Well lots have asked about AoK where that came from, and what is the story behind the Asche and Kingsbury's and to be honest it really isnt as complex as some may think. The Asche thread dates back into 40's and 50's when many members of this branch of AoK were busy driving mopars. George's Dad was a Dodge and Chrysler man, as was his Uncle Harry Hines (who is still alive today). George worked as a mechanic at various garages, as well as started helping his uncle with his stock car. As time passed George became the crew chief for the legandary #90 car, as "Uncle Harry" dazzled the tracks in PA winning race after race with his flathead Mopars. I will do a blog on Harry sometime, and maybe do an interview of him for the blog. Harry was inducted into the Nascar hall of fame a few years back and a big reason for that was his nephew and crew chief George Asche Jr. George purchased his 1929 Desoto in the early 50's and wasn't long before he had built a race 265 ci chrysler motor for it. Complete with Edmunds head, Edmunds triple carb intake, a custom cam and oh yes, bored 125 thou !

He rolled on to Daytona beach in I think it was 1955 where they still had the legendary "flying mile" drag race right on the beach. George had a hard time actually getting them to take his 29 desoto with a 6 cylinder serious, but he eventually talked his way into an entry spot by challenging one of the favourites. Well it didnt take long before they went from not taking George serious, to the challengers lined up as George won race heat after race heat. By the end of the Meet, George's Desoto was the only undefeated car, topping out with a mind blowing 142 mph pass. The cool thing is well, the 1929 desoto is still in George's possession and I will attach a couple of pictures. Most notorious was George daring my Dad Eddy to get in the back of the rumble seat for a quick pass. Dad jumped in and it was game on.

On the Kingsbury side, my grandfather was a Chrysler man involved in some wild stuff including a highly modified Henderson Motorcycle equipped with a Plymouth 6 cyclinder motor. No I am not kidding, but that is too as story for another time. My Father Eddy naturally became a Mopar guy, and his 1st car was a 1941 plymouth business coupe. He apprenticed with Mopar dealership in Georgetown Ontario, where he spent his spare time working on first stock cars and later dragsters and eventually top fuel cars. The owner of the dealer, said to him his talent exceeded what the dealership needed and he sponsored him back to school where he would eventually get his automotive engineering papers. It would be cool if the Kingsbury's and Asche's had met up at some track running head to head, feuding like some modern day Hatfield and McCoy's, but unfortunately that never happened.

That meeting would actually take place much later. My Dad and I had went on a quest to Western Canada in search of his Grandfather's (on his mothers side) homestead in Saskatewan. He has been out and tried to find it many times with no success. So he and I flew out to Winnipeg (also knicknamed Winter-peg) and made the trek to a small town called Bulyea Saskatchewan. I said well lets hit two spots - the local bar and the local post office. The long story short, the post master in the town, lived dead across the road from what turned out to be his grandfathers. On the big piece of property there was only a grainery and barn left standing, while the rest of the 800 acres was used for cash cropping wheat !

Inside that barn was a 1952 Fargo grain truck. A truck which later on I would purchase and surprise my Dad with a birthday present. The truck wasnt his grandfathers. His grandfather homesteaded their in the later 1800's, and when he retired he moved to Ontario and settled on a farm, right across the road from the Kingsbury homestead which was setlled in 1795 and I still live there. But the grandson of the gentleman who bought the farm from my great grandfather had purchased the fargo brand new, and when he retired from farming in 1989 that truck had only went 14,250 miles. Its entire life was hauling grain from the farm over to elevator #1 in Bulyea.

The 1952 fargo while was only 1 of about 50 Fargo and Dodge trucks in the Kingsbury Collection,was the apple in my fathers Eye because he got it for his birthday from his son and Grandson Daniel.

One of the things we immediately started to look for was a factory dual carb and dual exhaust setup for the truck. While it really didnt come with it from the factory, the truck cried out to have one.. lol.

So in that quest I found myself at the All Chrysler Nationals In Carlisle PA looking for among other things, a dual carb and dual intake setup. It was the 3rd time I had been there to the Meca of all Car shows (yes another topic).. and as I turned up row E, in then spot 5 and 6, there was George and his good friend and Model T enthusiast Bob Wearham . In fact I took a picture before I left and I have attached it here. For those who have visited George.... maybe you can guess what year this was !

In any case that is where the Kingsbury's met the Asche's.. Row E at the All Chrysler Nationals or as I often call it ChryslerCarlisle.

The touching piece of that story was later on, George gifted a factory orignal dual carb intake and exhaust that he has restored to my Dad. From that point forward, well there has been a lot of things happen, a lot of projects, and a lot of great fun and fellowship.

We were looking for a team name and George came up with the name AoK which stands for Asche over Kingsbury and lets face it KoA was already taken by someone.. rofl and didnt sound near as good as AoK. For a number of years you would see on Row E George and Eddy, side by side solving the worlds problems and trading war stories as I call them. The PA Dodge Motor home also referred as the Southern Mopar Nut crib and beside it the Ontario Dodge Motor home, also referred as the Northern Mopar Nut crib. Now having said that, it seems there was been Southern Mopar Nuts (Asche's) hanging in or sleeping in the Northern Mopar Nuts (Kingsbury's) crib, or visaversa on many occasion. Just like while it was the Asche's that introduced us to Smth's slab bacon, it is now quite often that the Kingsbury's are hauling it down to the Asche's as the factory store is in Erie Pa and on our way from the Kingsbury's homestead to the Asche's homestead.

So there folks is the story and honestly that is the short version.

Tim