Last week I received news of a friend who played a very significant role in me being involved with Fiats. This is long before the days of this forum, so with a couple exceptions, I doubt anyone else here would have encountered him.
I connected with Dave when I went into an auto parts store one day looking for X1/9 parts, and discovered we shared that obsession. We ended up tackling seemingly insurmountable car projects, autocrossing several Xs around western Washington, bench racing, "spirited drives" around Whatcom county, drinking cheap beer at the workshop, occasionally even working on customer cars. I bought an X from him and later sold it back again. It's amazing I managed to finish college!
The photo below is from the grid the day of the first Bellingham Grand Prix street race in 1988. We had completed the race engine on that car well after midnight and spent the early hours of morning breaking it in with only minimal lights and muffler on the car... I'm the one in the ill-fitting hat, he's in the red jacket.
We mostly lost touch after I left the area in search of a career work, although I did purchase a pickup full of tools from him some years later when he got out of cars altogether. He also attended my wedding. Dave had a drive to achieve things that kept me motivated at the time. He always was an intense person, and we both tended towards strong tempers on occasion. Despite the conflict and drama, we usually managed to work things out.
Dave took his own life a couple weeks ago. I hope he finds peace.
I connected with Dave when I went into an auto parts store one day looking for X1/9 parts, and discovered we shared that obsession. We ended up tackling seemingly insurmountable car projects, autocrossing several Xs around western Washington, bench racing, "spirited drives" around Whatcom county, drinking cheap beer at the workshop, occasionally even working on customer cars. I bought an X from him and later sold it back again. It's amazing I managed to finish college!
The photo below is from the grid the day of the first Bellingham Grand Prix street race in 1988. We had completed the race engine on that car well after midnight and spent the early hours of morning breaking it in with only minimal lights and muffler on the car... I'm the one in the ill-fitting hat, he's in the red jacket.
We mostly lost touch after I left the area in search of a career work, although I did purchase a pickup full of tools from him some years later when he got out of cars altogether. He also attended my wedding. Dave had a drive to achieve things that kept me motivated at the time. He always was an intense person, and we both tended towards strong tempers on occasion. Despite the conflict and drama, we usually managed to work things out.
Dave took his own life a couple weeks ago. I hope he finds peace.
