Reading the entry, I'm reminded of the phrase - "We "see" what we know." Some people can pick up on subtle clues and know there's much more. I'm glad he only offered a glimpse to the guy with the pen and more to others trapped for a moment in refuge from the rain. I'd like to think that's what I would do, too.
DC World of Wheels, late 80's (?), Sunday afternoon. Got to talk with him for a minute during a lull. Impression I got was there was a cost to being Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.
Im thinking how much fiberglass he ingested all those years..I never enjoyed working with that itchy as heck material..still there so much you can creat with it...
Hello, I can attest to the dangerous glass bits and pieces in the air. One of So Cal's best surfboard shapers from the early 60s passed away from surfboard shaping, glassing, sanding and finishing numerous surfboards before the safety standards went into effect. We purchased a blank foam board and had our friend do his thing at his little shop in Surfside, near Seal Beach. In the following year, he closed his shop, got sick and passed away. The doctor told everyone it was due to breathing congestion from chemicals, air particles from fiberglass and other maladies. He was too young to go, but it did happen. But, in the time that happened, folks in the industry began wearing masks during sanding only, as the dust was the obvious culprit. As time moved on, other folks started to wear simple masks during glossing and finishing. The main culprit was still the flying mini particles that got all over everything, even when the sanding was done outside in an open field, in an industrial area. Then, everyone was wearing masks during shaping as well as glossing and finishing. Jnaki At our mini workplace, as teens, we never wore masks, but that was early on. Then we wore masks only during the first repair sanding and finishing. Then by the second full surfboard panel layer of fiberglass cloth and sanding, that was it. The flying stuff was going all over the whole backyard and even though we had a cap, mask and taped our gloves to the long sleeve outfit, we still itched to no end. That was the end of my repair business and one last glass cloth finishing on a full size surfboard. It was just too much itching, coughing and eye watering situations. My friend had one of the best paying jobs in the industry. His shop was close by in the Westside of Long Beach about 4 blocks from our house. He was the manager of this huge warehouse building that finished surfboards for several dealers and manufacturers. His income was outrageous and he was one of two teenagers who could afford to rent a nice apartment in those years. One other worked in the oil industry and that was another story. He could afford to wear an outfit for the morning and by the afternoon quitting time, he glossed and sanded numerous boards for the final finish coat prior to leaving for the night. Sometimes, if a rush order was in place, we stayed until the final sanding and gloss coat got finished and dried. Then early the next morning, we delivered the finished boards to the local surf shop dealers. For him, it was back to the grind of fiberglass and more money. I was just visiting most of the time or when he asked me for some help in loading the finished boards for delivery. I refused to sand and he would not allow me to gloss as it was his responsibility for the finished boards. He paid me to help him in those times, but knowing how itchy I got in my own backyard jobs, I only was the buffer and polisher, as well as loading the finished boards onto his station wagon for delivery. I was in clean clothes. He had just thrown away another set of clothes laden with all of the flying crap that no amount of washing would get out. So, for him, it was easier to throw away the stained clothes than try to wash and clean them. Then, his 55 Chevy station wagon stayed clean during our deliveries. For some unknown reason, he never got the itchy situations doing his job at that factory. Yikes… Note: For those that work in the industry, like Roth, they probably had the one piece factory sealed outfits that made them look like outer space aliens while doing the layering of fiberglass cloth or even during the spraying of glass cloth/resin mixtures. But, there is always the flying particle in the air in all shops and that is a fact of life. or no life... YRMV
I just hope I don't die of anything serious! I can arrest that Ed didn't use no stinkin' protection! I have two self-made videos of him building the Asphalt Angel trike and the LA Zoom. His uniform consisted of white T-shirt and blue jeans. That's it. He even mixed plaster and resins stirring them with bare hands! Oh, and I notice you had an associate who worked in the oil industry. I spent 50 years as a petroleum engineer in California's heavy oil fields. LOVE the smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air!!
Hello, Thanks for the information. Yes, those early times called for what ever you were wearing. The oil worker as a teen was in the same situation. Not the smells or aroma like fresh fiberglass/resin, but the stains on his Levis were so bad that he could not get them clean. He had the best paying job of any of the teenagers around. He even had an ocean/city lights 180 view from his window and front door. The apartment was on top of Signal Hill and it was the coolest. We used to go to his place for nice parties, but everyone noticed the aroma of oil all around and just could not get it out of our clothes. So, after a few complaints from the "other" folks with us, we no longer went to that fabulous apartment. But, for a long time, it was the envy of all teenagers to have an apartment, but one with a 180 degree ocean view plus city views was outrageous. Like my friend in the fiberglass finishing business, once those clothes got the "dust," they were history. No amount of washing was going to get everything out. Now, the oil worker teen had oil stains on his Levis and shirts, so those, too could not get clean. So, with his high paying job, he bought new Levis and T-shirts. Jnaki I, on the other hand, would have liked the oil guy's salary, but not the resulting dirty Levis and the rest of his clothes, let alone the lingering aroma. So, there was a trade off. The same thing for the fiberglass industry worker. So, lets see those photos of what we all missed not being a fiberglass worker from those early times and up into the newer era. The plaster was for shaping and the final coat was fiberglass for sturdiness. We worked with plaster in high school art, and no residue was as bad as fiberglass stuff. Any photos of those outfits for the fiberglass finishing? YRMV Note: Resin on hands is a no-no. have you ever had liquid resin on your hands and tried to get it off? Break out the acetone ... yikes.
Ryan, and perhaps he used the act to be part of the world while ,he himself, stayed safely protected behind the act. Never allowing you , or anyone else , in.
Yes, poly resin is bad. But ANYTHING urethane is 100% worse! Urethane glue, paint, whatever, becomes integral with your skin and is totally irremovable. It is permanent and won't come off until you shed that layer of skin cells. As you say, for poly resin, a little session with some acetone and you are like new. Except need a coat of hand lotion for the dried-out skin.
“I just hope I don't die of anything serious!” I just about spewed my coffee, I’m thinking anything causing death is going to be a wee bit serious lol. I know what you mean though, some of these chemicals can do things that will cause bad things to happen to a body. Back in Ed’s day no one thought much of the consequences of chemicals etc. I can remember my grandfather washing his his hands in gasoline back in the day. Thanks for all the stories on the late great Ed Roth! Dan
I met Ed at a car show when I was around 18. Politely waited around while he set up his booth and fought off the hoardes of people pushing and shoving to get his autograph or buy something. He shouted and pointed at me: "Hey kid, can you give me a hand here"? The older guys around me looked surprised as I walked around the side. Spent the entire day with Ed, selling all of his crap... and my pockets bulged with probably thousands of dollars. In the down time, we sat and chatted. Pretty much every famous car person imaginable came over to say hello, and Ed introduced me to every single one! In fact, several hung around and talked about car stuff that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck! A couple things I learned about "Big Daddy" that day, and several encounters after: Ed had a heart of gold! Anyone will tell you that. He was well connected and well liked by most everyone in the car scene to a point I guess. Humble guy (Ed told me he kept his job at Sears for DECADES mostly for the tool discount, but also in case he needed a job!). Ed was also really weird. One time, we talked about how the Mormon's promised him a planet, and he was excited to be a "god" of his own planet of weirdos and monsters. This kind of crazy talk was pretty standard with Ed, and random. He would just talk about crazy stuff out of the blue. He was a big dude and could really eat! He also, basically had no sense of smell! There are some funny stories about that as well. And most importantly, ED LOVED MISFITS! One time Gene Winfield threw me his keys and asked me to go get his truck. I stood there kinda puzzled, and Ed said something I couldn't hear. Gene apologized and took his keys back. From what I gather, Ed told Gene I was a sort of "Hanger On", misfit groupie type. And I guess in a way I was (originally by invitation). But, so was Dirty Doug, Robert Williams, and so many others in the beginning. I guess I'd say Ed was like a Planet, and so many people orbited him like moons or satellites. There is a pretty funny story about a Japanese pinstriper driving hundreds of miles to Manti, Utah while Ed slept in the passenger seat. This poor guy had been in the US for a matter of minutes, when he was asked to drive hundreds of miles with Ed Roth, across nothingness. They cannonballed to Ed's house... and when Ed woke up and realized they'd arrived, he said: "Wow, I can't beleive you drove straight through! You are a WILDMAN"! Wildman still pinstripes with Mooneyes, Japan. From my view Ed was always supportive and wanted to see everyone succeed. First time I met Ed, he was quick to ask what I did (had a small parts business), and proceeded to give me names and numbers of people in SoCal, connections and to "Always tell them Ed sent me". He was really kind to me, and really had a "Father Figure" personality. I talked to Dennis a bunch, and that's when the funny stories really came out. Ed Roth was an enigma, and I am sure he was not everyone's cup of tea. But, the Hot Rod world owes him a debt of gratitude for not only pushing the boundaries of "Kustom car building", but creating a solar system of car crazed art weirdos...
A number of years ago I was at Spring Carlisle and I was out early one morning looking at parts and pieces. I stopped at this one stall to look at some parts and struck up a conversation with the vendor. He and I chatted about hot rods and old Harleys for a bit and all the while I kept thinking this guy looks familiar. He, not unlike a lot of the vendors who were camping at their stalls, was unkempt and was sleeping in a U-Haul-ish trailer at his stall. This in itself was not unusual for the venue but then it dawned on me that indeed this was Ed Roth. He went on to relate that he was planning to write a book about people who built motorcycles in their homes, not their garages or shops. I had done just such a thing in my youth and told him so. He asked if I had any photos of the construction and I admitted that I did. He said, "I need those pictures for my book!" So he gave me his address and sure enough I sent him some prints of the episode but it was not long after that he passed.
The Jalopy Journal
