Editor Brennan (left) and...
Editor Brennan (left) and John were greeted upon arrival in Indy by Goodguys' Gary Meadors (right).
"We never talked too serious about anything. Ya know, from the perspective of an outside guy looking in, those guys were gruff and scowled a lot and would put off the average guy. But, they really weren't that way at all once you got to know 'em. They were very genuine but definitely opinionated. One of John's favorite sayings was, 'Yeah, you're entitled to my opinion.' In my mind, they were each their own genius in the things they did.
"Who else do you know, besides Lil' John, who could build an Indy car with very little money but tons of talent and compete with the mega-millionaire guys and qualify for the race with a hot-rodded Chevy V-8?
"Then, you have Boyd, who created some of the first billet wheels and had the smarts to turn it into an empire. He had a knack for surrounding himself with the best craftsmen and, together with great designs, built seven AMBR winners, as well as dozens of other major award-winners. Anytime Boyd's cell phone would ring, he'd say, 'This could be the big one' before he'd answer.
"At Merced in the 1970s, when I was event director, Buttera showed up with no windshield sticker on his roadster, and I wouldn't let him in. He explained that he couldn't put a sticker on his window because, 'They would steal it 'cause it said Lil' John on it-I'm famous, you know.' I said, 'Bullsh-! Get over there and register your friggin' car!'
"One of the best stories was when we roasted Boyd in 1996. Lil' John got up and really put it to Boyd. He explained how when the two were making the first sets of billet wheels, Boyd talked about 'getting into' the wheel biz. John asked, 'Boyd, we've already made six or seven sets of billet wheels for our rich-guy buddies. How many more sets of these deals can we possibly sell?' That one really got a chuckle.
"One time, Andy Brizio and I went down to visit Lil' John. We go into his shop and he has one of those brand-spankin'-new computerized CNC machines. He has all these high-tech gadgets and big-screen stuff all around. It was when he was building his Indy car. We asked him, 'Man, how did you afford this?' He replied, 'They came in, and they set it up for me when I gave 'em the down payment. My next payment isn't for 90 days. I figure if I default on the payment, it will be another 30 days before they actually get around to coming to repo the damn thing, and by then I'll have all the parts I need already made.'"
Builder and manufacturer Richard "Magoo" Megugorac on Lil' John
"There was a huge fad in California for western wear back in the 1980s. Everyone in street rodding had to have a western hat, vest, and whatever else they fancied. So, there we all were in our highboys and cowboy hats. John decided I needed a horse, so he bought me one and presented it to me at Pleasanton. The laugh was that it was a broomstick pony. I drove around with the broomstick with its stuffed horse head for the entire weekend.
"He started calling my wife, Lois, 'Goldie' many years ago when he noticed her fondness for jewelry. A few years ago, he called up Lois and wanted to know how her back was. I asked him who said Lois was having back trouble, and he said, 'No one, I just thought by now it would be shot from carrying all that jewelry around.'
"A couple of years ago, I was talking with John about his little modified and discovered he didn't know about Teflon bushings for front spindles and how it improves the steering and eliminates the need for lubrication. I was thrilled to help John and especially to have him recognize an idea of mine. He had incredible talent but always recognized it in others. He had an integrity and honesty that led him to be very trusting and expect the same traits in others.
"He had a great sense of humor and never understood a lack of it in others. Above all, he had a wide streak of loyalty and a willingness to do anything he could to help people, and that made him friends for life."