Rescued, One Ol' Supermodified

So my buddy finds this old San Jose Super in a field and talked the guy into trading for his Sprint Car. This ol' car had been in that field on and off for around 15 years. I say on and off 'cause the guy would, every few years bring the car in, sandblast the frame, paint the body........and then push it back outside. So, it's in pretty good shape for something that's been sitting that long. These cars are making somewhat of a comeback down here in the Valley and there was an exiibition at Madera a couple weeks back. 11 cars showed with maybe 10 more coming out for the next one, July 24 at Chowchilla which means this car is not in a restoration mode. It's more like, wegotamonthandwe'regoin'fuckin'racin'!! The brakes were locked up so we had to drag it on the trailer and by the time we got it off we just kinda stood around and checked it out. I'll post pics as we go so here's some from day one.

 

Keep us informed...

 

thats really cool ken. used to watch them at santa maria speedway as a kid. even went to the old san jose speedway. i think it was the johnny keys memorial race.

 

thats really cool ken. used to watch them at santa maria speedway as a kid. even went to the old san jose speedway. i think it was the johnny keys memorial race.

 

i must have studdered. LOL

 

Make sure the tubing isn't rusted from the inside out , I would hate to see someone get hurt. Sonic test the thickness! With that said what a cool find enjoy the fun. Rob

 

there is a super modified off of hwy 49 just outside of neveda city, we were camping and went to go swimming at a river and later just cruised down the old 49 highway and i seen the top wing thru some bushs, we stopped to take pictures and asked if it was for sale she said she would give my number to here husband but he never called me back, the lady told us it ran at placerville speedway and grass valley speedway many years ago, car is complete just had flat tires, i will try to find the pictures and post them this weekend, i have many racing wheels magazines from 60"s-70"s but could not find the guys name in any results from those tracks,

 

forgot to mention this was about 5 years ago,

 

Santa Maria ROCKED back then as did San Jose. The Key Race was always the highlight of the season. I really do miss Back When.
Rob, We'll be checkin' that frame out. Thanks...Ken

 

Glad to help , Rob

 

Thanks,
Would love to see some pics and/or contact info Guys around here are looking for 'em. BTW, I see you live in Vallejo. I think you'll like this:
http://vallejospeedwayhardtops.homestead.com/

 

Neat! Makes me want to drive in circles really fast!

 

Good for you Ken. Congrats from So-Cal.

 

Hey Mr. Luce, How ya doin'? Congrats on your book, everyone who's seen it says it's the real deal!!
Day 2. Pried the Calipers off it. Whadda know, IT ROLLS!! About 45 minutes with the steam cleaner and it became more apparent that this is a good find. Pulled the Rad. cap, clean as a whistle inside. New fuel cell that hasn't been out there too long and looks great. The body is cherry, the side panels and tail are hand formed aluminum and believe it's a Bob Allinger piece. The hood is glass and there's not a nick to be found anywhere. The previous owner is a real good body man and he painted it candy apple red before he pushed it outside. It's faded but a little elbow grease and a paint gun........Shocks are a different story,we chucked 'em all but Joe has plenty of good steel shocks. We all know what happens to aluminum calipers when they set for years with brake fluid in them so it was no suprise that they are pretty bad. They are however ol' school Airhearts and Joe would like to use them so I called Airheart and was told I needed to send pics so they can tell what they are. Did so and I hope to hear back from them Monday. All in all, it was a good day 2.

 

I bought my first Super (the one in my Avatar) from Joe's dad, Joe Diaz Sr. in 1973 for $1500.00 on a handshake, I made time payments and he let me race it while I was payin' it off!! We lost Joe Sr. a couple years back and I lost my Dad 6 years ago today. I miss them both. I've known Joe Jr. for almost 40 years and he one of the kindest human beings I've ever met. He loves Kids, Animals, his Family and Racing and in the Dictionary under "Old School" is his picture. Here's a picture of Joe in his shop, with his cigar workin' on those Airhearts.

 

Right on!!!!

 

Hell yeah, magnesium Halibrands are cool on anything. Especially wide 5's on a Super Mod.

Keep us posted on the progress.

 

very cool !!! those wheels and tires are hard to come by now days.

 

NIce rescue brother, love those old circle mods. Went to Santa Maria quite a bit when I lived in Santa Barbara. Cool shot of your buddy Joe working and chomping that stoogie, he and Bill Hines do that well. I love what is going on with these hot cars. Keep us posted with any race pix. ~Sololobo~

 

Kearney bowl-Friday night 1/4 asphalt, San Jose Saturday night (1/3?) asphalt, Clovis Sunday night (1/3 Dirt). Using the same car with that varied of tracks over those trailer miles, You had to really love to race. Of course this was before Madera was even built.

 

Thanks guys,
Turdytoo, those were great days. I never made it to Kearney Bowl, started racin' Stockers at Watsonville in '71 and it is a Friday night track. I was fortunate enough to race at San Jose, Clovis and even West Cap.
They were the best times of my life.
Day 3, Out with the Q/C, Pulled the cover and found a gear set, but no top spacer. Joe thinks he's got one in another Q/C. Checked the pinion shaft and Joe was happy with the lash. He's done that a few times, I'm sure he's right. We pulled the hubs off and the bearings look like new!!
I hand packed them while Joe painted the axle housings, hubs, tourque tube and ball. On the eighth day God created KRYLON No powder coating here. He also spray bombed the back part of the frame, looks great!! We also pulled the in and out box. Tight as a drum and there's a new U-Joint. Tomorrow, we'll put it all back in

BTW, Joe's gonna sell those Halibrands. We got 'em listed here:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487589&highlight=halibrand

 

Looks great, Ken. Good luck with the series. From the comments on Curt's board, it sounds like it may be all that's left out there soon...

 

That thing is Bitchin!!! Bout what year was that style of frame, Ken? Tell Joe hello for me, and very sorry to reallize that his dad has passed. His dad was a character larger than life. I dont know if Joe remembers me, they used to pit next to us at Merced.

Louie

 

Awesome! That sucker is in great shape!

Sam

 

Hey Ken, just in case you missed it on the Sat Night Racer board, here is what I had in mind for the Grand babies jungle gym/yard art...



Louie

 

Looks great Louie, but ya need to put 'er on the track bro'.....lol. BTW, you're a good artist. Joe's car is around an '81 Sargent. We think it was Marks Car #14 but not sure. Mike's #7 wing is still out in the field along with a couple of identical frames.
Day 4, Drivetrain goes back in. We cleaned up the torque ball and tube, greased them up and in they went. Pretty easy,just the usual pushin'/shovin' ect but everything bolted up fine. Had to adjust the torsion arms a bit but everything is pretty free. For some unknown reason,the previous owner cut off the Jacobs Ladder mounts. No clue as to why and he didn't know but we got the ladder and that should get done this week.
Put the rear hubs back on and the axles in and the drivetrain's pretty much done. Tomorrow,we do the front end.

 

Day 5. 103 Degrees in Chowchilla......ugh. So things slowed up a little but we still got the front end off and painted, cleaned up the radius rods, tie rod and drag link. Another hot day tomorrow but we hope to get it on all fours. Somehow some pics got deleted, musta been the heat......

 

What a great find! You guys are going to have it back on the track in no time, I heard that there is alot of old supers coming out this year. Promoter at Santa Maria is interested in haveing the vintage supermodifieds over. Will that Super be ran on dirt and pavement? Pat

 

Pat,
It will run both Dirt and Pavement. Next race will be Jul. 24 at Chowchilla.
Day 6. Still Hot!!! Got it back on all fours, set the bars where we thought was close,went inside the AIR CONDITIONED house and drank lots of ICED tea.Next up is stabbing the bullet and we have some parts on order. But there may be another racecar showin' up. Stay tuned.........

 

Day 7. We hit a snag,but a very cool one. Joe's son,Joey WAS the proud owner of a 34 Chev Jalopy. Another buddy of mine, Bob Filippi WAS the proud owner of a 1975 Tognotti 4-Bar Super. I'll bet you can fill in the blanks So I got some pics of the Super and the Deck lid of the '34. The painting on the back is Joe's Dad, Joe Diaz Sr. It was painted from a picture taken at San Jose in the mid 60's. It and the rest of the car was hand lettered by Joe's longtime friend Bob Walls. That's the best about what we all do. Our Hobby/Passion/Way of life forms bonds and TRUE freindships that last a lifetime.