A licensed business that works on vehicles to make them go faster? Or just a name anyone can paint on the side of their vehicle? Larry T
A shop that sells go fast parts and/or works on cars to improve their performance. The reason I say "and/or" is because I know of shops that only do performance work and are not in the business of selling parts across the counter, yet they are a Speed Shop. Don
Around here I would say Champion Speed Shop, Gotelli's, or Vic Hubbard's. They all were deep into the Top Fuel wars in the 50s and 60s. They sell mostly high performance parts and are knowledgeable about Hot Rods.
A full blown Speed Shop like I had back in the Day I sold Parts & rebuilt engines Set up cars for Drag Racing! Sponsered a Couple of Drag Racers and Built my own Race Car & had a bunch of Street race cars hang out at the Shop! just my 3.5 cents
I'm in the process of launching an online site called SUGAR CITY SPEED SHOP which will sell hand made hot rod and custom parts that are made with low production numbers but high quality. It's hopefully going to be a site that promotes people to explore their ideas and make them a reality while helping them sell them. A Farmer's market for hot rods if you will. I should have something up in the next few weeks and build from there. But yeah I think generally speaking Speed Shops have provided products for hopping up cars while generally being immersed in racing culture.
Interesting question. When we opened our new shop last year we named it "S&H Speed & Custom". We don't sell speed parts over counter and don't build motors, we're a fab shop that specializes in custom ch***is work on hot rods and RACE cars (over 50% of our work it drag cars) hence "Speed" in the ***le. It's funny but most of my customers refer to our shop as a "speed shop" even though I don't.
I build racing and off road ch***is and sell racing safety components but hardly ever do actual engine work. But hell what else sounds good behind Parkinson other than Disease.....
Just for the sake of discussion--Why Not? You can buy performance parts there. Just like you could buy performance parts from Sears and J. C. Penney "a while back". Where do they fit in? Larry T
Also contained one or more Machinists that would not allow an unbalanced/stock rotating ***embly to leave the shop...
Now thoses are still around. And if places like Calvert Precision Engines were speed shops in the 50's, why aren't they now? http://www.waynecalvertengines.com/index_files/Page321.htm
True.....back in the day Sears sold a lot of acessories as well as Penney. But you gotta remember the kids that work today.....are not the kids we were then. The real problem you have is that the "Performance" section is one isle of mostly chrome doo-dads and Sunpro gauges and nobody knows how to order anything special.
Come on folks. Engine shops--I can think of half a dozen with NHRA National Record certificates on the wall within a 200 mile radius. Hot rod shops--about the same. Parr Automotive was the first one to pop into my head, but there are more. How about B***' place. Ed Mabry's place up until he left us last year. Ch***is shops-more than you can count. You're just not looking hard enough. Larry T
It probably means different things to different people. Some of the fellas think a speed shop was or is where you buy hot rod parts. I have always believed that a speed shop was where you had engine and or transmisson work done to make it perform better. A place where race motors is built. Ed Pink owned a speed shop for instance.
A shop/business that provides parts/service to build/modify cars to run/handle faster/better. Run by people/a person who have/has knowlege/abilities to make it happen/accomplish goals. Wow/Holy ****. Btw...Jeffrey, good luck with the speed parts. Look forward to see what you can add to the world of speed and hot rodding.
Now this might sound like an old fart talking but back in the day: There were actually places where we went and hung out with our kind. Motor heads we were called. the "Speed Shop" and we had a few in my area"Oties,Midwest Speed Shop,And for a short a friend of mine Woodies. Lou's and some others even Summit in the beginning.We could go in order what we wanted and discuss what we were going to do with whatever it was, a GM part on the Ford or Dodge. Heck a Lasallle ****** on my Merc. No punk saying "that will not fit on your car" We MADE IT FIT. No such place exists that I have found lately. Today we yearn for the past cause it was so damn much fun!!!!!!! Greasy hands and roaring Engine still make me feel great. I am as old as I feel right then 16 maybe younger it never goes away. Speed lives in the soul. Long live the hotrodder!!!
My idea of a speed shop is a place I can go into and buy at least the more popular speed parts off the shelf! It's not a shop with a few parts and a bunch of catalogs on the counter in one corner of a 1,000 square foot showroom full of apparel. Also the counter man is a racer/exracer that knows his parts! If I have to order from a catalog and pay shipping and handling and wait a week or more for my parts I can do that on the web. Iwant to be able to see and handle the parts I'm thinking of buying not look at a picture.
When you said Speed Shop, I immediately thought of Joe Reath's shop. And then, I remembered Service Center on Atlantic, in Compton. And Blair's in Pasadena. What made them speed shops, IMO, was knowledgable counter people and they sold used speed equipment. They were gritty places, often with a machine shop attached. They usually gave out calendars with naked girls on race cars. Most sponsored some local racers with parts. They were everywhere in So Cal when I was a pup.
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