We just lost a good one, E.J Potter, the Michigan Madman, is gone. We’ve written about his Chevy powered drag bikes several times on The Kneeslider and a few years ago reviewed his book, Michigan Madman, but yesterday, when I wrote about his Super Slot Car, I had no idea, that just two days before on April 30th, E.J. had passed away.
EJ was a wonderful example of the hands on “doer” spirit. When an idea entered his mind, it wasn’t long before EJ entered his shop and set to work building it. He became a doer from necessity. He didn’t have much money, but learned how to weld when he was young and found you could make do with very little if you knew how to repair things and keep them running, but he also learned you could make almost anything that could be imagined.
When the small block Chevy V8 began to get popular and all of the car magazines were writing about how small, light and powerful it was for a car, EJ naturally thought it would be a perfect way to get horrendous power in a motorcycle. As he says:
Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even usually surpassing knowledge. Lots of times a guy will jump into a project without knowing how far he is into something way over his head until it’s almost too late to back off. This is a situation that I frequently wake up to in the middle of another adventure.
The first Chevy powered motorcycle EJ built was a wonder, the frame was heavily butchered modified Harley, square tube engine mounts, a Whizzer gas tank and a starter drive in the end of the crankshaft. A totally inadequate clutch was connected to a number 50 roller drive chain rated at 24 horsepower. Well, you have to start somewhere and it was a start.
They tried various combinations of parts and eventually got to the point where it would run down the street, something the local police warned him had better not happen again. Someone suggested they take it to the drag strip and after convincing the promoter, yes, they really did have a Chevy drag bike, they were off. Art Arfons was there that weekend with his Allison powered “Green Monster,” which impressed everyone, but when EJ was supposed to run, he gave it some throttle and twisted the sprocket right off. As EJ looked at his bike in the pits a fellow came up and told him if he worked the bugs out, he might be able to make some money with it. EJ didn’t realize it until his friends told him later, that fellow was Art Arfons, which improved EJ’s mood and gave him some confidence. The promoter came over and told EJ if he came back, he would pay him $1 for every mph over 100 he could manage. Imagine, making money with his Chevy bike! Thus began EJ Potter’s “accidental career” in drag racing.
One of the most memorable features of EJ’s drag bikes was the launch. After trying all sorts of clutch setups and continually meeting with failure, they ditched the clutch altogether. Now, raising the rear wheel on the stand, they would fire up the engine, spin up the tire to about 100 mph and one of the crew would push him off the stand. EJ said, “Major leap of technology here.”
Though his drag bike years went on for some time and are what many remember him for, EJ liked engines of all sorts. He built a trike with Fairchild J-44 jet engine, interesting in its own right, but the story got REALLY interesting when EJ discovered the design feature that enabled you to start the engine with compressed air at 3000 psi instead of with an electric starter motor. Since EJ had lots of military surplus parts lying around, he rigged up some ball shaped high pressure tanks and connected an old refrigerator compressor to his lathe to spin the thing up. Pressure was building up really slow so he let it run and came back some time later only to find the 3000 psi meter pegged! In a panic, he shut off the compressor and stood there wondering how much pressure was actually in there. In the now silent room, he heard some weird creaking noises from the direction of the tanks.
I should censor out some stuff so as to not sound like a total dimwit, but the accuracy of the story demands that I have to tell you that I was just really intrigued by this strange noise that was exactly like when you walk on snow that is 10 below zero or so. Like I said, it was a creaking sound.
This has to rate as about the stupidest thing (almost) that I ever did, but I reached down and shook the hose between the two air tanks. Lo and behold I immediately found that the weird noise was the sound of the wire braid inside the hose breaking. I could tell this because as soon as I shook the hose, the rest of the wires broke and the two air tanks immediately took off in separate directions making such a roaring noise that you would need to hear it to believe it. Each tank had a short piece of broken hose attached to it, of course.
Well sir, one tank had a straight fitting on it and the thing made a really good rocket, sorta like when you blow up a balloon and let it go. That bastardly thing smashed into my big drill press and bent the main shaft, then went up through the ceiling and tore around in the attic blowing the insulation all over everything. On the way past, it shot a stick of air at me that blew out my eardrum and shoved me out through the doorway. The other tank had an elbow fitting on it, so it just pretty much stayed in one spot and spun around at such a speed as was really wonderful to see. Naturally, about this time it was beginning to look like those jumper cables and the electric starter would not be so bad after all, really. That was the end of starting jets with air for a while, as you may expect.
EJ also had a fascination with Allison V12 engines, which he proceeded to install in various vehicles. There was a 1957 Plymouth 4 door sedan where the engine was so long EJ had to sit in the back seat. On his first outing, a night run, he found the engine instantly spun the tires and filled the car with smoke, making it impossible to see, so he drove by staying to the right of the headlights of the cars in the return lane, but at the end of the run, the engine backfired, the fireball was so bright in the darkness, he now could see even less, though the hood was now humped up from the explosion so he couldn’t see anything anyway. He managed to get it stopped and returned the next night.
EJ got into tractor pulling when a fellow asked him if he had any big engines suitable for a pulling tractor. He had no knowledge of the sport and after a quick education began building a tractor with a 2500 hp turbine from a military turboprop. Development pointed to some really precarious issues, so they went back to the tried and true Allison V12s.
EJ’s first tractor was Ugly Tractor, named for the fact that it had no paint except for what was still on the military surplus Allison. He went to the Indy Super Pull, the most prestigious competition in the country, with a simple and, compared to the other competitors, cheap tractor, not to mention, looking a bit ratty. Everyone else had a dragster engine with a clutch, EJ had an Allison and a torque converter. Long story short, to everyone’s surprise and chagrin, EJ beat them all and the next year, did it again.
EJ then came across a really rare Allison engine, an experimental W24 designed for bombers. It was a 24 cylinder engine which was really 2 V12s side by side, with the two crankshafts geared together. It became the engine for, “Double Ugly” now sporting about 4000 horsepower and, it too, became another winner.
EJ’s adventures were many, his projects amazing and though his many brushes with disaster might make you think he was flying by the seat of his pants, he had a hard won knowledge of how things actually work, knowledge that led people from all over the world to call him up and ask for his advice and expertise. Not bad for a self taught builder and mechanic and something to think about for all of those guys just starting out. When a fellow with a P-51 Mustang hired EJ to figure out what was wrong with his engine, he wondered where all of his timing tools were and EJ produced a protractor from his pocket. As he said, “It ain’t whatcha got, it’s what you do with it.”
E.J. Potter was a builder, a mechanic, a doer and quite a showman, too, willing to build things to see if they work, willing to solve the problems, willing to give it a try, no matter how improbable the odds. We could use a few more guys like that right now.
Rest in Peace, E.J.
Link: E J Potter obituary
mikesundrop says
These Potter stories have been the most enjoyable I’ve ever read on the Kneeslider. I have a new hero. RIP
HigherRPM says
Several years ago I saw the book by E.J. Potter advertised in Cycle News. I called the number listed to order the book and E.J. Potter himself answered the phone!! I had a nice 10 minute chat with him and thought “what a cool dude”. I remember reading about the early V8 bike and how it was direct drive with no clutch. He would start it on the stand and then rev it up and push it off the stand! Had to be a real rush as the above photo shows him a bit “crossed up”! Anyway… E.J. Potter was one amazing person and the world will be a little bit empty without him. His legacy lives…. E.J. Potter lived WOT! RIP E.J. Potter
bbartcadia says
I saw EJ at Onandaga Dragstrip in Michigan in the mid sixties. He promised to smoke the tire on his drag bike the length of the track and delivered, twice. Later saw him at the same track ready to race against a bike powered by a SOHC
Ford in a longitudinal frame. Those guys had obviously spent a lot of money on their rig but didn’t have EJ’s knowledge. He made them look silly. They couldn’t go 20 feet straight and never made a run. Thanks, EJ.
jon parkinson says
what a “man”!itaode
Coxster says
Now THAT is one entertaining post! What an imagination
GuitarSlinger says
I was going to put up the notice and links to EJ’s passing on the Slot Car article yesterday , but figured you’d find out about it and place a proper and fitting R.I.P. which you’ve done . Excellent tribute to the man !
EJ was a ‘ Working Man’s ” genius and my greatest regret is missing out on buying his book .
Rock On old man , wherever you are !
And ….. what is it about Allison engines that has me so intrigued now for decades ? I can still remember the thrill of hearing that first one started up ….. finding a 1/24 scale model and stuffing it into the snout of a Charger ….. seeing a Green Monster in person etc .
I know intellectually that the RR Merlin was the better motor but dang me if it isn’t the Allison that sticks in my craw .
tim says
that was excellent. that sense of “I wonder….” when the air tanks blew apart. I totally get that (the quiet moment before a disaster)
Vinnie says
EXACTLY what was on my mind, that split second, when you know you shouldn’t, but…what if…yeah, what the hell
jim harrell says
WOW! Another legend gone. Sad. I saw EJ at Milan and Detroit drag strips many times. Talking about excitement!!!!! His first bikes were for his skill and daring only but later he got pretty techno and those rascals would fly. At Milan he would start up at the “long end” and come down to the start finish, popping, banging, snorting. A crew member would turn him around and katie bar the door. He could literally smokem the quarter. No telling what his tire consumption was.
Then one day he showed up with a think a Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant station wagon with one of his favorite airplane engines. He sat in the back almost on the tailgate. Holly cow, smoked them through the quarter.
I think his secret passion was burning rubber……..?
His inovation and creativity will be sorely missed…see ya next time around….jim
Paulinator says
I absolutely love the picture of E.J Potter launching his twisting and flexing V8 motivated Honda Dream. He must have been THE QUINTESENTIAL COOL DUDE because He made it look easier than pushing a shopping cart. And no offense to anyone out there, but one look at his machine would make a turbo hayabusa cross its legs if it could.
Mister X says
I was awestruck by EJ’s bikes in the 60’s/70’s magazines I devoured as a teenager, and I went to my one and only tractor pull at the Cow Palace near San Francisco because EJ was going to be there with “Double Ugly”, and boy, did he put on a great show!
EJ was one of my earliest inspirations to learn mechanics and fabrication, and thinking of him made it easier to buy a basket case Suzuki X-6 and turn it into a cafe racer in 1971.
R.I.P. EJ…
Cyndi Roslund says
Thank you soooo much for this awsome article! I knew EJ and could almost hear him talking in that article! The pictures are awsome too! I remember going with him to a tractor pull once and his son, Jack, was there. I watched him throw weights on and off the tractor for the different classes EJ ran in. It was fun to sit in the stands and listen to people’s reactions as the Ugly Tractor appeared–they were laughing and making jokes. When EJ ACED the run, everything changed! The crowd was on their feet cheering him on when he lined up for the next run!! R.I.P. EJ Potter and thanks for making a mark on so many lives. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
Scotduke says
He sounds like he was utterly nuts. Motorcycling and car racing is all the better for characters like him but there are fewer and fewer now as the corporate types in suits take over. I’m sure he’ll be missed – I’ll look out for his book tho I’m not sure it’s available on this side of the Atlantic – RIP.
Ben Sellers says
We have lost another of my heroes. He inspired me to build and create. He also showed me it’s O.K. to be different. E.J. Potter, you will be missed.
Carolynne says
Very Inspirational! He clearly lived his life to the fullest and has left behind a wonderful legacy of memories and experiences. I wonder if you can still get his book somewhere, I would love to read that
B50 Jim says
I once bought a 1/25th scale Allison engine and stuffed it in a 1/25th scale Deusenberg, and I thought I had something. Not knowing about EJ at the time, I didn’t realize there was a man who would do it for real and race it! There’s a little EJ in anyone who has bolted a bigger Briggs & Stratton engine in a minibike or fabricated a manifold to use dual SU carbs on a slant-6 Valiant. But the difference is that EJ followed Daniel Burnham’s advice — “Make no little plans. They have no power to stir men’s souls.”
Goodbye, EJ. We’ll miss you, and you did indeed stir men’s souls.
B50 Jim says
GuitarSlinger —
The RR Merlin was a better engine only because the boys from Packard taught the English blokes how to hot-rod it and make it run. The Allison was a hot rod from the start, and that’s why it has such appeal, even today. I’ve heard them run in tractor pulls, and they sound like God Himself built them in His garage.
Vinnie Dee says
Its strange how “radical” do it yourselfers are always appreciated after they’re gone by the press. The very idea that some of us enjoy building stuff without million dollar budgets makes them dismiss characters like EJ as half-baked buffoons.
We’ve become a nation of sheep who believe ingenuity only comes from corporations. The sole purpose of a corporation is to make money.
Do it yourselfers build because we have a passion to push the limits of our imagination, regardless of how ugly it looks.
Maybe next time you see someone that has a passion for building stuff you could hold of on the snide and derogatory comments that recreational motorcyclists are so famous for.
RIP EJ
The world needs more characters like you.
Brian Sheridan says
I think, I correct in saying that Potter is the only guy to have his motorcyle pass through the timing lights without him on board, and that both he (his body) & the cycle were timed & got timing slips! I saw him run many, many years ago at ATCO DRAGWAY, in New Jersey. It was a night run. Just about everyone in the stands jaw’s droped when he smoked it off the line. No one was sure if he would live through the run. I remember that NO ONE would take him on, even when the announcer pleaded with the racer to run against him.
Brian
Kathryn Walsh says
My father, John ‘Skip’ Kolan, was a friend of AJ’s. They shared a love for fast bikes.
Baille Brillhart says
I grew up in Ithaca. Then moved to Arcadia, ca. near Pasadena in 1976. My dad, Dr. Wm. Brilhart rented the farm to Skip. The one on Union St. I bought 2 cars by the time I was14. Now I drive a 1983 BMW 320i it’s in pristine condition. I’m working on two other cars I have,
a 1966 and 1968 Volvo P1800s coupe. I’m in several car clubs. My mother and I often went to visit Sheila, E.J.’s mom. I was too young to know E.J., but I knew of his fame with A. J. Foyt and Evil Knievil because of my older brothers Bill and Dick and of course his mom. Sheila had a book of poems printed. She graciously wrote a poem of my mother when she was struggling with the disease ALS. Well it is obvious that Ithaca was taken with E.J.’s genius mind with what he did with motorcycles and cars. I have friends on FB that I graduated with that speak of him
highly. I didn’t know until now that they tinkered around his place, they must have been real
young. But, boys and speed, it doesn’t matter what age. I guess we all have an E.J. Potter story. He will be missed by many in Ithaca and his world of ” what can I create next?”
. He will be missed by many.
ken says
What an entertainer !!! …Saw E J run his bike at Biloxi Dragway in the mid 60`s.
…….his sack was definitely full !!! R.I.P.
Ken
Stephen Brown says
Wonderful post! Thanks always for your positive attitude.
Best
Stephen
Dolf Peeters says
Look at what we came to: Someone I know would reward himself after a long time hard working and pleasantly motoring with a 1600 cc BMW. He sold the machine within 6 months since the huge amount of electronic things, devices, aps, watchamecallits, power, performance and high tech stuff and the sheer volume of the beast collided with his basic feelings. He bought himself a toprestored BMW R90S from our national R90S and BMW/GS guro Theo Terwel and he is happy again.
Jim Kunselman says
In the late ’60’s, my stepfather, Lloyd ‘Pappy’ Davis had read an article about E.J. Potter’s V8 bike and was inspired. Now, Pappy had a buddy that owned a nearby salvage yard and he was able to get from this pal, one Buick 215 V8 w/ bellhousing and clutch assembly and one Indian motorcycle rolling chassis.
Helped with the magic of a Sears/Craftsman buzzbox welder, the motor was installed (weaseled in) crossways into the frame. From a homemade sprocket shaft, a chain ran through holes cut into the bellhousing back to the rear wheel. A rectangular one-gallon gas can was mounted on top of the frame to feed the carb. All this was done during a three day holiday weekend.
On the fourth evening, my two younger brothers and I pushed the old man down our street while he attempted to ‘feather’ in the clutch to turn over the motor. The motor lit after 30-40 feet and after revving it for a few moments, our grinning Pappy shut it down to go in for his leathers and helmet. A few minutes later, he’s back out on the bike and running again. He starts out slow, kind of lugging along and cracks open the throttle. The bike took off straight and then wheelied, he tries to hang on, it flipped over backwards–landing on him while sliding with sparks down the street.
Several neighbors and we kids go running down the street to see if he had killed himself. We lift the bike off him, he stands up a bit dazed and bruised, but OK. That very night, he cut the motor out of the frame and refused to talk about it until the day he died. It still cracks me up to even think of the story today.
Paulinator says
Great read!!!
Johnny Stuff says
Wow, I remember reading about EJ Potter when i was a kid in a motorcycle magazine. Loved his “out of the box†thinking. One of the stories I remember was EJ returning tires after just a weekend for warrantee replacement for premature wear. I believe EJ just might be the impetus for the “under normal†conditions warrantee clause.
Mr Tuner says
If you like the stories passed around, Buy his biography book and we can help his family. I read it a few years ago and it is like wow what an adventure!
Carolynne says
I have been trying to find a copy. Apparently they are out of print, I think it would be an excellent read. B50 do you happen to have one stashed somewhere in that over-filled garage of yours?
Pete says
Used to what Ugly and Double Ugly at “Twin Creeks Tractor Pulls”. Actually used to be a Sled Hooker there. My sister lived across the river so I was volunteered a lot. What a pleasure to know EJ Potter while he was having fun. Also grew up with CKLW in Winsor.
“Sunday, Motorcity Dragway, Watch the Michigan Madman smoke his tire from one end of the track to the other”.
John Ellwood says
E.J is inspiration to us all
Bianchi45 says
Not many people know it but E.J was very much involved with the Art Arfones and the Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons who both produced rocket cars that attempted Land Speed records on the Salt Flats in Utah. He was an amazing guy, never went to college or held any kind of engineering degrees but forgot more stuff than most people know. In this day there is little room for the kind of ingenuity he exibited. Very few people take the kinds of chances he did and even fewer have the initiative and drive to see a new idea through. He was a very unique individual in motor sports history. His great love the turbine engine which he used almost exclusively in his tractor pulls. Though his history was obscure, he left his unique mark on the motorsporting world. As the old Detroit Dragway posters used to say “This Guy is Nuts” which was plastered under the pictue of E.J. riding one of his Bloody Mary or Widowmaker bikes.
Jess says
This man had an awesome reputation even as far away as Melbourne, Australia. The concept of a V8 drag bike was unheard of at the time, a time when anything V8 was considered amazingly cool, especially a Stingray or Mustang. Information was hard to come by in the mid-60’s, and I remember as a 10 year old going in the local newsagent reading all the hot rod magazines just to find out ANYTHING about The Michigan Madman, until the store owner would come along and say “you gonna buy that magazine son?”
What a great bloke, who reinforced the love of motorbikes my father had instilled, especially “V” powered grunters.
RIP E.J.
Wayno says
Those were some of the most interesting comments I’ve ever read.