Motion Pictures Vintage L.A. Car Club Footage

I went there years ago to try to buy the sign. I told the guy that it used to be my Uncles shop,but he wouldn't sell it to me. The next weekend I drove by on the way to my mom's house in Bell,and he had painted over the sign!!!! I told him I still wanted the sign,but he said no. Then the whole thing disappered! Wish I could have gotten it!

I'm almost possitive the wooden thing is a jig for a bubble-top.

 

here it is...Bill

 

Yep, Ryan all this happened way before you were born (I'm betting), as mentioned, during the early 50's, drag racing was just beginning, & car clubs were blooming all over the nation, in SoCal, Mobil gas corp. came up with the idea of holding a sponsored economy/safety car run L.A. to Las Vegas for the first time (painted on one car), Mobil jumped on the many car clubs available for drivers, & in turn what better publicity for the drivers to wear their club jackets??
No Ryan, there were no racing involved, just light footed kids to see how much they could sqeeze out of a gallon of gas, back then, afterall, a gallon cost as much as 20 cents per gallon!!!
How many of you know what SOCONY stood for????-----STANDARD OIL COMPANY of NEW YORK Good thread Ryan, lots of memories--------------Don

 

What an unlikely combination of music and footage that works. Downright haunting and beautiful. Baker's voice has always been that of a man who would never get what he longed for, giving this footage a sting beyond simple nostalgia for times gone. Two thumbs up!

 

Hey, great before and after pics 'zooma! And yes, there was music other than rockabilly. Chet was a classic jazz substance abuser who died way too young. What a waste.

 

At about 3:19 into the video is a Plymouth pulling away from the gas station. It has a drag plate on it. It looked like the logo might have been a couple of crossed pistons. I couldn't make really make it out.

 

i wonder if any of those guys kids seen this ?

 

Barney Navarro was telling about the economy runs...

He used to compete in them. It was about getting from point A to point B in the least ammount of time, using the least fuel. He said it required a lot of skill and self control...

It was like a time trial with mileage figured in...

He was good at it and said Girls were generally really good at it... I think he said Veda Orr was really good at it...

 

odd but neat

 

That's it Doug. So cool--and it's still there.

 

Another piece of car culture lost through indifference. You'd think that the guy would have wanted a little cash for the old sign rather than ruin it and then (probably) pay to have it removed and hauled away as junk.

 

Crazydaddyo ... very cool scrapbook you have there! ... I always knew early HEMI's where known for their great fuel economy!

 

wish i could have been there to see that stuff in person.

 

So very cool, love the shots of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Great stuff. That music is not my favorite, but it somehow goes with that film. Thanks, Ryan and Mazooma1. Slim

 

The complete original version is on you tube. Ralph depalma was an official, ralph was a racer along with barney oldfield.

 

This film has the feel of 16mm. When I was in high school I looked all over for a 16mm camera I could afford. In the late 60's they were still bringing top dollar. I even tried to get our school photo club to buy one unsuccessfully by saying it would prepare students for becoming news photographers (who all used 16mm at the time).

I've seen that intro shot technique someplace before. Must have been in a 50's movie. It's done very well with the clouds.

Brings back good memories for me.

 

See, being first has no respect from the peanut gallery...

 

It looks like a variation on the Mobile Economy runs conducted by high school age car clubs. The object was to achieve highest mileage per ton weight thus allowing comparison of any car to any other car.

I would have loved to do this when I was in high school. In the mid '70s we did have the Chrysler trouble shooting competition. A friend of mine won it and was flown to Las Vegas for an awards ceremony. There he was presented with a powder blue leisure-suit. As far as I know it still hangs in his closet.

Chet Baker gives me the creeps. A sick and sad story there.

 

That was the anti-hot rod.

 

i wonder if those guys are still kicking it?

 

Man, I wish you would do an album of "then and now" photos like those above, either as a thread on the HAMB or in a book form. Nothing gets me rev'd up like good "then and now" pictures of historic sites and landmarks. Either way, a thread would still be a good idea (if it hasn't been done in the past) to deposit such a collection of photos by members in order to have a single location for access.

At any rate, Mazooma, I for one would love to see whatever you come up with.

Just for fun, here's a pretty good "then & now" courtesy of Hot Rod Deluxe magazine. The area, I believe, is in the vicinity of Vine Street in Hollyood (correct me someone if I'm wrong):

 

Ryan, as always, thanks for the post. Also, please excuse my response above, I don't mean to derail the thread, but the whole thing got me goin' .... I'm calmed down now.

 

What is TON MILEAGE? Does it have something to do with the weight of the car?

I just read some info on Chet Baker, who went to Redondo Union High School for a short time, written by some guys who knew him in the 1947/48 timeframe. Sounded like he was a bad ass teenager.

 

That is quite spiffy. Good way to start my day.