Hot Rods anybody else collect old trophies?

not actively searching for them but when they turn up at garage sales, and they are cheap or free they are hard to pass up.. for me anyway.
my brother is aware of my habit and fed my syndrome today with another lot.
this is most of my collection so far, there is another batch in parts and pieces tucked away too.

 

Man!!!!! That one in the front left foreground....inverted pyramid, square block with a round hole Art Deco is just CHOICE!!!

NICE collection!!!

 

My dads from Minnesota Dragways

 

In a way, were new when I got them!
I'm 83 ,an retired from racing* in 2000/ 40 years of great fun.
I won a lot of races,and car shows along the way!.
One stockcar race club I was in at the end of year Banquet,I was told"Were too broke to buy trophies this year { in 1986- ProFour of Florida },so we're only giving out certificates. }
So I cleaned up and relabeled 24 of my older trophies,so those that were getting awards,got them!, Ya I got one back too,but they raced all year,paper dosen't fill the hole,the way it should be.
Not like,I don't have enough. Many real tall ones in the attic.. Yes ,I do love getting trophies every time. So know those who should get,need it. One small stack on top of TV.

 

I used to, but then I handed them at various buddy gatherings. One of those occasions was our latest trip to Sturgis.

Awards were for the most wrong turns, bike that needed the most work, bike that needed the least work, and who we had to wait for most of the time before a ride.

 

I wouldn't say I collect them, but I've acquired a few that sitting around my shop.

 

I got these from Herb Gary before he died. I have them in my garage for a few years. We put on a local car show here in town every year, and I had the brilliant idea of restoring them and giving them out at our car show. WRONG!!!!!! I disassembled them and brought them to the chrome plater ,where I was told they would cost about $500.00 apiece to plate and polish!!!!!!! so inmy spare time I'll assemble them back together and maybe give them out as is, to a original unrestored/barn find type of car. I was very disappointed,

 

Back when trophies actually had character.

 

One model car dealer I know collects them. He picked up one tecently at a collectibles show, a 1960 stock car trophy from a famous local driver.

Some driver's would leave their trophies with sponsors to be displayed. So this is likely how they end up if the family forgets about them.

There are a couple of young guys I see at a cruise night. They drive old Dodge Darts, far from being show cars. But they display trophies in front of the cars. So I look at a few... they are sourced from garage sales and are mainly from HS sports.

 

Ya mean @Moriarity doesnt have a stash somewhere?

 

@Royalshifter

 

I have a handful I've picked up over the years, but only drag racing trophies from Texas from the 50's & 60's.

 

Back when trophy's weren't handed out like candy for just participating! They actually meant something. Mark, I am still in awe of ALL the stuff you have!

 

I've 62 at last count all related to the V-8 Burdick family dirt track years of racing dating back to 1948

 

My motto has always been "keep the trophy, give me the cash".

 

I would only collect trophies that I won with my car, or from a car that I bought and they came with it.

 

My Dad and a buddy ended up with this car about 50 years ago.
It was in really bad shape. I'm not sure how they got it, but it went into hiding shortly after that. Somehow my Dad was able to get all the trophies it had won, some were 6 feet tall. A few years later a relative of the original builder was able to get the car and have it restored. He tried to get the trophies back, but my Dad wouldn't give them up, even though he wasn't doing anything with them. My Dad was a hoarder, he had multiple storages full of stuff that you couldn't get to. My Dad also took all my trophies I had won as a kid for my custom bicycles at the Oakland Roadster show, as well as other shows, back in the late 60's early 70's. He let all that stuff go for next to nothing after paying the storage fees for many years. I think he had 7 storages full to the door. Someone posted on here quite a few years back that they knew someone that had bought a bunch of storages, and was asking about a trophy that was in one of them. The trophy was one of mine from Oakland that I won with my bicycle. I told them what it was for, and that I had won it as a kid. I never heard anymore about it. I would have offered to buy it, but never got the chance. I have other trophies now that I've won with my cars. I don't register my cars at the shows to be judged anymore. I don't need the trophies. Some guys get really pissed if they don't win one. That's not what it's about for me now. One of my favorite trophies I won, actually a plaque, is for best paint. I'm really proud of that one, I painted the car myself in my garage.

 

I probably would if I ever came across some old ones.

 

Hello,

In our early quest for trophies in our A/Stock class, it was like a carrot dangling in front of us. I was not licensed to drive at the time we first started to go to the drags together. My brother just bought his new 58 Impala and it was all his game. I was the full on pit crew and maintenance guy. I changed the stock rear tires to the real Bruce Slicks for the initial time trials, changed to the trial run sparkplugs, uncapped the exhaust down tube outlets and checked the oil.

My brother was getting his mind set on and was either talking to his teenage friends who also had their cars in the pits or to other folks with race cars. That was his way to get into the mode of competition. He checked the oil, gas and fluids and made sure the transmission shifted easily. It was his goal to win a trophy.

He had some envy every time we walked into our friend’ house and saw several trophies for A/Gas wins in his Oldsmobile powered 34 Ford 5 window coupe. So, he wanted to set his goals to win a few.

Jnaki

So, how did I know which films had me driving? I took the majority of all of the drag racing films. But, as I became 15, my brother allowed me to race in the time trials and I got to continue in several different elimination days. He was a proud brother, when I got some good E.T. times and a fast top speed, plus those several races that were so close, but were trophy winners.

The transition of stock whitewall wheels/tires versus the painted rims was the difference. At the time, he took over the filming of me driving the 58 Impala with various painted rim phases.

That was the start of my dragstrip runs and within the next year, I was able to run in several elimination races to try and get a trophy. I got two.

It was not a one car on car race, but a 4 across race that included two older racers that had years of experience racing. I was nervous and got a slow start, but caught them at the tower and then squeaked by them at the end. My first trophy.

Then, the next week, the same two guys in another 4 across race. This time I beat the Pontiac off of the line, but the Buick was fast. Just past the half way mark, I was catching up and I won by a bumper. That older guy in the Buick was mad I won. But, he congratulated me, being so young and being a novice at the time…


The three smallest car top trophies on our bookshelf were mine. My brother had already taken his other trophies when he moved to Santa Barbara. The largest trophy on the shelf was for my dad winning the largest Trout at Lake Crowley’s Opening Day fishing contest one year in the Mammoth Mountain ski area, just off of Highway 395.

So, the size of trophies makes a difference, then we got out sized by a giant trout that our dad gave us for a nice family dinner. But, he was happy as it was a “coveted” trophy for all of those “frozen fishermen” out on that Lake Crowley opening day for trout fishing. YRMV

 

Mine are from yard sales or from the side of the road and tend more toward champion Hereford bull or second place coonhound bitch- how can you not love that sort of stuff. When I have the opportunity to be with old rodders I admire their hardware if it is displayed, it usually leads to some good stories.

 

I put a shelf up
they were starting to take over

 

Forget the trophies. But I'm curious about what that can of "G-T Auto Ass Tint" was used for!

 

Among the 60+ I have that in part trace the history of my Avatar, I've one or two from the 1950's Pomona roadster class & as I recall the recipient's name is handwritten on the bottom. On at least a couple times I happened across an antique vendor that was selling plastic buckets full of cast coupe/sedan top ornaments of which I assume were from a former Trophy shop.

 

Good for wheel chocks.

Don't hit me...