Bill Jenkins, let me refer to him as Grumpy throughout the blog, was born on Dec 22, 1930. He was born in Philadelphia, PA but was raised in Malvern, PA. He got the nickname "Grumpy" for having a no-nonsense attitude at the races. As a young child, Grumpy started working on his neighbors tractor engine, and from there his passion for working and building engines began. Grumpy did a bit of drag racing before going off to college at Cornell University. Grumpy started his drag racing career by racing a 1955 Chevrolet Convertible at local tracks.
Grumpy left Cornell University during the 3rd year, and used his training and skill to start building engines. He became nationally known for building 30 cars that set national records. In the 1960, he was known in many circles as the engine builder for Dave Strickler. In 1965, Grumpy won his first event at the Winternationals in a Hemi-Powered Plymouth Belvedere named "Black Arrow". Then in 1966 he decided to run a Chevy independently by making his own Chevy Engine package. That is when the Chevy II "Grumpy's Toy" was born. It has a 350 cubic inch/350 horsepower Chevy engine that was beating 426 Hemi-powered/425 horsepower engines. Then in 1967, Grumpy was added to the Chevrolet Team. Between 1965 to 1975, he won thirteen NHRA events.
Grumpy has been inducted in numerous Motorsports Hall of Fame for his engine building skills in the NHRA Pro Stock Division. His innovations include Pro Stock front end suspension, dry sump oiling systems, cool cans, drag racing's first kick out oil pans, electric water pump fans, gas port pistons, and slick-shift manual transmission. His continued search for improved performance left little time for idle chat with his racing colleagues. Among the Hall of Fame's where International Motorsports Hall of Fame 2008, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1996, and Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1993.
Grumpy retired as a driver in 1976 and he hired Larry Lombardo and Ken Dondero to drive his cars. Grumpy wanted to spend more of his time concentrating on research and development. Lombardo took over Grumpy's seat at the second race of the 1976 season and went on to win the NHRA Winston Pro Stock Division. Dondero won the AHRA title that year. Grumpy's main focus was building and improving performance in engines. Dave Connolly also powered a Jenkins engine in his Pro Stock Cobalt in 2005. It briefly put Connolly in the Powerade points lead.
You could always see Grumpy on the starting line throughout the years smoking his cigars. Every once in a while you would catch a glimpse of a smile. He loved drag racing and his passion for a better performing engine was always on his mind. Besides building engines for drag racing, he also worked on some NASCAR engines. He built the engine Donnie Allison used to take the pole position in the 1975 Daytona 500. He also built the engine for Mike Swaim that took him to the pole of the 1987 Busch Series race at Daytona.
William Tyler Jenkins passed away in March of 2012 of heart failure, but his legacy lives on. He has brought so much to the Motorsports World with his innovations and passion. He is survived by his daughter Susan Jenkins, from his first marriage to Alexandra Newman, and his son William and daughter Dani-El from his second marriage to Polly Wood.
If you would like to know more about Grumpy and his Toy's, there is a great book that captures a lot of his history. The book is called, "Grumpy's Toys" "The Authorized History of Grumpy Jenkins' Cars" You can check out this copy at Barnes and Noble.
"Grumpy's Toys" They Authorized History of Grumpy Jenkins' Cars
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