In the early '50s, when I was in my early teens, I noticed ads in HRM for "Shell's Auto Parts" or, at different times, "Lewie Shell". It was a speed shop, and was fairly near my house, on Santa Monica Blvd in WLA. I bicycled down and looked around, my first real opportunity to see speed equipment up close. It was just a little storefront place, with no visible shop facilities. Reading old magazines, I found that Lewie had been an entrant in the Mexican Road Race, driving a deuce Victoria as I recall. A few years later, when I was in high school, Lewie moved to a larger space on Wilshire Blvd with several service bays. They did muffler work, engine swaps, and general mechanical repair on hot rods and later model cars. That lot is now occupied by a high-rise office building. Finally, Shell moved to one of the North/South streets in Santa Monica, where it was little more than a hot rodder's pawn shop. He had always dealt in used equipment, but in the last incarnation that seemed to be the whole business. It was rumored that some of his merchandise was "hot", but I don't know if that was true. The second, and seemingly more successful, shop in the area was Quincy Auto Supply. For a long time they were on the South side of Wilshire in Santa Monica, and later a few blocks further West on the North side of the same street. In both locations there were lifts for muffler work, lots of speed equipment in a big showroom, and various machining services offered such as boring and porting. Ray Alley was the muffler guy and did the porting work; he later became fairly famous as a top fuel wrench. The proprietor of the place was Bill Cox (I think his middle name was Quincy, hence the name of the business), and he was a pleasant enough guy who remembered his customers pretty well. This was also the place to get club plaques made in the '50s. Quincy had considerable credibility through the sponsorship of some pretty compe***ive drag and Bonneville compe***ors; I'll leave it to others to recall who those guys were. The third place, and I think the last to open, was Lee's Speed Shop on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica (or maybe Venice). He, too, had a muffler shop and a speed equipment showroom; he too moved from one side of the street to a larger location on the other side after a few successful years. Lee ***us was the proprietor. All of these shops have been gone for many years. What brought this reminiscence to mind was the program from this year's LARS; Lee ***us is the treasurer of the LA Roadsters. I have no idea what he's been doing since he closed his shop umpteen years ago, but he looks prosperous in the picture. I know Bill Cox died a few years ago, after a "Quincy reunion" in his honor around 1998. I imagine that Lewie is long gone, since he was the earliest of these entrepreneurs. Lee is obviously still around. I guess that there are still some sort of speed shops around LA, although they are in much less visible locations than Wilshire, Santa Monica, and Lincoln Boulevards. And I doubt that any of them have the significance as teenage hangouts that these three did. I imagine that there are other HAMBers who remember these places, and still others who hung around at Blair's or Honest Charlie's or other shops elsewhere around the country. Care to share your recollections?
Thanks for the memories, Santa Monica probably had as many speed shops as any town its size...Quincy Automotive sponsored a bunch of cars, including the Nichols Brothers fuel Olds dragster that held the national et record in early '57, and several of the Brissette Brothers cars, including their Bonneville tank (front-mounted blown Chrysler), and their Bantam drag roadster. Also sponsored their dragster, first ran a blown Olds on gas, then twin chevies, then a blown Chrysler (watched Bob roll it in the lights at Fontana, early '60s). Quincy also sponsored the Perry Boys Bonneville roadster (Dodge powered) in the '50s. Lee's Speed Shop also sponsored cars, including the Heir and Bender front-mounted blown Chev rail on gas that made the cover of HRM in the late '50s, briefly held the national gas et record. Old speed shops should be remembered, and thanks for doing this. I started hanging out at Blair's in the late '50s and later worked there in the early '60s.
Something I always talked about doing during our annual Roadster Show trip was to take my copy of the Rod & Custom Builder's Wish Book and go to the old speed/custom shop locations listed and take a picture of what's there now. Just never found to time to do it. Maybe in 2014. Lee
One of my buddys had a Quincy's Muffler shop on a 51 plymouth he bought. It was an old one, not the one that mooneyes reproduces. I thought that was so cool. I also used to know an old man named Ray that lived in Santa Monica. He was a WWII vet and he used to tell stories about how SM was back in the day. There was a lot of orange orchards and there was a train that went up PCH. He told me about how he bought a model A for like $50 when he got back from the service and they used to go out to El mirage etc. He also talked about how all the hot rodders used to hang out near 20th and Pico, I cant remember who's shop it was but someone did a post on it here on the HAMB. Ill try to find it.. Dont forget Karl and Veda Orr and Engle Cams I found this on the web. I hadnt heard of this one before, Custom City in Santa Monica. http://books.google.com/books?id=XS...z_TMDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9
In one of the very early issues of Rodders Journal Pat Ganahl had a pictorial with photos of shops in the L.A. area as they were then and the site as it looks now. I always wanted to do the same sort of thing in Northern Cal. Places like Palimides shop in Oakland, Vic Hubbards in Hayward, Gotelli and Champion on the Penninsula and Goodies in San Jose. Someday I'll get back to some of those places...
What about Westside Performance on Pico. Are they still around? I know that shop had been around for awhile.
Yeah its still there. My good buddy's little bro started helping out at that shop. He's building a pretty bad *** el camino and he's a senior in HS Ahh. I found it. It was Irving and Peggy Brendel's shop at 2102 Pico Blvd. I think its a Pizza Hut there now..
I remember "Shell's Auto Parts". My dad took me up there about 1955, we went to look at an olds engine for my Model A pickup. Didn't buy it, built a flathead instead.
i was stationed at china lake in the early to mid 60s and we went to la all the time.shells was my favoite place of all time.any kind of used speed equipment you can think of.wish someone would post some pics of it.
I bought some finned alum valve cover for my Cad powered Chevy at Shells. They'were used but only $50 that was a lot of money to me in 65. Santa Ana Speed is still open. Don't know when Larry started but early 60's maybe. Nice he's still open though.
theres also Iskenderian cams on 6338 w. slauson ave. in culver city. Looks like he was there for a while in the 50's before moving to gardena. <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=743 nof="ly"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=385 nof="ly"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD cl***=TextObject width=373>The family was living on West Adams Avenue, in Los Angeles, and Ed was producing cams out of his garage for a living. His business was beginning to grow larger than the garage could handle and he took out a lease on a shop on Culver, behind Mercury Tool and Die, owned by his good friend and high school buddy, John Athan. Ed and Athan are inseparable friends. Athan is an innovator, inventor and master craftsman, who is often called upon to solve mechanical problems. Athan built the roadster that was on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, which the actor, Elvis Presley used in his movie ‘Loving Me.’ </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=358 nof="ly"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD height=9 width=8></TD><TD width=1></TD><TD width=348></TD><TD width=1></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD height=233></TD><TD width=350 colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD height=5 colSpan=4></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=2></TD><TD cl***=TextObject width=348>John Athan, Ed’s inseparable friend, built the “Isky” roadster that is on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, which the actor, Elvis Presley used in his movie ‘Loving Me.’ </TD><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=743 nof="ly"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD height=9 width=12></TD><TD width=731></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD cl***=TextObject width=731>Ed’s business was booming now as his quality cams and his natural PR and advertising genius was creating a huge demand. He moved to a larger site on Western and Pico Avenues, in Los Angeles, but that was only temporary as the orders began to grow larger and larger. He moved to Jefferson and Harcourt Avenue, in Los Angeles, across from Vic Edelbrock’s shop. The orders grew and the need for even more space forced him to move to a bigger shop on West Slauson in Culver City, then to a building in Inglewood. Finally he spotted a building on Alondra and Broadway in Gardena that covered half a city block and would give him the space to expand as he needed, and Isky Racing Cams found a permanent home there in 1966 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Westside Performance is still there across the street from the Adult Bookstore and Dennis Welding...used to be an old Service Center and Ted Toki had "The Shop" out back in the alley. Still doin' alot of work out of the back and selling nitrous. Ted's been getting alot of press lately in the rags...Car Craft with a beater Chevy motor and the aforementioned El Caminos. Latest issue of Hot Rod has a feature on a local twin-engined rod that is right down the street from Westside. The photo shoot occured at Engle Cams which just recently closed its doors on 12th and Olympic and moved down to Paramount. The Bros. opened up their doors for the last time at the Santa Monica location to allow the rod and the photographers to shoot. Another shop that used to be 'round these parts was Performance Unlimited on Sepulveda, near Jefferson. Bob Fox's shop closed down about 13 years ago, and the only shop worthwhile is Big Lou's Collectibles in that alleyway. Good collection of Hotwheels and the like.
My dad had Lewie Shell's do an engine swap for him in 1957.....he was in the Navy stationed in San Diego and was a drg racer on all those abandoned ww2 airstrips......it was featured in april 1957 Hot Rod Magazine...... I still have the car.....a shot full of holes farm remnant ...but I can't part with it....
Jefre, neat piece. Neat car and PU. I would sure like to see pics of the transmission to rearend connection from both. Ben
Bill Cox had an Army buddy who p***ed in the war - named Quincy. He named his speed shop after his buddy.
The Jalopy Journal
