I saw that car today...fantastic. It may hit the market again. Can anyone tell me the name of the design Tommy the Greek put on glove boxes? I'm told it had a specific name.
Lives in Kerrville, Tx. Did some lines on his vintage dragster in '09 and bought a '96 2 door 2 wheel drive Tahoe from him in '12 which came with a set of real rodder wheels. He is a real hot rodder.
As I recall, this coupe was chopped and cleaned up at Dan Fink's in Huntington Beach in the early 90's. Geoff did most of the restoration and it turned out to be a real nice profile 3 window. I thought 3W Larry owned it when it was featured in Rod Action. I have the pull out poster on my garage wall.
I won't give too much away here, but we're doing a two-part story in The Rodder's Journal on Tom, written by his good friend Pat Ganahl. The first part, about his hot rods, is in issue #63 that we just printed and will be out soon. A lot of Tom's stories told by him. It's a riot. Part 2 will focus on his drag racing exploits. Mikey's Pinstriping above hit the nail on the head...he is a real hot rodder.
Dustin (@jadegrenade 51) - It's Prufer's (circa 1963-65) "POWER KING" AA/FD: * Kent Fuller built chassis. * 1956 (354ci) Chrysler HEMI engines. * Aluminum body by the late great Jack Hagemann, Sr. * Scallops & Lettering by "Tommy the Greek" Hrones * Piloted by "Jet Car Bob" Smith when my father took that photo (Jan '64). * Gerry Steiner's 1st Top Fuel Dragster ride (late '64) ... he ran 200 mph @ Fremont. Here's some more pics culled from the Internet:
Nope...Tommy the Greek did pinstripping on the louvers. It's for sale...private message me if you want info before it hits the market.
Somebody's reading our minds again. I was down in Del Mar in my roadster all weekend for the Goodguys event (can't beat driving an open roadster down PCH), so I didn't see this thread until today. Yes, Curt is right. I've been planning to do an in-depth piece on Tom for years, and finally got a chance to do a long interview with him that produced several amazing stories I'd never heard before. They'll be in the next issue of TRJ, along with photos of most of his street rods. And answers to most of the questions posted here. There was so much good stuff that we'll do a Part II in the following issue, focusing on all the drag racing stuff, from the early days through the birth of Nostalgia Drags (thanks in large part to Tom). Stay tuned! Cheers, Pat Ganahl
Ill say it again.All you "GOLD CHAINERS" need to study his cars & see how "TRADITIONAL" cars are built you dont see any "WIGGLEY" front suspensions on any of his cars & some of them have been around for years.Last I heard (Several Years Ago) The "COP SHOP COUPE" was in a little podunk town in Cali called Coarsegold but from then until now ???????????????
Here are two more of Tom Prufer's (one "f") cars; the wicked black-n-flamed '32 3w hiboy and the black-n-flamed '29 roadster.
The flamed 29 is actually root beer if he just had one . Ralph Jungk bought it from him at the 97 street rod nats and sold it right before he died.
I got the latest issue of TRJ today, Pat's interview with Tom is dynamite! I can't wait for part 2 in the next installment, dealing with Tom's T/F cars and the Nostalgia Drags movement.
Really enjoyed the newest issue of RJ. Pat outdid himself with the Prufer interview. Nobody writes with style like Pat G.
I met Tom at Fremont back in the day. I even drove his dragster a few times and that's a whole story unto itself. He's a great guy that I often see at the GNRS.
Very proud to add to this thread, my good friends Dennis & Debbie Kyle now own the full fendered Prufer 34 which shares garage space with their orange 32 roadster Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Does anyone know how to get ahold of Tom Prufer? My dad used to crew for his dragsters (I have a pic of the whole team at Half Moon Bay in 64) and was asking about him the other day.
Here's the pic, I still have my dad's Fremont Dragstrip jacket he's wearing. Looks like this is also the Power King. Hemi32, it appears this was taken the same day as your last culled-from-internet pic.
The Jalopy Journal
