What was the Speed Shop that said it all for you?

Clear Lake Speed Center in Webster, Texas
Lindley & Sheila Isonhood

 

I think the one on I-45 N is still open.

 

Charles Auto Parts in Arlington, Texas. Charles and Tommy, two brothers that had a parts store and machine shop. I would ride my bike to the store to get parts for my projects and the delivery driver typically gave me a ride back home. They were always building cool projects. The main ones I remember are Charles's clone Thunderbolt Fairlane and Tommy's 56 Ford pu. Drove by last year and they are either gone or moved now.

 

Update on Bob's Speed Shop...he is now 87 years old and opens the shop 6 days a week plus pulls a 24' trailer with parts to the local Round Track on Sat. nights

 

Weber racing equipment, North Ridgeville Ohio.

 

Lindley could really drive that vett. JC

 

In the country off Robinson Road. Began in late 50's. Any car person from area in
60's thru 70's would have known about Lowes.

This post for Driver.

 

Frank Smith on route 10 in Succasunna, NJ, was up and running when I found him in 1956. Both speed shop and machine shop. He had a purple 32 5-window that was said to be the fastest car around. He soon sold it and bought a new supercharged Studebaker which continued the reputation of the deuce. Once or twice I went to the shop in New Brunswick that the Barzda brothers had run for many years. Not sure of name - maybe California Speed and Sport. Too far away. Then sometime in the late 1950s Don Raleigh opened Don's Speed Shop on US-1 in Metuchen, NJ. Don supplied what I needed for my 34 coupe in '58 and my 29 RPU in 61. Don's business grew and he became a major distributor on the east coast. And Pete VanIderstine started his chain of speed shops in NJ some time in the ... maybe early 1960s. Wow. Ancient history. But lots of good memories.

 

Honest Charlies J. C. Whitney I was out in the corn fields all my youth so I used snail mail to get my parts. But come Sunday Sunday Sunday all us farm kids would borrow a truck or what ever and head to Smoken U.S.-30 drag strip!!!! oh what fun that was!! thanks to who ever started this post Don in freezeing my ass off Indiana

 

Don - my garage is the coldest it's been in 6 years.

 

Wish there was one.. 25 years ago we had Super Shops but otherwise nothing.


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It was 1959, bought a cam and lifters for my 50 Ford flathead, from Bill Hoover, of Bills Speed Shop. Massillon, Ohio

 

Holley Speed Shop, Ft. Wayne, IN Early 60's.

 

Mine was F & M, Denver. Right across the street from Mile High stadium.

 

In the 70's when I had a Hemi powered Chrysler it was Morgan's in Walnut Creek Calif. or Dago's Marine. These guys new the Hemi better than anyone around.


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I used to campaign a car for Steve, the guy who ran Roy Loving. I miss it. Grand Prix is ok...Steve had a friendlier place.

 

Don's Speed Shop on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington Connecticut is still in business. after having a devastating fire several years ago, they built a new building. The shop is now run by Don's son, Paul. They still sell parts, and also do a lot of engine building.

 

Brockmans, Kammer & Kammer's, Ault & Jane's, and Ohio George.

 

All tho I was not old enough to drive.I loved to ride my bike to New England Speed Equipment. In Allston Ma. Snowman

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/midwest-auto-specialties.314475/

 

Radkes auto parts and Exhaust Specialties.

 

Wise Speed Shop in St. Louis, Missouri.


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https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-7-26-19.1158804/#post-13178031

Hello,

We were lucky in that we were a short bicycle distance from some of the biggest names in drag racing while growing up in the Westside of Long Beach. Clay Smith Cams, Joe Mailliard Speed Shop, Mickey Thompson Enterprises and a myriad of small shops that catered to the hot rod community and drag racers everywhere. If you “mail ordered” something back then, it came from these drag racing, oriented shops, just down the street from where we lived. That was cool to bicycle over to visit, get our Drag News information and see some cool race cars inside or hot rods out in front of their shops.

As much entertainment those nearby shops provided, 4-5 minutes by car, it was the longer 8 minutes to our high school campus, then an additional 5 minute drive to go to the famous Reath Automotive at 10th and Cherry Avenue. Yes, that famous Cherry Avenue, location of all of our acceleration performance tuning runs. (only Reath Automotive was about 9 miles south of Bixby Knolls.) But, for us, the drive over to Reath was short and fun, cruising by our old high school campus.

It was a place to drive and get needed speed parts for our various hot rods. If you could not get it at Reath Automotive, it was not made, as yet. Upon arrival at Reath, we knew that the owner, Joe Reath was friends with almost everyone that parked out in front and walked into the work shop. The classic thing well known to everyone was that Joe Reath talked to everyone about everything. He was a rolling encyclopedia of hot rods/drag racing information that was well liked by all and almost never ending.

He got us hooked on driving over here to the shop for parts and to pick up our custom orders, as well as listening to the massive information that was given to us. Even as teenagers, he knew his customers and treated them with respect as he did his older hot rod/drag racing friends. It was something we looked forward to each time we went there for parts or "just stuff."

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/remembering-old-speed-shops.625158/page-4#post-13145912

Jnaki

Here is a film that I made for the “Legends of Lions” display for the Bixby Knolls Historic Society and the Lions Museum.
Joe Reath, Legend of Lions

Joe Reath had continued success at his new 1965 location on 33rd and Cherry Avenue until they finally moved downsized and closed shop as time progressed. The end of a historic era in Long Beach and the drag racing world. For this time period for us teenagers, we were happy that we had someone like Joe Reath to give us advice on what to do and which way to progress in our endeavors. My brother, in the last month of our 1940 Willys 671 SBC build, said that he and Joe Reath talked. Reath Automotive was going to give us a small sponsorship to help.

“While Joe was dating Dellie, he soon had her attending the local drag races with him and even got her to the dry lakes once to see what he did for fun. After Joe opened Reath automotive, in January 1957, he and Dellie were married. Joe had retired from racing and concentrated on building a strong reliable speed shop business. By 1965, they had outgrown the small original shop and moved to a new location at 33rd and Cherry Avenue in Long Beach."

“This new location gave Joe and Dellie an opportunity to build what Joe deemed to be the ultimate speed shop. This is where they conducted business until 1966 when they decided to downsize their operation. The move to downsize was driven by the changing times in the speed performance world, speed shops becoming large automotive parts stores, everything becoming computerized and major corporations becoming involved.”

“However, Reath did not turn away many of the upstarts that had big dreams, but little money. He gave them a lot of deep discounts for both parts and services. Joe and Dellie’s involvement and contribution to the sport and its many personalities has not gone unrecognized.”

Tips from Joe Reath: Organization and a plan

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-arms-and-prs-in-place.1173009/#post-13323258

UPSTARTS? What a description…
Upstarts?

 

Joey Cornelski's Ulster Automotive in Kingston, NY back in the early 60s. I had a 283" powered '47 tudor, my first hot rod and it was always fun to drool over the speed parts I couldn't afford.

 

For me it was Performance Automotive in Stamford, Connecticut.
On Saturday morning I would be waiting for Dick Moroso to open the shop and then I would hang around for hours.
Performance Automotive was the original name he used back in the mid 60's before he went to work for Stahl Headers and then went back into his own business and named it Moroso

In those day's I just listened to him talking about building race engines because he seemed to know exactly how to make Chevrolet small blocks come alive!
I had an uncle who once said to me "do you know why God gave two ears and one mouth" and when I said no he said so you could listen twice as much as you could talk and learn something and every time I was in Dick shop I remembered that saying!

I had a 1965 Chevelle with a 350 engine and Dick worked on the motor a lot for me and when he was done driving the car was scary fast.
He added the 456 gears, Hooker headers, Sig Erson cam and I few other trick up parts and he would always take the time and explain everything and why he did it.

The timing he used was north of 38 degrees by a bit but what a difference that made.

I miss those day's Jimbo

 

Even though I grew up 90 miles from speedway motors, no one around here trusted speedy bill, I bought from Honest Charley

 

Eddie's Speed Shop Fresno--1960-68 for me.

 

Radke's speed shop - Portland Oregon.

 

In Butte, Montana it was LEES SPEED SHOP. Lee was an electrician that ran his shop part time at first. Then he built a beautiful new full time facility . A few years later he was gone. I wish I could find one of his old window decals....

 

Fessenden in St Johns. Spent my youth and most of my youth money there.