So Cal Tastee Freeze owner’s teenage era hot rod… Lion's Dragstrip 1959 Hello, What does a 30 something guy do after his hot rod/drag race days are coming to a close? Why open up a Tastee Freeze? One of the most popular places in in Orange County location of Seal Beach was the Tastee Freeze built on the Coast Highway intersection with Main Street. A 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery could be found there on Saturday lunch hour most of the time. Their stuff was the best in the whole area and close to our apartment. When the owner was a teenager, he was a frequent visitor to our Westside of Long Beach house. The teen gathering purpose was to laugh, have fun talking hot rods, see a film showing of the Lion’s Dragstrip that I took, and eat our mom’s fabulous cooking meals. That was when I was given the job of the young kid doing maintenance jobs on the various old cars and fixed up hot rods of my brother’s teenage friends. Jnaki The 1956 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop he drove daily to school and work back then, sounded fast with a rumble. It was fast, according to my brother, and stories about the build flew like hotcakes in the teenage circles. A 265 with a 4 barrel and cam, to a 283 with dual quads, a 301 with a cam, head work and headers, to a possible ½ inch stroker motor from Reath Automotive that looked like all of the SBC motors he had in the engine compartment. For some reason, no one knew what was in the engine build, except for the original 265 with a 4 barrel. 1959 As to the Tastee Freeze location in Seal Beach, it was a gathering place for the local hot rod folks and at the time, the food was the main attraction. Old friendships and new ones met at the Tastee Freeze were the fun part as the word spread about the quality of the food served here. Hot dogs, burgers and fries plus a bevy of hot rods on the weekends was a common sight. My wife and I could eat there morning, noon, and night, as the food was so good. Actually, one week, we did to see if we could eat at diners along the coast line for ALL meals. It was an experiment to see if we did not have to do any cooking and enjoy the excellent coastal So Cal diners and food. It was fun and we had some excellent meals, but our bank account took a big hit… at being 20 somethings, crazier things did happen… HA! Note: The Tastee Freeze is now gone replace by a giant drug store chain. The Standard Gas Station on the corner of PCH and Main Street is also gone. But, Harbour Surfboards is still located in the same place as during the 60s. Long live surfing and So Cal’s Orange County history… An old post: There was this older guy that had a Turquoise Green and White 1956 Chevy for his teenage daily driver. He was always one of the fastest sedans around, according to my brother. So, the thing was, the owner never told anyone what was in the motor. Stock 265 from the factory was what he told everyone. But, since no one ever saw him doing any “take apart and installing” anything, that was the believable story. But, somehow, it was a fast hardtop sedan. Faster than most cars around the Bixby Knolls cruising grounds, according to my brother. Lion's Dragstrip The guy with the 56 Chevy was one of the early guys who started modifying his car. He liked being the top dog at the teenager hangouts and gabfests. So, the 265 became a 283 with more speed goodies like dual quads and a different cam set up. By 1959-60, he went the farthest of any of the local hot rod guys. His next step was a bore to make the newly purchased 283 into a 301. Now, it was fast and getting faster. The facts were slowly coming to light. C/Gas or C/Stock? The reversed photo shows the Lion’s Dragstrip classification. We knew back then, but for all of these year later, the classification is a mystery. A 265 would put the 1956 Chevy in C/Stock... whereas, the 301 or 352 SBC mods would have put him in C/Gas. There were very few 301 SBC motors in a 1956 Chevy or for that matter, any Chevy sedan back then. In the history of Bixby Knolls, the only other guy may have been Tom McEwen and his string of 55, 56, 57 Chevy sedans with modified motors… and the statement of: “… It came that way from the factory !” HA! Of course, we all have seen the Lion's Dragstrip classification photos showing D/Gas or C/Gas... Same neighborhood, same high school, same Chevy sedan type, but different timeline listing. But, the topper was and still is a mystery, the 56 Turquoise/white Chevy may have had a Stroker Kit from Reath Automotive to create a huge 352 C.I. SBC motor. No one alive ever had proof, although we did see the 56 Chevy Bel Air in action.
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