theres a blurb on the blue Giovanine roadster in an American Rodder issue... i cant quite remember which issue but if anyone is interested i can dig up a #.. pics are great, i really enjoyed reading the captions... even if they are just a few words.... my pop always said to write a little something on pictures so future generations know who and what they are looking at.
Hey Ryan, I guess you could call him crazy. He ducked into the cockpit of his racecar when he rolled it saving himself. Information on the back of the photo says he's Stu Hilborn. You've got a good eye for character. Curt
My sister Teri, had the foresight to sit down with Dad and add those comments. There are a few errors that I noticed, but nothing really significant. The memories were fading and the cancer treatments were starting to dull Dad's quick and fertile mind when she did sit down with him. I'm so glad she did, she's much smarter than I. Curt
What would you like to know? If it's about the car's construction, I know some information as related to me by Bob Rufi. If it has to do with where the car is now, as far as I know, it no longer exists. Jim Lattin, Jim Miller, and friends tracked down every lead over the last few years and came up to a dead end. Jim Lattin wanted to rebuild the car from whatever remnants could be found. He was involved in the remake of Stu Hilborn's beautiful car, completed a year or so ago.
Links to more picks or build info would be great. It may have been already posted( I haven't had time to read through the whole post) What spurred the initial interest in using a chevy motor? Where did the mid engine idea come from? Being from NC this is new to me and very interesting. Thanks.
Curt, Terry said he knows the owner of the Rufi chassis. Stone, some threads to look at http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139291&&showall=1 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131325&&showall=1 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92648&highlight=Bob+Rufi+Streamliner http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77014&&showall=1 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40554&&showall=1
Ok, Richard Fugel or Flugel raced this (His name was scribed on a double of this pic that I didn't post)
I just knew that was Hilborn in that picture. I just got off the phone with Dan Iandola and he told me what he remembered about the short time he owned the Rufi car. He got it from a guy named Carl Enderly who had bought some parts form Dan and was short on cash so he threw in the car to make up the difference. All that was left of the body was the nose, Rufi's dad had thrown the pieces of the body out in the trash, a little each week until the thing was gone. Dan bought it in 1953. He sold the front hubs and buffalo wheels, with the discs still attatched, to someone else (he can't remember who) but only on the condition that he take the Franklin front axle too. Dan sold the remains of the frame to Brad Downey that lived in Pomona in the same year, 1953, still lives there too. Someone was on the trail for the car recently and talked to Dan about it, maybe Jim Lattin?, but they came up empty handed when they were told the frame was sold for scrap years ago. As far as the history of the car, it's all in the story I posted eariler in this thread. He also told me how closely Rufi worked with Winfield on the car. Also a story about how Dan and Vic King, who was the national champ in 1959 with his banger powered 'midnite oil' dragster which he still owns, worked with Winfield on a special fuel for the Midnite Oil car to run on at the strip. It was a mixture of gun powder, acetone and something else for a binder that he couldn't remember but the binder would turn solid if the tank wasn't rinsed out after each run. Said the engine made a hell of a noise runnning that mix but it worked and they won the race that weekend.
WOW....those are some awsome pictures. For any one who's interested in hot rods & custom cars.... this is where it all started. Thank you for sharing.
This thread Rocks! Thank you very much for posting those great photo's! Threads like this is why I like the H.A.M.B.!
First off this guys cannot be Hot Rodders. No tatoo sleeved arms, Goatees, or Converse sneakers. And where's the goofy hats. Must be imposters.... Great Pics Thanks
That's the way I remember dress in the late 40s and thru the 50s. Duck tail hair came in in the 50s. Only tatoos were on drunkin sailors, and tats on gals were on the tattooed lady in the circus. Most hot rodders were just woking guys!!
Those are absolutely the best early pics I've ever seen! I don't even care about dry lakes racing (I know, so I'm a heritic!) Thanks so much for postinig them; truely amazing!
Fantastic piece of american history. Most of these guys were veterans, enjoying life after the war. One of the guys in the picture lost his life in the Korean war. No posers here, just american guys enjoying their hobby. Thanks so much for the pictures and hats off to Curts sister for taking the time to notate the pictures and keep their fathers history alive. The salt flats is a place of mystic quality.
Jimmy, As always, great collection of dry lakes history. These are just great photos of that era, which make you envy the older generation. Thanks for sharing
yes it was my time of awakening, I had my first ride in a real hot rod in 49.[34 ford cpe]that really gave me the bug. These pix give the feel of them days.
Thanks Jimmy B, I love seeing old pics from the forties. That is what got me into this in the first place.
The Jalopy Journal
