Our club was invited to visit with Earl "*****s" Phillips, owner and builder of the Frog, a 1953 Studerbaker built in 1958 with an early Ford drilled straightaxle, Pontiac V8, 30 percent motor setback, hydro trans, and 57 Olds rear. He is an inductee of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame in Henderson, NC. *****s is 78 years of age and has built and driven all kinds of race cars just about his whole life. He campaigned an early funny car named the Baltimore Bandit throughout the U.S. He is a very lively character that toured us through his 6 car and 2 car garages. We saw the Frog, also his tow car-another 53 stude with a 215 aluminum Buick V8, a 1950 Jeep station Wagon powered by a 1200hp 429 Cadillac, 2 1937 Jags; one all original, one with Pontiac V8 power, a 1958 Rambler Amb***ador, and 2 AMC Spirits with modified 390's in them. Here are some pictures I snapped during our visit.
That car is SO freakin' cool...I had the opportunity to see it run, and speak with him for a little while at the York reunion a few years back...REAL nice guy. Awesome car...I didn't know he was the wheel man for the Baltimore Bandit!
It's been a while since I've seen pictures of that car. I have always loved Studebakers whether their set up like a g***er or a bonneville car. My cousin has a 1950 model truck that I wish I could get my hands on but, it was his first truck and, despite the motor being blown up, he still loves it to death.
Here is a picture of the Baltimore Bandit. The batteries went dead in my camera while we were at *****s's so I'll take more pics next time I stop by. He only lives 3 miles from me and yesterday was my very first visit!!
I shot a bunch of really cool detail shots of The Frog at the Yorktown reunion a couple years ago. Cool stuff. I like the letting on the nose: "Keep Off MF" (My Fibergl***) The Frog is an Altered, though, not a g***er. At least by the old cl*** rules. -Brad
Old *****S & his FROG. I Know him and the car well. Been a lotta years since the Good Old Days but I did get to see the FROG run again back in 1999 at the nostalgia drags.... It was at one of the oldest drag strips in the country, 75 & 80 Drag-A-Way in Maryland. The car was running in the mid to low 12's all day long. He (*****s) was there at the track with that crazy bunch of hot rod thugs called the Astros Car Club. A tuff bunch of gear heads and they made sure nobody botherd *****s or The Frog! The Frogs leaves the line like a rocket too....Ill try and post video of the car, I know I have it here somewhere?!?!?
*****s had Dave Anderson (Ai Fibergl***) build the fibergl*** front end way befor I bought into the company in 1972. I never saw the mold, so I'm guessing *****s has it stashed away.
There must be numerous molds then, I bought a complete front end, trunk lid, dash, bumpers, etc. for my '54 coupe 4 or 5 years ago in Western Maryland.
The parts you purchased were from molds owned by my old buddy Frank Morawski, owner of The Gl*** Shop in Bel Air, MD. If you look at the photos of *****s front end, it's easy to see the difference from the one wyou now have. Frank hates production work, so we did the production work for him at Rod 'n Race when I moved the company from Elkridge to ***berland. When I bought into Ai around 1972 the one piece front end mold that was done for *****s by Dave Anderson was not in the building. I've never seen one from that mold on another Stude, so I'd ***ume *****s paid for both the mold and the front end, and may still have the mold.
Damn!! I know this post is old, but I did the rear suspension in that car, as well as some of the cage update work when the car was brought out of retirement!!
Don't know how I missed this the first time around, but glad someone brought it back up. Don't know Mr. Phillips personally, but have always enjoyed seeing his Stude whenever it's made appearances at tracks or indoor shows. Every time I see it I think man oh man this cat is quite an entertainer.
The Jalopy Journal
