With learning of Coilover (Evan Ritter) and 50 Chevy LS3 (Steve Pitts) passing, I feel the need to honor these men, and their contributions to this Forum. There have been others who have passed, of that I am quite sure. Some Forum members join to get the information they need to get their truck up and running, and then disappear. Others stick around, and become the SOURCE of the information others seek. I reached out to Nick, the Forum Administrator, with the idea for this thread. He liked the idea, and will make it a sticky. I ask all of you to post the details of any Forum members you knew, who have passed, here. They built what we have here. Thank you.
Thanks for posting, Mike. It's always sad when the world loses good people. A lot of people here have certainly benefited from the contributions and expertise of Evan, Steve, and others.
Steve Pitts passed away June 21, 2023. Steve (aka 50 Chevy LS3) is survived by his wife Tina. His thread on this Forum "Steve's 50 re-re-rebuild" was a chronicle of his truck, which he purchased in 1975 at age 15. He and I shared many PM's and emails over the years, as were seemingly neck and neck with our projects. When I brought my truck home from its 7-year storage, I sent him an email, the first in quite awhile. When it came back undeliverable, I got a bad feeling... a quick search told me he had passed. I have since reached out to his wife Tina to express my condolences for a man I never met in person, but considered a friend. Rest in Peace Steve.
I have yet to find an obituary for "Coilover", but just to show others Evan's (and his shop's) abilities here are a couple of pictures. First his favorite, his 37 Buick. He drove it all over the country with Dar. Still had a Buick straight 8, but he changed the tranny to a TH-350. A little more radical was his "pull tractor".
Many (now) years ago, I inquired into the AD-conversion kit from AD-Engineering. The owner (now passed) referred me to Evan, who had used a very early S10 conversion kit on an AD. I reached out to Evan, and he was MORE than helpful. Some years later, I reached out to him again, with some "shop setup" questions. Again, VERY helpful. I sent him some genuine NH Maple Syrup as a Thank You, that made his day! Rest in Peace Evan.
