So we’re back in Virginia already looking forward to the next show, but we had to put it in park temporarily to get this issue of Still Runnin out to you. Sorry it is a little behind, but hell, it was Bike Week in Daytona. Overall bike week was like I said, a blast. We met a lot of great folks, rode to a lot of places, attended the New Smyrna Beach Car Cruise on Canal Street, took a lot of photographs that we can’t wait to share with you. Enjoy!
Remember Still Runnin Magazine is about real people, real stories, real homegrowns. Not the rich and famous! Look for us cos’ we’re out there looking for you!
Your Publisher,
Lea Ellen Dunham
Still Runnin Magazine
A Falcor Production ©
“Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
People who don’t have dreams
don’t have much.”
Lew Arrington Jr.
One of the early stars of and Funny car pioneer, Lew Arrington Jr. passed away on February 24th, 2008 of heart disease in Desert Hot Springs, California. Lew’s career goes back to 1957 in a stock ‘40 Ford Coup, building a reputation with Pontiac GTO’s in the mid 60’s, then on to Ford and Mopar entries, gaining fame with his supercharged altered-wheelbase famous GTO “Brutus”. In ‘65 & ‘66, a car that also helped launch to stardom famed funny car pilot “Jungle Jim” Liberman. The GTO was followed in later years by Pontiac Firebirds and Ford Mustangs. After his last Mustang was destroyed in a racing fire in ‘73, Lew teamed with Fred Fornkner campaigning a Dodge Charger bodied Brutus entry, his last ride in the fuel class. Ending a great nitro funny car career, Lew became the driver of one of the first officially licensed rocket funny cars, his groundbreaking Captain America Mustang, which ran ‘75 - ‘79. Lew retired in 1979, the Brutus name was sold to Roy Harris, who campaigned a funny car in the 80’s using the famed moniker. Lew Arrington is survived by his son, Lew III, a crew member on John’s Force’s Funny car.
Lil’ John Buttera
“Lil’ John” died on March 2nd, 2008 in South Carolina after a long struggle with brain cancer. He was at the age of 68 at the time of his passing. Lil’ John was born July 22nd, 1939 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father worked at an American Motors factory building Ramblers. Lil’ John has a sterling reputation, known as a master craftsman and father of billet components. He was a gifted fabricator and welder. Lil’ John signed his automotive creations, incorporating the nickname given him to differentiate himself from an uncle whose name he shared. “Built at Lil’ John’s Place.” Dating back to the dragsters, Funny cars and Pro Stock machines in the ‘60 & ‘70’s, Lil’ John set trends. He built funny cars for some of the biggest names in the sport. His subtle craftsmanship and superior engineering skills set his cars above all others when he set his sights to street rods in the mid-seventies. John pioneered the use of custom parts made from aluminum blocks called billets.
In the 70’s, his use of billets for suspension, wheels and other components made for lighter hot rods and sparked a craze for the technology. Lil’ John was the first to make independent suspensions wheels out of machined aluminum. Lil’ John was content to let others have the spotlight and build on platforms he pioneered in street rodding and racing.
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