anyone know anyone who was in this club? my grandfather was in this club when it was in Alameda and when they moved to Oakland after the police kicked them out of Alameda. Any and all info would be great. I am also looking into reopening the club. If you were a part of the toppers or know someone who was please let me know, I would love to chat with you. This club is not affiliated with the north dakota club. here is a photo of the plaque that was usually painted maroon and had a member number on it which this one does not have for some reason.
if anyone has a plaque from the toppers let me know im interested in buying them. Here is my grand father's jacket. If you have one of them I would be interested in them as well.
My grandpa was in a club in Oakland back then. Something like the Gents i think. He might know somethin about the Toppers. I will have to ask next time. Where are you in SLZ?
well to make a long story short, i started with a 71 pinto. it got stolen and smashed about 4 years ago. I brought it to my work and have been working on it slowly due to financial troubles. so currently my gf an I have a civic si. she works at fairmont as a nurse so she takes the car. so technically i dont drive anything cool.. yet. The 55 chrysler i just bought is in san leandro at my uncles house (as you know here in slz not much room to store cars) the 55 needs an engine rebuild. and the 27 is in my garage. been there since 1956 lol i am hoping to finish the pinto this year as a daily driver. was planning to do a v8 conversion but now that i have the 55 id rather direct my funds and time to that instead of a car that is worth 500 bucks lol
Cool, i have a Maverick that's muscled out, seen it? its in bare metal now.. sorry to hijack the thread. would like to know more about the 27! there are a few rodders in our town, not a whole lot though.
haha its all good. no worries. Yeah I have always felt like I was born in the wrong era. Im 25 going on 60 lol. Most of my friends are over the age of 50 lol. Petes transmission on lewelling is an old school hot rod shop. I walked in there a few weeks ago and felt like i was transported into the 50's. It was awesome. But your right not many of the hot rodders of yesteryear are still around. some of them go to the k mart car show in san leandro but there are not many. Do you work at a shop? I work at a mustang restoration shop on clawiter called Golden West. My family has been in the hot rod world since the dawn of time. My great grandfather had a signal gas station in Oakland CA. Tommy "the greek" a local pin striper and custom painter had started his striping career striping in the parking lot of the signal gas station. I got into the industry working under an old bodyman who is/was a local hot rodder, in many clubs, and owns many hot rods still. I currently work for a mustang restoration shop, restoring Shelbys, mustangs, and specialty fords. Although we will work on anything of value. You can check out our shop at www.themustangguys.com I also have a blog vividlyvintage.com
Wow,i'm in SLZ too..and down the street from Del Rey School.(Burgundy 29 Coupester)..If you are looking for info on area history,stop by Big O on Lew/Wash and ask for Johnny.He knows all the old HotRodders around here and might be able to steer you in the right direction..
Hi Brujo, Yeah I have seen your coupe. Very nice. I live on bandoni ave. Do you also have a 31 truck too?
I couldnt find it on there. But there is a plaque at voc hubbards and the american museum of speed Thanks, Skrach www.VividlyVintage.com
Huh funny how you can live some place and never heard anything about this club! I have lived in Alameda since 84. I will have to ask around, the one place for sure to stop by and ask is The World Famous Lee Auto Supply(now in partnership with Napa). Lots of old timers hang out there, I know the owners dad has owned that building forever. I hope this helps, and I will ask around and post info...
I was a member of the Toppers of Alameda. I joined in 1956. We were a very cool club that would stop and help a motorist in trouble. I still have my plaque and some of the cards that we would hand out after assisting someone with a dead battery, flat tire, etc. My number was 33.
I was a member of this club. My name is Bill Clark. I joined in September 1956. My number was 33. It was a very cool club. We would stop and help motorists in trouble. We would change tires, get gas, restart dead batteries, etc. I left the club in 1959 and went off to engineering school. We used to go to Nikko's in East Oakland after our meetings on Thursday nights. I still have my plaque and the cards that we would hand out to people after we helped them.
To Doug at VividlyVintage: I have a photo of my Toppers Plaque #33 but I do not know how to insert it here. If you have a seperate email address, I can send the photo to you (the plaque is not for sale). I also have a card that I can spare...it is one of the ones that we would give out to a motorist after we helped them. I would be happy to mail it to you. I used to live in San Lorenzo on via Los Trancos just off of via Alamitos in the early 50's.
I'm wondering if your plaque looks like this ..... ..... except with the number 33 on it somewhere.
In the early 1960's Monogram released a kit called "red chariot" based on the 1930 model A phaeton and it included a plaque decal for the "Toppers" which was very similiar to the plaques shown in this thread.
Yes. exactly like that, with the 33 in the lower right corner. The lettering has reflective paint and the background is royal purple. I would attach a photo but I don't know how to do that here. If you send me an email at wclark3350@aol.com I can reply with the photo attached. To JakesA: I didn't know about the Monogram model...thanks for the info.
My dad was a member #4 still have Dad the jacket, plaque and the car. I was doing research to put the car back on the road. Found this Forum. I also thought about putting the club back together.
After I quit my car club, they pulled the plug on all the stuff I had posted on their website and that's why the "Red X" boxes appear. Here are the images from my new website .....
What is your dad's name? My grand fathers name is Ken Randolphi. He had a stock 1927 chevrolet 4 door he used in the club. He still has it.
Hi ! His name is John Woolley he has a 48 Mercury with a 55 chevy V8. He had the Greek paint his Stripes in your great grandfathers gas station.
Nice!! My great grand father owned the gas station. His name was Pete Randolphi. But yes Tommy started out at his gas station. It was a signal station. Wow. This is awesome! I will talk to my grand father (Ken Randolphi) who lives on bandoni ave in san lorenzo about your dad. Is your dad still with us?
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