Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club

Car	Engine	Favorite Track	Hobbies	Sponsors	Crew Members
1932 Ford Coupe	302 GMC	Asphalt	Bill K loves Golf	Kisselstein Machine & Fab.	Bill Marsh/Randy Rieglman

More about Bill Marsh and Bill Kisselstein
by Brenda Sonnenberg

"He is a genius, a very intelligent man." said Janet Marsh, as she spoke about her husband of 36 years. Her feelings of respect and adoration emanated through the phone line. Anyone who has ever had the true privilege of meeting Bill Marsh would agree. Janet and Bill have five children; Kent, Leslie, Art, William and Cheryl. The latter obviously picked up some of her dad's racing genes as she does quite well in her street stock down in the Port Charlotte, Florida area. When I requested an interview for this article, Bill's already meek voice, grew even quieter. He is very quick to talk shop, but very skittish when it comes to talking about himself and all of his accomplishments throughout his 78 years. I'm sure he'd give up the specs and tolerances on his 302 Jimmy quicker. Born in 1926 in Elmira, NY Bill grew up around his dad's machine shop, which was in Syracuse, NY. At the age of 7, his dad Harley had him at the helm of his lathe. Although he was just roughing parts, this would be the start of one of his life long labors of love - machining. Of course, no machine shop is ever complete without a few racecar parts in need of machining (even back then). So with this, Bill would be exposed to his other lifelong labor of love - racing. By the age of 14 he was the head pitman for the Al Keller number '0' jalopy racer. Al set track records with the car at Circular Hill Speedway in LeRoy, NY. Keller would later go on to race Indy and NASCAR. Shortly after his 'Jalopy' experience, Bill was drafted in World War II. Luckily his stint in the South Pacific was completed after six months. His thoughts of racing returned as he returned home aboard the wooden Navy transport ship, the APc-37. As he reached U.S. soil, he decided that his new car number would be '37' in honor of the ship that got him back home safely. In 1945, Bill decided to help his dad on his 'Big Car" (later these cars would be called Sprint cars). Bill enjoyed every minute of it and in 1948 decided that he wanted to give it a whirl himself. He built his own 'Big Car' from mostly scrounged parts. The only purchases he made were for the frame and body. He made and refurbished the rest of the parts in his dad's machine shop where he worked after the war. He bolted in a flathead and watched as his car won a few features including one with the Top 'B' Class in New England and became the Midwest Champ Top Runner and the only local runner with an offy. In 1951 and 1952 Bill was awarded 'High Point Car Owner' by the BCRA (Big Car Racing Association) of Western NY. He now had the racing bug even stronger. He built a 'jalopy' car and piloted it himself for a couple of years. In 1956 he sold the car and returned to helping his dad with his car. He enjoyed being pit crew far better. The ability to set up a car and make all the pieces work together was more challenging and fun for him. Together, they converted it to a Super Modified. In the late 50's the car won a feature at Oswego with Fred Graves at the wheel. Quite mind-boggling when you realize that Bill made the cylinder heads and injection for the 401 Buick and his dad made the rest of the parts for it! Such talent. In 1966 Bill was laid off from G.E. in Syracuse. He went on to machining racing parts full force. Some of his most sought after pieces were and still are; spindles, pipe benders and torsion bars. His torsion bars are still a popular piece at Oswego with the Super Modifieds. He tells me that the Heat Treating process used on the steel is the reason why these bars stand out above the rest. The process uses a molten salt bath and heats the steel to about 600 degrees, which enables the steel to go back into shape and meet Rockwell hardness. They are very strong and able to take the torque the Supers dish out. Bill, being humble would never toot his own horn about his great accomplishments. But I have included a couple of stories that say a lot about the respect and trust he gained from Clyde Booth and Dick Moroso. In 1989, Bill received a memo from Dick Moroso requesting the machining of spindles for the Moroso team. The project was so secretive that Clyde had the forging done somewhere in New York and entrusted Bill with the machining of the spindles. Now that says a lot about the trust and respect this man has earned. Another time, when interviewed by a racing magazine, Bill was quick to correct the reporter to say that he only had the 'idea' for Clyde Booth, who was then the team manager for Darrell Waltrip. That idea was to create a tool that would assist the team in adjusting the vertical degreeing of the rear end - hence the cambered rear-end tool. That's Bill, downplaying his superior knowledge and experience and never wanting to stand in the limelight. His intelligent racing/machinist mind is responsible for modifications to improve part designs and having the ability to think outside the box. To create new concepts and not accept black and white and to never accept that it can't be done. Yearning for fun in a less aggressive forum, he decided to build one more car. In 1988 he began work on his trick looking #37 1932 Ford coupe. In 1991 the car was completed and he joined the Midstate club. He teamed up with racing legend, Sammy Reakes and together they were a very successful team. Bill kept her tuned and Sammy kept her in victory lane. They especially loved the 'Moody Mile' - the smiles on their faces told the tale. The team would have 10 great years before losing Sammy in 2001 to diabetes and heart problems. This great loss was tough for Bill and to fill that seat again would be even tougher. Bill had a couple of drivers from Sammy Reakes, III to Jeff Ackerman who got him through the 2002 season. His latest driver has many of Bill's traits and shares his two great labors of love - machining and racing! And rightly so as Bill has served as mentor to this intelligent fellow. Bill used to machine parts for Bill Kisselstein's Microd and later for his street stock. About 20 years ago their relationship changed from friend to mentor. Bill K. would work with Bill in his machine shop and would later rent part of the shop from him. Bill gave him free reign in his shop and Bill K. did not waste this valuable time in his life. Bill tells me that Bill K. was a quick study with a great mind who applied everything he taught him. He speaks very highly of this young lad and tells me that he is a brilliant machinist. In 2003 Bill teamed up officially with Bill Kisselstein. Marsh would continue to oversee the set up and all mechanical aspects, as Kisselstein would take over the driving duties. In a very short period of time they have won many features. Together, they are able to dial the car in and excel at every track they run at - dirt or asphalt. Knowing that Bill Marsh made almost all of the parts on this racer makes it a bigger pleasure to watch Kisselstein take this car to the front.

Who says you can't blend generations?

Bill Marsh (owner)/Bill Kisselstein (driver)