Hot Rods Neighborhood hot rods that influenced you

On our street in the 50's and 60's we had a couple neighbor friends with older brothers Frank and Norm. Frank had a smooth silver/blue Ford Shoebox and Norm had cool 40 Ford Coupe. We always hung out when they were working on their cars and catching a ride with them was always a thrill.
As a kid I also spent time visiting Family in California and would always stay with my Grandmother. She had the coolest 56 Chevy Belair that we would travel around North Hollywood, Pasadena and LA in. Grandma loved that car and riding shotgun with her was always one of the highlights of my visit.

 

When I was about 12 the guy next door had borrowed his friends Model A coupe that was chopped , channeled and powered by a chrome small block. Well he only had to ask one if I wanted to go for a ride... I was hooked and have had rods ever since.

 

Living in San Francisco from 1956-1958 as a teenager was a good time for me. Across the street from me lived Joe Carlomagno, a member of the San Francisco Ramblers car club. Joe had a chopped, cycle fendered flathead powered, 1932 Ford 3 window coupe, with striping by Tommy The Greek, as well as a mild custom 1949 Mercury. Down the street, about a block away was a guy with a Kurtis kit car as well as a chopped 1934 Ford coupe with a GMC engine, that he raced at Bonneville. Joe Carlomagno took me under his wing, and took me to the drag races at Half Moon Bay, as well as the Ramblers club meetings held at Mel's drive-in restaurant. I got to meet most of the club members, who helped me on the way to be a life long hotrodder. I can't thank them enough.

 

I was in my teens through the eighties and most of my friends were into muscle car stuff - there weren't tons of hot rods in my home town. One that stuck out was a '33 or '34 Chevy two door sedan that I saw for sale one day, probably in 1985. It was a dark blue metallic with blue velour or crushed velvet interior. Sat super low (for the time) with a dropped axle on parallel leafs up front. Ran wire wheels (not my style but looked okay) and a smallblock/auto. The part that stood out the most to me was the roof insert had been replaced with blue plexiglass so the entire top was like a big, non-functioning sunroof. If I had had any money I would have bought it right then and there and I still might build something like it one day...

 

Grew up around Birmingham Al, East Lake ,Roebuck area. I had been reading car books from the 40s into early 50. I liked the speedster, trials cars that were in mags then.

There were several 32 roadsters in the car club Rebel Road Ramblers that I saw occasionally. One was Dwight Schultz ,and Dan Wells. They had 32 roadsters. One day close to the house in 53 there was a 32 roadster a guy was working on. I ask if I could help, said sure hand me that wrench. I learned fractions that day .
Later there was a older guy that lived across the street from me, he bought a 34 2 door. Pulled the fenders and muffler. He was having a ball with it.

In 55 I started with the little books, and sold all of my toys, bike, and bought my first car,48 Ford coupe, deluxe.
Now here we are.

 

Hello,

On the custom side the Tahitian Red custom, 1956 Ford chopped truck was an influence on detailing and applications. The truck was one that we saw almost everyday. Our parents knew the owner, as he was the family optometrist. He had a thriving business and proudly displayed his custom truck everyday in front of his shop.
Similar in look, but the front grille had tubular bars, delete those slot wheels and add in chromed reversed wheels with small smoothie hubcaps.

The front had multiple straight chrome bars across, from headlight to headlight. The chopped top was at a slight angle with the front windshield taller than the rear. The roofline was slightly sloped. The view out of the front windshield was still wide and open. It did not feel like being squashed. Although, being a little kid, I would not notice the view difference.
old Friday Art
Jnaki

But, on the other hand, a 1934 Ford 5 window black painted coupe was the first hot rod to enter my world in the Westside of Long Beach. In the whole area, this 34 coupe was the epitome of a hot rod. Great looking, lowered rake, loud mufflers coming from a big Oldsmobile motor and the cool long lever from a LaSalle transmission.

When he pulled up on our driveway, it was showtime and I could not be happier. I had gone over the 34 coupe with a fine tooth comb, looking for how, what and the quality in what makes a cool hot rod. I was lucky that my brother’s friends had their driver’s licenses and cool hot rods before I could even drive legally.
Similar in looks… If we all could see this 5 window coupe sitting in our own driveways, that in itself would give anyone future possibilities. It certainly would be a strong influence on how to build a go fast, daily driver and drag race coupe to be raced at Lion’s Dragstrip, just a mile down the neighborhood streets.

Accolades and trophies were the result of the hard earned build and performances. It was a great start to my own hot rod adventures and to cap it off as a young teen, I was able to get several rides inside of the coupe. To hear it accelerate and corner was a thrill. It was like hot rod heaven with the rumbling motor and feeling the road right below our feet. It was a real dual purpose daily street driven hot rod coupe that was strong enough to win in the A/Gas Class at the local dragstrip.

Thanks, J…

 

The car that did it for me belonged to Marge Schoof, a little old lady that would drive me to church in her mettalic green Henry J. It had a 283 stuffed under the hood that was swapped in by her son Gerald. Gerald also had a Henry J; Marie's ex had a Kaiser- Frazer dealership at one time. Marie's car was the ultimate sleeper.

 

When I was 12 (1966) we moved to Hanford, CA across the street from a young couple. He was a machinist and had a jacked-up 57 Chevy with chrome wheels, straight axle, injected BBC and a 4 speed. His hot blond wife with a beehive hairdo would drive it to work and often give me a ride to school on her way. I'd always ask to be dropped off right in front.

 

One of my earliest car memories. 1973 or 74? Bismarck ND, So I was about 4 or 5 when the folks moved into a new house. We heard these open headers fire off up the street on the first nice spring day. dad and I walked over to see this car being prepped for a race in Minot. Owner/ driver was Hank Albers. That night dad was on the pit crew and I was in the stands with mom and the other kids and wives. Wrecked me forever.

 

We had several active racers in our neighborhood. At the end of our main connecting street, 83rd St. there was Earl Canavan’s Lincoln powered dragster. He often fired it up in his driveway and occasionally even drove it up and down the street. A few doors down from him was Ted Frye, machinist and lakes racer who’s belly tank was recently reassembled.
Across the big boulevard was an auto repair shop that ran two almost identical refrigerator white Dodge or Plymouth super stock cars. They would occasionally take them out on the street and do a couple of launches leaving rubber “hockey sticks” on the pavement. Across from them was Jack Seibuhr (sp?) who did custom body and paint and also drove Top Fuel Hydros. Always cool stuff there.
Just a block east of our house, were the Larkin Bros. They had a Corvette, a Kurtis roadster and a 392 Hemi powered blown gas Flatbottom. Mike Larkin gave me the weedburner pipes off of the Kurtis when they pulled the Chrysler out of it. He asked if I was the kid who had the Hemi in his garage? I said I was and he said, “I have something for you” and gave me the old headers. I was about 13.
It was truly remarkable growing up in Westchester (Ca).

 

The neighborhood car that influenced me was parked in our garage. It was my dad's '55. Picture taken in 1963.

 

Such a simple, clean 55!

 

When I was very young probably 1st grade or younger (about '67-'68) there was a guy just down the street in our small town that had a red 57 Nomad that was the 1st car that really peaked my interest in classics/hot rods (stock photo below). I used to ride by his house on my bike almost every day in the summer just to see it in the driveway!

When I got a few years older & found out that my Dad sold his hot rod 57 210 with dual quads & other goodies of the day when I was born to buy a family car, I was highly disappointed!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

One of my friends dad had a primer 55 gasser and he was the coolest dad in the hood as far as I was concerned.

 

My very first encounter with a “ hot rod” was our neighbor’s rounding round track car in Oxnard in 1955. My Dad called it a hot rod and I saw them bending a round bar with a torch, so I thought that was why it was called a hot rod for years!
Then two years later we moved to very small town in Oklahoma. Luckily the center of action in Oktaha was at my older cousins house and there were tons of hot rods there, so I visited all the time. But, the cars that impressed me were, 29 Chevy sedan, 1956 Chevy, 1957 two four T-bird, 1959 Galaxie, 23 T bucket, rail dragster with fuel injection, 1957 Ford 312, 1956 Ford PU, 58 Chevy, in no peculiar order and I probably missed a few, it was a spell back. Later the 1965 Galaxie impressed me so much , I now have several!
For a tiny town, it has it’s share of hot rods.







Bones

 

That's kinda how it is where I live but it's technically a small city. Most people would shit if they just took a walk around my block.

 

When I was about 10 years old my friend Tim's older brother had a 1950 Ford coupe, I don't think he was a hot rodder although the car did have chrome rims, glass packs and I remember the column shiftier had a small 8 ball knob.

Since he had a drivers license he had the honor, or chore, of hauling Tim & I to the YMCA for softball practice and games, since that was in 1960 the car was in very nice shape and that maroon coupe did make a lasting impression on me and the idea of owning one rattled around in the back of my head for years, I finally pulled the trigger a bought a '50 coupe. HRP

 

About 1970 or 71 there was a car club called the pacers that held drags at the airport. They would test there cars on a two lane highway that was flat and a quarter mile long in front of my parents house. A car that stuck in my mind was a nasty 34 chevy 3 window the car is now in Bismarck still in the gray primer it had.

 

I was around 10 years old and my older cousin and his friend had cars right out of the 50's....The friend had a Chevy roadster power by a J-2 Olds and my cousin had a 50 Olds coupe.... Wish I had pictures...

 

I had a bunch. Across the street they had a '53 Chevy wagon, lowered but converted it to power windows, it was pinstriped. That had a maybe '61 Chevy steering wheel. They also had a pair of Impala ragtops, a '59 and a '58. This was around 1965, they were cool cars.

A few blocks over, someone had a chopped '51 Mercury. It was flat black, possibly the real catalyst that got me going. It was kept in his mom's garage, rumor had it that he was in jail and the car was just hanging out. Every Halloween I'd hit that house and check the garage window for the Merc. I quit that at age 13, I was around 16, rode by the house on my bike... garage door open, the car was gone.

 

Yellow , Flamed , 40 Ford coupe with a radical rake...became friends with owner,,,Then a 70 Z-28 with Rock Crusher 4 speed..could hear that transmission a block away...

 

I was raised in a very small farming community. Being raised on a farm our main focus was keeping equipment running.But my dad was always a gear head as was his friends and 1 brother in law. Earliest memory...a rumble of a 66 chevelle SS, which my dad and mom ordered it new.My uncle a very fast bbc 68 camero. My dad helped his friend build a 56 pontiac gasser. So mostly mine was my dad and his car friends.

 

when i was about 15 years old there was a couple cars in the hood that wasn't muscle cars. one was a 34 ford, really nice cruiser with a/c and heater, the other was a purple 25 t-bucket with a narrowed 59 impala trunk grafted on it with working lid. couldn't take my eyes off of it. hope it is still alive in the houston area.

 

When I was still wiping snot on the back of my sleeve Dad was racing a 1937 Chevy coupe and hi always had his 1936 Ford Cabriolet so those were steadfast influences but my next door neighbor had a souped up primer black 2 door 1955 Chevy which screamed hot rod and influenced the 1955 Chevy as my all time favorite car to this day.

 

55 Chevys rule the planet actually….no front bumper …

 

Down our street at the north end was Gene Brown and his red ‘56 210. He took us to the beach and to Lions drag Strip occasionally in it. I was around 13 at the time.
Two or threes houses from the other end of our street was a bright red Model A coupe, I think it was a ’30-31. It had a full hood, full fenders, white walls, black wheels. He was older than all of us and apparently married. Once a month he would fire it up, drive it around the neighborhood and put it away. It never had mufflers and he put it away immediately when he got back and closed the garage. I never knew what was in it but it seemed slow for the amount of noise. None of us ever met the guy.
I duplicated Gene’s ‘56 and shortly after I finished it a red Model A became available here in my little town. I couldn’t resist. I bought it and made it look like the other car from my old neighborhood.
My recreation of Gene’s ‘56….


My rendition of the mystery Model A from the other end of the street….(the hood is at the paint shop)

I have always wanted to replicate my friend Gilbert’s Bahama Blue ‘49 Olds coupe from the ‘60s but I never found one when I had the money available. I’m runnin’ outa time….

 

Both of those are sweet . You have good taste. The ‘56 stance and wheel choice is perfect.

 

Thanks, means a lot coming from HAMB guys.

 

I grew up in Hollywood. No, not that one, the one in Portland, OR. I would play ball in my yard and once in a while I would have to go into the Watson's yard next door to retrieve it. I could have walked around the fence but the fastest way was to scale the six foot wood slat fence, hop onto the roof of the 55 nomad permanently parked on the other side, down the windshield and across the hood. Reverse the procedure for the return trip.

One day whilst fetching an errant frisbee or baseball I noticed that the engine was in the rear of the wagon. I was young but found that quite odd and had to ask my dad about it, at which point I was offered no explanation whatsoever and ordered to stay out of the neighbors yard.

If that is your wagon, sorry about those dents.

 

I grew up in a small town in Nebraska and was smitten by a custom 46/48 coupe. The car was from another town and the owner was dating a local girl. He had bought the coupe while he was in the navy and stationed in San Diego. It was nosed and decked, lowered with the back lower than the front, painted white with a turquoise and white TJ tuck and roll interior. First hot rod I ever saw and it was a real California hot rod. At the age of 13 or 14 I was ruined.