Max Balchowsky -- 3:  Old Yellers  IV / V / IX 

At Laguna Seca in June 1961, Bill Krause debuted Old Yeller IV, the most sophisticated Balchowsky creation yet.  Krause blasted past the entire field from the back row of the grid and took the early lead.
 
 

He passed strong competitors like Jim Hall's Chaparral Mk.1, Chuck Sargent's Birdcage Maserati, and Ak Miller's Devin-Oldsmobile like they were standing still.  Suspension failure cheated Krause of an overall win.

Bob Drake drove the car at Pomona in July, shown above, but an unfortunate incident ended his race while battling Don Hulette for the lead.

Max never raced  Old Yeller IV again.  He converted it into a camera car for his burgeoning career in Hollywood special effects.

 
Max's next project was Dave MacDonald's blazingly fast and very successful Corvette Special: Here at Del Mar in December, 1961.

Sometimes called "Old Yeller V", the Special's Corvette-like body was actually a lightweight shell molded from a Corvette and narrowed & shortened to fit Max & Ina's custom-built "Old Yeller" chassis.

From Ron Titensor:  Nat Reeder,  "The Glass Man"  of 'Fiberglass Auto Body at 5807 Sunset Blvd. built the body panels for the car.  There is a photo, similar to yours, of the car on Nat's business flyer. (circa 1962?)

 
Bill Krause appeared at the 1963 Riverside Grand Prix with the Ford 427 powered "Old Yeller IX".

Maybe Max should have stuck with his well-proven Buicks, as problems with the Ford sidelined the car.

This was the last of the Old Yellers, as Max concentrated on his Hollywood career, supervising the car stunts seen in "Bullitt", "The Love Bug", "Viva Las Vegas, "Spinout", and others.

Ted Peterson and Peter Shea had success with OY IX in Historic racing. 

Next:   Max Balchowsky -- 4:  Old Yeller Reunion

Back to:   Max Balchowsky -- 2:  Old Yeller III

Back to:   Max Balchowsky -- 1:  Old Yellers I / II

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