Decipher these ciphers found on A.J. Watson's shop walls.

[Turn13]

A friend was invited to check out the former Watson shop in Pittsboro, Indiana and shared these figures on the walls.

The current owner verifies these are in A.J.'s hand.

Some other inscriptions were determined to be firing order notes, and dyno numbers.

Any guesses what these might be?

received_618149675534232.jpeg
received_2409440432691425.jpeg
received_366977224436929.jpeg

received_1261655390854768.jpeg
received_2417922125175599.jpeg
received_366216357882878.jpeg

[indyrjc]

Well, the names on the wall were names of people with their phone numbers. One of them I recognize as his welder. "Cec" is Dick Cecil another long time race mechanic and car builder who was a regular lunch partner of Watson for years. I also see "Voll" on the wall which would have been Rolla Vollstedt's number along with some others.

As for the vertical lines of numbers at first glance I thought hat those were the valve lash clearances for the Offy engines he had worked on. But that doesn't really make sense. Now I think it's some kind of record of either hours or expenses that he was paying those who helped him. I see what looks like dollar amounts marked "paid" and "sent" in places.

I was in the Pittsboro shop several times over the years and never really noticed the walls at all.

[Turn13]

More pics
AJW_door.jpg

Bench and dyno room window
AJW_dyno.jpg
AJW_dyno2.jpg

AJW_lost.jpg
Painting setup
AJW_paint.jpg

AJW_order.jpg

Firing order?

[Turn13]

Well, the names on the wall were names of people with their phone numbers. One of them I recognize as his welder. "Cec" is Dick Decil another long time race mechanic and car builder who was a regular lunch partner of Watson for years. I also see "Voll" on the wall which would have been Rolla Vollstedt's number along with some others.

As for the vertical lines of numbers at first glance I thought hat those were the valve lash clearances for the Offy engines he had worked on. But that doesn't really make sense. Now I think it's some kind of record of either hours or expenses that he was paying those who helped him. I see what looks like dollar amounts marked "paid" and "sent" in places.

I was in the Pittsboro shop several times over the years and never really noticed the walls at all.

Thanks!

[goner]

I have been in there a number of times too. He had notes like those hanging around and on the backs of cabinet doors. I recall some of were piston - cylinder set dimensions, cam info and other stuff that meant nothing to my pea brain. I have a number of them stashed here somewhere, I need to frame them or something to go with other stuff I have gathered.
When it had cars, a Foyt engine on the stand and his crazy motorcycle/roadster in the garage, those definitely are were the attention getters, but the notes and pictures and the things he thought were souvenir worthy enough to hang I found intriguing.

Did your friend get to play tennis?

[jandj]

More pics
AJW_door.jpg

Bench and dyno room window
AJW_dyno.jpg
AJW_dyno2.jpg

AJW_lost.jpg
Painting setup
AJW_paint.jpg

AJW_order.jpg

Firing order?

18436572 is small block Chevy firing order

[goner]

The garage at Pittsboro was emptied and recreated at the Nebraska Museum of Speed if anyone wants to see how it looked.

https://www.museumofamericanspeed.co...nroadster.html

[Turn13]

Awshum

My friend who took these photos said you could see on the walls the faded shapes of where the posters and photos in the museum once hung.

[goner]

Yeah, was a sad time to see it empty.
On cool nights like right now, we would camp out there, sitting around the campfire. mrs goner and I still stop by on the way to Lizton for BBQ.

[Turn13]

Hey, we go to Lizton for BBQ sometimes

[Belanger99]

It would be nice to see the IRMA put a plaque outside that shop, if they haven't already.

[ntwoods]

18436572 is small block Chevy firing order

The 4 cam Ford is the same order if you convert between the cylinder numbering schemes used by Ford and Chevrolet.

[indyrjc]

It would be nice to see the IRMA put a plaque outside that shop, if they haven't already.

IRMA did place a plaque at the Watson Roundabout (as it's known by some locals) which was the site of a speed shop that he and Rodger Ward owned together for a few years.

https://s489.photobucket.com/user/ra...dtknr.jpg.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmXItUnqBOY

[flatlander_48]

Didn’t Dobbins sponsor a sprint car in USAC?

[jandj]

Dobbins’ Chevy sponsored the Bopper and Pancho.