Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins passed away this morning

bowtie · Secretary

rockin the Vega!

Pushrod · Active Member

Just read an interesting article about Jenkins in Hot Rod or Super Chevy R.I.P

SShink · 3K+ Club

bowtie wrote:
rockin the Vega!

And the Nova/Chevy II if I remember right.

R.I.P. Grumpy.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

As well as the Camaros and the Monzas.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

http://youtu.be/PkcO7creH1A

Chris R · 2K+ Club

RIP Bill. He is right up there with Chevy legends along with Smokey Yunik.

more ambition than brains · 1K+ Club

One of my personalized plates is GRRMPY
Two reasons, I am grampa Grumpy, wife is grandma Mumzie and............ Mr Bill Jenkins! What a legacy of speed and cars.
Karl

Bungy L-76 · Active Member

Grumpy rockin' the Old Reliable 409!

RIP Bill Jenkins.

Lost in the 60s · President

Sad to see we are getting to the age where our generation of legends are dieing off. When I was at Don Garlits' Museum, his crew man Bob T informed me that Don had recently suffered a mild stroke and was in the hospital for a few days about a month before. It wasn't serious and they cleared a blockage but he is getting up there too.

Grumpy certainly was a legend with the development of the small block. He was one of the first to run a 350 up to 10,000 rpm !! One of his old Monzas is in the DG museum as well as several pictures of his '68 Camaro.

Scott Parkhurst · Super Poster

I was fortunate enough to help out on the new book about his cars and career called "Grumpy's Toys". It follows his cars from the fifties to the eighties. Don't forget he played with Mopars for a couple years in the mid sixties too! I got an autographed copy for my efforts, but I'm more happy his story was told and he got to help us make it right before he passed.

bowtie · Secretary

Scott-that was the book you were telling me about at SEMA right?

Scott Parkhurst · Super Poster

That's the one Bryan! I didn't expect an autographed copy to come my way, but it did...just a month or so ago.

bowtie · Secretary

That's so cool. If I remember correctly, it was a bit of a struggle to finally get the story out? Luckily it happened when it did.

Scott Parkhurst · Super Poster

No, not really a struggle. We wanted to make sure everything was totally accurate, so we let Bill take the time to review everything. He ended up contributing a few more photos and tuning up some of the stories in the book, so it was worth the time. The best part was hearing how he'd reconnected with some folks he hadn't spoken with in decades as a result of the book. He said that was really cool- sharing old memories and trying to remember exactly what happened when. So, in retrospect, the book helped him touch base with a lot of old friends while he was still healthy and energetic before he got sick and passed away. For that, I'm thankful. I'm sure his old friends are too- they got the chance to touch base with him after many years, and now he's gone.