To start this off, I'll post some pictures of a car and owner/builder many of you here know, Yam Oka's 8-Ball Special. Although Yam Oka is with the most famous names in Japanese-American traditional hot rodding (alongside Larry Shinoda and Chickie Hirashima), pictures besides the famous #8 are hard to find. Being a nisei (second generation of immigrants) born in 1915, he still had a Japanese name, which was Yoshihiro Okamuro. Around the 1930s, organized car racing began to start in Glendale, California, and he frequently attended. In 1931, Yam and his older brother Harry decided to buy a T roadster and modify it to race. The modifications were done in the backyard of their father's flower shop, including a custom ported Riley 8-plug head, and of course the removal of fenders and deck. He achieved moderate success in dirt ovals, but the early days of racing were difficult and very different to post-war racing. Due to the war, racing was forced on a hiatus. Yam Oka was not drafted due to a motorcycle incident, but due to his Japanese decent, he was forced to relocate to Manzanar. After the war was over, Yam returned to racing 1947, again with his brother Harry, as well as one of his younger brothers, Fum. Although there were many opportunities to race on the lakes, or do drag racing, Yam wanted to continue his oval track racing. His first race after the war was at Carrell Speedway in December 1947, but he had an accident that cost him the win. His next race was in February 1948, but again the car was damaged in an accident, and he decided to pass the car to Andy Granatelli. After his failures in racing, he focused on his shop, Yam's Garage until his death in 1982. All information and photographs gathered from Cruisin' Magazine Volume 21.
H&H Flatheads had a post on their page a few years back. Shows the 8-Ball with it's earlier deuce grill and the later track nose. They said it was one of the best looking track roadsters of it's time....I agree.
The Jalopy Journal
