This thread has some more Salinas info. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315595 Rod, Cool beans. Thanks for the ping back. A very interesting link and I learned a lot I didn’t know about the area were I grew up. A little story you might find amusing: I mentioned I had a 46 HD knucklehead. I traded a 70 Cuda for it from a guy named Darwin Nash. (Darwin had traded a 58 hard top Vette, powder blue & white pearl with lace on the roof). I mention this as you had probably seen the car around. Bruce This is the Vette you were talking about. I painted it for my boss in exchange for using his shop at night to do custom work. I sprayed it Ice Blue Pearl with lace top and side accents, Candy Blue blends and topped it off with Stratofire Glass Flake for Xtra sparkle. Bodywork and paint took less than a week working at night. This picture was taken 3 days after it was painted at the San Jose Autorama, January 1969. RodP
You might have known Benny. Think he, or his brother owned a awesome Nomad which if I recall correctly was one of the first cars in the area painted with Morano pearl. Think Benny ended up with my 57 Olds J-2 went I left Salinas but hell, thats kind of foggy cause that was 36 years ago. Sure hope that J-2 went to a good home cause I loved that car and it rode like a goose. Rgds-Bruce Bruce I did paint Donny's 55 Nomad. It was one of the first Murano Pearls in Nor-Cal, Purple/Blue over Black. This is the only picture I could find of it. As you can see I was in the middle of the paint job at the time. rod
That 56 was one of my favorites. I sold it to Boyd Coddington and from there it went through a few more owners. I know it was in Florida for a while. The last owner I know of was David Mann the artist for Easyrider magazine. Sure would like to know where it went. I think this picture was taken in 1976.
Juan Here's Pep not too long after he started with us. Butch had just turned him loose with a sawzall on the top of his 55 Merc. The second picture is a bit later.
Great interview , I couldn't agree more re this new BS paint they sold us on, no soul is putting it mildly , I love Mike Youngs Chevy & that Blue Vette is KILLER just a couple of high spots in a vast variety of cool cars. Can we get those "organized" photos published into a book please Rod . Best wishes Steve
Wow, there it is! David Mann owned it? That Nov. '79 (I belive) issue of Easyrider's had it and a similar painted Panhead in it's centerfold! Thank's for posting that pic, sir!
Rod, Thats it! First ride I took in that Vette was an adventure. I was riding and Darwin was driving. We were going up an on ramp on 101 going South and Darwin said hold on. About the time I said, what-cha-say?, he had showered down on it and it threw my head back and it hit the back of the hard top (aptly named). I was seeing stars for a couple of minutes but the shit-eating grim on my face lasted all day. What a fun car, and for all of you out there that didnt have the chance to see it up close, the car was a absolute stunner. I had been having a shitty day until I got my daily taste of the HAMB and saw your posts. Now Ive got the same silly ass shit-eating grin on my face remembering back to my ride in this Vette. Lifes good. Thanks a millions for sharing this - Bruce
Ryan ... Great interview! ... sorry I'm so late to the party ... I really meant to comment back on December 9th ... but was on a business trip and didn't have access to my pics of Rod with the Clif Inman / Joe Wilhelm '57 Chrysler ... Here's a few of my father's photos from the day that Rod took possession of the Inman/Wilhelm '57 Chrysler: There's a whole lot of other pics and info about how Rod came to shoot some fresh nitrocellulose black lacquer on this milestone custom in the chopped black 57 chrysler custom? ... Clif Inman / Joe Wilhelm thread (just click HERE). IMHO ... Rod is a living legend ... his flame jobs are some of the best this hobby has ever seen ... plus he's a great guy ... and a real asset to the H.A.M.B.!
always loved the Dave Mann painting with the delivery and the matching chopper it was a centerflod in easyrider years ago..........KOOL all the way down to the shannon caps!
Here's my brother Beau and Me with his 55 Delivery. He too liked shannon cones, side pipes and louvers. His was finished a year or so after my 56. Someone had it listed on Craig's list a few weeks ago. RodP
Sweet interview Ryan, what a good read. especially this whole thread! Rod, great to meet you at Billetproof show and it was a honor Cool art on those sk8decks you had displayed there as well ...good stuff. Hope to run into you again in the near future and thanks for the inspiration. Peace† cab
Thank you ryan. Interesting chat- good portrayal of Mr. Powell's obvious enthusiasm not just for customs but for people. Gee if that's Cool 50 today it's good to see it in such good shape. I've never been O/S- sucked up all this culture outta the U.S.A thru Magazines ( Lee Kelley, Pat Ganahl, Steve Coonan, Jerry Weezner & others. That '40 is deadly.
Any more pics of your brothers 55 Rod?? I LOVE this car!! Had it stuck to my fridge for years, till the ol lady moved in with me
So as I was sifting thru old posts and articles here on HAMB(looking for old Kar Kapades pictures) (re)stubled on this post from TWO years ago. Doesn't hurt to breathe new life into a old post......right? That said, I can't help but provide some pictures of Loco '64 that Rod and Butch took on for George Torres. I remember my dad(Nick Martinez) doing the tilt front end and reverse trunk in our garage AFTER it was already painted. Lots of grey hairs came of it.....
The "stacks" section of this place ... is just phenomenal to get lost in. Just had to blow the dust off of some golden kernels from the past ..... what a great read. Awesome.
Rod and I have been friends since before I opened my shop in the '70s...I took two of my six sons to the Car Capades when they were little...Rod made 'em feel right at home. Some years later, I had a '66 VW, just for running shop errands, writing estimates, etc. Bored with it, Moe Miller and I louvered it (front 'hood', rear 'bonnet', 472 in all) Dropped the torsion in front 6", 8.00 X 15 rear, 1.35 X 15 front. MAD rake... I had a hopped up Porsche (1750 cc) engine I installed, cleaned off the rear fenders, added '39 taillights. Long gearshift with 8 ball, Rod saw the car and said, "Now, that thing needs flames, Uncle Mike..." Rod called me and invited me to his picnic. Roadster was all apart, ('27 hiboy) was prepping a Chrysler Hemi (ex Jim Gomes motor) and flathead to interchange in 20 minutes. Rod said, "Heck, bring the Volkswagen!" I was reticent, as the rules were solid. "Bring it!" and he hung up. Early in the morning, wife and I, brother and his wife got in the bug and made it to Rod's picnic. We arrived at the gate early, one of the club members was there, stopped me cold. "No Volkswagens..." I said, "Rod here? He invited us..." Rod walked up, laughed, said "Don't you know a '39 Ford when you see one? Look at the taillights!" The poor guy actually walked back and looked...Rod said, "Get settled...park under the trees, I'll be over." His gate man looked totally confused... We parked under the trees, a space away from a chopped '41 Carson topped beauty. Rod came over, sat down, we were talking, and Rod says," Look..." I look up, Andy Southard is taking 2, 3 shots of the ragtop, then turns and almost trips over my low front fender. He looks down its passenger side, then walks 'round back, casually glancing, then stops...looks around, then sneaks a picture! Then walks away, turns, and gets another side shot of the cartoonish rake! Rod and I snickered, my brother was..."What's so funny?" We almost shouted, "Tell ya later!" Funny, but those pics never turned up in a magazine. Not the ones I read, anyway...LOL Rod's helper, Curley Tremayne was a pal of mine, visited me at the shop many times. Saddened me when he passed. Rod's a hero of mine, too.
The Jalopy Journal
