That car brings back memories of the 60's on the strip when I was young. The cutout wheel wells date that car and its cool as hell. Speaks Bad ***.
Roth was a true blue blood of Hot Rodding take what you got on hand make it cool and make sure it can drive fast. From the stories I have heard and with the amount of activity going on with Roth at this time I doubt he could give you an accurate timeline. I guess you could ask his kids, they seem to be at quite a few car shows these days.
The hemi could have been a 64 or newer 426 Hemi. As far as being an A/G***er, from the early 60's up you'd have been bringing a knife to a gun fight with ANY street driven car. The winners were usually purpose built race cars. Larry T
it was my understanding from the book that this was just a driver built on the low-buck theme......but the look of the day.....I've got the same book some of the pics came from and it was about building stuff kool at home...mostly
It's called "Here Is Your Hobby...Car Customizing" and yeah, it's got the Mysterion build-up also, along with some other home-brew mild kustom stuff. It's from '65.
I love how understated that car is. Nothing wrong with 390s. Some of them run real strong and it sounds like the price couldn't be beat. Besides I kind of think he was probably trying to stir the pot.
Hey guys, I think you are all missing something very important in the picture of the 55 in front of the shop. DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT THE WOODEN CRATE/MOLD is for one of his bubble tops? I think it is. Hint: Its leaning against his sign in front of the shop.
Killer, thanks!... Did a search, Ebay has it for $200, AbeBooks for $110. The Ebay add has a couple of pictures that are pretty good. None of the '55, though. - Joe
Your right, Roth was known for "keeping the pot stired up" just look at all the odd ball stuff he built and the drawings he did. It's really ticking off some guys because it's a Ford in a Chevy big deal, back in the day I knew a guy that had a Nash 6 in his '50 Dodge (just a couple years earlier) you ran what you could get cheap or free, I guess that's why people are using SBC today.
does anyone have any pics of this car when is was heavily pinstripped? that is the way that I seem to remember it? maybe I am getting it confused with another one of his cars, but I don't recall Roth having too many tri 5's.
Never seen the car before... and I thought his green sedan was one of his lest viewed hotrods... Hate the idea of a motor (with the distributor in the wrong location) being installed in it.. but free is free and when you do not have alot of money, you do what you can...
And from what Franco says, as soon as Roth got a hold of some $$$, he yanked the Ford and put in a brand new HEMI. As in, went to the local dealer, bought a car, and yanked out the motor to put in the '55.
I'm pretty sure the heavily striped tri-5 was a '57 two door sedan he named "Night Mare". I believe there are some pics of it in Andy Southard's "Customs of the 1950's" book. Chrome tape stripes on the roof and A LOT of flames, lettering, and striping. The '55 was much cooler, I think. Man, I want a set of Astro chrome slots!
I think your right about the 57 but I think the 57 came first, as in he had it new. It looks like it was stock except the paint. I have a photo a friend took of the 57 in front of Roth's shop while he was having Roth paint his truck, he said it was 1957 when he was there. Plus the 57 has hubcaps which dates it earlier then the 55.
It is pretty cool, for sure. Yeah, there are prettier, racier, faster and shinier 55's around, but that one is the real deal for sure. Met Roth several times over the years, and he always seemed to be just a regular guy, albeit, about half a beat off what most consider to be the norm.
This photo of the car has damage to the leading edge of the driver's door, a crease incurred whilst engine swappin'? Also, there's damage to the trailing edge of the rear arch. It looks to be twisted. Used an' abused street machine in it's finest form. I'd say. Kool kolor too. Koops.....
Yep... lots of opinions on this thread... and that makes it great. I don't agree with a ton of Roth's cars, but you can't argue his touch... I love this '55.
My most honored hot rod "icon" ever. Nothing much done or said that was normal or mainstream. When I first met him and spoke of how I was inspired by some of his Tshirt designs and doodled many of them in the margins of my school notebooks and and text books as well as the flak I got from others for having it "...some of those people are bankers or lawers now, right? As if they're anything that resembles respectable." I cried when I read he'd p***ed on. Thanks for these pics and this topic.
Ask **** about his Roth story... when he showed him his club jacket he was proud of! Seems he went up to him at a show... showed him the jacket as if to say "Check it out... we have this old car club thing going on... blah, blah, blah" and Roth looked at it, said Pffffffffffth! and then signed it before **** could pull it away!! Hahahahahaha!! The story is better in person! Sam.
Amazon has a copy of that book used for $62.25... http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0399602445/ref=dp_olp_1/102-6450156-7071349 I'd buy it, but I'm broke, so maybe another HAMBer can snap it up! - Joe
the car was also used as his family car. with the plates saying "Roth 5" it was black with long flames all over ir.
What encourages me about Roth: A.)Aside from employing the best artists and people for the respective jobs at hand B.)The sheer creativity and the promotion value of what he created C.)The creativity for the times and his scope D.)At that (late 50's,early-to-mid 60's) time creating new marketing venues.... He was not lazy! The guy must not have slept? Consider his output and what he managed? He WAS the P.T. Barnum of the latter 20th century!
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