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Ronnie Kaplan

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    Posted: Mar/02/2014 at 7:04pm
From The Chicago Tribune 3/1/13
 
Ronnie Kaplan, 87, of Park Ridge, IL took his final checkered flag on March 1st 2014 surrounded by his loving family. Ronnie served his country in the Coast Guard during WW II; was a devoted husband and best friend of Lynne (nee Hildebrandt), for 52 years; beloved father of Greg (Susan), Kairn Pawlikowsky (Jon), Jill, Kris (Laura), and Melani; beloved grandpa to Charlie, Tim, Mason, Liam, Ronnie, and Emme. Preceeded in death by his mother, Faye Wilczek, and brother, Robert Kaplan. One of the last surviving members of 1960 Indianapolis 500 winning crew, Ronnie's innovative work on Indy Cars, Trans Ams, Corvettes, and other cars has been restored and preserved at the Indianapolis Hall of Fame Museum and private collections throughout the U.S. A dear friend and mentor to many, Ronnie's thirst for knowledge and adventure took him, his family and friends through exciting projects and quests. A mischievous sense of humor and warmth kept him always young. Ronnie will be forever remembered for his artisan craftsmanship.
 
Ronnie was THE reason Dad & I became AMC'ers. During our SCCA years we received Autoweek the weekly racers magazine (in newpaper form) and we saw the articles about The AMC Racing Team and Dad decided that maybe we should get one of those R/W/B Javelins and the rest is history. The first AMC model that I built was in 1968. I put Dads initials "jla"where the "rke" went. It's a little weathered and beat up from 20 moves around the country & Germany over 45 yearts, but i still have it.
 
 
Gods Speed Ronnie - It has been a hellava ride!!
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by 70 Donohue 390 - Mar/13/2014 at 10:26am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Slate Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar/04/2014 at 10:38am
Very sad news. I had a feeling lately…

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mramc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar/04/2014 at 12:56pm
Sorry to hear about Ronnie passing. Here is pretty good Obit racer.com put out on Ronnie :
http://www.racer.com/index.php/scca/item/101559-trans-am-pioneer-ronnie-kaplan-dies-at-87  LRDaum
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Javelin_GT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar/04/2014 at 1:14pm
Ronnie was a great guy and always answered my emails no matter how many I sent.  He will be missed.  





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 70 Donohue 390 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar/04/2014 at 9:46pm
Great pics Adam and thanks for the Racer link Larry.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CamJam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar/11/2014 at 10:32pm
What a loss.  Somewhere around 1995 I was driving in an SCCA support race for a Trans Am race in Phoenix and Ted Roberts was there with his 68 or 69 racing Javelin on display.  I think his was an ex-Kaplan car.  I was a teen during the glory days of Trans Am, and they were some of the best times of my life.  I couldn't drive yet so my mother would take me to the Riverside race. 

I had a great time talking to Ted about racing in those days, but he made no secret of telling me that his years of racing had left him flat broke.  He said his car was for sale for $90k, which he needed to pay bills.  It was kind of an eye-opener to learn that even my boyhood heroes had hard times and spent all their money to race, just like the rest of us.  After that I had less desire to race professionally, and my hat is off to those who did. 

I guess that as an engineer Ronnie might have fared better than most in that profession, but I'm sure even he worked his butt off for the love of it rather than the money.  RIP Ronnie!
'73 Javelin 360 (current project)
'72 Baja Bronze Javelin SST
'69 Big Bad Orange AMX (2018 Teague Heritage Award) SOLD

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