UKDRN

Here's John Siggery and team with 'Geronimo', I'm sure someone can add a few details about this very successfull car.

I'm fairly certain that this slingshot was unusaul in that wou drove with your legs going under rather than over the rear axle. I have a feeling that is an Oldsmobile lump powering it.

TimeMachine wrote:I'm fairly certain that this slingshot was unusual in that wou drove with your legs going under rather than over the rear axle.

Blimey. Risk Assessment was in its infancy in those days, wasn't it...

TimeMachine wrote:I'm fairly certain that this slingshot was unusaul in that wou drove with your legs going under rather than over the rear axle. I have a feeling that is an Oldsmobile lump powering it.

Yes you're right about the unusual driving position and the motor was an Oldsmobile, a 303 out of a 1949 Olds Rocket which was opened out to 324. If you look at the top two pics you'll see that the fuel tank was raised to get the Hilborn injection to work properly. Alot of the Stateside goodies on the car were acquired in exchange for Ford Pop spindles which were in abundance over here at the time but in short supply for the dragster builders in the States. The car ran from 1968 to 1972 when it dissapeared from the scene. As far as I know it's never been seen since and could well be sitting in someones garage somewhere, anybody know?

I have a feeling it was for sale a few years back, I remember the driving position because at the time we were considering buying a slingshot and Geronimo came up in conversation.

I remember "Geronimo" well - it must have had the UK's best winning percentage in the late 1960s. I recall the car beating both Clive Skilton's and Dennis Priddle's top fuel cars on a good day.

I have wondered for years why the team left drag racing so suddenly. I guess if a car was to leave the sport it should have done so at the top. However, I heard a story that John had a health problem and had to give up racing but have no idea if that was really the reason for the team's disbanding.

Can anyone provide any background on the last days of the "Geronimo" team? Does the car still exist?

Tony

I guess that many won't have been around to see Geronimo run and may not know just what an amazing dragster it was. It was a regular winner in Top Dragster and one of its finest days came when John Siggery beat Clive Skilton’s “Revolution” rail in the Top Dragster final at Woodvale in 1969 with a 9.7s pass to Skilton’s 10.1s.

Near the end of its active life, “Geronimo” ran a 9.3 sec pass at the 1972 Season’s Opener at SPR. Was that its fastest ever run?

John Siggery beat Dennis Priddle in “Quartermaster” (at the 1973 Spring Nats at SPR) but that was in “Commuter” which he took over when Bootsie moved over to take Tony Densham’s drive in “Firefly“. As an aside, John ran a 8.32 in the old red rail at the 1973 Big Go meeting, one of “Commuter’s” lowest ET’s. John’s races in “Commuter” in 1973 were the last runs I ever saw him make.

Another member of the "Geronimo" team, Michael "Tik" Tickner was in touch on the Trakbytes website back in 2003 but his email address at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (!!!!) is no longer active.

Tony

Not for the first time. I may have the sticky end of it, but! Did that engine end up in Jim capon's Tee?

2 pictures from Colin Barlow.

What great photos from around 40 years ago - seems like it was yesterday.

I found an interesting note in the September 1969 issue of "Drag Racing and Hod Rod" reporting on the 1969 Swedish International meeting at Anderstorp Raceway.

There was a good UK entry with "Geronimo" along with Tony Densham in "Commuter"; Clive Skilton in the 1965 ex-Allard rail (running with a top mounted blower for the first time); Allan Herridge in the "Glacier Bearing Special"; Harold Bull's "Stripduster"; Dennis Priddle in the "Whistler" Altered, plus Ian Messenger on "Pegasus" and Dennis Norman representing the bikes.

Re "Geronimo", the unknown scribe writes - "...John Siggery with his Oldsmobile powered "Geronimo" turned in a 9.91...incidently this was the 110th run without an engine tear-down, other than one bearing change."

Unlike many of the top cars of the late 1960s, that's what I recall most about "Geronimo" - round after round, the car would rarely, if ever, fail.

Tony