make the rear tires stick. Dick said “Hey, I’m supposed to be the suspension expert – I’ll figure out how to make those tires stick!” So, for 2-1/2 days he & the team tried everything in the book (and some things not in the book) - all to almost no avail – they picked up ONE MPH! Finally, Dick tucked his tail between his legs and asked Nick if he still had the lead and how much to use. Nick said “sure – use it all – 650 lbs.”. The next run was the same speed, at about 1500 less RPM – 159MPH. But, this time it was a “cake-walk” – no tire spin – straight as an arrow. With all the aerodynamics of a brick turned sideways, 159 was simply all the Lincoln could do! Side note: He had another friend there, that had a World Record in a slicked-up ’53 Studebaker with the same HP. The Studie ran 235 MPH – 75 MPH faster – aerodynamic drag is EVERYTHING at Bonneville!
In 1997 Dick found out he could race the Lincoln at Pikes Peak, also one of his life-long dreams, in a special “Invitation-Only” Exhibition class. After some “finagling”, he got the invitation. The team had a really great time. They found the were 2nd fastest, even faster than Bobby Unser’s ‘69 Torino, that had set so many records 28 years earlier, but not nearly as fast as the alcohol burning Sprint Car that had been 1st overall about 30 years earlier! (with about ½ the weight, perhaps a bit more power and a seasoned, veteran driver). He did get to meet Bobby Unser (he wasn’t driving the Torino this time) and they enjoyed a few drinks together. The track was divided into 3 parts (about 4 miles each), each with 1 day for practice, to get familiar with the 156 turns of the 12 mile course while climbing from about 5,000 feet to over 14,000 – very thin air up there! They missed one day, while they fixed a burnt transmission bearing, so he didn’t get to really try that 1/3 of the course. He did great, another 2nd, in time trials, which covered only the lower half. Come race-day, Dick was pretty confident – too confident! He came into a long curve as fast as he could go (on the part he had missed in practice) but found it was a declining radius curve leading up to Engineer’s Corner – a popular place to CRASH – and he did just that! Right in front of the ESPN TV Camera. As it turned out, he went off the road & ended up across a ditch. It was out of the way so they left him there and the race continued - Dick got more TV coverage than anybody – stuck over the ditch!
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Finally, Dick got involved in politics in 2007, became interested in web site design in 2011 and even ran for the Georgia Senate in 2014 – and lost. Oh well, one heck of a ride. Whew! Some of Dick’s sites: EarlyFordV8ClubGa.org magnEshocks.com WakeUpGeorgia.info Fabulous40th.org DeKalbSeniors.org DeKalbRA.com JBSna.org