Do not remember their last name but their car, the car I wrote about was a Chevy Impala SS 409 4 speed car. Milwaukee did have a Pontiac guy, he had some fast stuff, him I did not know, the MOPAR Hemi cars, BBC Chevelles pretty much took over. Also we had a couple of the factory 427 Ford drag cars with lightweight stuff like the Pontiacs. I have some great memories from those days.
Hello, Most of the girls in high school were not into hot rods, but loved riding in them at any time and place. That was fun. Our auto shop did not have any girls in them, except in our senior year. The only girl was this freckled face Blond haired girl who looked like a California “Beach” Girl. She was interested as she knew she wanted a reliable car. She had a job, but needed transportation, like most teenagers. But, as things go, the last time we heard, she ended up in Hawaii. The lure of the beach and surf was undeniable. She probably drives a woody. In the last 3 high school reunions, she was not around. As things moved along after high school, I met several girls in college that had no idea about hot rods and cars, although they did learn by listening to the “guys” in the apartment housing that had experience with cars. In San Jose, this girl also needed transportation and ended up buying a sporty car. But after a few lessons, she got the hang of doing minor repairs and maintenance on her car. This was in 1965. With maintenance and grooming playing a large role in life for most girls, there were few if any that fell into the category of hot rod girls. Those early photos were the girls that hung on to their guys, who owned the hot rods. It wasn’t until recently that the trophy girls were for show, but some of them stepped up to learn and become good mechanics. Jnaki Even today, in drag racing, there are a ton of girls driving, but the mechanics are the ones to harness the 1000 hp motors and race cars. In the modern hot rod build shows, there are a few that actually know what they are doing, along of course, the ones that hold a wrench and look good doing that portion of the show. So, kudos to those girls that have an interest in hot rod/drag racing world. Also to those that learned to do the mechanics and can hold their own against any other mechanic… a big congratulations to them. Was our high school girl in the auto shop a good mechanic? Well, she was smart, so anyone can learn the basics, but these days, Why?
Thanks For The Story Jnaki And That Beach Girl May Have Produced Kids With A Cool Mom...Appreciated....
How about our very own @hotrodladycrusr https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/members/hotrodladycrusr.915/
Only one I personally knew ( actually, I never knew her name) drove her ol' man's 375 horse 396 Chevelle in an aggressive manner. She did really well at stoplight racing, and could change rockers & pushrods in the dark when she missed 2nd ... she also had a fondness for tequila, which once led to a rollover in their 30 foot driveway. When I was lot boy for the Dodge dealer ('63}, the 3 owners let their kids have the run of the used lot for weekends. We had a 4 bbl 327 OD wagon Ambassador one gal liked to use - she was taking it out on the new 15 mile stretch of freeway going top end with the 348 Chev & 390 Ford guys.
My mom used to drive a super bee with the six pack on it. She hated it tho, dad bought it so she drove it. She wishes she had it now when I showed her what they're selling for! She said at 70 mph or so you could literally watch the gas gauge drop.... Lol.
Sybil Lupp, mechanic and racing car driver [1916 - 1994] She set up her own business tuning, repairing and selling Jaguars, as well as founding the MG Car Club in NZ
Got this pic off of Facebook. Mods, please Delete if not allowed, I thought it was a pretty neat "Hot Rod Ladies pic" Throttle Queens member painting the "Z" on the Armstrong & Richter "Nesbitt's Orange Special" at San Fernando in 1955. Cool information about the pic: "Bob Armstrong looks on as a member of the Throttle Queens paints Z on the Armstrong & Richter "Nesbitt's Orange Special" at San Fernando. The Armstrong & Richter dragster ran an injected fuel Chrysler for power, and probably was one of the first dragster teams to get a major company sponsor. Notice that the roll bar is close to the later 3-point design used by Kent Fuller and Rod Stuckey, not bad for 1955. I found this photo in the archives of the Los Angeles Public Library"
Yes, she was the best. Was a good role model for you gals wanting to get into the automotive industries. RIP
Not sure why my earlier post was deleted? But I wanted to say this is a great thread. Thank you for giving all these women kudos ! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
No offense intended but we are trying to keep this a historic lady hot rodder/race driver thread. What usually happens to these kind of threads is people post a bunch of scantilly clad pinups and then the tacky comments and then we have to delete the threads. Seems to happen every time we have a thread about females. Just trying to keep this one historic as originally intended
Lucy O'Reilly Schell. The first female Gran Prix Team Principle, and a very accomplished rally driver in her own right. https://lithub.com/on-the-road-with-the-heiress-who-dominated-early-motorsports/
I've retired from bracket racing at Wisconsin International Raceway, but I absolutely remember going up against Geri, a young lady who kicked my butt in just about every round we raced during a ten year period. She was a great racer and still is.
And not one with her body covered in tattoos or blue or green hair. I don't know what era they represent but it sure wasn't late 50s early 60s , At least where I grew up..
Marcia Campbell with her roadster pick-up Marcia Campbell's 49 Chevy Custom and he 42 Ford Custom Photos by Marcia Campbell
In my high school power mechanics class (early 70s) we had a couple ladies enrolled that were not afraid to get grease under their finger nails. One of them went on into auto mechanics after high school, but I can't for the life of me remember her name. My grandson just graduated from our local college auto mechanics class, 2 of the 10 that graduated with him were ladies, I met one of them. I was very impressed with the knowledge about cars she possessed, I was working on my coupe at the time, and she asked a few very good questions that proved to me she was interested in the old cars. That is a pretty rare event with today's 20 year olds, male or female. I was involved with a car club for about 10 years during the early 90s, there were several ladies in that club that were great car ladies, some of them were great stick drivers, and a few of them took care of their own hot rods. One of the couples in the club was Caroline and Ray Nelson. They ran a 57 Chevy with a 327 4 speed back in the 60s at Union Grove called "Family Affair". Caroline often drove the car, Ray said she was much more consistent with the 4 speed then he was. One of their daughters ran a winged sprint car operation for many years, they raced primarily at southern WI tracks in the 90s. My wife has always been a motor head (she owned a big block Mopar with 391 rear gears when we met). She doesn't have a lot of mechanical experience, but she fully understands the connection between the gas pedal and the fun connected with it, and she is pretty good at understanding that when something sounds or acts differently, she needs to let me know right away. Her current daily driver has a turbocharged motor and she is not afraid to spool it up. Gene
Anne B. France not a hands on racer or a hot rodder she is/was just as important to stockcar racing as her husband "Big" Bill France. She handled the financial end of NASCAR, she first served as secretary and treasurer of NASCAR. When Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, she served in the same roles for International Speedway Corporation. She also managed the speedway's ticket office. If not for her NASCAR may not have lasted.
Barbara Parks wife of Wally Parks, again hot a mechanic, or driver but a driving force in hot rodding! First as Hot Rod magazine's staff secretary After hours she processed National Hot Rod Association memberships, typing members' cards and correspondence. She helped in the planning, preparations, and promotions the first U.S. National in Great Bend Kansas Barbara was executive manager for NHRA, part of her functions was the establishment and maintenance of a communications network with the Division Directors and track operators. She latter served as executive director for the NHRA.
Janet Guthrie Guthrie started out racing Jaguars (XK-120) while working as an aerospace engineer during the 1960s. In 1964 she won two SCCA races The first women to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, and the first qualify for the Daytona 500.
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