Was Anyone Here Actually There?

I too am 64 and where I grew up (So, Cal.) we had all that stuff you say we didn't have (except the air bag thing).
Rat Rods = BEATERS!
Rockabilly = Elvis, Jhonny Cash, Carl Perkins, ETC ETC!
Suede = In 1958 I bought a 1/25 scale model of a Impala, I flat blacked it, lowered it, and then entered it in a model car contest at a local toy store.... ya see I built it like I saw so many cool cars back in that time period looked in Southern California.
Oh by the way there is a little car magazine that did an article on a '53 to '56 F100 and to show just how low it was they put a pack of Camels under the running board. Sure wish I still had that rag!

Just Saying!

 

Yes, I do remember Keno's and will never forget those good times. And dont forget the Ivar's fish & chips with a drink for 99 cents, had a lot of those on my low budget. I dont think I mentioned that I still have that 34 that I had then, sold it but was fortunate enough to get it back, not to long after I sold it. I just drug it out about 2 months ago, took the Olds out, along with the orig drive train, reinstalled a 283, T 5 and a Bronco 9in rear end and a "new" dropped orig 34 axle with discs. Did I mention I chopped it 4 1/2 in in 81? Getting closer to driving it again, last time I drove it was in 61, just before Uncle Sam invited me to participate in some Military excercises!! LOL

 

I can remember riding home from the dealership in town in my dad's brand new 51 Ford Two door in 51. I think he traded a 41 Buick Sedanette in on it.

For years listening to the Indy 500 on the radio was an annual event that we highly anticipated.
One of the fun things then that doesn't happen now (except for the local unveiling of the new Camaro) was the annual new car in the showroom day for lack of another term. The new models were hidden away and kept under cover until the morning of the big day and it was a big deal to go down and check them out every year.

In the 60's hanging out at the local Shell Station where the guys who ran it built some fast cars. A 55 Chev two door post with a 401 Buick set back ten percent was one of them. Later when I was in trade school, followtailing behind Bob Norwood (Yep the Ferriari guy in Dallas) when he worked as the tuneup guy at Anderson Motors in Grandview, Wa and ran a big wedge powered Mopar known as Rambunctious in the PNW.
From the time I was 12 or 13 always finding the other car guys to hang out with. Often they were quite a bit older and they tolerated me because I was really into the cars and not just following around with the older guys.


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I was only a kid in the 60's but my dad had a 1935 Ford pickup with a 49 Olds V8 three speed. I use to love riding with him. He had a lot of fun with that truck.

Later in 70 he gave me the truck and I was hooked. Being 16 and drive to school in that truck was really cool. It made a lot of guys jealous.

Listening to Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Deep Purple or Pink Flyd on the 8 track and drive it on the strip every night was great. The strip was the main street in town were everyone drove almost every night.

Some of my class mates still talk about that truck.

Man I miss that truck.

 

In about &#8216;46, my brother and I skimmedhrough a Hotrod magazine at Duckwall&#8217;s drug store. We didn't have the change to buy the magazine so we took the bright and shiny images home with us in our mind's eye and visualized building our own hotrod by proceeding to strip down a derelict Model A pickup on our dad&#8217;s farm. We spent many hours dreaming of what it might be, but it was only dreaming.

I built and drove a dirt track stock car '58-59. New baby in the crib put a stop to that, went to work and raised my family.

Now, with grandkids all having grown up to become young adults, I&#8217;m a kid again with my jalopy(s).

Culture? Don't know about that..............

 

I was there,Boston Mass. 1950s,took the automotive mechanic course,at Brighton H.S.,male only,rented a garage to work on my car,a 33 Plymouth coupe that i bought for $15.00,did,nt know anything about working on cars,hell i was 15yrs old,anything was possible!worked after school at 2 jobs to help my folks,and fund my mania,never did finish the Plymouth,sold it,bought a 50 Ford 2dr sedan,in the Garage it went,still did,nt know to much,heads came off ,intake,exhaust manifolds,you know the drill,bought all my speed parts from Hub Auto Supply,went without food for auto parts,i had all this speed stuff fir the flatty in ,my bedroom at home,intake on the dresser with 3 Strombergs,and that beautiful red see through fuel line,Offenhauser intake,Isky Cam,Johnsons,etc.Well this was taking way to long,and my girlfriend was getting tired of me always buying all this speed stuff so i sold everything and bought a beautiful 50 Chevy coupe,painted a 57 Chevy metallic brown color,white tuck and roll ,216 cu.in. of raw power,put an Eelco shifter in in ,new wide whites,Moon discs,well me and the girlfriend went everywhere in that Chevy,Sanford Maine,Charlestown R.I.,every weekend gone,anyway i graduated High School in 61,went to work at a Olds dealership,greasing cars,sold the 50,and bought a 55 Chevy,White Belair 2 dr hdtp.265 v8,3 speed on the column,let me say right now that my girlfriend and i bought the 50 and 55 Chevy together ,she contributed to my madness,anyway took that 55 to South Carolina(eloped)got married,came back to Mass. with a Wife,$3.00,a 55 Chevy,and a trunk load of fireworks,we slept in that 55 for 4 nights ,until i could sell enough fireworks to stay in a rooming house,things ain,t changed a lot,still married,2 kids,1 grand child,9 cars in the garage,(non running)no money,yea it was fun,still is,always will be,never give up,never quit,and if your lucky,find a crazy Girl to go along for the ride.Gerry

 

Yep, I was there. The guys I knew had big ideas and very little money, so progress was slow. Most of our cars were daily drivers and we couldn't tear them apart for frame off builds like you see today. I'm sure it happened, but not with the guys I ran with. Also,a mild kustom might have a hotrod engine and be subjected to both street and strip action. The reverse was also true in that a '30s hot rod might have had some kustom touches like frenched taillights and tag frame. A flat vinyl, two tone interior was a big deal to us, and one color with contrasting welting was also hot. We did good to afford that, much less a full tilt boogie tuck and roll job. We all wanted cars like were featured in the little pages, but time, money, lack of equipment and garage space kept most of us driving with primer spots and candy colored dreams.

 

I turned 15 in 1960,and had managed to save $150 and bought a '51 Ford Victoria.It had belonged to a local hot rodder who had ran a series of hot engines in the little Ford .He finally bought a newer car,and When the Vicky turned up on a used car lot,I somehow beat my friends to the lot with the cash.That car was a little rough maybe,but it was my pride and joy.Red With a white top,nosed,decked,dechromed,lowered.It had a Rolled and pleated naughahyde interior.Also Red and white.A pretty much stock '54 Monarch flathead and three speed stick were put in the car to sell it.I've had a whole lot of cars since,but that '51 Vicky was what got me into cars.Elvis was king,gas was cheap,Drive in Movies were mandatory. All the cool cars were as much an attraction there as the movie.It was to me,a lot better time.Much less complicated.Most kids had a car,or wanted a car,and couldn't wait to get their licence.Canada in 1960.....Great times. I am 64, and still can't stop keeping an eye out for another '51 Vicky.

 

With my Dad...louvering hoods, striping, street racing, Porter & Gulf freeway dragstrips, bragging, earrings, long hair, muscles, tattoos, fights, wrasslin', engines at Motor-reco, panel paint jobs, Mickey Thompsons, ceegars, cars, cars, cars. And, runnin from the law in Houston as he fried 'em leaving Prince's drive-in.

Mikey did it
www.MikeysPinstriping.com
"did bad things with Dad" (RIP - Billy Tonka)

 

Yep!---At 76, born in the hot bed of Hot Rods & Customs in Inglewood,Ca., been there--Done that-- Great memories!!-- Still driving my roadster, but not as much like I used to---Don't buy green bananna's---HA! Sure do enjoy all the "chatter" on the HAMB, best 50 bucks a year spent!!!--------Don

 

My first car 1949 in hi school

 

I was born in 1945 grow up in yonkers ny .My uncle took me to the stock car races and the Joey Chitwood trill show when I was 10 years old been into it ever since.

 

No, I got up to go to the bathroom and missed the whole damn thing!!

 

I'm 62 and had a 57 Chevy in high school (1963-1964), lived in a small town and went have fond memories of the girl down the street who had an older boyfriend with a new 406 Ford 2 door sedan, going to Allens Drive In in Topeka to drag race on Friday and Saturday nights and actually getting to live a small part of it when it was real. It's fun to go to cruise nights and car shows but it ain't never gonna be the same.

 

Yea, I was there, In the following order, 30 2dr, 48 Ply cp, 35 3wd, 40 Chevy2dr, 30 cp, 55 2dr Vic, 54 Merc Sun Valley, 40 Buick Super, 55 Buick Super cp, (yrs later) 2003 29 A Roadster, and now 2 29 Pk Ups, one original almost w/ a B engine/T5 sp, the other a rod with a AMC 4 banger/5sp. Iceman

 

I like to tell folks that I'm 17, with 50 years experience. Ya wanna know what the late fifties early sixties was like where I grew up? Go to Joplin the end of August and hang out for a few hours in the parking lot of the hotel where all the coolest of the cool hang out. You will be transported back in time fifty years for those hours. The only thing different is, back then very few rods were as low as guys are building them now. Back then, it was a bolt together deal for most guys because welders were few and far between.

 

The good,
Doodle Bug scooter, Cushman Eagle, 34' Tudor w/Olds, 32' five window w/Olds all from 51-61. I'm 66 now, born in 43' ,never grew up (just out).
Currently have a 40' sedan w/sbf and having more fun than I deserve.

The bad,
No air conditioning in cars, schools or homes.
No money, all used / junkyard parts.

 

Why I Like Cars

Last year, while walking through a car show, I heard a little boy ask &#8220;Grandpa why do we like cars?&#8221;
This sent my mind spinning. I LOVE cars. I spend more time thinking about them, their care, their ailments and how to keep them operating at least as well as their designers originally intended than any other single thing. My job for the last twenty-nine years has been as a mechanic to many wheeled fossil fuel burning conveyances. Whether it was airplanes, locomotives ,motorcycles or cars, I wanted to absorb all I could about the physics of their operation. I achieved a certification as a Master Mechanic with an Advanced Level degree.
There was a more basic love of cars though. They were accessible and obtainable. A car provided my first private space. It took me places. It entertained me. I could listen to music as loud as I wanted, I could even sing along. It even sheltered me from the vagaries of Minnesota&#8217;s climate. What could be better than that?
But first there was the mater of speed. When I was about four or five our landlady&#8217;s son showed up with a green fastback &#8216;49 or &#8216;50 Olds. It sounded powerful and after asking my parents permission, he took me for a ride. I&#8217;m standing on the back seat floor and when he gets into the throttle I tumble uncontrollably onto the rear cushion, unable to pull myself upright. That memory stays with me fifty-five years later.
With flat feet and other skeletal issues I was never a fleet runner. As a youngster I enjoyed riding my bicycle but Lance Armstrong I never was to be. I still own my first bicycle purchased in the fifth grade mowing lawns. My first car was a 1950 Oldsmobile, a &#8220;Rocket 88&#8221;. It filled my home with trophies from Minnesota Dragway and lit the spark of mechanical curiosity in my brain. I had a mentor, a former pilot of the Big Wheel dragster, who had gone on to circle track racing. When I would go to his shop and ask him to work on my car he would be too busy getting his race car ready. He would say &#8220;have you tried this yet?&#8221; And so it started. My desire to be an English teacher slid into the background. I wanted to understand every part of the car and why it worked as it did. In exchange for his knowledge I started helping crew for his Friday and Saturday night circle track events. I didn&#8217;t have to be at the drag strip till eight o&#8217;clock Sunday morning and being young, sleep was optional. And if I did finish school, I&#8217;d have all summer off to go racing. I also turned wrenches on another drag car belonging to two high school classmates. They had money to spend even for gold leaf lettering on the side. We traveled all of NHRA Division 5 and went to the US Nationals in Indianapolis IN in 1966 and 1967. We earned enough points to qualify for the World Finals in Tulsa OK. Lately, I&#8217;ve helped out on a car that set two speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Oh yeh, there is that other part, cars and women. It was 1961, I was thirteen, I&#8217;m walking past J N Larson Chevrolet, on Central N E, when I see this older woman maybe nineteen walk up to this bright red Impala bubbletop. She&#8217;s wearing tight black pedal pushers, a white blouse open kind of far and a pink kerchief tied around her neck. The Chevy starts with a roar. I say to her &#8220;what kind of pipes are those?&#8221; Porters she replies. Another memory that has never left me. In subsequent years I learned a buddy of mine picked up a little spending money hand washing possibly that very car for the daughter of the owner of B&C Sinclair on Third and University S E. Small world. He too had a vivid memory of that combination.
Cars are handy when you want to go on a date, or offer a girl a ride home or to school. The fifty Olds even solicited a &#8220;Powder Puff&#8221; driver. She walked up and said, &#8220;I&#8217;m sharp on the lights&#8221;, so I gave her a season. She also collected quite a few trophies. I can&#8217;t think of a part of my life where a car or motorcycle didn&#8217;t play an important part.
You&#8217;d have to ask Sherryl if she would have taken as strong an interest in me if I didn&#8217;t have those strong mechanics hands to hold her tight.
On the political side, cars are freedom. You walk out, get in and go anyplace, anytime your wallet allows. No queue at the airport or someone digging in your luggage. No smelling someone&#8217;s overbearing perfume for three to six hours. You stop when you want, sightsee what ever intrigues you, eat where you choose. Yes, I love a comfortable powerful car.
Now I take an interest in the people who created this industry and the art that is the car. I saw a 1903 engine at the Indianapolis 500 Speedway Museum that was an air cooled four cylinder with overhead camshaft, roller rocker arms that made one hundred horsepower at one thousand revolutions per minute. It powered a car to fifty-nine plus miles per hour! Where did that inspiration come from? Have you taken time to observe the New London to New Brighton vintage car rally? It&#8217;s amazing how far we&#8217;ve come. If you&#8217;ve ever taken that romantic looking horse drawn carriage ride, you realize that the horse is at the wrong end of the carriage and why people switched so quickly to motorized carriages. Henry Leland, Henry Ford and David Buick fascinating all. The stylists Harly Earl, Bill Mitchell, Raymond Lowey and Virgil Exner all interesting characters for sure. There are plenty of new young guns that are bringing us the best vehicles that ever existed.
I also enjoy the comradery of the folks at the Twin Cities Norton Owners Club and the Northstar Region Cadillac & LaSalle Club, who provide opportunities for fellowship and pleasant rides through the countryside.
I know that I will be able to answer &#8220;why do we like cars&#8220;?
I ran my '60 Caddy at Mo-Kan this year and relived a lot of the '60's right there.
Thanks for the flashback!!

 

I started circle track racing when I was a senior in high school, in 1948.
Over the years I have been involved in just about every kind of racing you can think of.
Some were brief, others I am still doing.
I prefer the "olden dayz" comradarie but the modern technology sure can't be beat.

 

Yeah, I was there too...67 now, born in Pasadena, lived it all, built the roadsters, the 40 tudor, the dragsters, remember when we had at least 8 dragstrips within easy driving (San Gabriel, San Fernando, Colton, Riverside, Santa Ana, Lions, Fontana, Palmdale), and longer trips to Bakersfield, Taft, Santa Maria, Henderson, NV, etc...Bonneville in '59, Oakland Roadster Show in '67, etc...I remember hearing for the first time this sort-of country-sounding rock and wondering how someone could have a dumb name like "Elvis"....Bob's Big Boy in Pasadena, Scotts Drive In in Santa Monica, Dead Man's Curve, butch wax, car club coats....fuelers smoking the entire way ... 120 top fuel cars at Bakersfield competing for 64 spots...Geez, I could go on and on...

 

50's yes.60's can't remember,70's you betcha

 

Hey I'm 67 and was raised in Pasadena. spent most nights and weekends between east Pasadena (worked at Gwinns just west of Bob's) and Henry's in Arcadia and Burgerlane in Monrovia. Lived a couple blocks from
In-N-Out on Foothill.

 

I was there.First car 42 Plymouth (41 with painted out grill for 42)Club coupe. Had 52 Canadian Dodge engine (Canadian engines were bigger , 2 inches longer) and 46 Ply front fenders. That was in 63. I have my frst time ticket i kept . It is from Les Cedres Drags Strip or Cedars in western Quebec just into Quebec heading east from Cornwall. . It is stamped July 1966

 

The coolest thing is you guys that experienced that stuff in person are here and posting on an internet forum (the concept and breadth of which was absolutely foreign back then) and sharing your information and memories with folks all over the globe. It's amazing and awesome and MUCH appreciated. I can only speculate on how things'll be in another 20 years, keeping up with technology, hoping these cars and folks like you are still around and kicking.

All I know is, in 20 years I'm gonna plug the computer into a port in my head somewhere and go straight to the H.A.M.B. (in whatever form it exists then) and brain dump EVERYTHING from it. Then go outside and build a rod from the ground up. That hovers.

 

I was there mid 50's & 60's.
Was never into customs back then. I was into hot rods & by the 60's, drag racing.

Despite the pics, all our hot rods were finished. A primered car was temporary, waiting for someone to spray some shine. Primer wasn't a finished product.

 

I started in 55 buying a Dodge 49 Wayfare convertable, ended up with a 10" windshield and a carson top. Dual (97's) split exhaust, Would run with the rest of the boys on the low end, Tourque ,but lost on the high end. Crewed for a friend on a A altered, blown injected flathead. Now have a 38 Chev 2 dr and a 41 Packard convertable. Many cars in-between hope to make 70 in April.

found this drawing of the car

 

heres a picture of my 57 chevy conv. in 1966 (god i love that car) got it in 1962 when i was about 15 i help out in a body shop in newark then mosly clean up sanding and holding parts and they older guy,s that work there help me build it when i turned 17 i had the 55 chevy to drive as my every day car that was 1964 i still had the 57 but it was mostly a show car in 68 i had the packard in my hippy days after the army working at steamline auto body in the shop and driveing the tow truck i ld a ton of 55 chevys 49-51 fords and bikes it was a great time

 

I'm 64 years old and my Dad tought me how to use a spray gun in 1952 at age 7. I drove this car to high school in 1962 at age 17. It stayed in my family and I still own and drive it.
It's a '34 Vicky that my dad bought in 1959. At that time it ran a Merc Turnpike Cruiser motor. It now runs a 289 with a C-4 transmission and 8" Ford rear..........I still own 15 of the cars he bought in the late 50's,early 60's as well as several I've added...

 

A lot of this I relate to. As a kid I lived near Slauson and Vermont in Los Angeles, and first rememberances from 1944 were of hot rods running around that area. And also attended many of the places and activities that AV8 notes [also read the first Hot Rod mags in 48]. Went to midget car races at Gimore Stadium with Dad, rode my JC Higgins bicycle to the first Peterson Hot Rod exposition,watched the 'Bean Bandits run at Colton, cruising in my raked 50 Buick fastbak listening to 'Wolfman Jack', went to first Smokers Bakersfield meet, street races with my chevy powered A bone, TT racing my Bultaco at Perris, Lots of car stuff going on, looking back yes they were good times, but its still fun, its the people, I guess thats what infected me, kept me young at heart, I am 71 now [survived it all] and have an original 39 Buick Century,a 39 century cpe, 32 duece 2dr, 39 chev 2dr, just to keep me busy.

 

One aspect of the late 50's and early 60's for me was how little $$ guys had. You made do because you had to. If you wanted something welded you had to find someone with a welder and then convince him to do it. I'm 61 and have had a lot of fun over the years. Even though the memories last forever the actual things you recall happened over a very brief flash in time. I actually think the "good old days" of tomorrow are happening right now but we just don't recognize it.

As a side note I recently discovered some parts I bought from JC Whitney back in the early 1970's in the original box with receipt and my hand written order. Parts were way crappier back then from looking at what I found. On the plus side I used the king pins I discovered on my current project. If you would have told me back then that I would be using them 40 years later on a project I would never have believed it.