In a book caled "hot rods" by kevin elliot. I can email you the full sized pic if you want....its a small book, about 6x10 inches
Sure, I'd love the full sized. Email it to conwi1wd@cmich.edu That car is just the epitome of the wicked East Coast hot rod, isn't it? I'd like to copy the channeled/chopped look in yellow and black with wire wheels and a two-pot flattie.
When I was building my roadster, I had a pic of Freds car on the wall...almost painted it purple with white interior.
SWEET HONOURABLE.... THAT car is freakin' INCREDIBLE!!!!! THATS what I want...but with a 3" section and no channel. AND a ROOF! Gotta have a 5 window roof on it! And an early Chevy small block...oooh yeah! GOTTA have a nice Chevy in it.... Ah hell...that thing is BEAUTIFUL just the way it is.... Can someone pass the "Handy wipes" please? Bill
Hatch... All********* aside...I NEED to know more about that car! I think I'm getting the shakes just looking at it. What do you know? Please!!! Bill
[ QUOTE ] Hatch... All********* aside...I NEED to know more about that car! I think I'm getting the shakes just looking at it. What do you know? Please!!! The car belongs to Fred Steele;one of the founding members of the infamous Ty-Rods club in Massachusetts.It was started about 1951 and appeared in Rod&Custom in the November 1956 issue.It was also on the cover of an East Coast mag(Rodding and Restyling)in 1958. It shows up at the Ty-Rods show every year(Fred still owns it)and the fully chromed undercarriage still looks as good as it did in the 50's. There are some good b&w pics of it(and a great story)in the Schuman Bros. book(Cool Cars and Square RollBars)and there was a feature on Fred in a past issue of Rolls and Pleats(Rod & Custom did one some years back). Fred also built the T that was on the Ventures album cover in 64 and has a garage full of his creations(he finds it hard to part with them;I still can't believe he sold the T)as well as a howitzer(or field gun)on his front lawn. You might say Fred is a "piece of work".He is the founder,past president(and probably sole member) of the infamous."Road Fairies" car club(their motto:"Out of the closet and onto the street!")with the shocking piunk T-shirts.A REAL long story. He owned a 1950 Mercury 8-door airport limo for awhile and brought it down to a mutual friend(Kelsey Martin)to have him chop it!He barely escaped with his life.Kelsey wasn't in a good mood that day. But anyway that's about it on the purple Deuce.I'm sure many of the East coast HAMBers have their own little anecdotes about Fred. safariknut Bill [/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] All********* aside...I NEED to know more about that car! [/ QUOTE ] Street Rodder did a feature on it as part of their milestones series, that was my first introduction to the car. I'd say most of the information is evident just from looking at the picture- except maybe that the chopped soft top doesn't fold and that it runs a side-shift transmission and a '40 wheel/column. The flattie is full-race (he got it from an ex-circle tracker cousin) and actually runs all four Strombergs on the Sharp intake. It's got just a perfect stance and chop, doesn't it? Even the Fiesta wheelcovers work, a nice fifties trick you don't see much anymore in a sea of '42-'48 Ford*****on caps.
If you don't have a********** over that car you shouldn't be on HAMB. IMHO that is THE coolest hot rod roadster ever. And as an ex-east coaster it doesn't hurt that it is a right coast car.
Yup...incredible! It has "the look" nailed. But just look at that ground clearance...its high by any standards, but lowering it would screw it up looks wise! The car proves that lowness isn't everything! Its real and useable, yet looks cooler than 9/10ths (or better) of whats out there. Another East Coast car that sets the bar really high! "Road Fairy"...? Hmmmm....I guess that answers a few unasked questions! That stuff doesn't matter...he obviously has a great eye for proportion and excellent fabrication skills. Like to get to meet him and check out his other cars. But, I have a feeling I'd be stuck to this one like glue! Nice to hear its still in use and not just a memory. Any other sites on the net that might have pics? Bill
Strangely enough,the Fiestas weren't originally on the car;it had 53 Cadillac caps attached with(if I remember correctly)Ford beauty rings.He took and bent up the inside edge of the caps and fitted the beauty rings to them.Problem was the caps kept falling off.Fred says he still has two of the original caps. And yes it was a daily driver when it was first built(chrome undercarriage and all). Fred's other cars include a chopped 29A sedan(purple of course),a full fendered Deuce roadster with sbc painted bright yellow(in 1961)with wide 15" wheels laced to cut-down spoked Ford hubs(I can't even imagine how much fun that was),a chopped 72 Riviera,a 55 T'Bird I think he bought new tp mention a few. Fred is an interesting character to say the least.I have some photos he sent me(his infamous collages with his own balloon captions)not only of his cars but his journey to Egypt(if you ever meet him,ask him about his adventures in the Middle East but not if his wife's around).They're kinda big but I'll see if I can scan parts of them. safariknut
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