Martyn L. Schorr
"The Taz was unique. An interesting, immaculate, very cool car!"
Martyn L. Schorr
(Former Editor of CARS Magazine / Rodder and Super Stock / Vet Magazine / 24 books on Racing / and....... http://www.sarasotacaferacers.com/m_schorr.html)
The last time I saw Mr. Martyn L. Schorr I was quite young , probably running amongst the cars at Pacers Auto while my Mom monitored somewhere in the background. Thumbing through the pages of CARS MAGAZINE articles, again and again I see my fathers image. What I also see again and again, is ‘by Martyn L. Shorr.’
Reaching out, I had the pleasure to speak with a wonderful, warm, quite well spoken man, who graciously took the time to talk to me.
It was no surprise to hear that he and Dad were quite different individuals, “I couldn’t turn a wrench and your Dad couldn’t write a story.”
These men did not interact, other than Pacers working on some of his cars... that and the oodles of magazine articles.
I agree, Dad couldn’t write a story, but boy could he BE a story.
Reaching out, I had the pleasure to speak with a wonderful, warm, quite well spoken man, who graciously took the time to talk to me.
It was no surprise to hear that he and Dad were quite different individuals, “I couldn’t turn a wrench and your Dad couldn’t write a story.”
These men did not interact, other than Pacers working on some of his cars... that and the oodles of magazine articles.
I agree, Dad couldn’t write a story, but boy could he BE a story.
“Your Dad was an extremely talented fabricator and tuner, he knew his stuff. He was a serious Hot Rodder.”
“There are lots of pictures taken of him in the pits working on the car or tuning it on line before George made a pass. There he’d be, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and a can of nitro in his hands. He was dirty and he was on the line. Your Dad was usually the guy in the background. He was the epitome of ‘those’ day’s, the typical poster boy of Drag Racing.”
“Back in the day it was just another day. Pacers was just another shop doing work on peoples cars, and on the weekends drag racing. The most business part of it, was doing well enough to drive customers to your shop. Now 30 or 40 years later everything has become iconic. The Taz has become the poster car for everything that was wonderful about drag racing. Pacers was this great shop and Charlie Dodge was this great person.”
“There are lots of pictures taken of him in the pits working on the car or tuning it on line before George made a pass. There he’d be, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and a can of nitro in his hands. He was dirty and he was on the line. Your Dad was usually the guy in the background. He was the epitome of ‘those’ day’s, the typical poster boy of Drag Racing.”
“Back in the day it was just another day. Pacers was just another shop doing work on peoples cars, and on the weekends drag racing. The most business part of it, was doing well enough to drive customers to your shop. Now 30 or 40 years later everything has become iconic. The Taz has become the poster car for everything that was wonderful about drag racing. Pacers was this great shop and Charlie Dodge was this great person.”
It turns out the shop actually played a pivotal role in Marty's involvement in another speed shop on Long Island, called Motion Performance.
Marty was working on a story about a 63 corvette. Pacer’s was working on the Hilborn Fuel Injection of that Corvette at Pacers, so naturally Marty thought they built the car.
He ran the story, crediting Pacers with building the car. In comes Joel Rosen from Motion Performance... who really built the car! Of course, he was not too happy. Marty went to meet him and, lo and behold, they became business partners and great friends to this day.
This long time partnership allowed Marty to write “Motion Performance, Tales of a Musclecar Builder.”
Funny how a ‘screw-up’ was so right!
(Just a little side note: No one lead the story astray, no one said anything... Pacer's just happened to be tuning the car.)
Marty went on to explain, “It is romantic now, but the time was just the time. It was just what you did to make a living, to raise a family. You were weekend warriors, and it was no big deal. A car was just another car, and at the end of the year you sold it, most times for parts. We were just people and we just did things...”
* If you want more stories of this time, more photos, more Marty... check out his book.
My father’s skills, images, and words jump out of the CARS MAGAZINE pages. I am forever grateful that Marty was able to spend so much time with him... and documented time at that.
Marty was working on a story about a 63 corvette. Pacer’s was working on the Hilborn Fuel Injection of that Corvette at Pacers, so naturally Marty thought they built the car.
He ran the story, crediting Pacers with building the car. In comes Joel Rosen from Motion Performance... who really built the car! Of course, he was not too happy. Marty went to meet him and, lo and behold, they became business partners and great friends to this day.
This long time partnership allowed Marty to write “Motion Performance, Tales of a Musclecar Builder.”
Funny how a ‘screw-up’ was so right!
(Just a little side note: No one lead the story astray, no one said anything... Pacer's just happened to be tuning the car.)
Marty went on to explain, “It is romantic now, but the time was just the time. It was just what you did to make a living, to raise a family. You were weekend warriors, and it was no big deal. A car was just another car, and at the end of the year you sold it, most times for parts. We were just people and we just did things...”
* If you want more stories of this time, more photos, more Marty... check out his book.
My father’s skills, images, and words jump out of the CARS MAGAZINE pages. I am forever grateful that Marty was able to spend so much time with him... and documented time at that.