I seen this last one a few weeks ago and I have to say it's one of my favorite hot rod photos ever!!!!
Yeah landspeed weights , on El Mirage ... check out this clip http://roto-faze.com/videos/roto-race-H.264.LAN.mov
From the guy who owns the car, I have more pics but he is in them ,I am waiting for his permission to post them and his name...I know he won't want the whole world on his doorstep asking about the coupe. When last I talked to him the timing chain idler failed and it dropped the chain damaged pistons and valves. It's a really long chain... he had new pistons and valves and was making some new parts for the idler and timing system..Then he was going back to El Mirage....Maybe in May this year? However I haven't heard anything for a while. I am going to try calling him again tomorrow. Will ask for speeds etc.
Thanks for asking the owner of this fantastic coupe. The video sounds great. Way OT, but did you ever get those parts we spoke about on the phone some time ago?
The builder/owner of the Roto-Faze coupe is an old friend and I run one of his distributors in my '32 Roadster. The car is incredible with numerous one off parts which are a testament to his engineering and machining skills. Hope to see it back at El Mirage this year.
I have the 1964 Popular Hot Rodding article on the Roto-Faze coupe if interested. Some coupe pics from mid 50s and one late fifties, mid 50s pics I believe were taken at Santa Ana.
Holy Shit Jimmy b!!!! Some of the coolest stuff I've seen in a long while! You are amassing quite the collection of original photos!!!!!!
Well I guess it's obvious that the coupe belongs to none other than Joe Panek, owner of Roto-Faze Ignitions and Equipment . I got caught up with work today and couldn't call him, however I WILL call him for permission before I post pics of him with the car .
Alchemy - You are right. Cool to see. It had a halibrand cover on it. Is there a different Pat Warren cover?
Like JeffreyJames said great pictures you need too start a website like Kustomrama or something like that
Yeah , for instance, the front mounted crank driven blower offset so instead of direct drive he can overdrive the blower and change ratios if he wants . Way ahead of his time.
I think this is my favorite picture of Larry Shinoda's Chopsticks Special. Those are Larry's annotations on the picture. All I have is a photocopy of the original picture. I think the picture would make a great painting (art print). Sorry for the distorted picture. I will try to get a scan of it and repost.
Thanks for all the entries on this thread, many great stories, info and photos. If you ever run across Don Montgomery you will find that he is 100 percent gentleman and a world book of accurate knowledge. I feel privileged to know him and now I know even more about him.
I love the fact that, among gearheads, "554" is enough to I.D. that famous car. That, and "The Steel Eel"!
Its funny, but awhile back my son was looking for a BSA 441 Victor Motorcycle to restore and someone in Dana Point, CA had one for sale on Craigs List . He wanted me to check on it on my way back to San Diego from Whittier. I rang the bell and a fellow answered the door and we went down to the garage to check the bike. It wasn't exactly standard anymore so I told him I didn't think my kid would be interested. We started talking about the old days and he said he was still a member of the club that ran #554 at the drags. I said I was familiar with the car and told him I was a member of the Millwinders that ran the 36 coupe #96 in the 50's. He said he didn't remember it, so I told him to look at the front cover of the November 1954 Hot Rod magazine and the red coupe was the car we ran. Sorry, but I don't remember his name... Nes Synadinos Millwinders.
Hi... thanks for posting that picture.. It was taken the same time as the November 1954 Hot Rod magazine picture. That was just staged for the HR and DRP pictures. The starter made a good jump, but it was a fake one Nes... Millwinders..
what kind of class designations did the cars have? what was put on them painted or shoe polish if anything at all. was it something like a/fc
I was 14 when that PHR came out with the Roto-Faze coupe on the cover, it made an immediate impact on me. Three years later I had my own '33 Ford 5w that I was driving daily but with Chevy power, I just had to chop the top on mine too. About 10 years ago I dropped off a Model A flywheel with Joe to be lightened and he showed me the coupe. It appeared to have about a 3" hole in the side of the block. At the time he said he had no plans to make it run again; "Even if I could fix the engine, I would have to update the whole car to current safety rules". At the time, he was re-tooling his awesome tall 392 blower manifolds, among other projects. If 97 is correct, it would be great to see it brought it back to life after all these years, whether it races or not. And anyone on here who doesn't have all of Don Montgomery's books; get out those greenbacks and get 'em, they are the Encyclopedia Britannica of hot rodding!! Every time I open one I see something I didn't see before.
Raver-x if you are referring to the Millwinders and Drifters coupes shown in the pictures above we were both running fuel and I believe the designation was Heavy Fuel Coupes. Before we were able to get Nitro, we ran in the Heavy Gas Coupe category. Those may not be the exact designations, but heck, I'm 86 and the brain cells in my head are exploding daily .In addition, when we checked in we had to go on the scales for a weight check.
Do you have any other info on the "711" 3W coupe? Looks like it says Firepower on the hood and Chuck on the door...
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