Hot Rods Salinas, Santa Ana and more 1950's

More from the archives of Andy Southard Jr.

 

I wonder who ran the Willys @1:30 in the video, I think '54 was the first year Sparks & Bonney ran Santa Ana, and I know I seen a '55 T bird in the film and a '54-'56 Ford truck on the sidelines.

 

Makes me wonder how Andy picked the cars for "Hot Rods of the '50s'' ... every one of these would have fit.
Dandy tunes, too ...

 

Hello,

Even in Black and White, the bright orange roadster is/was owned by Dave Marquez, Ventura Motor Monarchs. It was an outstanding build and won “America’s Most Beautiful Competition Roadster” at 1956 Oakland National Roadster Show.

old Friday Art

This location was on the old Santa Ana Dragstrip location, near where the current huge OC Airport is located. Martin Aviation is well known in these parts and its aviation history is documented everywhere.


The yellow line is most likely where the old dragstrip was once laid out and had/has changed over as the racing activity grew up until 1959, when it closed. Today, that area of OC near the western edge of he airport is heavily fortified with industrial buildings and offices.
Many years later,
this was the site of a cool Photo shoot at a now, defunct restaurant location across the airport runways, where the above B/W photo of the “#880 Dave Marquez Roadster” could have been taken.


Jnaki

“…73 years ago local legend the late C.J. "Pappy" Hart in Santa Ana, California, created the first drag strip. Yes, there had been other strips here and there before that, but those were temporary, often illegal stretches of empty road that came and went. Santa Ana was permanent, commercial establishment, or as permanent as history and SoCal development allowed.”

“It was built on the periphery of what was then Orange County Airport, and it is now etched in drag racing lore. Now the land that once was the drag strip is home to the Lyon Air Museum, founded by developer and Air Force veteran the late Gen. William Lyon.” Among all those planes sit the original drag cars from the glory days of Santa Ana’s founding years, from 1950 to 1959.”

Dave Marquez B&W Photo by Pete Garramone

 

Great photos, no shortage of 28-34's nor the dog-dish Mercury hub caps that adorn so many, interesting spectators & their daily drivers in the background.