Golden-Era Hot-Rodding

[Eyemo]

Cool stuff.. anyone in the UK with cars like these?

[David Conwill]

Don't know how true it is, but I remember reading somewhere of an aviation maintenance crew in the Pacific taking an aircraft engine (Piper Cub observation plane?) and shoe-horning it into a jeep.

Zoom Zoom

I don't know about that, but Wally Parks claimed to have a V8/60 powered Jeep in the Philippines during the War.

As for hot rodding in the midwest, it absolutely existed here, but we didn't do the straight-line stuff. Mostly our hot rods were raced on former horsetracks - the genesis of modern dirt track racing. That was way back in the teens and twenties.

Perhaps you've heard about a little race they have in Indianapolis every Memorial Day? At one time that was rife with hot rodders, and they didn't all come from California.

If you ever pick up an excellent book by Murray Fahnestock called "Model T Speed Secrets" you'll find it's really a collection of articles from the teens and twenties about building race cars and road-going speedsters - all aimed squarely at readers in the midwest (particularly Ohio).

I will say this, though. Californians tended to build more stylish hot rods than midwesterners. Ours used to have a distinctly practical look about them - almost like farm machinery.

-Dave

[Chas]

Strictly speaking, the post-war years saw the birth of the custom car; George Barris' Hirohata Merc was the first.

[Ms. McGraw]

Chas, while no one would argue that Barris was a pioneer in the world of customs, or that custom cars really became very popular in the post-war years, I believe the Hirohata Merc was unveiled in 52. The Matranga Merc is from 49, but I wouldn't bet the farm that it was the first of it's kind either.
"The 1940 Westergard Mercury was created by Harry Westergard, the grandfather of customizing." If I'm not mistaken, Barris worked for Westergard at one point prior to opening his own shop in 44.

[reetpleat]

Hi Gang,

Thought a few here might enjoy the following. Sure there are already military re-enactment groups covering most of our period of interest but I've found something pretty damned cool and I think pretty unique: historically recreated hot-rod clubs !!

http://www.hotironclub.com/hotironclub

http://www.flyerscc.com/mainpage

http://home.comcast.net/~cuznbrucie/WHEELERS.htm

Anyone that likes cars of the period should love this stuff

Now.... someone please form a recreated motorcycle club please.

Clint

Love the purist angle, great stuff.

But I don't see any clus devoted to recreating the whole atmosphere including clothing etc. That would be my ideal. I suppose that might be asking too much.

I know some of the older car clubs like the tens nad twentys clubs have authenticity ocntests that involve not just the car, but the outfits as well.

I would love to see a guy in a late 30s look like slacks and a t shirt, or short sleeve pointed collar shirt with suspenders maybe, reaching up to slick a long greasy strand of hair back onto his scalp as he bends down over an engine.

Maybe there are some guys that go for that.
I once saw an article in a 50s mens magazine about jeep 4 wheelers. Apparently, a lot of guys bought surplus jeeps after the war and started taking them out into the hills etc. Any vintage four wheeler clubs around?

[reetpleat]

So all this was a strictly SoCal phenomenon at the time.

I've sometimes wondered if there were hot rodders in the Midwest in those days, what with plenty of young mechanical talent and 1000s of miles of straight flat roads with (mostly) no speed limits. But I've seen no evidence of it hereabouts till well after WW2. So maybe there had to be an ethnic or counterculture angle to make it happen (in the corn belt we had neither).

I suspect that two things were elements. California was a prime mover in birthing a youth culture that would pursue things like this with a lot of leasure time for it. Most guys in teh midwest were probably too busy working.

Secondly, it may well be that the trend just started there and worked its way east eventually.
While I am sure there wre many young men who wre fascinated and interested in making thigs go faster, teh recognizable trappings of the trend may have ben invented in california and worked east.

I would think at least in Michigan there were young engineers and techs in the car industry that were interested in such things.

[cbrunt]

Reetpleat,

Reading the Hot Irons page, it seems they're working towards recreating the period atmosphere much like a WW2 living-history group. I think there's at least one image of the fellow in period clothing.

I've the same plans for my motorcycle club- once I get more than just myself wearing vintage duds and trying to capture the "Feel" of the period.. .

[benstephens]

Cool stuff.. anyone in the UK with cars like these?

Yes quite a few Seimon. They have a few big meetings, normally with Rock 'n' Roll bands etc. I have overtaken a few in the Riley on my way home from places

"Hotting up" as it was called in England was very popular in the 20s and 30s. Not to the same extent as the Americans though, with the completely stripped machines. There is a nice article about 'Hotting up' in August 1935 Speed magazine, the official mag of the British Racing Drivers club.

They do look nice a lot of the rods. I like some of the early ones.

Ben

[Dthunderchicken]

Hi All;

If I may jump in here, I know second hand that drag racing was happening in St. Louis in the `30s. My grandma used to talk about how my grandpa and his racing buddies would block off Market St. (The main east-west street at that time.) and race on Sundays. She said there was no flying start and the raced a straight course. (Gotta be drag racing.) She also said that grandpa would work on other guys cars in a little shed that he kept on near their house. According to her, gramps had a `27 Durant and did pretty well.

[DavidVillaJr]

Don't know how true it is, but I remember reading somewhere of an aviation maintenance crew in the Pacific taking an aircraft engine (Piper Cub observation plane?) and shoe-horning it into a jeep.

Zoom Zoom

In the October 1951 issue of HOP UP magazine, Jot Horn and Norm Taylor - both working at Bell Auto Parts - were putting a 6-cylinder Ranger engine from a P.T. 19 trainer into Norm's '32 Ford.

HOP UP called it the Airoadster....

There's a follow-up article in the February 1952 HOP UP with photos of the completed car. 105.26 mph in the quarter mile Santa Ana drags...

Not bad for an engine that had to be mounted upside down and backwards!!

dv