History Rod & Custom, Bud Bryan Pete & Jake’s, Super Bell =the Dale Caufeild Story.

Cyclone Kevin · Mar 7, 2022

Bigmac48 said: ↑

Good thread , today is Dales birthday so happy happy birthday ,young fella !!
Click to expand...

Played the Beatles “Birthday Song” for him this morning & wished him the best. .

Cyclone Kevin · Jan 17, 2024

So here we are in 2024, I often wonder if the above would’ve taken place if Pete would’ve had Dale paint the 34 Coupe the color white which he had in his head and either ran it as a highboy or with fenders and do the rootbeer colored flames????? I’m reluctant to post a picture that I had our own Stogy put together for me a few years back in that color just to get the effect of what it would’ve looked like on the cover of R&C as it was already destined to be on the R&C Chopped top issue. The color white was Pete’s 1st choice after seeing Gary Wagner’s very kool Hemi Powered White 34 3W coupe cruising Alhambra’s Valley Bl. , It’s also been said by Pete that Les Hawkin’s 15oz chopped 34 5W coupe played an important role in his quest for an awesome Hot Rod Coupe. I also recall in conversation with Pete that Ben Rizzo’s chopped leaned back post Webber Sponsored yellow 34 drag coupe played a formative role in where Pete’s former 59
A 3 deuce carbed Flathead powered 39 boxed drag coupe was headed.
It was only after a conversation with the then 19 yr. old Dale Caulfield in late 1972 that the subject of Pete inquiring & Dale looking over that very then rough 34 3W steel body especially after Pete and fellow Vintage Tin member Richard Loe attempted to remove the body, but left the two side bolts in that they found the top got tweaked just that much more and the question of painting it Raven Black Nitrocellulose Laquer (which it still wears) came up. Dale really looked it over at Pete’s former Spanish Style Temple City home and said he could make it happen.
The result is a 50 yr. ***ociation with Pete & Jake’s as friends and as a company. I often wonder it if landed on the cover of R&C in white with RootBeer brown flames if the outcome would’ve been different?, I just can’t imagine if producer Howie Horwitz would’ve picked a white 34 Chopped 3W for the starring role in the ABC-TV Movie of the Week where it called for a leather jacket clad hot rodder driving a California Hot Rod having the same impact as it did in black with realistic looking flames, to which in turn led to both Pete & Jake as individuals having the opportunity to create Pete & Jake’s Hot Rod Repair @ 8827 Las Tunas Dr. Temple City CA. 91780?
I thought that I might save this image for a book that I’d like to write on Pete Chapouris’s Chopped 1934 3 Window Coupe. I decided to post it to see what’s your take?????

bigm · Jan 19, 2024

Cyclone Kevin said: ↑

I’m digging on reading about Hot Rod History, Noticed that there are some unsung heroes who were extremely formative in shaping the cars and images that many just dig and get or have gotten inspired by in many of the builds that many enjoy.

This subject being Dale Caulfield of Caufeild Automotive and Proprietor of Weedetr Ch***is Components.

Dale and I talk pretty often and I feel IMHO that he is one of these unsung hero’s. Here’s his story in his own words. (Disclaimer, there may be a couple of typos ). I try to add pix in where it will let me, but if I can’t theyll be after the story.

[HIstory of Dale Caulfield, Caulfield Automotive and WEEDETR Street Rod Components

In 1960, my father, Jim Caulfield bought a lot and built a bulding that would house my grandfather's radiator shop and, eventually his body shop. My grandfather ran his radiator shop from this location until he retired in 1965. Jim's body shop, Caulfield Automotive started in operation around 1963. During this time, when both businesses were operating there,one of the things that they accomplished is, they became one of the early Mark IV auto air conditioning outlets. Many vehicles got air conditioning in that time.

Since Jim had been a hot rodder all his life, and an accomplished auto body man, there always seemed to be an antique or hot rod being worked on at his body shop. In 1965, when I was 12 years old, I started spending weekends and summers at the shop, doing odds and ends, helping out where ever I could.By 1967, I was doing some rough body work and honing my painting and paint prep skills. I did my first "professional" paint job in '67, a chopped and channeled 1934 pickup for a Temple City Honda motorcycle parts manager named **** Weaver. I also did most of the work to channel the bed and shorten it a foot. We redrilled the holes where the bed floor was riveted to the sides and re-riveted the floor in. When we cut the end of the bed off, my job was to restore the body line that runs around the sides of a 34 bed. I used a block of wood, a torch and a ball pein hammer to rough form the bead, then some picking and dolly work. Finally I turned it over to my Dad to do the finish work. Two other distinct features of that truck were the 40 Ford dash, and that my dad cut the bottom of the cowl off and re-shaped it more like the 34 car cowl so that it didn't stick through the front fenders, which was how it had been done by whoever started the project.

During this time period and after my grandfather had retired from the radiator business, we met Gene Scott. Gene had a business supplying parts for antique Fords. The business was Antique Auto Parts in Rosemead Ca. To keep my grandfather busy and to suppliment his retirement income, he started rebuilding model A and B water pumps for Gene. Then he started makin lower radiator pipes for model A's, then foot rests and starter pads. The last item that my grandfather produced was headlight and horn conduits. My dad also took over the roadster windsield building business for Gene. Then he got me to take over making stone gaurds for the fronts of Model A's.

Fairly typical of Gene, we get a call from him one day saying that a customer is there to pick up a 29 roadster windshield frame, could he send the guy over to pick it up. Of course, Gene hadn't given us a lot of advanced notice but the windshield frame was just about finished so we told him sure. When the customer arrived, he turned out to be Bud Bryan, editor of Rod And Custom magazine, and the windshield frame was for his 29 roadster project car. When he saw the kind of work we were doing, he asked if we would be interested in looking at his project and possibly doing the body work on it. So, my dad and I went to Bud's house one evening to look at his project. Well, we came to an agreement and shortly after, he brought his project up to us to start on. The body was in pieces and needed some pretty major repairs. The typical lower quarters were rusted out and a lifetime of dents and dings. Over a period of several months, my dad got the repairs made to the body panels and we got the body ***embled. Of course, we saw quite a lot of Bud then too. Once we got the body all repaired and fitted to he frame, I went ahead and painted the car in black nitroceluose laquer. The car wore that paint job for the first few years. This was in 1968/69.
View attachment 4386323 View attachment 4386324 View attachment 4386319

I had purchased a 1934 Ford 5 window coupe basket case in 1968. My dad and I built that car from the ground up and had it finished and driving by September of 1971. I joined the Vintage Tin street rod club in early 72. Some of the members of the Vintage Tin, which had been a kind of off shoot of the Early Times, were Pete Eastwood, Tom Vandenberg, Richard Loe, Ken Young and Pete Chapouris. Pete Chapouris had just bought an old race car 34 three window coupe. After a short time in the club, Pete invited me over to see his coupe. He had the body off the ch***is and sitting on a cart while he worked on the ch***is. He showed me the body, and the damage it had. When the car was originally chopped and the top filled, who ever had done the work was a real craftsman. The top was hammer welded in and there was no filler what so ever. And the chop job was just as impresive, though there was some lead in it, which is completely unavoidable, considering the various line changes that occur during the chop of a 34 Ford. Unfortunately, there was some damage to the top. At some point in time, someone or something had been on the top and it was slightly caved in on all four corners of the fill. Plus, when Pete and Richard Loe were removing the body from the ch***is, Henry's decision to run two bolts on each side, through the frame and into the body, caught them by suprise. This was something Ford only did on the 33/34 cars. So, when they had all the bolts removed (that they could see) and lifted the body up, the ch***is was still attached and came with it. When they finally found the offending bolts and got them removed, they set the body on the cart and dropped the chain, which they had thoroughly wrapped with padding to preven damage, the eybrow over the dors had been pushed in about and inch on each side. Of course, they were mortified but, what was done was done and it would just have to be repaired. Pete and I looked the body over, finding some rust in the rockers and minor dents, dings and imperfections elsewhere. Pete said his plan was to paint it white with rootbeer flames all over it, but thought it would be *****en if it could be black. I ***ured him that I could repair the damage, and make it straight enough for black. View attachment 4386331 So, we formulated a plan and I went to work. As I got further into the project, the rust damage was far worse than we had thought. I ended up replacing both rockers from the middle of the cowl to the middle of the wheel well. There were no replacement parts available at that time so, I had to fab all of the pieces and weld them in. I finished all of the rockers with lead. The top was a challenge because when the top had been walked on, or what ever happened to cave it in, it had cracked the welds in a couple of places. At that time, all I had to weld with was a oxy/acetelene torch. Re-hammer welding those spots was quite the challenge but, I was able to get it done. After the repairs were all made, we transported the body to our body shop and I proceeded to do the block sanding and prep for the black paint. After I got it all painted, we put the body on the ch***is and, Manuel Reyes (Pete’s Friend since 1955 )Flamed it. the rest, they say, is history. View attachment 4386320 View attachment 4386321 View attachment 4386322 View attachment 4386326
View attachment 4386328

After I finished Pete's coupe, Jim Jacobs, aka Jake, decided to have me finalize the body work on the 34 three window that he was building, and paint it. There wasn't much body work left to do, except he had me weld in the firewall. I then proceeded to prep and paint his screamin yellow coupe parts.
View attachment 4386318 View attachment 4386334 View attachment 4386332 View attachment 4386329 View attachment 4386325

After we finished the chopped and channeled pickup for **** Weaver, he drove it for a few years, then one day he came by our shop and was all excited, he had found a chopped 32 three window sitting behind an upholstery shop in Pasadena.
He sold the pickup and went after the 32. It took him several months to figure out who had the ***le and who he could buy it from. The coupe's former owner had been a rather shady character, and lots of people wanted his car. **** was ultimatley succsesful in aquiring the 32. He brought the car to us for body repair and paint. There was some damage to the p***enger side of the car from when it had been in a garage and there had been a fight next to it. There was a large dent in the grille shell, the p***enger door was caved in and a one inch hole had been punched in the eyebrow above the p***enger door when a 1" electric drill had been thrown at one of the participants in the fight. The chop job was also pretty bad. One could look over the tops of the doors and out the opposite side window. When the chop was performed, the wood framing for the doors was cut in two through the upper door hinge. We re-did the chop and pulled the door frames out. We screwed some bracing to them to keep them in the correct shape, and had **** get some new ones made. At some point in time, View attachment 5324659 **** learned that this was the coupe that had belonged to Doyle Gammel and had been on the cover of Rod and Custom magazine. With that knowledge, he decided he wanted the car painted a brown, since it had been brown when it was on the cover. We finished that one and moved on to the next project.(NOTE, 2nd image down is not the Bergen:Gamel coupe, just used as a comparison)……

Along about 1974, this long haired crazy character came into our shop driving a "59 Ford pickup. He gave us a business card that stated his business as "Scrounge"(another “School of Scott alumni).”
He said that he was building a 29 Hiboy roadster and had some body panels that needed some repair. He continued to bring in parts until we had the complete body. We got this body repaired and painted black nitroceluose lacquer. He then brought the completed ch***is in to put the body on. Now, this was one of the coolest 29 hot rod ch***is I had ever seen. This was an original 29 Ford frame with all the original holes, with a Halibrand quickchange, dropped axle, early Ford brakes, Kelsey Hayes wheels, and a Chevy II four cylinder engine, wearing a Frontenac valve cover, bolted to a 39 Ford trans. Now, at that time, this was pretty unusual, but considering the owner, Jim Ewing, it was understandable. Jim had also found a set of very rare, cast br***, folding windshield stanchions, and proceeded to chop them, then brought them to me to Heli-arc braze back together. Fortunately, he wanted to paint them black and not chrome them. After the roadster was finished, he pickup up a pretty thrashed old 34 race car body from George Wilson of Temple City. Jim had M&S Welding in Irwindale build a unique “Mike Hoag 4 bar” ch***is for the 34 using another Halibrand quickie, dropped axle and a 427 Chevy engine. (Coincidentally Pete Chapouris learned how to weld and fabricate from Mike Hoag @
M & S Welding and was also a Don Blair Speed Shop Alumi). The front suspension was a dropped tube axle and disc brake kit that he and Vic Leon had put together on a four link. Now, at this time, both Jim and Vic were working for Gene Scott of Antique Auto/ PSI Industries. Vic was a machinest and Jim worked the counter. Gene had started to reproduce the old Bell Auto Parts dropped tube axles and called them Bell Super Axles. Gene decided that he didn't want to be in the axle business so he gave it to Jim and Vic, who renamed it Super Bell Axle Co. So, this 34 Coupe was to become their Logo Car. So, when Jim brought us the coupe, it was a chopped body shell, channeled 6" over the modified original frame, with no floors, and a cut up firewall. The front frame horns had also been cut off the frame. So, we proceeded to build new floors and repair the rest of the body. I built new frame horns and added shocks to the front suspension. Jim wanted the frame horns long so that's what I did. Because the body was channeled, the transition from the rear hood line to the frame looked a little goofy so, my Dad built a couple of panels that continued the bottom body line up to the top of the frame rail so that a hood could be built that looked right. These panels were welded to the body so as to make them look like they were supposed to be there. The upper four link bar actually mounted through that panel. After we had all the major body work done, Jim took it to Kenny Ellis for a nose and hood.That ***y now would be the undoing of not only the 427 but also a 350 Chevy and created havoc for at least one Buic V-6. Jim finally had a custom, L shaped radiator built to try to cool it down. When the car came back form Ellis's, I went to open the hood to look at it and it would only open about two inches. That wasn't going to work very well so, I spent most of a day working to get the hood to open, without making it ugly. Once everything was fit and functioning, I went to work prepping it for paint, and painted it with some surplus USAF paint that Jim had found at a local house wrecking yard.]

So in a nutshell, Dale was a part of a crew that we have to thank for many of the iconic Hot Rods that we continue to enjoy some more or less 50 yrs ago. Remember that he’s a HAMBer as well.
If I can find a way to get more pix on, I’ll try. .
Click to expand...

bigm · Jan 19, 2024

Cyclone Kevin said: ↑

I’m digging on reading about Hot Rod History, Noticed that there are some unsung heroes who were extremely formative in shaping the cars and images that many just dig and get or have gotten inspired by in many of the builds that many enjoy.

This subject being Dale Caulfield of Caufeild Automotive and Proprietor of Weedetr Ch***is Components.

Dale and I talk pretty often and I feel IMHO that he is one of these unsung hero’s. Here’s his story in his own words. (Disclaimer, there may be a couple of typos ). I try to add pix in where it will let me, but if I can’t theyll be after the story.

[HIstory of Dale Caulfield, Caulfield Automotive and WEEDETR Street Rod Components

In 1960, my father, Jim Caulfield bought a lot and built a bulding that would house my grandfather's radiator shop and, eventually his body shop. My grandfather ran his radiator shop from this location until he retired in 1965. Jim's body shop, Caulfield Automotive started in operation around 1963. During this time, when both businesses were operating there,one of the things that they accomplished is, they became one of the early Mark IV auto air conditioning outlets. Many vehicles got air conditioning in that time.

Since Jim had been a hot rodder all his life, and an accomplished auto body man, there always seemed to be an antique or hot rod being worked on at his body shop. In 1965, when I was 12 years old, I started spending weekends and summers at the shop, doing odds and ends, helping out where ever I could.By 1967, I was doing some rough body work and honing my painting and paint prep skills. I did my first "professional" paint job in '67, a chopped and channeled 1934 pickup for a Temple City Honda motorcycle parts manager named **** Weaver. I also did most of the work to channel the bed and shorten it a foot. We redrilled the holes where the bed floor was riveted to the sides and re-riveted the floor in. When we cut the end of the bed off, my job was to restore the body line that runs around the sides of a 34 bed. I used a block of wood, a torch and a ball pein hammer to rough form the bead, then some picking and dolly work. Finally I turned it over to my Dad to do the finish work. Two other distinct features of that truck were the 40 Ford dash, and that my dad cut the bottom of the cowl off and re-shaped it more like the 34 car cowl so that it didn't stick through the front fenders, which was how it had been done by whoever started the project.

During this time period and after my grandfather had retired from the radiator business, we met Gene Scott. Gene had a business supplying parts for antique Fords. The business was Antique Auto Parts in Rosemead Ca. To keep my grandfather busy and to suppliment his retirement income, he started rebuilding model A and B water pumps for Gene. Then he started makin lower radiator pipes for model A's, then foot rests and starter pads. The last item that my grandfather produced was headlight and horn conduits. My dad also took over the roadster windsield building business for Gene. Then he got me to take over making stone gaurds for the fronts of Model A's.

Fairly typical of Gene, we get a call from him one day saying that a customer is there to pick up a 29 roadster windshield frame, could he send the guy over to pick it up. Of course, Gene hadn't given us a lot of advanced notice but the windshield frame was just about finished so we told him sure. When the customer arrived, he turned out to be Bud Bryan, editor of Rod And Custom magazine, and the windshield frame was for his 29 roadster project car. When he saw the kind of work we were doing, he asked if we would be interested in looking at his project and possibly doing the body work on it. So, my dad and I went to Bud's house one evening to look at his project. Well, we came to an agreement and shortly after, he brought his project up to us to start on. The body was in pieces and needed some pretty major repairs. The typical lower quarters were rusted out and a lifetime of dents and dings. Over a period of several months, my dad got the repairs made to the body panels and we got the body ***embled. Of course, we saw quite a lot of Bud then too. Once we got the body all repaired and fitted to he frame, I went ahead and painted the car in black nitroceluose laquer. The car wore that paint job for the first few years. This was in 1968/69.
View attachment 4386323 View attachment 4386324 View attachment 4386319

I had purchased a 1934 Ford 5 window coupe basket case in 1968. My dad and I built that car from the ground up and had it finished and driving by September of 1971. I joined the Vintage Tin street rod club in early 72. Some of the members of the Vintage Tin, which had been a kind of off shoot of the Early Times, were Pete Eastwood, Tom Vandenberg, Richard Loe, Ken Young and Pete Chapouris. Pete Chapouris had just bought an old race car 34 three window coupe. After a short time in the club, Pete invited me over to see his coupe. He had the body off the ch***is and sitting on a cart while he worked on the ch***is. He showed me the body, and the damage it had. When the car was originally chopped and the top filled, who ever had done the work was a real craftsman. The top was hammer welded in and there was no filler what so ever. And the chop job was just as impresive, though there was some lead in it, which is completely unavoidable, considering the various line changes that occur during the chop of a 34 Ford. Unfortunately, there was some damage to the top. At some point in time, someone or something had been on the top and it was slightly caved in on all four corners of the fill. Plus, when Pete and Richard Loe were removing the body from the ch***is, Henry's decision to run two bolts on each side, through the frame and into the body, caught them by suprise. This was something Ford only did on the 33/34 cars. So, when they had all the bolts removed (that they could see) and lifted the body up, the ch***is was still attached and came with it. When they finally found the offending bolts and got them removed, they set the body on the cart and dropped the chain, which they had thoroughly wrapped with padding to preven damage, the eybrow over the dors had been pushed in about and inch on each side. Of course, they were mortified but, what was done was done and it would just have to be repaired. Pete and I looked the body over, finding some rust in the rockers and minor dents, dings and imperfections elsewhere. Pete said his plan was to paint it white with rootbeer flames all over it, but thought it would be *****en if it could be black. I ***ured him that I could repair the damage, and make it straight enough for black. View attachment 4386331 So, we formulated a plan and I went to work. As I got further into the project, the rust damage was far worse than we had thought. I ended up replacing both rockers from the middle of the cowl to the middle of the wheel well. There were no replacement parts available at that time so, I had to fab all of the pieces and weld them in. I finished all of the rockers with lead. The top was a challenge because when the top had been walked on, or what ever happened to cave it in, it had cracked the welds in a couple of places. At that time, all I had to weld with was a oxy/acetelene torch. Re-hammer welding those spots was quite the challenge but, I was able to get it done. After the repairs were all made, we transported the body to our body shop and I proceeded to do the block sanding and prep for the black paint. After I got it all painted, we put the body on the ch***is and, Manuel Reyes (Pete’s Friend since 1955 )Flamed it. the rest, they say, is history. View attachment 4386320 View attachment 4386321 View attachment 4386322 View attachment 4386326
View attachment 4386328

After I finished Pete's coupe, Jim Jacobs, aka Jake, decided to have me finalize the body work on the 34 three window that he was building, and paint it. There wasn't much body work left to do, except he had me weld in the firewall. I then proceeded to prep and paint his screamin yellow coupe parts.
View attachment 4386318 View attachment 4386334 View attachment 4386332 View attachment 4386329 View attachment 4386325

After we finished the chopped and channeled pickup for **** Weaver, he drove it for a few years, then one day he came by our shop and was all excited, he had found a chopped 32 three window sitting behind an upholstery shop in Pasadena.
He sold the pickup and went after the 32. It took him several months to figure out who had the ***le and who he could buy it from. The coupe's former owner had been a rather shady character, and lots of people wanted his car. **** was ultimatley succsesful in aquiring the 32. He brought the car to us for body repair and paint. There was some damage to the p***enger side of the car from when it had been in a garage and there had been a fight next to it. There was a large dent in the grille shell, the p***enger door was caved in and a one inch hole had been punched in the eyebrow above the p***enger door when a 1" electric drill had been thrown at one of the participants in the fight. The chop job was also pretty bad. One could look over the tops of the doors and out the opposite side window. When the chop was performed, the wood framing for the doors was cut in two through the upper door hinge. We re-did the chop and pulled the door frames out. We screwed some bracing to them to keep them in the correct shape, and had **** get some new ones made. At some point in time, View attachment 5324659 **** learned that this was the coupe that had belonged to Doyle Gammel and had been on the cover of Rod and Custom magazine. With that knowledge, he decided he wanted the car painted a brown, since it had been brown when it was on the cover. We finished that one and moved on to the next project.(NOTE, 2nd image down is not the Bergen:Gamel coupe, just used as a comparison)……

Along about 1974, this long haired crazy character came into our shop driving a "59 Ford pickup. He gave us a business card that stated his business as "Scrounge"(another “School of Scott alumni).”
He said that he was building a 29 Hiboy roadster and had some body panels that needed some repair. He continued to bring in parts until we had the complete body. We got this body repaired and painted black nitroceluose lacquer. He then brought the completed ch***is in to put the body on. Now, this was one of the coolest 29 hot rod ch***is I had ever seen. This was an original 29 Ford frame with all the original holes, with a Halibrand quickchange, dropped axle, early Ford brakes, Kelsey Hayes wheels, and a Chevy II four cylinder engine, wearing a Frontenac valve cover, bolted to a 39 Ford trans. Now, at that time, this was pretty unusual, but considering the owner, Jim Ewing, it was understandable. Jim had also found a set of very rare, cast br***, folding windshield stanchions, and proceeded to chop them, then brought them to me to Heli-arc braze back together. Fortunately, he wanted to paint them black and not chrome them. After the roadster was finished, he pickup up a pretty thrashed old 34 race car body from George Wilson of Temple City. Jim had M&S Welding in Irwindale build a unique “Mike Hoag 4 bar” ch***is for the 34 using another Halibrand quickie, dropped axle and a 427 Chevy engine. (Coincidentally Pete Chapouris learned how to weld and fabricate from Mike Hoag @
M & S Welding and was also a Don Blair Speed Shop Alumi). The front suspension was a dropped tube axle and disc brake kit that he and Vic Leon had put together on a four link. Now, at this time, both Jim and Vic were working for Gene Scott of Antique Auto/ PSI Industries. Vic was a machinest and Jim worked the counter. Gene had started to reproduce the old Bell Auto Parts dropped tube axles and called them Bell Super Axles. Gene decided that he didn't want to be in the axle business so he gave it to Jim and Vic, who renamed it Super Bell Axle Co. So, this 34 Coupe was to become their Logo Car. So, when Jim brought us the coupe, it was a chopped body shell, channeled 6" over the modified original frame, with no floors, and a cut up firewall. The front frame horns had also been cut off the frame. So, we proceeded to build new floors and repair the rest of the body. I built new frame horns and added shocks to the front suspension. Jim wanted the frame horns long so that's what I did. Because the body was channeled, the transition from the rear hood line to the frame looked a little goofy so, my Dad built a couple of panels that continued the bottom body line up to the top of the frame rail so that a hood could be built that looked right. These panels were welded to the body so as to make them look like they were supposed to be there. The upper four link bar actually mounted through that panel. After we had all the major body work done, Jim took it to Kenny Ellis for a nose and hood.That ***y now would be the undoing of not only the 427 but also a 350 Chevy and created havoc for at least one Buic V-6. Jim finally had a custom, L shaped radiator built to try to cool it down. When the car came back form Ellis's, I went to open the hood to look at it and it would only open about two inches. That wasn't going to work very well so, I spent most of a day working to get the hood to open, without making it ugly. Once everything was fit and functioning, I went to work prepping it for paint, and painted it with some surplus USAF paint that Jim had found at a local house wrecking yard.]

So in a nutshell, Dale was a part of a crew that we have to thank for many of the iconic Hot Rods that we continue to enjoy some more or less 50 yrs ago. Remember that he’s a HAMBer as well.
If I can find a way to get more pix on, I’ll try. .
Click to expand...

chryslerfan55 · Jan 19, 2024

Why do I have a feeling @Ryan ( the boss that is) is going to go bananas ( crazy that is) when he reads this thread.

bigm · Jan 19, 2024

Thanks Kevin for a great story. Very comprehensive. Dale black lacquer has held up amazingly well, it's 51 years old. Who would have thought back then that Pete's car would become an icon. Great times back then.

Cyclone Kevin · Jan 19, 2024

bigm said: ↑

Thanks Kevin for a great story. Very comprehensive. Dale black lacquer has held up amazingly well, it's 51 years old. Who would have thought back then that Pete's car would become an icon. Great times back then.
Click to expand...

Gotta say that you put the HOT onto that Hot Rod Icons body and finished up with timeless striping and a very Kool signature at the back .
Great Job Manuel!!!!!!

Weedburner 40 · Jan 20, 2024

I agree with Kevin, Manuel, the striping and flames definitely woke that car up. Even though my favorite version of Pete's coupe is after you striped it but before the flames, they did make it *****en. Yeah, back when we did that car, we were just building *****en hot rods!!

Cyclone Kevin · Feb 5, 2024

Went to 5 days of the GNRS. Really looked forward to seeing Both “Pete & Jake’s” former coupes back in town. I think they were both last here 15 yrs ago, (“The Kid”) was last here in 2017 = (7 years ago) for Pete’s untimely p***ing. .
This being the kick off of the 50th year of Pete & Jake’s as a company based originally in my hometown of Temple City where it was known as “Pete & Jake’s Hot Rod Repair” then by about 1979 as “Pete & Jake’s Hot Rod Parts” which it is still known as today, now based in MO. since Nov 86. For those who are interested and perhaps are curious like myself, history is what I call enlightening pretty much everything/anything Hot Rod related peaks my interest. That’s what this whole thread is about and trying to place all the pieces of history on this thread related to the subject matter on the topic.
I made sure that I stopped in and chatted with “The Slover’s” (owners of Pete & Jake’s) and said hello to “Jake”as well who was trying his old coupe on for size as well as @Roadsterpu a fellow H.A.M.B.er
Paul Toler who looked like he had a dream come true.. It was nice to see both cars together again in their home state and digging the sheer vibe of the display. The whole P&J’s crew did a fantastic job handling out goody bags with something I lacked, a special treat of the article on P&J’s Coupes in TRJ. I don’t have that issue, but this hand out has the complete article. . !!!

I so enjoyed being around these couple of cars and I’m amazed how & what @Weedburner 40 Dale Caulfield painted 51 yrs ago can still make a nearly now 60yr old Hot Rodder stop dead in their tracks. I heard the story from Jason Slover about what Dale told him about “The Kid” almost being painted white, which I think in my IMHO possibly could’ve changed history if it’d been shot white with candy root beer flames. Jason himself was thinking about doing what our own @Stogy did a while back.
Jason wants me to email a copy.
The GNRS is quite a show so why not add another member to the P&J’s family?
Well that’s just what Bill Paul did with his 34 ex-4dr sedan turned 34 pick up with proper 34 p***enger car sheetmetal as the basis with his “CAL KD EXP.” Full name “California Kid Express”.
Inspired Bill is and is now a part of GNRS history. Great book outlining the build. Hard bound and only 3 were made as they were basically for the show judges.
Another piece of the history puzzle. .

Stogy · Feb 6, 2024

That's one sharp looking bunch of Hotrods...

Outback · Feb 6, 2024

That pickup looks so good, it must be amazing to see those hot rods together in the flesh after being involved with their inception so long ago!
Did you guys have a sense they would be so special or were they just another *****en hot rod you were involved with??

Weedburner 40 · Feb 6, 2024

When I met Pete, I had just joined the Vintage Tin car club. By that time I had already painted Bud Bryan's Rod and Custom 29 hiboy, plus a few other local hot rods. Pete invited me over to look at his coupe. That is when he said that his plan was to paint it white with candy rootbeer flames all over it. He mentioned that it would be really *****en if it could be black. I said "I can make it black". The rest is history. When we were building those cars, no, no one thought they would become what they have, we were just building *****en hot rods.

dirt car · Dec 19, 2024

It would have been appropriate to have had "California Kidding Around Express" gracing the doors of the 4-door turned pickup.

downlojoe33 · Dec 19, 2024

The “California Kid” white? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weedburner 40 · Dec 19, 2024

downlojoe33 said: ↑

The “California Kid” white? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Yup, that was his plan!!!

downlojoe33 · Dec 20, 2024

The hot rodding world would have not been the same with a white Kid. We as a hobby, p***ion, whatever we want to call this thing we love, are very fortunate that you had the skills to make a black Kid happen. We collectively thank you.

51 mercules · Dec 20, 2024

Cool thread! Must of missed this one!.My friend Patrick used to live next to Pete Chapouris and is friends with his son. He told me he used to see some of the coolest cars at Pete's house.

Cyclone Kevin · Mar 17, 2026

Well Guys,
Bud has left the world of “Rodney’s”as the crew @ 1960’s to Mid 70’s R&C Staff used to refer to them as. Godspeed Bud!!!!!
Hope some kool A-Bone Flatty powered roadster is your ride up there.
CK.

Algoma56 · Mar 17, 2026

Sorry to hear.

Weedburner 40 · Mar 17, 2026

L. Eckart · Mar 17, 2026

Kevin, you write a great history of Dale and the others!! While older, I entered the world of hot rodding later in life and missed many of the historical events but did attend the first Americruise it '93. It would have been so much more meaningful knowing this history. I am friends with Jerry and Jason Slover and have viewed "The Kid" several times over the years. So impressive the paint job Dale put on the car so long ago still is looking good! Thank you for a great history lesson!!!

Ken Smith · Mar 17, 2026

RIP Bud Bryan

nrgwizard · Mar 17, 2026

Sigh...
Peace, Bud. & thanks...
Marcus...

Jalopy Joker · Mar 17, 2026

BUD BRYAN was a great guy. At 87 declining health took over. Sure left his mark on the world of Hot Rodding. Last worked at Sacramento Vintage Ford.

Jalopy Joker · Mar 17, 2026

hotrodA · Mar 17, 2026

Sorry to hear about his p***ing. Those R&C articles kept the fire lit for me.

Jalopy Joker · Mar 17, 2026

Cyclone Kevin · Mar 17, 2026

I wish the rest of that story would be loaded up. I know it went through a a guy who fixed the body damage then Jim Busby ? And lastly Jule’s The Bean aka Julian Alvarez and now 3 Dog Garage. The last time I saw the roadster in person.

Algoma56 · Mar 17, 2026

Type in the web address that shows in the top of the article. I actually read that article this morning, on that site, after doing a search to read some more on Bud.
Edit: Looked it up; here it is.

https://www.hotrod.com/news/0812rc-bud-bryan-story

Jalopy Joker · Mar 17, 2026

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