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By DryLakesRacer - 6 Months Ago
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I just received a message from Karol’s daughter Sue that Karol passed peacefully yesterday at the age of 95. I was lucky enough to call one of my teenage years hero my friend. I was able to meet him thru his daughter when our grandsons played on the same baseball team. I followed Bonneville results starting when I was 12 and read about Karol and his 56 Ford Victoria. I continued thru the years as he competed on the salt in his 1960 Ford Starliner and on to a 1965 Mustang. I also followed his and Rodney Singers championship Lincoln gas dragster’s year during the NHRA fuel ban.
He was a true gentleman and always a pleasure to talk to when was in California or I was visiting him in Texas or on phone calls we made to each other. I’m sure many here will add to their time with this fine man.
Rest in Peace Mr. Miller…..JD Tone
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 6 Months Ago
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I never was privileged to meet Karol, but he and I have corresponded by mail for several years. He has shared many stories and pictures from his past career. We met when he contacted me through Y-Block magazine. I already miss him.
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By Joe-JDC - 6 Months Ago
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Ted was going to see him Thursday past, but Karol said to wait until he felt better. That is sad. Karol has been to my home a couple of times, and he was a joy to talk with. He sent me a couple of T shirts with his car on them. Sorry to hear this.  
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By MoonShadow - 6 Months Ago
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The passing of a Y-Block Icon. I'm so sorry I never got to meet him. Ted said some very nice things about him.
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By DryLakesRacer - 6 Months Ago
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Joe I also was pleasantly surprised when I received a tee-shirt from him. it was a honor to know him and talk of the experiences of his youth.
At one time I made the Timing Tags for the SCTA and Bonneville. Karol showed me the originals he had received and I made duplicates for the Orange and White recreation that he did. I believe he put them on the dash over the heater/radio controls.
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By Daniel Jessup - 5 Months Ago
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My condolences as well - so sorry to hear of his passing. Karol was certainly a pioneer in DIY performance work and did much to spur many of us on in the Y Block world.
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By yblock57 - 5 Months Ago
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Was privileged to have met Mr. Miller a few years ago. We had nearly identical '56 f100's. Even more exciting was he only lived about 10 minutes from my house. Got to spend good times visiting and helping him with car stuff. Last month he asked if I'd help re-arrange his cars in the garage and I got to fire up that beautiful '56 Victoria.
He was a great friend and had an impeccable memory. I could ask him anything about his experiences and he'd recall them without hesitation. He's going to be missed big time.
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By DryLakesRacer - 5 Months Ago
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The Brock Yates story of Karols early Bonneville could be found here along with what he accomplished at Daytona Thanks to Tim McMaster.http://yblockguy.com/articles/KarolMillerStory.html
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By Ted - 5 Months Ago
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Rest in Peace Karol. I will miss those get togethers for lunch and those memories you would share. Condolences to Linda and the rest of the family during this time of grief.
While Karol is noted for his exploits with the Ford Y, he worked and raced several different families of Ford engines and had a real soft spot for the Ford 215/223 six cylinder engines.
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By DANIEL TINDER - 5 Months Ago
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I remember it well (was an early HRM subscriber). That article, and the exhaust note of a neighbor’s ‘55 272 with glass packs really hooked me. I was especially intrigued by Karol’s fiddling with valve timing/cam design on a cut-up head section. That, dual (Lincoln) quads. headers & overinflated tires equaled 150mph from a well used 50s daily driver. Amazing stuff to an impressionable teen. RIP Karol.
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By slumlord444 - 5 Months Ago
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RIP my hero. An article about him in the 1962 Hot Rod Performance manual got me hooked on performance Y Blocks.
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By Lord Gaga - 5 Months Ago
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yblock57 (7/1/2024)
Was privileged to have met Mr. Miller a few years ago. We had nearly identical '56 f100's. Even more exciting was he only lived about 10 minutes from my house. Got to spend good times visiting and helping him with car stuff. Last month he asked if I'd help re-arrange his cars in the garage and I got to fire up that beautiful '56 Victoria. He was a great friend and had an impeccable memory. I could ask him anything about his experiences and he'd recall them without hesitation. He's going to be missed big time.
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By Ted - 5 Months Ago
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Lord Gaga (7/30/2024)
Karol’s ‘56 was a stick overdrive, not an automatic.
If you are referring to the video showing an automatic gear selector indicator above the steering column, this particular car had an automatic tranny in it when Karol purchased it. Karol switched it over to a column shift with a standard overdrive transmission. He went to the trouble of putting the kick out button under the gas pedal, the relay on the firewall, and all the original wiring. The automatic indicator simply remained because it was the same color as the dash.
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By Lou - 5 Months Ago
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I wish I had chance to meet him, he was one of my hero's. RIP
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By Ted - 5 Months Ago
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Here are some more pictures of Karol.
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By yblock57 - 5 Months Ago
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Great pics, Mr. Eaton! Your shop was his happy place. I tried to tag along as much as possible.
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By Ted - 4 Months Ago
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Here are some pics of Karol’s ’56 Victoria at his memorial service. I was told that the car started right up and drove great to the funeral home.
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By Lord Gaga - 4 Months Ago
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Ted, Is that the actual record car or a recreation? Karol was a hero of mine since 1964 when I read about him in a HRM Ford hop-up book!
RIP Mr. Miller.
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By yblock57 - 4 Months Ago
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Lord Gaga (8/17/2024)
Ted, Is that the actual record car or a recreation? Karol was a hero of mine since 1964 when I read about him in a HRM Ford hop-up book! RIP Mr. Miller.
It's a recreation he built as a tribute to his original. Very nice car. He even has his Bonneville plaques on the center of the dash like his original car had.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 4 Months Ago
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According to one of my letters from Karol, the orange and white car has a 239 cubic inch I Block 6 engine. He said it handled the 3.22 rear axle and overdrive well, and got 25 MPG. In another of his letters he stated that he hoped to make if to the Y-Block Shootout and see my car run. I was excited with that news, and planned to do more than let him watch. I was going to put him in the driver's seat and let him make a pass down the track. Sadly, that never happened. He would have been a celebrity in our crowd!
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