Monday, May 22, 2023
Walt and I were car crazy closest friends in high school, I one year behind him. I spent many hours with him building his first hot rod, a 1933 Plymouth coupe into which we installed a 1952 DeSoto Hemi engine, purchased from a wrecking yard, and lots of related upgrades to make it a success. Completed, as I recall, in 1955, It was a big deal then, as almost all hot rods were Ford-based; this one, Mopar from stem to stern, so we were inventing as we went. His folks were great supporters, much work done in the family's one car garage while the family car (new 1955 Ford) stayed in the driveway. They welcomed me as though I was part of the family. Walt drove the car as a street vehicle while he was apprenticing at GE. We lost regular contact while he was in Syracuse and I moved to Boston and then the Air Force. As I understand it, he later took the engine from the coupe and installed it into a dragster in which he won. and then for several years held, the national record for its class. We were running in different orbits then, so I wasn't part of that venture. He was a really good friend. I'm glad that he lived doing what he loved and has a loving family to appreciate his memory.
Steve Brown
Vashon Island, WA
