Here's Jon's facebook story: I first heard his name mentioned in 1963 while I was just getting into drag racing a 409 Chevy, I hung out at Menlo Oscars, a cherry coke, hamburger and hot deep dish apple pie w/icecream and for desert ...a street race for a little cash to pay for our fun and hopefully add to bragging rights. One night a '59 Ford cruised in looking for me, he wanted to race me on Fri night at Hourglass (our favorite place to race) his car looked like a low rider and sounded like a stock 352, I agreed to meet him and race for $50 ( big bucks for '63), Fri night we met but the car sounded a lot healthier and it was equipped with headers and slicks, and there was a Japanese guy driving it. I figured that I had been suckered but , " what the heck" I'll race him anyway, I knew I could beat the Ford, I beat up on them all the time, boy! was I wrong, I got my doors blown off and learned who Donnie Araki was, he put his 427 motor in the '59 and drove it. He was running an auto parts store called CV Auto parts on Moreno Blvd. He later opened a shop called "the House Of The Rising Sun" and we became good friends, he was a really neat guy and a fun guy to talk to. "God Speed" Donnie, and Thanks' for the priceless memories, I will never forget you and see you again someday.
Don doing what he loved best, building a badass car. Image © Bob Gagnon |