It feels a little unfair, doesn’t it? As hot rodders, we’ve never truly focused on Pikes Peak. We know it, we respect it—but it’s never been our Mecca. Not really. But for some folks, the Peak is everything. It’s sacred ground. Their Bonneville. Their dragstrip. Their whole damn world. And yet somehow, we’re the first ones to really lay eyes on these photos. The first to crack open this time capsule. Feels a little bit like we snuck into someone else’s church.
Pic 12 & 13 look like Bocar, chev fiberglass ( google it ). Real dirt racing still the best & before 18 inch wide slicks at 4 lbs air pressure took over & no wings. The good old days.
@Ryan I'm curious, and wondering if you would allow a peep behind the curtain. All of the pictures so far have been amazing and historically valuable. Have you seen an uptick of new visitors or perhaps even some conversations from members of the 'other church'? I don't want or need analytics and quotes, just wondered if you have had positive responses from the modelers, the Pike's Peak fans, racing historians or other niches of the automotive world?
Not really, no. I don’t think these images have made it beyond our little corner of the world yet. Like I’ve said before, I’m going through this archive in real time—no previews, no roadmap. I open the directories, and whatever’s inside is as much a surprise to me as it is to you. The only clues I’ve got are the names of the folders. I started with the ones labeled “Trip” just out of curiosity… but some of the others are far more specific. There’s still a ton of Pikes Peak stuff to come—different years, different cars. But we’ve also got directories for Bonneville, multiple years of El Mirage, a road race from ’53, Indy, La Carrera Panamericana… even folders labeled for specific cars and people. Who knows what’s buried in there. We’re talking 2,800 images. Over 100 rolls of film. Sure, the smarter move would’ve been to preview the whole archive first, build a clean chronological narrative from the earliest photo to the last, then roll it out in tidy, digestible chapters. But that’s not how I wanted to do this. I wanted you to discover it the same way I did—frame by frame, stumble by stumble. And yeah, maybe when it’s all said and done, we organize it, clean it up, maybe even do a book. But to me, the shots that don’t make the book are just as important as the ones that do. Sometimes the throwaways tell the better story.
I wonder if the big Merc on the back of the C-Series flatbed has a 400 HP, 430 Super Marauder hiding under the hood??? Maybe even with some Holman & Moody goodies?
I plan to drive up Pikes Peak in about 3 weeks. Go to youtube and watch some of the video of these guys racing. It's amazing, even a tractor trailer runs up the hill.
Well I don't know about others but it made me pray. I said "holy shit." so I think that counts, no? And the Bocar wears me out a little, so kool...
Yes.....talk about tractor trailer rigs.....try to find some of the old GM Chevrolet videos from late 1940's early 1950's with trucks going up the hill and bragging about horsepower.....and trucks coming down the hill and bragging about braking ability ....really cool stuff. Been years since I saw them, but gonna try to find them again. Have fun
Ryan......I absolutely love what you are doing with Pikes Peak. It brings me great joy to look at all the images.....and also a sadness as a person who first went to Pikes Peak in 1989. I was just getting pretty good with my basic Canon camera with lots of practice at Road America with all sorts of sporty car stuff and other Midwest dirt events with midgets, sprints and stock cars. I still remember the trip to the top with our young daughters in our brand new Astro van, and then moving on to a great dude ranch for a week. I was blessed to be on the mountain three other times when it was still dirt. The sadness in viewing all your images is the fact that I lost all my boxes of pictures and negatives in a major "plumbing catastrophe event" shortly after moving into our new house in 1999. As well as all the normal pictures, I was able to find one sharp right turn with a metal culvert under the turn. I could actually get in the culvert and peek my head, arms and camera out to get really up close and personal shots of cars approaching.....sliding .....and exiting the turn. There is also still nothing like breakfast in cast iron skillets over a fire next to the van when the sun is coming up to greet the mountain.....priceless. I have been blessed to be up close and personal with drivers, cars and crews at major events all over our country .....and I do have to say that Pikes Peak has a lot in common with my church.....although it is more noisy and dusty in the good ole days. Keep the good stuff coming
Another excellent example of great photography and racing. Bye the Bye...nobody needs to sneak into my church...ALL ARE WELCOME!!! And yes a book would be cool!
Love, love R.A. I have been there for go karts, Indy, motorcycles, June Sprints etc etc. Great memories of camping at Plymouth Rock and waking to the sound of engines from the track, bending an elbow at the Broken Spoke and eating Sheboygan Brats! Cheers
These two rare and classic videos, are not exactly "Pikes Peak" hill climb, but I think you all will totally agree, this is epic hill climbing as seen in part two, both videos are well worth your time. Enjoy from Dennis.
@Ryan , you sir are dedicated ( obsessed that is) to your craft. Of all your blogs that I have read, this latest chapter is a dooooooozy. You’re the right man to be the custodian of these amazing pictures. One question though, when you say trip are you talking about face planting or something else. Hehe.
Bitchin' Ryan..... Pics are amazing, historical. I look not only at the historical cars, but what also catches my attention is the people. Look at the people. 99% of the people, slim and trim / nobody is overweight. From then until now, easy to figure out why....shocking really.
Wow, thanks to “41 gmc” for great video & 1 hell of a nice truck. Lot of effort putting together that 2nd video. Great truck
Just like the previous Trips the photos are so good I feel like I’m there in real time. I can hear the engines screaming, hear the gravel landing after the car passes, feel the cool mountain air. Wow Dan
That Bob Jones Jeepland Special in picture 15, seems like there's a story there. What an oddball, fascinating car. I can't imagine how much time and effort you are spending to bring us all of this. Thank you for it, though.
Truly epic. I can feel the fear and excitement from the photos. Did you notice the camera and mount on top of Ak Millers car in one of the photos?
The Jalopy Journal
