The Gang…
| Geoffrey R. Hacker Historian / Researcher Tampa, FloridaHome: (813) 888-8882Mobile: (813) 888-8883E-mail: geoffrey@grhacker.com |
Cars have been part of Geoff’s life since his earliest years. Inspired by his grandfather and mother’s intense involvement and interest in both racing and classic cars, Geoff bought and restored his first car at age 14 which was a 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood.At age 18, his family moved from Chicago Illinois to Clearwater Florida where Geoff found and purchased an obscure fiberglass car called a “Shark” Immediately after the purchase, Rick D’Louhy tracked Geoff down and provided key details on the cars’ history. This led to a fast friendship that has lasted 25+ years.Ultimately, the purchase of the “Shark” led to a 25 year project researching the history of the car and discovering the family and builders of it as well. Here’s a link on a video concerning the shark for those who are interested:Click Here for Video
This experience ultimately led to a greater appreciation of fiberglass cars and the families which designed and built them. It was from this foundation that Geoff moved forward in his research project with Rick D’Louhy in documenting the rich and interesting history of fiberglass cars. Here’s a link to more research and projects completed in the past few years: Click Here for Overview of Research |
| Rick D’Louhy Historian / Researcher Ormond Beach, FL Home: (386) 672-1861Mobile: (386) 299-8004E-mail: rdlouhy@cfl.rr.com |
Rick’s automotive passion was ignited by his father. Together they witnessed racing at its finest at Lime Rock, CT in the late 1950’s, Watkins Glen, NY in the 1960’s, and Daytona Beach, FL in the 1970’s. Receiving a subscription to “Road & Track” when he was only 9 years old helped propel Rick to his extreme appreciation of interesting motor vehicles.Rick’s automotive tastes aren’t exactly main stream. Over the years, he’s had some fun, yet practical, American-engined British & Italian sportscars including 3 Sunbeam Tigers, a Triumph TR8, a DeTomaso Mangusta, 2 Intermeccanica Italias, and a Chevy-powered Maserati Ghibli.He’s also had an Elva Courier Mk IV and a Lotus Europa Twin Cam. His current stable of uncommon cars includes a ’65 Morgan 4/4 GT roadster, ’84 TVR 280i Tasmin convertible, ’57 LaDawri Conquest roadster, ’64 Vanguard Warrior I roadster, and ’58 Grand Prix ¼ Midget.Rick and Geoff’s acquaintance goes back to the early 1980’s when Geoff helped Rick bring home a 351 Windsor-powered “barn find” ’70 Italia. Rick’s latest barn find is M.A. Adams’ lost Meteor SR1. You can see a video of it being built on the front page of Forgotten Fiberglass.Since the late 1980’s, Rick has produced and promoted prominent collector car events at Zephyrhills, Florida, and at Daytona International Speedway. He is now producing a major collector car event in Florida, the Daytona Beach Dream Cruise.
Currently, Rick – aka Dr. RPM – is resident technical expert for a national tv show on the RTV Network. Click here to learn more about Rick’s involvement with the show. |
| Jon Greuel Founder – LaDawri.com |
Jon created LaDawri.com in 2002 and has owned a LaDawri Conquest since 1986. Jon and Geoff Hacker expanded LaDawri.com to include 1950′s vintage fiberglass cars and more around 2007 and renamed the website www.fiberglasssportscars.com. Jon owns the 33rd LaDawri Daytona build, is an Air Force Instructor Pilot, is married to Suzie Verdin, and has two children Jack and Mark. Other interests include his 1968 Firebird and his quest for finding his Uncle’s car – the 1958 Greuel Special |
| Harold W. Pace Noted Author Vintage Racer |
Harold Pace is an automotive journalist and historian who writes for a number of magazines in the United States and Europe. He has written two books on the history of American specialty cars and was awarded the Cugnot Award of Distinction from the Society of Automotive Historians for his contributions to The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.He is also a member of the Motor Press Guild. Pace is an active vintage racing driver and has owned and restored many classic racing cars. He lives with his wife, Shelley, in Weatherford, Texas |
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Mark R. Brinker |
Brinker is an avid vintage racer, and he collects American race cars and special bodied cars of the 1950s. He is a voting member of the Writers Guild of America and has sold a number of feature screenplay works to major film studios.Mark started land speed racing in 2008 and currently holds the Bonneville record for 750cc sports cars.Brinker is also a board certified orthopedic surgeon who has written over 100 scientific articles, countless book chapters, and three textbooks in the field of medicine. He and his wife, Newie, live in Houston, Texas. |
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Dave Perry |
Born in ’42, I got my first fiberglass ‘ itch ‘ in 1956 when I began building my second street rod, the 47 Chevy Fastback that I got after my dad bought a new Mercury Montclair. |
| Rodney Packwood Packwood Special Glasspar, Woodill Wildfire, Victress Historian |
Rodney with his brother Bill Packwood completed and raced the “Packwood Special” in the early 1960′s. This was a Victress C3 based car with a Mameco Chassis.Rodney currenly is involved with Geoff Hacker in documenting all Glasspar G2′s and Woodill Wildfires and creating the first comprehensive database of these cars. |
| Guy Dirkin Byers and Victress Historian |
Guy has been a sports car enthusiast for most of his life. His first focus was on wide-bodied TVR Tuscans, and his research in this area is known world-wide. Most recently, Guy has purchased and restored a Byers SR100 sports car and recently found and acquired the “Lost Motor Trend Victress Special” built by Fred Bodley, Motor Trend Technical Editor in the early and mid 1950′s. He is currently restoring his Victress. |
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Steve Cowdin |
Steve’s interest in vintage fiberglass cars goes back to the early 1990′s where he purchased his Wildfire and became friends with some of the 1950′s designers and builders of the day. Steve had a chance to meet with and interview Bill Tritt (Glasspar), John Willis (Skorpion), and other luminaries at a time where few would have been dedicated to do so. Steve also has amassed a wonderful collection of vintage fiberglass car literature and will be publishing a book of this literature in collaboration with his friend Geoff Hacker coinciding with the release of the Forgotten Fiberglass book. |
