Tom Cobbs: Part 3

[Ryan]

As soon as Ralph Whitworth saw the little roadster, he knew it was a historical find. However, he had no idea how important of a find it was. The little roadster's shape didn't ring any bells and the he couldn't recall ever hearing Tom Cobbs' nam...

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

[Old-Soul]

Amazing, what a cool roadster and an even cooler story! thanks to all involved

[Bruce Lancaster]

All is right in the world, now.
I had been wondering if that car had survived by some miracle since I found the old magazine article on Cobbs!
And what's more...new pictures to study, replacements for the tiny, grainy magazine shots. Thank you!

[Anderson]

This might be the best Jalopy Journal entry I've ever read. Incredible piece of history.

On that note...



Noticed the keychain (and the registration paperwork, amazing!!) and recognized the name of the alignment shop. A cool local guy originally from So-Cal let me scan some of his old pics, this was among them.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by The Fidgiter

This might be the best Jalopy Journal entry I've ever read. Incredible piece of history.

On that note...



Noticed the keychain (and the registration paperwork, amazing!!) and recognized the name of the alignment shop. A cool local guy originally from So-Cal let me scan some of his old pics, this was among them.

How friggin' cool is that?!?

[JeffreyJames]

That car has a ton of little details that could be studied for hours. From the cool weathered copper tubing that wraps around the intake to the V8 in the deck lid handle. This car was not meant to carry the details like let say a show car, it's meant to carry the drivers ass to the finish line as fast as possible. But still, in being perhaps as meticulous about the performance of the roadster as Cobbs was probably led to all the cool "aesthetic" details that we notice. Function takes precedence over form here but it's the Function that develops the Form which is what a HOT ROD really is. Cool as a Cucumber Ryan.

[JeffreyJames]

I need one of those Steering column registration holders. How about some Jalopy Journal / HAMB ones Ryan like the notepad?

[Malcolm]

Damn that is one helluva cool find! Any chances there's video of it running, to share with us? I'd love to hear it!
Thanks for the story, Ryan.

Malcolm

[TomH]

It's stuff like this, that makes the HAMB the best site on the web.

THANKS Ryan!!!

[GreenMonster48]

Amazing series. Much thanks for sharing.

[NoSurf]

Just to cool! Thanks so much to everyone involved.

That last pic could be a Christmas card- the red roadster and green leaves.......

[Rolleiflex]

Ryan,

Thanks so much for the time and effort you've put into this series it has been great to read! And I second Malcom's request for a video of the roadster running, the quote from Coby saying "Man, that is one pissed off flathead” makes me want to hear all that much more.

[meteor]

Wow. Great series Ryan (and those who contributed).

[mtlcutter]

This series has been nothing short of amazing. I can only hope to ever see some of these legendary cars. some day soon when I get my rod on the road.

[Church]

I thank you as well Ryan. What a treat is was for me to go down and shoot that thing. I was waiting for Ralph to show when a car pulled up. Both he and Don f-ing Prudhomme got out. I almost shit. We went inside and chatted for about a half hour. Ralph and Don showed me the shop, the car, and decided to fire it up rather than roll it out to the parking lot. It looks like a cool little roadster, but commands mad respect when fired. Un f#$@ing real!!!!!!!!! I wish you could have seen Ralph's face. He was like a 5 year old kid with an ear to ear to grin. I immediately knew the car was in the right hands.

They asked if I needed help with my camera equipment, then laughed when I pulled my digi out of my pocket. I don't think they were thrilled. The Snake has since referred to my camera as "chicken shit". Hahahaha, he rules. They went and ran errands for about 2 hours and left me alone with the car. I probably stared at if for 20 minutes until I took the first pic. Hell yea I sat in it an made all kinds of engine sounds!!! I may have even had my way with myself.....but I can't even remember.

Prudhomme returns solo, as Ralph had to go. We rolled the car back in and shot the shit for another half hour. Discussed racing, the new 1000 ft deal, Scott Kalitta etc. What a fantastic day. Absolutely thrilled to be a part of it. Thanks again Ryan. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Moriarity]

Ralph called me the day he bought this car and the rest of the parts and historic engines. He was stoked to say the least, an amazing find. The Americas car collection museum in Winnemucca is going to be an amazing place......

[El Jefe]

Great stuff. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Just amazing that car was still so intact, but as we all know, me included from personal experience, it happens. How about that shag carpet? Guess that was the equivalent of dynamat back then. I wish I would have known Whitmore's collection was in Winnemucca when I went thru a couple a years ago w/ The Orren Roadster(Waco Kid) on tour. I would have loved to seen his historically significant assembly of cars. Next time......it's on the way to Bonneville on Hwy 80. And there is a super cool little motor court called The Scott Shady Court where you can stay or at least get some great photo ops w/ your cars......killer neon and architecture at the Scott.

[Murocmaru]

wow what an incredible piece of history! and a great story!who knew that such an incredible find was sitting in a garage just miles from where ive grown up my whole life!

[HEMI32]

Originally Posted by HEMI32

Wow! ... I thought the first installment was one of Ryan's best Blogs ... but the Tom Cobbs story only got better in this second installment ... how ever will Ryan top the first two installments? ... and do we really have to wait another whole week for the third & final installment?

What a great find for Ralph Whitworth ... I wonder what his plans are for all those engines ... they're pieces of great historical value that need to be shared with the masses ... does Ralph have a museum open to the public?

Ryan ... you did not disappoint ... this third & final installment was definitely the "icing on the cake" ... IMHO this series is one of your best (have you ever considered writing professionally? ... hell, you might even consider starting a website / message board dedicated to spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums world wide... )

I guess there's a trip to Winnemucca in my future! (how ironic that it's on a route to another place that many of us flock to in the late summer )

Thanks also to all the folks that contributed to this series ...

road apple ... great stuff ... who sez you can't take great photos with a point & shoot digital! ... I know guys with $30K+ invested in Canon EOS 1D Mark III's that couldn't capture the essence of the Cobbs roadster as well as you did (plus they would spend hours in the "digital darkroom" getting their images "just right" )

[GEBHARD]

frickin beautiful!