History The Yellow Bullet: Belle Glade, Florida c.1940

Another jalopy in the wild. This one found on Shorpy.



June 1940. "Some of the younger Osceola migratory camp members who have come to the post office in Belle Glade, Florida, for their mail." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration.

 

That roadster sure is beat for being only nine years old. I would have thought people would have taken better care of it during the depression.

 

Great snap-shot .... never forget that 'roads' were far apart and rough as a farm field... it's no wonder they were all beat up, you would be too.

 

Considering the place and times... 'taking care of it' for migrant workers during the depression most likely meant spending as little as possible to keep transportation available. This is likely bone-stock... there was probably little in the way of speed parts available in rural Florida and not much in the way of expendable income to supe a car even if they had the access. These kids may not have even heard of a gow job or hot iron let alone seen a modified car... or even knew of the existence of something like a hot cam or dual intake.

Yet this car says "hot rod" to me. The spirit is there. They managed to acquire a jalopy, 'customized' it with some paint, made it their own. They're having fun with a car. And you can bet, even with a stock roadster, that there was some spirited driving on the roads surrounding Belle Glade, Florida. The girl has adventure in her eyes, and the lad in the rumble seat seems like a lighthearted instigator. "Faster, Grace!! Oh yeah man! Oh!!"

 

This shows me that R*tR*ds are not a recent development.

 

?????? No skulls. No spider webs. No patina. ??????

 

I don't see a Rat Rod. Not at all. Not in my book. This car and these kids are about as far away from Rat Rod culture as you could get.

 

Great shot. The roads were probably so bad the doors on the roadster unlatched automatically for you. LOL.

 

The odds are good that it went to the recycler during the war, but I wonder if anyone here is unknowingly rolling around in the Yellow Bullet today?

 

Are we looking at the same picture?

 

Higher quality:

 

I'd guess it went to the recycler too... but ya never know. I wonder if the young men survived the war. And where the young lady went with her life. And if any of them told stories to their kids and grandkids about the jalopy they had back in the day... the one they called the Yellow Bullet.

Yup.

Thanks, man!

 

Those kids get around . Looks like they traded the roadster

 

Ha! That’s another one of my favorite vintage photos. Different decade, different place, different economic situation... kids still having fun with cars.

 

I suppose this is a rat rod too. No windshield, no hood, '32 grille.

 

To me, a RR is more of a state of mind than any particular "decorations".

Here's a partial check list for a RR :

1. Alterations for shock value with no consideration of esthetics.

2. No consideration for ride or handling qualities and probably dangerous to drive.

3. Usually constructed by the younger crowd with no sense of quality work.

4. No performance upgrades to the engine, maybe some added "gee-gaws".

5. Generally dirty or rusty.

The "Yellow Bullet" hits all five of those points dead center. The second car does not even come close, with the possible exception of point 3. However, everything tells me that that is a still from a motion picture, so the chances of the kids in the picture having anything to do with building that car are beyond remote. The '32 grille shell, lack of a hood, the dual carbs, and V8 distributor all say "Hot Rod" to me. The missing windshield is probably on purpose to reduce glare while filming, common back then.

 

I can appreciate your thoughts... I guess I'm just of another mind. Like you, I see a rat rod as a state of mind, not particular decorations. But I generally ***ociate the term with a car specifically and intentionally fabricated to check you boxes. And, generally, I don't think that's what was going on with the Yellow Bullet.

1. Alterations for shock value with no consideration of esthetics. Other than the paint, which I agree was done for some light hearted shock value, I don't see what I would call 'rat rod' alterations on the Yellow Bullet. I usually ***ociate this with extreme chops or ridiculous wheelbase/ride height mods on a fabricated car.

2. No consideration for ride or handling qualities and probably dangerous to drive. Again, I agree this is a quality of a rat rod, but always ***ociate it as the result of putting extreme modification before safe function on a fabricated car... the intent being to create a certain response from a viewer at the expense of quality handling. If the Yellow Bullet has deficiencies in ride or handling, it's likely because of economics, not 'style' as with a rat rod.

3. Usually constructed by the younger crowd with no sense of quality work. I don't think the Yellow Bullet was 'constructed'... basically as-found.

4. No performance upgrades to the engine, maybe some added "gee-gaws". There likely aren't any performance upgrades here, as noted above. But who knows. Maybe the 'quiet fella' in the white hat is a wrench and popped on a police head or fab'd a dual intake. Unlikely, but maybe. And this car is lacking anything like a gee-gaw. (Love that phrase! Gonna try to use it today!)

5. Generally dirty or rusty. No argument here... seems to be a requirement of a rat rod. The Yellow Bullet does have some authentic 'patina'. But again... in a rat rod, dirty and rusty is an intentional esthetic choice. These kids are rural migrant workers in Depression-era Florida with a cheap, beat up jalopy for transportation. I don't think they thought a dirty car was making any kind of statement.

Just my perspective. Maybe I'm just so charmed with these kids and this car I can't be objective.

 

Kids havin' fun is great. I did it myself many eons ago. It is not to be confused with "Traditional Hot Rods" though.

 

While I can see your views Tubman it does also hit on #2 in the aspect that there is no windscreen and they are wearing no eye protection. Ever get a bug in your eye doing 60 MPH? I have and even a gnat is painful and could cause loss of control which in an open car a rollover would probably be fatal for all occupants.

Considering the roads and conditions of the early 40's where only 30% were paved and usually only in the larger metropolitan areas they are going to get dirty from the stone based dirt roads of the time period. Even in this area cities and larger were just getting paved streets usually brick and being upgraded by the WPA. US 250 was at that time just being paved with hand mixed concrete by the WPA and lower use back roads were and still some are stone based dirt. Still feeling the effects of the depression paint was a luxury that most could not afford and in some cases left over house or barn paint was used. Sometimes even mixing the two or more to create some interesting colors but it was what they had.
My views of a rat rod are; skulls and spider webs attached at random. Not as a shifter knob. Un patched major rust holes, fake patina and as you stated.

I do not see that in either and while you have your views and opinions so do I Sir. So at least we can agree to partially disagree.

 

Not a rat rod. Not a hopped up car either. It's an old beater car. Kids having fun. Some friends in high school drove cars like that (1977) rusty early 60's cars with brush paint and no muffler. That girl is a cutie! I think those kids might have been on the wrong side of town. Just a guess.

 

That is a rare sight , even today. I avoid the main drag in Belle Glade when I go there.
The lady turning her head is looking at the photographer, not the kids in the car.
The roads in town are still rough. BTW: the post office in not in town, you would find it a few blocks east on Hwy 27.
Unfortunately the town looks the same.....

 

Or fortunately it looks the same. Lippy

 

colorized version:

 

Friggin’ awesome! Did you do that work or find it somewhere??

 

Found it on Reddit of all places

 

Belle Glade hasn't changed a bit in all these years!

 

Is that Right hand Drive ? way coool

l

 

Is that rt hand drive? way coool