We developed Auto Repair and Restoration Guide to support DIY and backyard gear head enthusiasts everywhere. Have questions about how to change your oil on your 2012 Toyota Venza or where to find original parts for your 1968 Chevy Camaro restoration? Our site is designed to help answer these and a host of other questions pertaining to all things automotive repair, restoration, and regular maintenance.
I'm George Place. A gear head enthusiast with 50 years of performance and daily driver automotive repair, restoration, and maintenance experience. I am a native of Central New York, and since my early teens, I have always had a very strong fascination for all things automotive, motor, mechanical, and energy-related. Beginning with restoring a Whizzer motorbike, then small engine repair, scooters, and helping my brother-in-law to build and race a twin-engine go-kart and after that a local Chevy Dirt Track Stock Car. I have had a life-long passion for racing and performance.
My interest in automotive continued to grow.
I bought and built a 1931 Ford Model-A coupe, channeled + Olds powered. I worked at a local auto supply during high school, as a Mechanic at the local Chrysler/Plymouth Dealer in the 1960’s. I started my NHRA Drag Racing Career and ordered a 1965 Plymouth A-990 Race-Hemi Factory Super-Stock Drag Car but was not able to take delivery due to the massive number of orders for the cars. I was also taking vocational education classes in machine trades and auto technology. In addition, I worked for several years at a local Aerospace Plant working as a Machinist, Quality Control Lab Technician and an R+D Lab Technician involved in the testing of fluid-control devices.
Soon after I built and operated a Performance Automotive shop in Central N.Y. specializing in mileage and performance improvements and sales. I also specialized in the installation of speed and racing/performance parts and sales of automotive/industrial, and farm lubricants. I was also building street and race motors for drag and stock cars. During the Arab Oil Embargo, I began doing mileage conversions and built a good reputation in Central New York for increases of 45% up to 120% MPG improvements on gas-powered commercial delivery trucks as well as gas recreational vehicles and pickup trucks.
My passion for Drag Racing started with working as crew on a friend's 1960 Chevy D/Stock Eliminator car. I then built and raced a new 1966 Pontiac Factory C/Stock GT Ram-air, Special Production, Factory Weight-Package Drag car that ran under the NHRA Record.
At this point, I partnered with two other local Drag Racers to build a nationally competitive 1955 Q/Stock Eliminator car which became one of just a few cars in the Nation to dominate the NHRA Stock competition. The car was sponsored by Jere Stahl of Stahl Race Headers of York, PA. We typically ran .5 - .6 tenths of a second under the National Index. In the fall of 1970, we set a new NHRA National Record at Atco, New Jersey. We went on to qualify in 4th Place in NHRA Divison 1 all of the northeast USA. This earned us a trip to the 1970 World Finals in Dallas, Tx. After this, we built a 1969 Camaro Drag Car which ran both Stock and Super Stock Eliminator classes competitively, running below the NHRA National Record.
I moved to Florida in the early 1990's. I began working in the transportation industry and also worked with a large eCommerce Group doing website sales as well as brokering forklift service and sales. Just prior to Y2K I found myself in the Industrial Power Generation business selling used diesel generators. Eventually I was marketing my own line of Commercial-Industrial standby and prime power generators.
I've since retired from the generator business and I live here in Florida with my wife and nearby family. As you can see here, I am still working in eCommerce, too. Of course, my hobbies keep me close to my passion for performance automotive. I still love attending Drag Races as well as classic car and motorcycle shows and the like.
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