Three-Part Harmony

If you were a music fan during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, you’ll remember the hit songs “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley,” “They Call the Wind Maria” and “Wimoweh.” These were three of the songs recorded by one of the most popular groups of the time, The Kingston Trio. One of the Trio’s founding members was Nick Reynolds…guitar player, singer, songwriter and…formula car race driver. The Trio was wildly successful, traveling all over the globe in the 1960’s and recording hit after hit. Easily one of the most recognized groups of that era, they were on the road almost 300 days per year performing concerts at the peak of their popularity. When Reynolds did have free time, he raced in SCCA events around the road race tracks of the West. However, this isn’t just a story about one man’s hobby, it’s a story about the harmony which developed between three elements—a racer, a race car builder and the cars involved.

Born in 1933 and raised in Coronado, California, Reynolds became fascinated with cars at an early age as the car crazy culture in Southern California was in full bloom in the years following WWII. His first behind the wheel experience was in his grandmothers Model A with a succession of cars to follow once he had his drivers license. While attending Coronado High School where he was a star tennis player, Reynolds would take his car and go out for a drive on the “The Strand”, the long, curving highway alongside the Pacific Ocean that connects Coronado to Imperial Beach. Whether it was hot rodding, drag racing, or just cruising along The Strand, the teen age years offered Reynolds his first real taste of speed in an automobile. Then one day, he caught sight of a new MG-TC driving around Coronado and his interest turned to sports cars. Soon after his graduation from Coronado High, Reynolds bought the first MG-TD in the San Diego Area and went off to college at the University of Arizona on a full tennis scholarship.