When EJ Potter passed away, the motorsports world lost one of its great characters. Mac’s Motor City Garage looks back at a truly singular individual.
Elon Jack Potter was born on April 24, 1941 in Ithaca, a tiny town 120 miles northwest of Detroit, nearly dead center in the Michigan hand. He lived on the family farm all his life—when he wasn’t out touring the world as the Michigan Madman. His father was both a farmer and a chemistry professor, two trades that explain a lot about EJ’s unique ensemble of talents.
As a teenager EJ experimented with farm machinery and motorcycles, including a Harley flat-tracker and a Vincent Black Shadow. In 1960, only 19, he built his first V8 bike, cutting apart a Harley big twin with a torch and wedging a 283 Chevy within the frame tubes. After attempting to cobble together a centrifugal clutch, he gave up and hooked up the Chevy direct drive.
When the local police ordered the mechanical menace off the streets, EJ hauled it to a local drag strip where, by pure chance, he met Art Arfons. The Green Monster racer told EJ that if he could manage not to kill himself, he could probably made a good living doing exhibition dates. Art generously loaned EJ his little black book of drag strip promoters and a career was launched.
EJ built a total of seven Chevy-powered bikes, the first three known as Bloody Mary and the last four also raced under the Widowmaker name. They were refined over the years but all employed the same basic schtick: EJ started the engine with the rear wheel propped up on an axle stand. With the revs up around 5000 to 6000 rpm or so, he rocked the bike off the stand, smoking the rear tire the length of the track, steering with the throttle, and crossing the finish line at 155 to 160 mph. Fans couldn’t get enough of the colorful act. Those who saw it won’t forget it.
Click here to see a video of EJ and the Widowmaker in action for the last time.Â
After surviving over a dozen years on the road with this show, EJ retired the two-wheelers and launched a second successful career as a tractor puller. All the tractors were powered by WWII-era Allison V-1710 aircraft engines, a lifelong passion for EJ (his daughter was named Alison). Fabricated with theatrical roughness, the pullers carried the names Tractor, Ugly Tractor, and Double Ugly, and won two national championships. Along with the bikes and tractors, some other EJ Potter productions:
+Â Â A three-wheel motorcycle powered by a Fairchild J-44 jet engine that originally powered a cruise missile. After crashing the 200 mph trike, he sold it to Evel Kneivel.
+ Â Nightmare, a 1957 Plymouth four-door sedan with an Allison V12 engine, a tugboat clutch, and a Chevy one-ton truck rear axle. Driving the Plymouth from the back seat, he ran the quarter at 145+ mph.
+ Â The Super Slot Car, a gutted English sedan with an electric motor that got its juice via cables laid the length of the drag strip. An Allison aircraft engine (what else?) powered the generator.
+ Â Nightmare Too, a Dodge Dart station wagon also powered by an Allison V-1710. When the Dart’s exhibition career was over, he removed the aircraft engine, welded the floor pan back in, reinstalled the stock drivetrain, and put it back on the road for Mrs. Potter to drive.
You can find some of these creations in the slideshow below. For more, see EJ’s wonderful autobiography, Michigan Madman: As Told to You. It’s out of print but worth the search—with his dry, self-mocking humor, he’s just as much fun to read as he was to watch. EJ passed away at age 71 on April 30, 2012, due to complications from Alzhemier’s Disease. We won’t see his like again.
Please check out the gallery below—click on any photo to start a slide show.
That’s a great story, one of the best yet for me. I love how he showed little or no care for how his creations looked – especially the early ones. It makes a refreshing change from some of the overfinished machines of today.
But now I have to find yet another damn book thanks to this site.
You’ll enjoy the book, I promise.
I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting Art Arfons and, now I regret not having the opportunity to have met EJ Potter. Can’t wait to find the book.
EJ was a true original. To the world he was the Michigan Madman, but beyond all that he was a very brainy guy.
I saw EJ preform at Connecticut Drag Strip in the early 1970’s. I was just a young boy and it left a big impression on me until this day. My older brother and I got to meet him in the pits. What a cool guy. Being young he seemed half super hero and half Buddy Holy! Just amazing and being there when he kicked that bike off off the stand words alone can’t explain!
I was born and raised in the same area as E. J. As young man he was very well known for his antics. Our family used to go to the drags at McBride, Mi. a bit South of the town of Edmore. Little old airport turned into a popular drag strip. What a sight to see him run the bikes there. While living in Southern MI we saw him run both tractors one evening at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair. He was a mechanical genius. The book is a real hoot. Once you start reading, be prepared to finish it.
I called EJ up one day and told him that I was thinking of building an Allison powered hot rod. He was in Florida for the winter and told me when he would be back and to call him. He invited me to go to his house and he was going to let me get a garbage truck transmission off of him. They turned in the opposite direction like the Allison. Really nice guy (great guy to talk to). I bought his VCR tape and it was fun to watch. I feel bad that he is gone and at such a young age.
I never got the privledge of seeing him run in person, but as a teenager I remember reading about him in a Hot Rod magazine, and still remember thinking holy #$$%^, this dude is nuts. The world lost another great one!!!!!!
I was just at atractor pull instjohns mi. Clinton county fair,with my son and telling him about E J and the ugly machine I watched when I was a kid 38 years ago, what a neat and smart guy
I saw EJ run at Green Valley Drag Strip near Glenco, Alabama in the early sixty’s. It was amazing to see and beautiful to watch the smoke trail. RIP EJ.
I only lived a mile and a half growing up from Mr. Potter. Me and my cousin would here him firing up one of his machines/inventions and grab our bikes and race down there to watch him work his magic. I remember seeing all the crates used for the Allison engines sitting around his yard. He also had a bus sitting out that had turbine engine in it. Had a huge stack coming out the roof of the bus. Always watched him pull when he was in the area.
E. J., two other students and I were lab partners in high school chemistry. Nearly everyday was “eventful”! During the development of Bloody Mary #1, occasionally I would say, “E. J., that doesn’t make sense”; sometimes he’d respond, “your’re right” but he’d do it anyway. There were times that he would demonstrate great courage, and sometimes he was just “hellbent” to prove a point. About 1960, there was a brief period that he wanted to put a six cylinder Ranger aircraft engine in my 1950 Plymouth 2-door. (I’m pleased that he didn’t convince me of the concept.). Obviously, over his lifetime he demonstrated unbelievable creativity and some great machinery! He was a good friend.
Must have been a fascinating guy! RIP
I still remember EJ at the Hillsdale County Fair in Hillsdale,Mi. when I was a teenager, I would walk by his Tractor and just smile and stare at it as EJ was getting it ready, I remember he did not say a lot but would look at us and smile. I just found out today he passed and will allways look up to this man.