Mal Harden pics

[Composite Specialties]

Found these pics in my photo album.

[David Weaver]

Fairly certain that the gentleman looking at Mal's rig in the second photo is Pete Hellsten. This must have been a late 70's or an early 80's race at Camden.

[Composite Specialties]

This was taken at Camden in the early 80's. That is Pete Hellsten along with Tom Harden.

[Composite Specialties]

Here is another from the same day. People from the left are: Tom Harden, Pete Hellsten, Mal harden, Chris Hellsten?, Herbie Davenport and Ian Augustine.

[B1PRORACER]

In 1980, I went down to Camden with my little ASR. As usual it was the last race of the year and I was in a three-way battle for the Waldman Award (me, Jack "Glasses" Neeley and Matt DAugustino). I was pitted near Malcolm Harden that year. Remember my post about people and things that impress us? This 250ccH rig was very impressive! The boat was immaculate and performed flawlessly! I had never seen a 250ccH run like that did.... It would be a few years before I would start running 250ccH, it would be 12 years before I ran that fast, and I never had a rig that looked as good as Malcolm's nor did I ever leave an impression on anyone like that rig left on me!

[Jeff Lytle]

It was a pretty rig, that's a fact. And man........could he float a Butts !!

Peter, remember all the machined holes that were in his pipe brackets? It looked A1. Neil LaRose used to do that too.

[Jeff Lytle]

Marc, that is Pete........I remember that crew cut well !!

[David Weaver]

Maybe 7 or 10 years ago, I arrived at Camden on Friday morning for the Fall race. The pretense was to do some testing, but of course it was the last race of the year, so the real reason was to have crab cakes and beer.

Around noon, Mal pull into the pits with his old World Championship 250 Malfunction. He set it up and made a number of laps. Still floating that Butts like nobody else I remember.

He came back in, thanked those who helped launch him, packed up and went home. Probably the last time that I saw Mal.

[crankbearing]

What are the history on the boats and if they were not destroyed by accidents, where are they now? This is our heritage and history.

Regards,

[B1PRORACER]

David- Why did Mal stop racing? There obvoiusly wasn't any "Malfunction" but was there any "Malcontent"? I understand that Mal's father was a great machinist and created all of that stuff? Like I stated before, I wasn't running PRO stuff way back then, but I was impressed by that operation.....

[David Weaver]

I believe that after his father passed away that Mal lost most of his interest in racing. He started racing PRO's when he was 14, so had been involved in the sport for many, many years. There were other demands on Mal's time such as kids and work.

Both Mal and Tom were good machinist. Mr. Hardin's most impressive accomplishments occurred after he suffered a stroke and lost use of one of his arms. He still managed to produce beautiful lower units for the anitque and PRO racers.

Mal continued to work on Konigs for other people for a number of years after he stopped driving. I believe that he still may own the 250 rig, a 350 rig (including a 4-cylinder 250 Konig that was bored out to a 350) and his fathers Antique C Racing Hydro (a cloth deck conventional named Great Balls of Fire).

DW

[Composite Specialties]

The 250cc Butts boat that Mal had was sold to me in the late 80's. I ran a Yamato on it for one year and then built my own hull. Mal called me and wanted to buy it back, so I sold it back to him and he restored it back to make the last Camden run that David was talking about with his two piper Konig. As far as I know, he still has the boat restored and stored away. He did actually race it that weekend for Saturday only. I finally got to race against Mal Harden and remember looking at him going for the start, knowing I was racing against a legend.

[Abbott Racing]

I remember racing against Malcom at the OA worlds in Dayton Ohio in 1982. Actually they helped me save my trailer from going into the hydrobowl, after driving 18 hours straight, I had backed the trailer up, unhooked not noticing that I was on a slight slope. Next thing I know I'm looking like the grinch in the cartoon, feet dug into the ground holding the safety chains as my trailer slowly rolled down the bank. Malcom and a few others came running and once we got the trailer to the top, and put the wheel blocks FIRMLY in place, they started laughing and said welcome to Dayton, obviously your first time here right?

The father had just recently suffered a stroke and was unwillingly sitting in a chair while Malcom setup the equipment during the event. If my memory serves me right they won the worlds that weekend, with that super clean high flying butts aerowing.

[Bill Huson]

I recall racing with Mal, one of the nicest guys in boat racing. Pop Augustine had me driving a single pipe Konig 250, a trainer boat. I beat Mal one time, in Portsmouth. Actually I beat all seven 250s while running on one cylinder!

A fluke. Portsmouth is salty water. Shortly after getting on plane I got *zapped* andd figured out I had to hold my elbow off the coaming and the throttle screw heads that were full of ignition juice. By lap two the salt water gremlins had knocked out everyone but me'n Mal. He came screaming by me so fast he blew my undies up around my ears - and then. YEEEOOWW! His throttle hand flies up, another victim of the salt water kill switch zaps.

I was the only boat that finished, a winner by major default. I figured the only way I'd ever beat Mal was if he got struck by lightening, and he sorta did. We had a laugh after the heat.

[David Weaver]

Bill,

I remember that race. Hot as hell in July.

Only time I raced against my father in 250 hydro. He was running well when the gremlins got him and knocked him out of first. Gremlins got to me early. My pipes stuck forward in the second turn. My reactions were quicker than my brain. I turned around, grabbed the pipes and shoved them back. Cleared the engine, but I burned my hand and had to quit. Then it seemed that 1 by 1 everyone broke down.

This race was on a measured 1 1/4 mile record course. This was great until the tide began to out and the bouy lines developed slack. During the 350 race, my dad and Ian were racing at the front when they failed to notice that the entrance pin had drifted several yards towards shore. Of course, they both went for the middle pin and were DQ'd. Monkey see monkey do!

I believe at the same race that Davey Augustine was a passenger in a Jersey Spped Skif race. His mental capacity has never been the same sense then.

I also remember that a big OPC developed a major leak and ran itself up on the shore beside our trailer. The driver hopped out and began to talk with Pop like nothing new had happened. This may have been our Host Dan!!

[Bill Huson]

Even for a swamp rat like me - musta been over 100 deg that day. Yep Davy took a speed skiff ride and declared the skiff drivers crazy. Coming from a lad who runs lay-down 100+ MPH alky boats, that wasn't an endorsement that encouraged me to try a skiff ride.

I also remember the muck. That patch of water was shallow and we had to cart the boats almost 100' from shore to get enough water to start them. At least semi-clear water, ignoring the foot or more of much our feetsies were embedded in.

[Abbott Racing]

prior to leaving inboards and coming back to outboards, my racing partner (Gerald Pemberton) and I bought a skiff and raced it for a few seasons. It is the most awesome ride you can everget in a raceboat. I now race CSH and Gerald runs CSR, but you haven't lived unless you've flown in a skiff! I must say that roll turning a CSR is nothing compared to roll turning a skiff!!!!!

[Composite Specialties]

Yep, I was there as well. Raced A-Stock against Lynn Midget and Lynn was racing with a severe hangover. Watched Davey Augustine ride in the Jersey Skiff.

[Dave_E71]

It's pretty funny, I'm cleaning out my office at home so I can paint and came across a bunch of racing pictures including a couple of my skiff ride :eek:. The rest of the story is that we were all standing around at the drivers meeting and some guy needs a rider for his skiff, somebody tells him to ask the Augustines they're crazy.....he asks Gary who points to me , I think the sun had affected me by that point, and I said sure (anybody else notice that bad things happening to me usually involve Gary?).
I show up for the first heat (no testing) and ask what I needed to do,
he says "see that handle?" pointing between the seats,
"uh huh" I answer,
then he points to the deck next to my seat "and that one?",
"yeah....." I say,
he looks at me, smiles real big and says "hold on"

By the end of the first lap my helmet had rattled around so that the top of the eyehole was resting on my nose but I sure wasn't about to let go to fix it and I'm not sure that not being able to see was a bad thing!

It's one of those life experience things, I'm glad I did it but I'm not sure I want to do it again.

Dave

BTW make sure you use the correct power supply when you hook up your scanner, they sure do stink when you fry them...

[roperz111]

Portsmouth, Va......

Wow.... I started thinking about that place. I can remember more stories about that place it seems than any other.

Can we say: JELLYFISH ... JELLYFISH ... JELLYFISH !!!!!

The tide, as Bill Huson said, that made the distance from the pit area to where you actually started the boat from at least a football field. AND.... it was all black muck all the way.

I took my first ride in an alky there, Marc's 250ccH (circa 1988?).

And then there was the time when the Baptist Church nearby treated us to their Sunday morning (literal) baptism right at the end of the pit area, forming two lines into the water about 100 feet, yelling and praising and dunking..... all of us just watching, most likely hungover....

Hottest race I've ever been to. Well, at least since Elizabeth City's race in 1969 (104 degF)......

Charlie Wood's famous post-race-day B Stock Hydro party ride, well sort of ride, he made a lap and a half before...... well, any one who was there knows what happened....

We celebrated the 200 year Independence Day celebrations there in 1976.

Just some reminiscing.... still snow here, and now, tonight we're getting ICE, ICE, ICE .....

CJ
111-Z