Don, from all of us in A-Bombers Hot Rod Club. Your books is the big inspiration, always has been and always will be. We all owe you so much. THANKS for your fabulous work!
Don, I am another guy who can say "you probably don't remember me," but I used to work the counter at Blair's in the early 60's, and remember you coming in from time to time...ran an Ardun TE-440 (in my avatar)...if you look carefully it reads "Blair's Speed Shop" on the cowl. I didn't realize then that you had run so many famous cars. Later built a B/FD on North Lake next to Gil Hayward's monkey motion roadster, and he introduced me to a bunch of the GCR guys...it was neat to bench race with them. I have almost all of your books, and especially enjoy the pictures of rods and customs in Pasadena, where I grew up. Thanks so much for keeping all these memories alive. Dave Sorenson
All of you have to stop making these nice comment because it could go to my head. Seriously, I really appreciate the kind words. We have been fortunate to meet and talk to so many nice hot rod enthusiasts. We only do the 2 Roadster Shows at Pomona plus some smaller rod runs so we only get a chance to see a limited number of guys. It is great to hear of the hot rod projects in process and relive a few memories from the past. In some cases the only time we see old friends is at the shows. One thing that is neat is to see rodders pictures of cars they built with ideas that they got from the pictures in the books. Bill Sanders- Please say hello to Glenn (Salem Speed shop). I still enjoy remembering our visits there. My wife's '40 still has the Dougl*** steel pack mufflers that Glenn provided. They have that 1940s sound. Jangleguy- How neat to hear that you are doing some writing. I want to encourage that. As most of you know I am not a writer. I am just an old hot rodder. But I believe it is important than our history be recorded. So keep it up. Also it is good to hear that the Super Stude is being restored. As a side note many of you know that Claire and I have traveled with our '32 coupe and more recently with my rebuilt Willys race car. My wife had commented that we had never had a '32 roadster and if I wanted one it was getting late in life. When I finished the Willys a couple of years ago I said that was the end of building a car. It was getting too hard for me physically. With "time running out", so to speak, I ended up buying a finished '32 roadster. So now I can say that I have a roadster. We are so lucky to have met and talked with so many of you. Best regards - Don www.montgomeryhotrodbooks.com
All of Don's Hot Rod books are a great resource. Not only do they have some wonderful pictures, but there is a lot of information accompanying the photos. In addition to the cars in the photos, there are some neat buildings, people, & other related things in the backgrounds. And, for custom car lovers, his books feature some really rare & great shots of very early customs, most of which have never been seen anywhere else! Very worthwhile!
Dave - What could have been more fun than working for Don Blair in the 1960s. Lots of things were happening there while Don was nursing is bottle of milk thru the day. I am sure that you have lots of memories from then. Naturally I also have memories of Gil Hayward,the GCRC guys and Pasadena hot rodding. It was a neat time. It is nice to hear from you - Don
Don, Very nice '32 Roadster, enjoy it with your wife! Thanks again, I've gone through all the books many times these past weeks, studying and soaking in the 40's era of dry lakes racing, too cool Any plans for any other releases for the future or working on any more from this era? Hope so! cheers, cab
Here's a funny story and it shows what a straight up guy Mr. Montgomery is: I sent him a check for one of his books only to discover that my wife had already purchased it for me. I Emailed Don about this and not only did he tear up my check,he sent me a picture of the torn up check via Email to prove he had torn it up. Amazing !!! As others have said on here and I have said this to you before:Thank you for these books. They are national treasures !!! Glenn Roy
Don, I met you at the 40s show in La Palma Park in 1990 when I was on the "40 Is 50" tour. The two books you autoraphed for me have been in many, many rodders hands and has served as an inspiration to all of them, including me. Following what I saw in your books I've tried to reproduce an early 50s '32 Ford, something a young guy with little or no money would have built but trying to make it as nice as his pockebook would allow. My avatar shows the nearly completed result and it is due largely because of your books - if you are getting a swelled head, no problem. You'll just have more room to remember all the folks you've inspired over the years! Thank you for your books!
I also tre***ure my books. Especially the signed ones. Have to ask. Any plans for a new Hot Rod book in the future? I'm rereading the last for the xth time these days, cover to cover. Finding something new every time. Paul
The Jalopy Journal
