I remember years ago reading about Pat Ganahl's 32 Roadster. He thaught it may be the Nitti car. I heard recently that someone else had the Nitti car. What happenned to Ganahl's car? Was it finished? What got me wondering is seeing the Bob Rod**** car. It's dash was filled with gauges just like the car Ganahl had. The story reads that the Rod**** car disapeared.... Clark
Last time I spoke with Pat he still had it. That was last summer. He painted the grille shell a few years back.chuck
He never thought his car was the Nitti car- he new the history of his and it went wayyyy back with pictures and first hand stories. Pat's always had an Auburn dash. He just always really liked the Nitti car and was using styling cues like the deep purple color on his.
I have the R&C mags that have the articles on Pat's roadster that Jim is talking about. Its a *****in roadster and I have followed the progress down here in NZ, from the R&C articles to the Cad Engine and Joe Nitti articles in TRJ. Then I saw it on a run and that was just too much! A true writer practising what he preaches....
The last time I was in LA for the Pomona show, (about 6 years ago) I saw him on the freeway in it. Looked just like the picture that's posted.
These photos were taken a year ago at 'Oakland' Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. Here's Pat Ganahl's '32... And here's the 'Joe Nitti' '32... Man! I love this car!!
I must be thinking of another car that was in R&C back when it was under Ganahl's wings. I remember them talking about the dash with so many gauges in it. Clark
Given his knowledge and apparent lust of old hot rods,I'm suprised Ganahl isn't a member here? His version of Rod and Custom,tenure at Rodders Journal and his own vehicles align with the H.A.M.B. very well?
Don't know who owns the Nitti car now, but about 10 years ago the owner called me looking for more gauges. I think he was from Arizona or thereabouts.
Probably 6.00x16's, but they look like BFG's. Pat's car has Firestones. The ****ress shoulder is different between the two. I do love the Nitti car. Neal
thanks guys i dont think they're firestones....they have 8 rows of tread i thought? these have 7 BFG's might be it they look a little slimmer then the firestone 6.00's, which i like i think pat's car might be 5.50's which have little extra grooves in the treads....but are thinner i always thought the 5.50's looked newer tread wise but i like the shape guess im thinking too much about tires! thanks Zach
Pete Eastwood tweeked the frame while Too Tall took pic's for an article. Look's like he is faithfull to the orig. Mr. Gahnal lurk's here..........so the story goes. Many thank's to the man's work.
The front tires are BFGoodrich 'Silvertowns'. The size is: 6.00 x 16". The weird thing about the BFG's, is that if they're still new you can see the size molded in right on the tread in a couple of spots. I don't know if you guys can see that in my pictures I posted, but I zoomed the originals to check the size.
I was just gonna say that he was parked in front of me in the Suede Palace last year. That's the front of my Merc on the left. Anyways,he said he's had that car for a long time,and had no plans on finishing it...
Like Jim said, Pat was following Nittis styling cues, and never thought his car was Nittis. Funny thing was, Pat was putting his car together with Joe's car as inspiration before the Nitti car was found! Don't worry about Pat getting rid of the car,they will probably bury him in it-ha. The Nitti car was owned by a guy in Las Vegas when Dave Crouse and gang restored it. If my memory serves correct, I think he took the job for cheap or free to get the chance to restore the car and show off the talents of his shop. The Las Vegas guy had a connection to the car through his fathers Gas station and Nitti being around-I think. Someone will know more of the story before a screw it up. It sure seemed like this guy would never sell it, but of course big money talks and a collector purchased it awhile back (name?). If anyone can fill in the blanks, feel free. As I remember, how the car was found was pretty interesting. Rodders Journal featured the car, and the story is covered in there I believe. D.
Pat Ganahl wrote a great article (10 pages with photos) in the TRJ #9 in '98, about the Joe Nitti '32. Pat wrote extentsively about the history of the car, including annotations from David Zivot of Las Vegas, who tracked it, acquired it, and had it restored by Dave Crouse of 'Custom Autos' in Loveland, Colorado. There's also a good article that summarizes the Ganahl article in a book I've recommened a couple of times before, called 'HOT ROD MILESTONES', that has a bunch of photos of the car as it is now, and even a couple during the restoration. The TRJ #9 is well worth tracking down if you don't have it, and a subscription to RJ is worth it's weight in gold! I just renewed my subscription earlier today. I've got every issue, and still enjoy digging them out and getting lost in their pages..
The Jalopy Journal
