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Anyone familiar with JL Henderson. What little I know, he was Shelby's assistant and did a lot of leg work on various projects.

I met him years ago and he was an absolutely nice person.

Any retrospective details around?

Curt Hooker passed away recently. Auto editors, not to mention the aftermarket,  will instantly know the name, but it wasn't wide spread among enthusiasts. If you purchased an Edelbrock product, it had Curt's influence.

Starting as a shop janitor, it's no surprise he was fascinated by engines, which led him to investigate the dyno room whenever he could. In his 50 year Edelbrock career, he became the head of engine testing and dyno room operations. He had hands-on experince developing and testing Edelbrock products, not to mention scores of engine projects from street to race. It's a testament to his character that he had a sterling reputation for being genuinely nice to work with.

He was one of the greatest names in hot rodding.

In case it hasn't been mentioned, I offer sad news on the passing of THE Hot Rod technical editor, Marlan Davis due to pancreatic cancer. He was read by millions of HR readers and probably more that a few SAAC forum readers.

IMHO, there were two Marlans. One was socially awkward. There was never a Mrs. and in conversation he could express non-PC opinions. Never in malice, but just his opinion.

The other Marlan was the automotive technical editor, which was his raison dˈ être. In almost 40 years of monthly output, he covered cars from the tire contact patches to the roof and from stock to full on race cars.

He wasn't a know it all. His MO was research, research, and research with technical sources he trusted ranging from small shops to OEM sources. People in the aftermarket no doubt have stories about his information gathering intensity.

He was intense with his own projects. Back in the '90s, he had a body-off C3 Corvette project where he powder coated the frame and safety wired all the aircraft grade fasteners. All of them. One source recalled him calling in search of a 20-foot length of aircraft grade stainless steel tubing. Why 20 instead of two 10-foot sections? He didn't want a splice in it.

Readers were rewarded with  concise, informative, well written (with a pinch of wit) tech stories and columns. That was reinforced by his excellent tech photography and charts summarizing details.

Not too long ago, he did We're Gonna Fix It stories, where he would choose a reader's car that had engine or brake or drivetrain issues that went unsolved. Employing trusted sources,  they worked through the issues, correcting problems other mechanics had missed.

Want to know about valve springs? He wrote a multi-part story on their design characteristics from stock to performance applications. He even included spring details for class 8 diesel truck engines.

He may be gone but thank goodness for the tech content he created. 

Lately I've been watching episodes of Mannix on cable, and it offers a late '60s/ early '70s LA automotive time capsule. 

Offered for your consideration are two vehicles. One is the original Mannix driver, a 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado that someone though would look cool as a convertible. IMO it doesn't look right even though it was the work of George Barris.

Since Chrysler supplied the cars, the second car of interest was Mannix's unusual '67 (?) Dodge Dart GT convertible. Unusual considering that he could have driven a Barracuda convertible. It also serves as an example how subtle custom touches transform a car. The styling was handsome to begin with. Next, a small spoiler was integrated on the rear trunk edge. Add on driving lights, custom wheels, and a Highland Green-like color and Mannix has a car that's noticed. I think Side-Oilers offered details about the car a while back.

The street scenes offer plenty of cars on view. I wonder if any Shelby's showed up on the show. BWTM. One episode ended with Mannix driving off in a 1967 Lime Gold Mustang convertible.

Ultimately, no one could have imagined that 20 years later, Carroll Shelby would be hip deep in his bib overalls creating Chrysler performance vehicles.