Olympia Charger

Waiting for the 2012 LM Classic at the Le Mans 24 Hours Museum

What would be a good place to stay while waiting for Le Mans Classic 2012? Le Mans, of course! And where exactly? At the famous 24 Hours museum, of course! So we will have it nice and warm until we see you guys at the hottest July days that 2012 will have to offer, namely the next edition of Le Mans Classic!

426 Le Mans HemiWedge: investigating the oil lines mystery

After that our good friend Tom of Olympia's Rocket Restorations found it in the Phoenix Craigslist, we managed to buy what looks like one of the two original motors that the McGriff team had with the Charger at the 1976 Le Mans 24 Hours. Some engraving from John Todd, who overhauled the motors for Le Mans, look like a solid hint.

Olympia Charger on the 1976 Le Mans track

Here is a neat little video from GT Legends that shows the Oly Express (not the right year body style, but nicvely done) on the 1976 Le Mans track. That can give us some impressions on how Hershel and Doug McGriff did their qualifying back in the day!

Rooms and tickets for Le Mans Classic 2010

 

You better hurry as out of 36 spots, only 11 are left for you to book. The single rooms are all gone! The budget priced packages are all gone! But we still have a nice one room appartment that can accomodate 3 people, one luxurious en-suite room at the Chateau for 1 or 2 and a two bedroom appartment for 2 to 4. To book contact me via e-mail or leave a comment here below.

Oly Express Le Mans 426 HEMI-Wedge V8

The Oly Express racing team is happy to announce that one of the two original engines of 1976 Le Mans campaign is now back with the team. Thanks to the efforts of Tom @ Rocket Resto, the 426 HEMI, that was converted to Wedge heads in its day, due to NASCAR rules, is now back home! Our plan is to restore it to its 1976 configuration. You can see a bit of the engine here in this picture from 1976 Le Mans garage action.

New old pictures of the Dodge Charger at Le Mans in 1976

One of our greatest fans from Germany, Karl-Heinz Roggendorf sent us two pictures of the Oly Express at Le Mans in 1976. The above is from Tuesday scrutineering at Place des Jacobins. Below is when the car was refueled before the race. As you can see on the pumps, only road type gasoline was available at Le Mans!

McGriff Dodge Charger at Mulsanne 1976

Our faithfull fan François Breton sent us this great screen capture from a little amateur film of Le Mans 1976. It shows Hershel McGriff at the wheel of the Oly Express Dodge Charger after sidelining his racecar right after the Mulsanne corner. Read more about the whole story by clicking here.

Hershel McGriff's Le Mans snowplow Camaro

Hershel McGriff returned to race at Le Mans in 1982. After the not so successfull attempt with his son Doug in the Dodge Charger in 1976, Billy Hagan signed on Hershel to drive the Stratagraph 1979 Camaro with Dick Brooks.

Great 1976 Le Mans photos by Ron Zuehlke

Thanks to Dick Pierson's recent TV appearance on the Seattle local news, Ron Zuehlke had some memories coming back to him. Ron was at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1976 and took these two excellent pictures of Hershel McGriff and the Dodge hurdling toward Dunlop. Thank you so much, Ron. I just love it when this whole story keeps growing thanks to contributions like yours!

Hershel McGriff back at Le Mans

Today was sure a day to remember for Team Oly Express as Hershel McGriff came back to the Le Mans track. After racing the Charger here in 1976 and one of Billy Hagan's Camaro's in 1982, Hershel, alongside with wife Sherrie, daughter Marilyn and son-in-law Tex Powell (yes, THE Tex Powell), came to France, 25 years after his last 24 hours drive.