page_title: Max Balchowsky
section_title: Old Yeller and Ol' Yaller Race Cars
hierarchical_section_title: Max Balchowsky / Old Yeller and Ol' Yaller Race Cars
caption_attribution_description: Max Balchowsky started racing in 1951 with a rather more sedate Jaguar XK120, before switching to homebrew cars for the next couple of years. In 1959, he built Old Yeller Mk II, it had a ladder-type chassis with double-wishbone front suspension and a solid rear axle, and a body held together by rough army-surplus fasteners and some tape. But what was really important was under the bonnet: a heavily-modified 6571cc V8 Nailhead Buick 401 engine pushing out 305bhp. Balchowsky initially drove Old Yeller himself, but over the car’s life a list of impressive drivers has also shared the wheel, like Carroll Shelby and Dan Gurney. It was raced right up until 1974. It was restored in the early 90s back to how it looked in 1959. It has feature at Goodwood in England and the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca.
context_page_description: Max Balchowsky was a prominent 1950s and 1960s American race car builder and driver, and was involved in the film industry as a stuntman and an automotive mechanic. He is remembered for his crude but spectator-popular underdog Old Yeller Specials that competed against many of Europe's most exotic and expensive sports cars.
context_section_description: Balchowsky designed and built nine Old Yeller/Ol' Yaller cars. His first two were named Old Yeller after the dog in Disney's 1957 film who was yellow, mangy and unwanted. Disney didn't like that so Balchowsky changed the spelling of his cars to "Ol' Yaller." The first two were crudely built and parts were sourced from junkyards but they proved very competitive with the high torque Buick V8 nailhead engine. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler financed/sponsored many of the cars. He remarked that, "I never kept track of which Old Yellers were really mine or not. I paid for the right to be the owner and to be around Max and to be around the cars and to drive the car on the streets."
caption: Max Balchowsky's Old Yeller II
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