Johnny Zaro ’41 Ford 1951 Oakland or L.A. Roadster Show Walter Wyss Collection Custom Car Chronicle. Possibly John Manok (who worked for George with his brother Ralph at the Lynwood shop) polishing the hood, George Barris polishing the bumper guard, Jack Stewart leaning on the driver’s front fender, possibly Gene Simmons (who hung around the shop as George’s Hollywood buddy and first brought over Jesse’s gal, Flo, on his motorcycle) on the far left.
wow! Hello, The old saying: “been there, done that…” to the extreme… One of the first things my brother did was to try and lower his newly purchased teenage Pale Yellow 1951 Oldsmobile sedan. Our neighborhood had a lot of cool looking cruising cars and they were all lowered or on a slight rake. We first tried small accessory clamps a lot of people were using when in doubt as to the “look” or not. The clamps squashed the coils and could bring the front end down an inch or two. We have all heard of the “two inch drop” is the coolest. Well, that wasn’t all it was made out to be.. We used the clamps and the look was forming. So, we took off down the street and it was a little harsh in the ride. But, it certainly had the “look.” For a couple of weeks, caution was the mode of the day. But, once in a while, while driving, my brother forgot how low those clamps made the car and the normal dips made an awful sound. Sometimes, the little clamps fell off due to compression of the springs. Now, that was certainly an unusual oddball sight. Lowered on one side and stock on the other… YIKES. Jnaki So, my brother started his cruising teenage years with a lowered rake 51 Oldsmobile sedan. He had to slow down as soon as he left our Westside of Long Beach driveway as the next street over required a “slowest crawl” at an angle to get across the intersection. The drainage culverts caused a good run of water to leave the area, but it was a deep ditch that caused some bottoming out of various parts and chassis of the Oldsmobile sedan. For the first several times, it was a snail’s pace going across the intersections. He could not even go into the teenage hangout drive in restaurant parking lot due to the steep angle of the sidewalk slope. So, he went around the block and came in through the rear alley, right into the back row slots. Or, if the back row was full, the next block over was another larger parking lot at a hamburger outlet + restaurant that had a ton of cruisers and local hot rod sedans. But, it was not enjoyable cruising. If one forgot to slow down while having a good time cruising, an awful noise was the result. When he got some lakes side pipes for under the doors, he used the for two weeks. The slight dips became a larger problem and now, he had to take those lowest pipes off. Another friend with a normal height cruiser bought them and now, it lowered the overall look of that different sedan by the diameter of the chromed lakes side pipe and tips. So, for the last several months of owning the 51 Oldsmobile sedan, he painted it a Lime Green, used the same Moon Discs and kept the new cut springs around 1 inch to 1.5 inches in front. It was a good choice and a lot more enjoyable to ride around. YRMV
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