OK, so I found some treasure. Life magazine photographer Allan Grant took a series of photos in '56 that were used in several features. These were posted early in this thread and have no doubt been spread around the HAMB quite a bit over the years. LA River racing, Santa Ana drags, Norm Grabowski feature, Tommy Ivo feature. I recently found the same series shot at the same time by a second Life photographer, Ralph Crane. Here's a couple of the earlier Allan Grant shots: Ivo's T at Santa Ana Norm and Kookie I Santa Ana
So I'm picturing these two photographers going around together, because they have shots of mostly the same places, just different shots.
What a h***le, you park down there, ride the gizmo in the rain, up the hill and your home...unless the electricity is out because of a wind storm...