Hello, Here is one of those old drag racing photos that sparks a 1959-60 memory. At a first quick glance, everyone thought the red Ford Coupe in our drag racing films was Jim Miles’ 34 coupe. But Jim Miles’ 34 was a 3 window. So, for all of these years later, the 34 5 WINDOW COUPE #222 went unnamed and still is a puzzle for our movie files. The film was taken on one of my across, race track filming walkabouts. I tried the Westside for some runs, then it got crowded. So, I went to the other side of the Bakersfield Smokers’ dragstrip and it was better, but the sun was beating everyone to death. But, I did get some films of our favorites at the big #2 March Meet. 1934 RED 222 Ford Coupe at Bakersfield 1960 Bakersfield Smokers March Meet #2 Altered Coupe/Sedan eliminations 34 Ford coupe #222 vs a Willys sedan. Jnaki It could have been a 1934 5 window street driven coupe from the external views. But, it ran in the Altered Coupe/Sedan Class, so a 25% setback motor, straight header pipes and center steering were allowed from the rules.
Sunday @ Island Dragway. Gassers, rails, sport coupes, stockers, "Be there" Good crowd in the stands (fuzzy)
DEAN LOWE, SUNDAY AT 9:23 PM!REPORT! SHARE POST#550UNLIKE+ QUOTEREPLY FROM DEAN LOWE POST: Junji, you should have asked me. The red, full fendered coupe was run by the team of Donnely & Bolthoff. George Bolthoff later ran a top gas powered digger. Hey Dean, Wow, thank you... Now I remember the race car and team. Dick Donnelley and George Bolthoff. I have been working on a different edit of my 1960 film clip from Bakersfield of the cool, red 1934 Ford coupe. It was how a 34 Ford Coupe should have looked like if it were a legal street driven coupe. Nice red paint, great sounding motor and cool front mags in 1960. The previous photo racing against the Hart Automotive Coupe is a great photo, even with the wire wheels was also very cool. Junji Jnaki on the HAMB I recently made a new sound added film of that old 1960 Bakersfield March Meet moment on the Donnelly/Bolthoff 1934 coupe. I remember I had a digital copy of actual, original sounds made from an old December 1959 LP Album and with a little digital editing, it fit just right. For an altered coupe, the sound was pretty menacing and very cool. Several local So Cal teams and drag racers made the trip back to Detroit for the 1959 U.S. Nationals and a company recorded the best sounds and information for a drag racing album. They ran the same red 1934 Ford Coupe at the Detroit location in September of 1959 and I filmed them at the Bakersfield Smokers March Meet in 1960. Dick Donnelly and George Bolthoff Altered Coupe 1960 “George Bolthoff began drag racing his street-driven '32 Ford at Santa Ana in 1951, then drove several stockers, including a Super Stock '57 Chevy that was converted to a C/Gas entry in 1959. Bolthoff later placed the injected engine into a B/A chassis that won class honors at the NHRA Nationals in 1960. The same engine was later used in a dragster chassis to begin Bolthoff's Top Gas career.” 1960 Bakersfield Smokers March Meet, with "ORIGINAL DIGITAL SOUND" from the Donnelly/Bolthoff coupe just a few months earlier in September, 1959 from the Detroit Nationals.
Don't know if Garlits was making a statement, but it's a real speed shop that's still in business today: More recently:
Hello, If memory serves me well, back in those old days, anything that said "California Speed Shop" and any thing with California in the name drew more attention that just about anything else. It was the lifestyle that was portrayed in the media at the time. Rock and roll, surfing, Hollywood, palm trees lining “every” street, girls in convertibles, of course, hot rods and drag racing, etc. So, for a person living in So Cal or anywhere in California, we did wonder why any place other than California would advertise such a name. In a sense, it was a good business ploy. But, that Altered Roadster has the look from the California race cars and it looks to be well built…in the Eastern shores. Jnaki So, for one, if the skills/designs are there for any hot rod or drag racing builds, the word California turns heads. But, if the owner’s team building skills and designs are there, why not just call it the Jersey Special Or New Jersey Hot Rod Shop? As a matter of fact, California Speed Sport Roadster is trying to associate with the famed Speed Sport Roadster in name recognition. That original Speed Sport Roadster was from Arizona…
Thanks for posting this - just great it's still in business - sure was a cool spot as a kid in the early days with those go karts ! Made the post cause it was a east versus west when Don first came out west to run.
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