Paul Gommi – Dover Drag Strip

This topic has 12 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated March 29, 2009 at 2:45 pm by dino.

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March 22, 2009 at 6:57 pm #9374
maso
Participant
Any of you “Old Dover Farts” remember Paul Gommi from Stamford Conn. who also raced at East Haddem before heading out to Southern California…???

Well… Paul’s latest creation is featured on the cover of the current ( May 2009 ) issue of “HOT ROD Deluxe” Magazine with a long ten page feature article about it, and is it cool… It’a a ratty looking ’32 Ford roadster with some of the most unusial detail idems that you have ever seen. This car has a history that goes back to the dry lakes.

Go see it.
March 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm #16486
dino
Keymaster
Will be contacting Paul to fill us in on ALL his Dover Cars…Shott bought a chassis from him . And He had a few .
March 24, 2009 at 12:10 am #16503
anthony-terenzio
Like i said in a earlyer post i would ride my bike to his speed shop (i was about 10 our 11 at the time) in Stamford on the boston post rd and west ave bother him and his partner russell grady
all day they had the dragster there some times and i’ll never forget the one of the cars had a chassis that the up rights were not welded that was the hot thing at the time
now some 30 years later some car are built that way
March 24, 2009 at 1:40 am #16504
maso
Participant
Check this out…

Some “Unrepentant Marxist” from Paul’s college class remembers him in his blog and compares him to Burt Monro, the New Zealander with the 1920 Indian motorcycle who set a record at the salt flats and they made a movie of it… did you see that movie…?

Go see: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/now-for-something-completely-different/
March 24, 2009 at 2:43 pm #16506
anonymous
Paul Gommi had a partner, Grady. Grady and Gommi campaigned dragsters on the east coast. I would like to know what happened to Grady. In the late fifties he had a radical 55 olds that a blower on it when no one on the street had anything like that. The story goes that he went even wilder with it, chroming the frame and putting a bubble top on it. Supposedly, the car is still sitting in a gararge somewhere in this area. If anyone has any old programs from the Autorama shows that used to be held in Hartford, they can see pictures of the car.

Al Baran
March 24, 2009 at 5:08 pm #16508
gene-terenzio-sr
Participant
quote albaran:

Paul Gommi had a partner, Grady. Grady and Gommi campaigned dragsters on the east coast. I would like to know what happened to Grady. In the late fifties he had a radical 55 olds that a blower on it when no one on the street had anything like that. The story goes that he went even wilder with it, chroming the frame and putting a bubble top on it. Supposedly, the car is still sitting in a gararge somewhere in this area. If anyone has any old programs from the Autorama shows that used to be held in Hartford, they can see pictures of the car.

Al Baran

Russell Grady Died about 2 /3 years ago,his lawyer Mike Cantore sold all his cars, he had the original bee line aa/gs car all apart in his garage, call Mike if your interested in the olds, hes in Stamford Conn. not sure if it was sold? Gene Terenzio Sr. The dragster was called The Beast From The East. P/Sm look up the black road web site theres a picture of the olds there. http://www.blackroadautoclub.com/
March 24, 2009 at 6:35 pm #16509
dino
Keymaster
Nice batch of info Gene …THANKS. Got Randy Fish helping me get a phone # for Gommi.
March 26, 2009 at 1:38 am #16531
john-sachs-sr
Participant
Last I saw Paul was in 1968. 🙄 I was in Cali. match racing in the fall,and stumbled on him in his speed shop.He opened it up after working for Keith Black for several years.
We flowed my Hilborn 4 holer on his injector flow bench.He wound up using the Anglia in his ads for a while.I’ll post a copy of the ad. 😉
Gommi Racing Engines
11619 Louise Ave.
Lynwood,Cal. 90262
213 537-1160

John
March 26, 2009 at 2:37 am #16535
maso
Participant
I saw him in 2003 at the Bakersfield Hot Rod Reunion and here’s a picture that I took:

That’s him on the far left. He set up a flea market past the quarter mile not far from the spot where he crashed in ’89.

That is his ’32 Ford panel truck. He got that with the lettering that says “Paul’s Appliances” already on it…! Everybody know you can’t drive a flathead on the Interstate without overheating it… and that’s what Paul did that weekend…!
March 26, 2009 at 12:59 pm #16541
dino
Keymaster
Here’s the Ad from John………………………. Don’t think the number still works…..It doesn’t

Attachments:
March 26, 2009 at 6:25 pm #16542
dino
Keymaster
Are we good or what? 😀 ……Just got off the phone with “the Beast from the East “man himself- Paul Gommi . He was flabergasted to get the call. Said, “how ironic, I just found negitives and proof sheets fom the days at Dover & Montgomery”…..related he ran ’63-64′. Won six times in the lenthened Lynwood fueler with the blown olds motor.Then Bernie Shacker built his next chassis…Was in rush to go someplace , but took my number and will get back to me…Randy helped to track him down. Sent him a full e-mail all about the site.
March 26, 2009 at 8:48 pm #16549
maso
Participant
quote dinotheweirdo:

Are we good or what? … I just found negitives and proof sheets fom the days at Dover & Montgomery.

I really want to see those, especially the ones from Montgomery. The Montgomery drag events really have a lot of historical significance both to Dover and the north-east in general. I wish some historian would do a detailed account of it.
March 29, 2009 at 2:45 pm #16597
dino
Keymaster
Well you got you Answer !after Paul started coresponding ! …more coming …See Both Related Posts with all pauls info .

http://doverdragstrip.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1028

http://doverdragstrip.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1029
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