William Price and Joe Lencki

[bill/k4flh]

My father William Price worked at this Dodge Plant during the war. Joe Lencki was dads boss and dad was the lead machinist. Dad and Joe both went to work on the Manhattan Project working with Dr Enrico Fermi. After the war dad and Joe went to work for Preston. Dad hand ground the crankshaft in the Goose.
As a side bar Joe invented an engine lubricant with the help of Dr Fermi that was called "Speedway Cocktail" later Z Max!
I have been in contact with Ed Rachanski Joes best friend and later CEO of Z Max and he's been helping me fill in some blanks about dad. I was only 7 when he died and I'm trying to find out more about him. If anyone has any info please contact me at k4flh<at>epbfi.com <at>=@

Bill/k4flh
Curmudgeon at large
Illegitimis non carborundum

[Tucker Fan 48]

Bill,

Welcome to this little corner of the internet. I'm sure some of our longer term
members (I don't want to call them senior) can help fill you in some. Joe Lencki
was a big part of the company in many different ways and was someone Preston
Tucker trusted. It sounds like your father would have been involved in a number
of projects and I'm sure everyone of them had a roof on it.

Hopefully we can fill you in some on that part of your family history.

[Tuckerfan1053]

Bill, if you don't mind my asking, do you know what your father died from? In The Indomitable Tin Goose, Pearson makes the claim that the front suspension arms for the Tin Goose were made of beryllium copper. Beryllium copper is nasty stuff and can cause a fatal condition nearly identical to lung cancer. There's the possibility that Preston died from the stuff (and not smoking as once was thought) as it might have been used as a component in the turrets which he built during the war. A number of machinists working on the Manhattan Project died from beryllium caused conditions as the government refused to tell them what material they were working on (since they were worried about the Axis powers figuring out what was going on) and they didn't take any precautions to protect themselves from exposure.

[bill/k4flh]

Bill, if you don't mind my asking, do you know what your father died from? In The Indomitable Tin Goose, Pearson makes the claim that the front suspension arms for the Tin Goose were made of beryllium copper. Beryllium copper is nasty stuff and can cause a fatal condition nearly identical to lung cancer. There's the possibility that Preston died from the stuff (and not smoking as once was thought) as it might have been used as a component in the turrets which he built during the war. A number of machinists working on the Manhattan Project died from beryllium caused conditions as the government refused to tell them what material they were working on (since they were worried about the Axis powers figuring out what was going on) and they didn't take any precautions to protect themselves from exposure.

Yes I do. dad died from Hogkins caused by exposure to high levels of radiation he received while working on the Atomic Pile with Dr Fermi.Dad died in Jan '54, 6 days after my 7th birthday, Dr.Fermi died from the same causes 10 months later.
Funny you mentioned Preston's smoking because when dad first got sick he developed a bad cough and the doctors treated him for a "smokers cough"! It turned out the cough was cause by the Hogkins in the lymph glands.
I do know about beryllium poisoning. One of my hobbies is electronics /radio and beryllium oxide is used for heat sinks in older tube style amplifiers and rf decks. The dust from beryllium oxide is deadly.And it should not be handle bare handed it's that bad.
I appreciate the heads up and question.
Bill/k4flh
Curmudgeon at Large
Illegitimis non carborundum