I’m sitting here watching the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction on Speed Channel and the Briggs Chevrolet 1970 Chevelle LS6 just sold for $1,150,000. Yes, you read that right. One million, one hundred fifty thousand dollars. From the Barrett-Jackson site:
454cid LS6 V8 automatic transmission with 61 miles showing on the odometer. This is the car that Ray Allen drove and won just about every conceivable race entered in 1970. This car won The US Nationals, The Super Nationals, The World Finals and most of the division races that were entered. This car has gone through a frame-off restoration that was mostly built and supervised by Ray Allen himself. This car is being sold with the original New Jersey title in Truppi & Kling’s name and also comes with the original build sheet and various magazine and National Dragster articles about this World Champion Car and pictures at The Winners’ Circle. This car is truly a legend in muscle car history.
The car was bought originally for $1500. If I remember correctly, my father said that that included the flatbed to tow it on. The interesting thing about the car is that it was truely one of 17 ever made and NHRA required that at least 50 of a car be made for it to eligible for competition. Truppi-Kling was able to get a letter from Chevrolet stating that 50 were made even though there weren’t.
I’ve included an edited video of the auction that I recorded to my PC thanks to my TV tuner card
stinner dot com 
Please elaborate more about this letter from GM stating there were 50 made,when only 17 were?
I would like to see a copy of it.
Also,how is your father connected to this?
Thank You for your reply.
I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO CONTACT YOU FOR YOUR MAILING
ADDRESS BY CHIP GERST. YOU CAN E-MAIL ME OR CALL US
AT 949 642 4414.
THANKS, DEBBIE
inaccurate letters&papers to get a car into a race class? this is old news. (a)gm will do anything to get results. ask ralph nader. (b)ferrari did it for years. have good day.
Hi Dave,
My name is Gene Hedden. I grew up in Dunellen. My family used to live next door to your grandfather, Frank Stinner on Orange Street. I was a little kid when your dad, Jerry, as we knew him, was racing and was involved with Truppi-Kling in Piscataway & Green Brook in the 60’s-70’s. I was very much into drag racing as a little kid – still am, at 45. Always as a fan though – never raced, except my Aurora slot cars!
I used to love it when your dad would park some of TK’s race cars in the side yard at your grandfather’s house. I would climb all over and under the cars, inspecting every inch – I was probably 8-9 at the time. I probably bugged him every time I saw him about when he would have another car parked next to our driveway. I specifically remember a 69 Camaro super stocker – white, I think – though I can’t remember the driver or car name. Not Jenkins, though! I do remember that the rear quarter had the old Truppi-Kling logo, inside the Chevy bow tie, with “Truppi” on top, “Competition” in the middle, and “Kling” on the bottom. It stands out in my memory because the letterer misspelled “Kling” as “King” on one side of the car, so it read, vertically, Truppi-Competition-King, and I thought it was the name of the car!
Your grandfather once gave me an old, OLD, slot car around that same day when I was crawling on the Camaro race car – best I can tell it’s from the late 50’s, a very simple home set car with rubber band drive. I am an avid Aurora H.O. slot car collector, and I still have that very slot car to this day, in my collection!
I very much remember Ray Allen’s car, and I had been following the recent developments, the restoration and sale of it. I was actually looking for some pics of it from Barrett-Jackson when I found your website, and I knew I’d found a contact for my old neighbor. I always wondered if Jerry had stayed in drag racing to some extent, but I could never find a contact. How is he? What was his specialty in drag racing – did he ever drive? I always thought he was the coolest because he was in drag racing.
I wonder if he remembers us – my father’s name is Jack Hedden, he was a computer programmer, and a mechanic, part time, and used to work on friends cars in the driveway, and my mother, Sachiko, is Japanese. And I was the car crazy little kid. they still live in Dunellen. Please tell him I said “hello”.
My father used to take me to the TK shop to say hi, and see the cars. I remember names like Ray Allen, of course, Claude Urevig, John Lingenfelter(I remember a 73, or maybe 74 Corvette that I believe Lingenfelter raced with a 350 smog-motor, and he killed them in Super Stock with it. SS/EA I think. It was parked right outside the shop – I hope I have my facts right on this). Is there still a TK shop there?
Check this out – When I was in 5th grade, I got a little paperback book on drag racing, through the school, called “Drag Racing”, oddly enough. Among all the pics of great drag racers of the time(late 60’s-early 70’s), here was a pic of a Corvette – maybe a 63, 64, 65(?)at some track – not E-Town – and it was a sports class car,(NHRA had classes for sports cars back then) with a big racing number on the side, 3 digits as I remember, Truppi-Kling Competition, and it said on the front fender, “Chief Wrench – Jerry Stinner”. Well, I just jumped out of my seat in class, and I told everybody I knew the guy whose name was on this race car in my book! Nobody cared…
Well, fast forward a couple years, and here comes your dad to visit your grandfather, and he’s driving the very same car! The decals and numbers had been removed or primered over, but I knew it the instant I saw it. Boy, I was impressed! Do you know what ever became of that Vette?
I also remember your uncles Denny and Skip, and your aunt, Louanne. Skip had a tough Chevy Blazer with headers – yellow and black. It passed through a couple more owners in Dunellen before it rusted away. I used to see Denny at a restaurant in Somerville back in the 80’s – La Cuchina, I think. He was the manager as I recall. He also worked at a cafe in the Sears in Watchung when he was young, or maybe it was a department store in Plainfield -it has been a long time!
Well Dave, that’s my blast from the past – I’m sorry to take up your time with my sentimental journey. I think of your dad when I see old S/S pictures from the 60’s and 70’s and whenever Truppi-Kling is mentioned. I would really like to know how your dad is doing, and if he is at all involved in the sport anymore, as I see Tommy Kling is still out there. How about Ralph?
Regards,
Gene Hedden
Cranbury, NJ
Debbie…..I am Chip’s cousin…Just wondering how everyone is? Kathy