Why does Bill's son Preston, want to keep his dad's memory alive, through the Clenet, # 13?
This is the same model of the 55 Jag, Bill Williams had in his collection, and one his teenage son Preston had the keys to. Bill finally had to take the keys away, after so many reckless joy-rides Preston, and his friends took without permission.
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| Preston and his dad, Bill Williams. |
Here is Preston's story of another wild ride in the 911E Porsche.
The word got around that there was this fast little unassuming 911, I'd raced many school mates, that thought they had the fastest car in Auto Shop; You know the motor head types!
The thing I found about these great American Muscle Cars, was that they have tons of power, but lack traction and would spin their tires. The little Porsche, however, would grab and throw the car like a sling shot, Bing bang Gone!!!.
So my friend John, had a friend, who was actually much older, a lawyer, who was also a armature racer, who had a beautiful Red 1985 911S with all of the hood scoops and air dams. He loved to brag about how it was built and that it had a blower etc, and it was quite fast!
He'd taken me for a ride, and was a much more experienced driver than I was. His little S was fast, but it did not have the force, that threw you back in your seat, and I knew I could spit him out my exhaust.
I said, "wow! this is an amazing car, I know you don’t think much of my little E, but I would just like to see if I could keep up with your car."
"I'm sure you could," he said, "well, until the blower kicks in - then I am gone!!!"
"Cool," I said.
"Press," he said, "I only race this on the track, as the special gas I use is expensive and the wear and tear it puts on my car is brutal."
"Sure," I said, with a straight face.
"So I will tell you what, lets’ make it a challenge, I'll bet you $200.00 that I'll beat you. If I win you pay me, and if you win, I'll pay you."
"Sounds good," I said, knowing he thought his $200 bucks was a shoe-in.
"Otherwise," he said arrogantly, "you can just figure, you have a cute little 911E."
My only concern was not the 911E, of course, but more so my ability. Maybe I was crazy, but I just couldn't miss the chance to shut his big fat mouth, and a for only $200.00, it was worth it. So I shook his hand and set the date, for that Saturday, as my Dad would be out of town that Friday and I'd have one day to practice my shifting skills.
The race was so cool! We went to my favorite place, The Tram road and marked off a two mile stretch. My buddy Tom drove with me and my other bud, John drove with my challenger. I was on the right side and my challanger, was on the left. John counted down. With our windows open, he put his right arm up and counted down 5,4,3,2,1, and then threw his arm down.
We both punched it, 1st gear I was gone, I was ahead by at least 60 feet, 2nd gear his blower kicked in and he zoomed up behind me and edged past me, 3rd gear I caught him at 130+, and started walking away, 4th gear 150 and going, Tom and I were laughing as he waived good buy in the rear view mirror, 5th gear the gauge was pegged and still going. We past the 2 mile mark, and I took my foot off of the accelerator and eventually pulled off the side of the road, and the S pulled in behind me. We all got out, and John and the Guy walked towards us, John was smiling - as he expected me to win, but the lawyer was shaking his head.
"I can’t’ believe it," he said, "I want to do it again."
"Well we can," I said, "But it'll cost you - I can’t do this for free! You know, the gas, wear and tear and all.
He got so worked up over the deal, he actually said he wanted to have my car put on the dyno, as it seemed a bit rough,.
"Well," I said, "I just wanted to see if I could keep up with you. What do you think of my little E. now?"
"He smiled and gave me the $200.00, and we all went out to eat.
That too was a good day.
One more story from Preston to come. Shocking and heartbreaking. You won't want to miss it.
Keep checking this week for more pictures of Bill's Clenet at the Santa Barbara Concouse with Alain Clenet. I think you now understand why the car is so special to us and why we want to keep Bill's memory alive through it.
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