Old Photos, scanner, Photobucket, Historical Derby Downs, Akron Ohio 1958!

Look in the background of this one to see "Derby Downs"

 

I still have some more I will scan later...gotta work on the house now so I dont get in trouble with the boss

 

Thank you thank you thank you!
It is so neat to see cars from my neck of the woods back in the day. I have so many people to show this thread to...they could have been there!

My boss grew up near the Akron airport and peddled his bike over there to see these cars while he was growing up. I'm sure the Akron airport/rubber bowl scene has a lot do with how much of a carnut he is today. I showed him these pics but he didn't recognize any cars from the neighborhood. He says that they had 4 kinds of racing there in the early fifties-- midget in the rubber bowl, sports car on the actual airstrips and service roads, drag racing on the airport service road and also a thimble drome racing track. He says the sports car races stopped around '55 and people stopped dragging there around '58 or so. He's not really sure why, they just did.

Do you have any idea where the pictures of the roadster at the indoor show were taken? I have been doing some research on indoor hot rod shows of the 50s and 60s in our area. From my understanding there used to be a really excellent indoor hot rod and custom show in the employee gymnasium at Goodyear. I have been told there were also great shows at some of the local armories. Can anyone shed any light on this? I am yet to find anyone at Goodyear that knew anything about the shows or if they had any pictures.

Thanks Don. It really made me happy to see these photos.

 

Now that is just bad ass!!!!!!!

 

WOW!

THANK YOU!

 

...wow... amazing photos! I love seeing all those pics of old customs, needless to say shoeboxes were popular!!

and man oh man, that A roadster is looooooow!

thanks a lot man... now I'm going to suffer from another bout of 'wish I were alive for that' depression

 

wow, great pictures, thanks for sharing. Is it just me or do almost all of these cars look to have paint on them that shines? Who knew?

 

Arlen Vanke, now there is a name I have heard in a while. I knew Arlen's son Jeff before he was killed on his motorcycle a few years ago. I met Arlen about 10 years ago at the nationals in Houston where we were both running our cars, Jeff brought him over to my pit, man what a character not to mention a big man. Is Arlen still playing in the hemi wars? I lost touch with Arlen after Jeff died.

 

These are such amazing photos!! I wanted to see one color corrected. This it what I came up with. -stick

 

Ha, I was doing the same thing, but mine looks a bit different

 

I think mine is a little too purple, oh well. Played with another of the pics



Someone with better skill could probably make these photos look really good.

I think what I am seeing as purple is supposed to be red in these photos, maybe?

 

red?
left click to enlarge

 

hehe.. I was color correcting also. Definately was red since the car is the most pink/purple thing in the picture.

 

Man O Man!!! What a set of cool pictures. I was 13 in 1958 and those guys were the Big Guys we all emulated, you know dressing like them, comb your hair like them, walk and talk like them....... MAN!!! Memories!
Thank You Thank You Thank You....

 

man, some of this stuff is "picture" perfect. anyone know who was doing this top notch body work in ohio at the time? on some of the hot rods and kustoms both you can tell this isn't amature hour.

 

The hotrod Cabriolet is AWESOME!!!

 

Great photos...Thanks!

 

yes, the Lazy 8 is red....the pics are faded...

 

Observation, exhaust pipes through bezels on the cabriolet, and the "T". Kinda different. The channeled coupe should shed light on a current trend.
Thanks for sharing! I learned from the custom pics. Pat.

 

Thank You for showing the "TRUTH".
How things really were without 50 years of distortion.
Ray in CT
student

 

Priceless

 

Anybody notice that the red roadster with the black top and trophies has only one 'cycle fender on the front in some photos? Some photos show it without it too. wonder what that was about! the plates definitely say '53 in the B&W photos, that's awesome! One plate says GG and numbers, at one time the first letters told where about in ohio your car was registered.

Hey Don, i've got some video you'd love to see...it's drag racing on super 8 from around 53 through 58 in Akron behind the goodyear hangar, on the airstrip. i'm trying to put it on my computer somehow...maybe i'll see you at the choppers show this year? i'll see if i can put it on a DVD for you.
-ace

 

Ace, I have that video also, I am working on the same thing you are. Somebody here on the hamb gave it to me( I forgot his name, I suck) but there is a small section that has my roadster on it! As far as the red roadster with the cycle fenders, you guys do realize thats my car right???? He would remove the fenders when he went to Derby Downs to race....