The Jalopy Journal

**Ryan** · 01-25-2008, 10:30 AM

The following is a letter and a series of photos that I received from Charles Heyer. Enjoy the history.[INDENT]Hi Ryan,

Thanks for offering to look at my story about my father's rac...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

**HOTRODSURFER** · 01-25-2008, 10:38 AM

god i love history! thanks ryan and thank you Charles Heyer.

Gigantor · 01-25-2008, 10:38 AM

Photos and stories like that are humbling. It's easy to lose sight of the true roots of what we love with all of the glitz and glamour in the majority of the hot rodding/custom world that we see through magazines, car shows, movies and in our own garage.
I see old photos and hear stories like that and I look at their faces, their clothes, their strong arms and broad backs and realize that they were REAL men; Hard working daredevils with balls big enough to push with a wheelbarrow. Something to live up to, and if not, at least to respect.
I sure hope Charles Hyer finds that car some day.

fiat128 · 01-25-2008, 11:00 AM

That's a great looking car there. I hope somehow it survived and will be found by someone one day. Really wild looking from the front to see such a narrow car.

I wonder if he has anymore photos of the car?

Flipper · 01-25-2008, 11:11 AM

That narrow front end looks "fishy" to me.

retro54 · 01-25-2008, 11:19 AM

Simply amazing... thank you Ryan for excellent content such as this!

AnimalAin · 01-25-2008, 11:20 AM

Very cool.

jonny o · 01-25-2008, 11:40 AM

Jeez, and the gumption to hop in and put her sideways! Humbling.

Foul · 01-25-2008, 11:56 AM

more Yip Yip...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z4VNMERVsC4
dan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flipper

That narrow front end looks "fishy" to me.

COOTER · 01-25-2008, 12:09 PM

Awesome story..... but you forgot the part about finding the car after all these years in it's original glory.

SlamCouver · 01-25-2008, 12:30 PM

Realy cool car, im sure its still out there sitting, waiting.

Steve Hedke · 01-25-2008, 01:02 PM

The engine is an overhead valve inline 6, built before the straight 8's. They were pretty reliable but not all that strong, and very out of date by the mid thirties. A perfect candidate for a Ford Flathead if it had been used into the 1940's... wonder if it still exists and it still has the Buick 6?

01-25-2008, 01:29 PM

i like

1950ChevySuburban · 01-25-2008, 01:40 PM

That car looks European to me, particularly French. What was his styling influence, other than aerodynamics and driver safety?

29bowtie · 01-25-2008, 02:05 PM

We need to exercise the "Power of the HAMB",and help unearth this historic car. Thanks for sharing this story,lets finish it with a great ending.

ALindustrial · 01-25-2008, 02:55 PM

the race isnt always to win.. its about the finesse of the driver... awesome car!

shock · 01-25-2008, 03:16 PM

Way too cool !

Crazy Backyard Builder · 01-25-2008, 03:36 PM

Wow, I love a good story. But one with photo's to back it up is even better.

CBB

mcload · 01-25-2008, 06:26 PM

Charles: Great story, and those photos are awesome. I can appreciate how difficult it is to find a car that had family ties. In regards to my Dad's "Venus", the Massachusetts owners found me as opposed to my finding them. Had a name plate "Venus" not existed on the body, they would not have known what it was called, nor would they have ever been able to do a Google image search to eventually find my website.

Other than what you're doing by spreading the word, I wouldn't know how in the heck you would find this car except to start hunting in every auto bone yard in a 100 mile radius, or even placing picture ads in little town newspapers in the vicinity. But hard to think that anyone would scrap a racer like this.

Ever thought of building one from scratch from just the photos? That would be awesome!!

Thanks to Ryan for bringing this story to us, and thanks for submitting it. I love this stuff! Anymore photos?

Patrick

Rand Man · 01-25-2008, 06:29 PM

1930's, home-built race car, throws some dirt, converted for the street. That's hot rodding in pure form.

01-25-2008, 10:30 AM	#1
Ryan Administrator Join Date: Jan 1995 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 13,624	Lucky 13 The following is a letter and a series of photos that I received from Charles Heyer. Enjoy the history.[INDENT]Hi Ryan, Thanks for offering to look at my story about my father's rac... To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

01-25-2008, 10:38 AM	#2
HOTRODSURFER Alliance Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HATBORO,PA Posts: 5,504	Re: Lucky 13 god i love history! thanks ryan and thank you Charles Heyer. __________________ HOILER AUTO REPAIR est 1918 http://www.pantera-electronics.com/

01-25-2008, 10:38 AM	#3
Gigantor Old School HAMBer Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hudson, Maine Posts: 3,840	Re: Lucky 13 Photos and stories like that are humbling. It's easy to lose sight of the true roots of what we love with all of the glitz and glamour in the majority of the hot rodding/custom world that we see through magazines, car shows, movies and in our own garage. I see old photos and hear stories like that and I look at their faces, their clothes, their strong arms and broad backs and realize that they were REAL men; Hard working daredevils with balls big enough to push with a wheelbarrow. Something to live up to, and if not, at least to respect. I sure hope Charles Hyer finds that car some day. __________________ *Hot Rod Son*

01-25-2008, 11:00 AM	#4
fiat128 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 1,431	Re: Lucky 13 That's a great looking car there. I hope somehow it survived and will be found by someone one day. Really wild looking from the front to see such a narrow car. I wonder if he has anymore photos of the car? __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

01-25-2008, 11:11 AM	#5
Flipper Old School HAMBer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,103	Re: Lucky 13 That narrow front end looks "fishy" to me. __________________ My boat-tail speedster build (Roofus) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=339315

01-25-2008, 11:19 AM	#6
retro54 Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: PA Posts: 747	Re: Lucky 13 Simply amazing... thank you Ryan for excellent content such as this! __________________ Flyers R.C. Rodder's Journals FOR SALE

01-25-2008, 11:20 AM	#7
AnimalAin Old School HAMBer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Las Vegas, NV USA Posts: 3,305	Re: Lucky 13 Very cool.

01-25-2008, 11:40 AM	#8
jonny o Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Norwalk, Oh Posts: 836	Re: Lucky 13 Jeez, and the gumption to hop in and put her sideways! Humbling. __________________ Yes, you can heat a 10x20 storage unit with an extension cord and a couple heat bulbs. Jonny o

01-25-2008, 12:09 PM	#10
COOTER Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Ontario, California Posts: 2,321	Re: Lucky 13 Awesome story..... but you forgot the part about finding the car after all these years in it's original glory. __________________ Crankhole

01-25-2008, 12:30 PM	#11
SlamCouver Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Brazil, IL Posts: 2,012	Re: Lucky 13 Realy cool car, im sure its still out there sitting, waiting. __________________ C YA

01-25-2008, 01:02 PM	#12
Steve Hedke Newbie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Valencia, CA. Posts: 70	Re: Lucky 13 The engine is an overhead valve inline 6, built before the straight 8's. They were pretty reliable but not all that strong, and very out of date by the mid thirties. A perfect candidate for a Ford Flathead if it had been used into the 1940's... wonder if it still exists and it still has the Buick 6?

01-25-2008, 01:29 PM	#13
amexpress Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Lucky 13 i like

01-25-2008, 01:40 PM	#14
1950ChevySuburban Member Emeritus Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 6,239	Re: Lucky 13 That car looks European to me, particularly French. What was his styling influence, other than aerodynamics and driver safety? __________________ *My '29 Sedan build thread can be viewed here:* /showthread.php?t=635145

01-25-2008, 02:05 PM	#15
29bowtie Old School HAMBer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Maple Ridge,BC,CANADA Posts: 4,471	Re: Lucky 13 We need to exercise the "Power of the HAMB",and help unearth this historic car. Thanks for sharing this story,lets finish it with a great ending. __________________ "Remember Professionals built the Titanic, An Amateur built the Ark."

01-25-2008, 02:55 PM	#16
ALindustrial Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Abilene, KS 67410 Posts: 852	Re: Lucky 13 the race isnt always to win.. its about the finesse of the driver... awesome car! __________________ Alan Baier My Services

01-25-2008, 03:16 PM	#17
shock Grenade Inspector Join Date: May 2006 Location: Redford Heights, Mi. Posts: 218	Re: Lucky 13 Way too cool !

01-25-2008, 03:36 PM	#18
Crazy Backyard Builder Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Studio City, CA. Posts: 1,832	Re: Lucky 13 Wow, I love a good story. But one with photo's to back it up is even better. CBB

01-25-2008, 06:26 PM	#19
mcload Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 522	Re: Lucky 13 Charles: Great story, and those photos are awesome. I can appreciate how difficult it is to find a car that had family ties. In regards to my Dad's "Venus", the Massachusetts owners found me as opposed to my finding them. Had a name plate "Venus" not existed on the body, they would not have known what it was called, nor would they have ever been able to do a Google image search to eventually find my website. Other than what you're doing by spreading the word, I wouldn't know how in the heck you would find this car except to start hunting in every auto bone yard in a 100 mile radius, or even placing picture ads in little town newspapers in the vicinity. But hard to think that anyone would scrap a racer like this. Ever thought of building one from scratch from just the photos? That would be awesome!! Thanks to Ryan for bringing this story to us, and thanks for submitting it. I love this stuff! Anymore photos? Patrick __________________ Patrick McLoad The Venus Project http://mcload.wordpress.com/ or http://www.mcload.com/Personal%20Site/the_Venus%20History.htm

01-25-2008, 06:29 PM	#20
Rand Man Old School HAMBer Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Rogers, Arkansas Posts: 2,624	Re: Lucky 13 1930's, home-built race car, throws some dirt, converted for the street. That's hot rodding in pure form. __________________ She's wearin' new colors and runnin' pretty good I got four hundred horses tucked under the hood.

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