Big Willie’s 1969 Dodge Daytona
In automotive history, few are more recognizable than a Daytona. This particular one is a legitimate part of American drag-racing and Southern California history, and Rocco B. tells us that it is on the docket for this year’s first Mecum event! Keep reading to see more!
William “Big Willie” Robinson (c.1942-2012) was a towering 6-foot-6-inch, 300-lb African-American man with massive torso measurements, a military veteran and amateur bodybuilder who loved cars and racing. He was born the oldest of five children in Louisiana and grew up in the ’40s and ’50s, served briefly in the U.S. Army , then came home and spent decades breaking down barriers, overcoming societal obstacles and bringing together people from all walks of life through auto racing in the area of Los Angeles, California. He and his wife Tomiko (Smith) Robinson (c.1949-2007), who herself was a mixed-ethnicity child of a U.S. military family, were talented racers on their own, but together were a winning team and founded the Brotherhood of Street Racers in 1968, giving people a sober, safe, police-approved outlet to put aside their differences and to race cars, at a time when social and racial tensions were extremely high. At first, he did it on the streets of Los Angeles. Later, with the help of Tomiko and some local politicians, he did it to much greater effect at his track: Brotherhood Raceway Park, a.k.a. Terminal Island Raceway, which operated on an old Navy base in San Pedro/Long Beach area from 1974-1984, then had a hiatus but finally closed in 1995 when the city had other plans for the site.
The car presented here is purportedly the last of three obtained by Willie and Tomiko, and only surviving car. Some sources say that it was more of a promotional car but others suggest it may have seen a few passes down the strip. Allegedy, Willie’s red King car was sabotaged but some parts remain in private hands, and Tomiko’s green Queen car was lost in a race crash in Canada, although the possibility exists that what’s left of it is in a Canadian farm field somewhere.
Turning our attention to the car itself, we can see and read that this car has changed hands a few times since its last 1/4-mile pass but the “Duke and Duchess” has been lovingly and carefully restored to a very good, allegedly Concours standard, by Corey Owens of Ogilvie Collision in Minnesota.
It doesn’t have its Keith Black engine anymore, but it does have a Magnum 440 with upgraded cam, backed by a floor-shifted Torqueflite automatic transmission. The engine bay and undercarriage have been painted in Red, and look reasonably good for the era but might not be exactly perfectly correct.
Inside, the black vinyl bucket-seat interior has been very well done with console, woodgrain, an original-looking crash helmet that looks like it could be Tomiko’s actual helmet, and 63,000 miles showing on the odometer.
Outside, a cream-beige color has been sprayed over the red in a style similar to that which would have been done originally. Some hand-lettering faithfully re-creates the original livery, and a fiberglass hood and what look to be Torq-Thrust wheels round out the overall aesthetic.
Interestingly, multiple sources say that the 2023 Dodge Charger King Daytona package is an homage to Big Willie, including Dodgegarage, which recently featured an article about Big Willie and the new package.
There are many famous Daytonas and Road Runners, but this one is truly one-of-a-kind and is a restored reminder of a brave couple of people and a time in Los Angeles where social tensions were high but auto racing helped ease some of that. Big Willie and Tomiko may not be with us anymore but their legacy and their last race machine certainly are! I highly recommend looking them up and reading more about them!
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Comments
Big Willy was a great guy.He tried to do street racing
the right way,by blocking off all the side streets.He also tried
to unite Blacks & Whites.
I wonder how he’d feel if he saw his car sold like this?
I wonder what he would think about side shows?
Two lane blacktop, anybody get the reference with out Googling it???
Big Willie makes a cameo appearance in the first scene of the car cult movie Two Lane Blacktop.
“That Plymouth had a Hemi and a Torqueflite. I do believe we sawed him off, even if we did lose the 200.”
Thanks TP. I always thought it was him.
Good Big Willie article here.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/big-willie-robinson-1969-dodge-daytona-duke-and-duchess?slide=5
Great article! Wish I had seen this earlier, I’ll make some corrections to mine.
It’s times like this that I really, really wish I was fabulously wealthy so I could buy cars like this and preserve them for future generations to see. It’s so special of a car that I’d polish it every day and whisper to it how special and unique and beautiful it is, slushbox be darned. The feeling of excitement I’d get just walking into my garage and seeing it sitting there, waiting to be driven would be almost indescribable. Curse my parents for being dirty hippies instead of millionaires!
I hope it sells to someone who will take care of it and show it off as often as possible, and actually drives it the way it was built to be driven.
Putting them in a museum is how you preserve them for future generations. Private buyers usually don’t allow the public anywhere near those cars. Maybe if you emulated Leno. The Daytona never should have been street raced. It was an oval track car, high speed all the way. I understand that its Nascar use wasn’t practical for the street, but it just kills me to see them with a 4.11 rear end and drag raced. A 3.23 at the most, maybe a 2.74 and a wide open stretch of straight deserted road in one of our great Western states. That is what these should have been used for. That is what Kowalski should have had.
Hemmings Muscle Machines had a story about Big Willie and his car a while back. Don’t remember when.
Interesting history. Super rare and fantastic car. But I’m perplexed how this qualifies as a barn find…. Unless it’s Jay Leno’s barn
Interesting, I photographed that car back in the day and it was Tomiko’s car not Willie’s. Willie’s car was a rat trap cuda that was not finished at the time. Yes I knew the Robinsons and they were a great couple. Willie was never the same after Tomiko passed away from cancer. The car I photographed was orange and painted by Don Kirby, lettering by Kenny Youngblood in 1971.
Anyone who street raced (or even just cruised) Van Nuys Blvd and the rest of Southern California in the 60’s and 70’s, knew, respected, and loved Big Willie and Tomiko They never saw the color of your skin, and (hopefully) you never saw theirs. You could be racing a stock Pinto 4 cyl, and he admired and respected you and your car and your spirit just as much as he did the guy who trailered the 8 second Challenger with the blown Ed Pink.
Happier times for sure.
Whoever buys this car should put a KB Hemi back in it that would be the ultimate tribute to Big Willie he was a legend for sure
I remember seeing big Willie in mag wheel ads in Hot Rod magazine the guy was huge
This is a great 8 part podcast about the life of Big Willie & Tomiko and their love for each other, racing and bringing people together.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/larger-than-life/id1470903474
Just horrible how the heroin ultimately consumed him.
WTF? Willie was vocally anti-drug, where did you get this ridiculous accusation?
That comment should absolutely be deleted.
What a car.
There’s an episode of Adam-12 that has Big Willie’s Daytona parked someplace in the background. Not on purpose but he just happened to be at the store or whatever that day.
Loved some SoCal midnite street racing. Big Willie was always there with those trailered LA cars. Sight to see for sure!!RIP Willie!
Lets not forget terminal island.
BACK IN THE 80s i was just a kid big willy gave me the name chevy curtis and my la street racer vest when the track re open in the 90s I announced in the tower and ran the bracket frydays on saturday night big willy put on a good show have the fastest street cars in the la area heads up racing winner get $2,500 cash you see legends like Gypsy mike fast ray dirty ronnie only to name a few .and dont forget groundhog at the front gate god bless..