History hot rods @ Pomona - April 27, 1952

[LowKat]

Found these in the USC digital archives.
They're from a Herald Examiner newspaper article.

The list of #'s below provided off the USC website don't match the #'s of
the pictures on the site, so you guys'll have to hash it out....

I'll number them for reference here.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Caption slip reads: "Photographer: Mercurio. Assignment: Hot rods Pomona"

120: L-R: Carlos Ramirez; Mike Magem; and Joaquin Arnett, with modified
roadster with ford engine who held top speed for the day at 118 miles.
Body was made out of old car hoods and the frame out of water pipes.

11-12, 19-21: General shots of cars lined up getting ready, etc.

22: L-R: Dave Allison, and Jim Choner, shown with their 1927 model T Ford
roadster which hit speed of 115 mi.

119: Val Peyton, 1929 model a ford in spite of a broken hip he received in
auto accident manages to work on car with crutches.

20: Wayne Wright, and his girl friend Warnetta Swell.

7-8: L-R: Russell Dwyer, and his sister Maxine Dwyer, work on their 1940
stock ford top speed 80 mi. In one picture shows Russell Dwyer, wiping
grease spot off of sister's nose.

27: Red Robertson, in 1925 model T ford finished at 114 mi.

28: Mike Magem, with modified roadster with ford engine held top speed for
the day at 118 mi.

25: Dave Allison, racing a 1927 model T roadster finished at 115 mi.

117-116: Virginia Wachel, (driver) and Sergeant Bud Coons, shown with
1934 ford sedan speed 101 mi

29-30: Howard White, and his brother Harold White, working on their 1925
model T ford
----------------------------------------------------------------
ENJOY!

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#16
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THE PICTURES ARE LOCATED ON THIS PAGE:

http://digarc.usc.edu/search/control...er-m11121.html

[roadduster54]

thank you!

[gnichols]

Insane. Loved them. Gary

[dieselc]

Thank you for sharing the pics and link.

[MERRELL]

thats pretty cool,those buildings in the background are still there today!

[Fast Elvis]

Very cool......thanks. Love those staged photo's with the police officer.

[Jimmy B]

Awesome! Thank you for posting, best post in a while.
car in Photo #9, 10, 11 is the ex-Spalding brothers T, Awesome!!!!
Cheers
Jimmy

[Dean Lowe]

Wow! Those are the earliest photos of Pomona I've seen. Great stuff. Thanks for posting.

[Salty]

Cool pics of the past....Proof that the cars were just as cool and grandma was once smokin....


(brrr, that just sent shivers up my spine....for all the wrong reasons....)

[casper]

Those pictures are awesome! (I wish I was a chrome headlight bezel on a 1940 Ford!) Someone had to say it! Seriously, Thanks for posting these, I have been going back thru and looking at every little detail (on the cars).

[eastcoast57]

Some of the best pictures ive seen posted on this website.
Now thats how hot rodding really was..thanks for posting..

[Cajun Kenny]

outstanding pics , looks like the fuzz was tryin to get some fuzz

[29Coupe]

Great Pics. Thanks!

-J

[Rich Wright]

GREAT PICTURES....Thanks for taking the time to post 'em rather than just posting a link.

Rich

[xderelict]

Originally Posted by Jimmy B

Awesome! Thank you for posting, best post in a while.
car in Photo #9, 10, 11 is the ex-Spalding brothers T, Awesome!!!!
Cheers
Jimmy

I thought the Spaulding Brothers T ran a 12 port fuel injected GMC. Same car different set ups?I'm not saying it ain't, just looking for more information.This has to be my favorite chassis of all time.I really like the torsion bar front axel.

[Tom davison]

Outstanding. So clear and detailed they capture the essence of actually being there.

[carguy88]

mind blowing!!

[X38]

Beautifull pictures. The 'lifestyle' and rocksilly crowd should study these.

[oilslinger53]

htose are the coolest pictures ive seen in a long time. i especially like the ones with the girl showing the cop how to wrench

[chris55]

Awsome pics. thanks for sharing.

[bonesy]

Great pictures. I love the slime-ball cop all up against the girl tinkering with the model 40.

[L.A.-Bar]

c o o l b e a n s !

[Strange Agent]

You just gotta love that vintage Americana.

[casper]

That's not just any cop....That's Bud Coons, he used to go to So. Cal car club meetings and show movies about drag racing on old airport runways instead of on the street. He did most of this on his own time because he loved hot rods. He is responsible for meeting with the city council members in various So Cal towns and asking them to let the kids drag race on a strip instead of the streets. He was very successful at keeping the kids out of trouble. I'm not a cop or anything, I'm just saying there are some cool peace officers and he was one of the coolest!

[propwash]

Sure leaves those "old skool" and rockabilly people out in left field. I'm old, and that's exactly how I remember it. Nobody had crappy welding and poorly matched chops with no paint. That rat rod "how it was" movement needs to be over. You can do whatever you like with your ride, but please refrain from pretending like you're in tune with the 50s and 60s hot rod culture.

"..you can't use the car cuz you didn't work a lick..."

dj

[Mazooma1]

WOW! Just like it REALLY was.

Take some notes, kiddies!!!!

[Devin]

that's too fucking cool. I grew up about 10 minutes from there, A lot has changed but you can still trace back the evolution.

[327-365hp]

Cool cars and hot dames! Great old pics!

[Cajun Kenny]

Originally Posted by propwash

Sure leaves those "old skool" and rockabilly people out in left field. I'm old, and that's exactly how I remember it. Nobody had crappy welding and poorly matched chops with no paint. That rat rod "how it was" movement needs to be over. You can do whatever you like with your ride, but please refrain from pretending like you're in tune with the 50s and 60s hot rod culture.

"..you can't use the car cuz you didn't work a lick..."

dj

Hmmm! exceptions to the rule maybe , i could be wrong!

[oz40]

Thanks mate, for sharing these pics.
My blood has just got full octane overdose.
But what can you say,........ HOT RODDING RULES !!!!!!!

[xderelict]

Originally Posted by propwash

Sure leaves those "old skool" and rockabilly people out in left field. I'm old, and that's exactly how I remember it. Nobody had crappy welding and poorly matched chops with no paint. That rat rod "how it was" movement needs to be over. You can do whatever you like with your ride, but please refrain from pretending like you're in tune with the 50s and 60s hot rod culture.

"..you can't use the car cuz you didn't work a lick..."

dj

I don't have rose colored sun glasses.I don't see shiney hand rubbed paint or chrome in any of those photos.For cars less than 20 years old the paint is flat looking.The frame on the 34 with the officer looks like brake fluid ate the paint from it.Welded angle iron holding up a radiator.Yes a lot can be learned from looking at these photos.In 1952 I'm not sure if any of these folks even had heard any rock or rockabilly.More likely HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW.What I do see is an accurate depiction of the way it really was in black and white.

[blackout]

Teriffic find, thanks for posting. Real Americana.

[bushwacker 57]

Every time i go to pomona fair grounds i stop and look around it makes me think . A lot of history there. thanks.

[sledish]

What a simple time, wish I was there !

[Jeem]

Originally Posted by sledish

What a simple time, wish I was there !

YEP!
....and the irony is, a lot of those folks probably wished for the gadgets and "conveniences" we have today.
Sick, isn't it?


I freakin' LOVE those pics!!

BTW, no need for the SLIMEBALL COP comment.

[SuperFleye]

Great find!! Thanks for sharing

[billandbeaufort]

If that cop gets any closer to that gal he'll need "protection"

[SuperFleye]

Whoaw! That archive is full of cool pictures! Do a hot rod search on the page, and you'll find more pictures... like these:

[Mazooma1]

Well, hell, then I'll add this one taken by my Dad in 1947.
Arcadia, California

[3dnsouth]

Great pics and link...thanks!!
Hey....where's all the tatoos???????

[SuperFleye]

Originally Posted by 3dnsouth

Great pics and link...thanks!!
Hey....where's all the tatoos???????

Here are the tattoos!!!

[3dnsouth]

There should be "caption" contest for this one! The ol' Pasadena Chief o' Police has his eye on the prize! LMAO

[crossroads]

The best pics of the week !

[paulatxntric]

stunning photos..........right click..save....particularly the spalding bros T...

a drawing of mine of the T with the Spalding bros in Pheonix!!

[3dnsouth]

Thanks SuperFleye....great pic!!

[Randomrodder]

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

[29bowtie]

Outstanding post! These historic threads are so inspiring to us all. Thanks. There are even more great pics there. Looks like "Hawaiian" shirts are "traditional too!

[SuperFleye]

Originally Posted by 3dnsouth

Thanks SuperFleye....great pic!!

Yeah, the picture is awesome! Found it while searching through the archive, and the tattoo just flashed at me immediately

[Jimmy B]

Originally Posted by xderelict

I thought the Spaulding Brothers T ran a 12 port fuel injected GMC. Same car different set ups?I'm not saying it ain't, just looking for more information.This has to be my favorite chassis of all time.I really like the torsion bar front axel.

Too many similarities for it not to be the Spalding brothers T, the differences are colour, Track barge bars removed, and Flathead V8.

[SuperFleye]

Originally Posted by 3dnsouth

Thanks SuperFleye....great pic!!

Found some more tattoos too actually

[beatnik]

Thanks, Great Pics

[Eightydeuce]

Those pics are awesome! Damn near saved everyone of them.

[LowKat]

Originally Posted by Jimmy B

car in Photo #9, 10, 11 is the ex-Spalding brothers T, Awesome!!!!
Cheers
Jimmy

Originally Posted by xderelict

I thought the Spaulding Brothers T ran a 12 port fuel injected GMC. Same car different set ups?I'm not saying it ain't, just looking for more information.

I've researched a little:
Here's an article from the recreation of this car in Rod & Custom with some info & pictures.

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/...ter/index.html

Some text from the article:
"Tom and Bill built their roadster in the very late 1940s, at the end of California's roadster-racing heyday. While the car proved itself briefly in the '50 season, the brothers didn't see the series fit to campaign. To paraphrase a clich, the flame that burned twice as hot lived half as long, and the brothers parted out the car by early 1951."

Looks like it could be the same car to me since the Pomona pictures would've been a year later. As rare as 12 port was even back then, the motor probably was removed, saved and/or sold. How many cars back then could have been equipped with a flip-up cowl?

[HHRdave]

Great post !!!! Thank you

[THE235KID]

Sweet. Great pics man

[HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM]

This is John Marshall High in L.A.. I was there in 59 to 61. The auto shop teacher was Mr. Curtis, a hot rodder of old. He was building a Victoria coupe with a DeSoto Hemi, the coupe was chopped, sectioned and channeled. It was painted in my last year a light blue. Lots of other mods on it also. Wish I could find it. Marshall held there own little car show on that field just for students.

[autobilly]

Outstanding pictures! Thanks for posting.

Originally Posted by X38

Beautifull pictures. The 'lifestyle' and rocksilly crowd should study these.

I did.

[HHRdave]

View of an automobile race at the Beverly Hills Race Track, [s.d.]

[HHRdave]

1920 Los Angeles wreck

[HHRdave]

Pomona races 1958, this is actually looking north to where the swap meet parking lot is held today.

[Mazooma1]

[quote=HHRdave;3221081]Pomona races 1958, this is actually looking north to where the swap meet parking lot is held today.

Anyone who hs entered the parking lot for the L.A. Roadster show, knowswhere this is..the south end of the drag strip at McKinley

[HHRdave]

[quote=Mazooma1;3221091]

Originally Posted by HHRdave

Pomona races 1958, this is actually looking north to where the swap meet parking lot is held today.

Anyone who hs entered the parking lot for the L.A. Roadster show, knowswhere this is..the south end of the drag strip at McKinley

Yes, and that's why I said "looking north" ............

[Limey Steve]

If a picture is worth a thousand words we just o/d'd thanks for posting them ,truly exceptional we can all learn from those images .

[Dean Lowe]

Originally Posted by SuperFleye

Here are the tattoos!!!

That is "Jiggler" Joe Gemsa working on his car that was in the Clark Gable film "To Please A Lady. This picture was taken in his driveway on Rush Street in South El Monte. I drive by it every day as my shop is only a couple blocks away. Joe got those tattoos while in the service. We bought my first RPU from Joe for $175 in 1959. It was parked in the same spot with a For Sale sign on it. Those old garages behind him were loaded with an awesome collection of Offy and Miller engine parts and casting patterns. Joe lived in that little house 'till the day he died, a few years ago. Hard to find a more collorful character.

[Evel]

found these under "car show"

[Evel]

[PunkAssGearhead88]

Originally Posted by bonesy

Great pictures. I love the slime-ball cop all up against the girl tinkering with the model 40.

Originally Posted by casper

That's not just any cop....That's Bud Coons, he used to go to So. Cal car club meetings and show movies about drag racing on old airport runways instead of on the street. He did most of this on his own time because he loved hot rods. He is responsible for meeting with the city council members in various So Cal towns and asking them to let the kids drag race on a strip instead of the streets. He was very successful at keeping the kids out of trouble. I'm not a cop or anything, I'm just saying there are some cool peace officers and he was one of the coolest!

Originally Posted by propwash

Sure leaves those "old skool" and rockabilly people out in left field. I'm old, and that's exactly how I remember it. Nobody had crappy welding and poorly matched chops with no paint. That rat rod "how it was" movement needs to be over. You can do whatever you like with your ride, but please refrain from pretending like you're in tune with the 50s and 60s hot rod culture.

"..you can't use the car cuz you didn't work a lick..."

dj

Bonesy, if that was a "slime ball" cop then I dont know what you would call the cops now? I could never in my liftetime remember any cop who went out of thier way to help street racers. Cops obviously were a little different then.

Casper good info!
If it wasnt for Bud Coons and Chief Parker I dont think the dragstrip would still been here, how many so-cal dragstrips have come and gone and Pomona is still around without even a threat of it getting shut down, even though some neighbors that live near the strip and Brackett field complain about "noise"

Propwash, Those cars werent that old at the time, of course they were going to be in better shape, there were still people that had poor taste, just not as many...

Anyway, love these pics!

[X38]

I'd like to see more of these type chicks at the shows rather than the Orca-Betty-tatt-fest frankensteins we get now.

[Drewfus]

W
O
W

BTTT

more?

Cheers,

Drewfus

[SuperFleye]

Cool story Dean Lowe!
man it was really fun trying to hit jackpot in that archive
Guess i have tried about 50 different keywords.

Does anyone know about any other archives like this?

[LowKat]

Originally Posted by LowKat

120: L-R: Carlos Ramirez; Mike Magem; and Joaquin Arnett, with modified
roadster with ford engine who held top speed for the day at 118 miles.
Body was made out of old car hoods and the frame out of water pipes.


#4


#2

Carlos Ramirez; Mike Nagem; and Joaquin Arnett were out of San Diego ....AKA:

The Bean Bandits

They were partly responsible for the opening of Paradise Mesa drag strip in San Diego.

Here's a photo from a year later in 1953, of Mike Nagem, club president sitting in a different car.
Front engined in this picture, it was later modified to Ardun equipped flathead, rear engine.




Now a little more history on the Pomona officer in photos 5 & 6:

Stolen from a StreetRodder article:

"Bud Coons was a Pomona kid in a souped-up car going too fast on a back road in the late 40s.
When pulled over by Pomona police Ralph Parker, he figured his day was ruined.
Parker was interested in hot rods and helping young people. He didn't arrest Coons,
instead suggests he becomes a police officer.

A similar event occurred in 1951, after Coons had followed Parker's advice and joined the force.
Coons was on patrol when he spied a hot rod Chevrolet. The car wasn't speeding,
he just couldn't resist stopping the driver. "It was a real nice Chevy, and I told him
I just pulled him over to look and talk to him," Coons said.

After driver Manuel Vallejo was assured he wasn't in trouble with the law, the two talked racing and cars.
Vallejo then invited Coons to come to a meeting of the Pomona Choppers car club. After a while, club members
"accepted me as a hot rodder instead of just a police officer." said Coons

Bud Coons saw a need to help these young men enjoy their cars without racing on public streets.
The Choppers, with Coons' support, started meeting at the police station. Pomona officers
helped put on the club's races at an old airstrip off Highland Avenue in Fontana,
the only place they could race in the area.

Then came the decision in 1952 by Coons and Chief Parker, to ask the L.A. County Fair
to use their parking lot as a drag strip. Fair officials let them use the northwest corner of the gravel parking
lot as long as they got insurance..........

One of the Choppers members Dad was a paving contractor....

Now, Pomona had a drag strip.


Then came Hot Rod Magazine editor Wally Parks and his founding of the National Hot Rod Association.
In 1954, the NHRA hired Coons to promote the sport. Coons sold his personal Studebaker
to buy a '54 Dodge station wagon for towing the NHRA "Drag and Safety Safari" trailer.
He began touring the nation, spreading the gospel of safe drag racing, one city at a time.





stolen from the LA Times archives:

"In 1954 Bud Coons, Bud Evans, Eric Rickman and Chic Cannon visited 16 U.S. cities,
traveling more than 20,000 miles, and put on makeshift races with the supplies they carried in their trailer.
"We carried thousands of feet of wire, amplifiers for a speaker system, timing clocks and lights,
everything needed to conduct a race.” reports Bud Evans

Bud Evans also said. “Once we got started and Hot Rod Magazine put the word out, the response
was unbelievable,” “We were like the Johnny Appleseed of the hot-rod industry,”

Eric Rickman reported. "In some towns, 15 or 20 cars filled with club members would greet us
5 or 10 miles out of town and escort us in,”
“We were surprised at the enthusiasm we found." “The response was so great that we extended our
trip for a couple of weeks because we had so many requests."

“For 50 cents, they could buy a ticket from their local car club and get their car inspected
and after making the necessary safety modifications, for a buck they could enter the stock class.
Some days we’d have a couple hundred cars lined up.”

[hershambob]

are any of those young men and women in the first pics still with us????

[lurker mick]

I believe the kid with the channeled 32 roadster without a grille insert is Lloyd Bakan, who later owned the 3 window that Don Orosco won pebble beach with.

Mick

[jesus valencia]

The p-town. Puro party!!!

[Lstude]

Thanks for posting those pictures!

[Pete1930]

Originally Posted by X38

I'd like to see more of these type chicks at the shows rather than the Orca-Betty-tatt-fest frankensteins we get now.

WOW!!!!! Man, chicks back then were sure nice and shapely. I just don't go for the waif look of today. Man, some reaaaaal nice curves on those girls.

Thanks for posting!
Pete

[junk fiend]

wow those are great, i love old high quality pics

[P-townkustoms]

Those are some of the best photos I have seen! I LOVE Pomonas hot rod history!!!

[Badfella]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rustydeuce]

Those pics should be in a cool book. Awesome.

[PunkAssGearhead88]

Originally Posted by lurker mick

I believe the kid with the channeled 32 roadster without a grille insert is Lloyd Bakan, who later owned the 3 window that Don Orosco won pebble beach with.

Mick

Wich picture are you talking about? Im good friends with some of Loyd's family, I have the original issue of Hot Rod in 1957 when that car was on the cover with the two chicks by the pool, it was @ GNRS last Jan.

[lurker mick]

Sorry, I jumped to a conclusion. Lloyd's roadster was a channeled '29 not a '32. His, like the photo of the '32 at the Marshall high car show didn't run a grille insert. I should have checked the '55 issue of Rod & Custom that featured Lloyd's roadster before making an assumption.

Mick

[EvansSpeedEquipment]

Very Nice! Thank You.

[sololobo]

What a bunch of great historic pictures here. Frame made out of water pipes, amazing it would be hard to do today since most water pipes are glass!! Oh excuse me I was confused!! Love that classic stuff seeing nothing newer in the lot than 50's cars. And the car show pix of the Hemi on the stand , and that cut away Hudson picture is super incredible, a twin-H beauty with a pair of bullet bra cuties in the photo.Thanx to all for the great post.~Sololobo~

[Rathbone]

Those are a window into the pinnacle of human civilization. It's all down hill from there. Thanks for posting.

[D-Russ]

Originally Posted by X38

Beautifull pictures. The 'lifestyle' and rocksilly crowd should study these.

Look closely and you'll see a few tats on the dude in picture #11.

[X38]

That's right. Some folks hadn't been long back from a war and of all of them navy guys were prone to the odd tat. Not overly common, but they did get them.

[LowKat]

1954-55 NHRA Drag Safari (later changed to Safety Safari)
[l to r]
Bud Coons (show manager)
Chic Cannon (tech inspector)
Bud Evans (announcer)
Eric Rickman (photographer)


At the Desoto/Plymouth dealer, probably getting the wagon serviced?



1954
Drag Safari in the NHRA F1 panel delivery:
Bud Coons & Eric Rickman going from L.A. to Oakland Roadster Show.
OH SH!T, coming down the "Grapevine" near Bakersfield.



1954
Same F1 panel truck in the background at Wendover Utah.
After the accident, George Barris hammered, Bondo'd, & sprayed it.

(Sorry I don't know anything about the PU in the foreground)




early 1950's
Eric Rickman driving.
This was Petersen's shop truck.
Was stolen and not recovered.

[LowKat]

bttt
for those who missed this thread

[gasserjohn]

picture of the drag strip pavement laid on top parking lot ...same as big willie's terminal island>>>see pic my personal"s was as much fun then as back in the day!!!

[Deuce Daddy Don]

I was in the USN at that time, & eating up all info on drags & cars in general, these pix bring back lots of memories, especially the old packing house shown across the street, it was a landmark in future pix. The cop in the pix is, I'm sure is Bud Coons, he was very instrumental in getting drag racing started in, not only Pomona, but nationwide when he formed up with Wally Parks of NHRA fame, & went on nationwide "Drag-Safari" tours establishing new drag strips all across this great nation!---Yep,& thats the way it was---------& I'm still a gearhead at 75.---------Don

[R.Allan]

awesome pictures. it is always cool to see local shots. when i see those places now and try to imagine that day those years ago ..

[jchav62]

Awesome!! Thanks!!

[michael037]

Is there any chance that someone has any more details of the Mitchell's Muffler Service RPU in entries 38 & 42?
Thanks
Michael

[LowKat]

Here's a link to the photos. Some info there but nothing about the PU.
http://digarc.usc.edu/search/control...=1227991398601

Mitchell's was located on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.

Here's the car today:
from this post
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...=260765&page=2

[michael037]

LowKat
Thanks for that.
Michael

[LowKat]

[mx6262]

Do you think that these guy's and gal's knew how cool they were back then? I was born wat too early...I love looking at these shots....

How far did your $$ go in the hotrod world back then....

[BadLuck]

Sooooo, where are all the tattooed chicks,skulls and spiderweb stuff?? Thanks so much for posting these....wow, my car was brand new!

[NONAME]

April 27 1952 that was my 10th Birthday and I was living in Azusa at the time.
Moved to Pasadena in 55. Don't remember ever seeing that Mitchell Muffler truck. My dad always went to Blairs Muffler shop before he opened the real Blairs Speed Shop a block east.

[helmsville]

now, that was a fun flash back!

[Koolman]

Gawd, those were the days my friends.
Thanks for the ride back to 'the day'!

[AV8-Rider]

I missed this post earlier.
Too cool.

Paul

[elrobo818]

wow great pictures.

[LowKat]

[L.A.-Bar]

way cool pictures !

[VA HAMB]

Very cool photos. Thanks for posting.

[skywolf]

Fantastic pictures. Thank you. Here are a couple of colour pictures of the Drag Safari & the repainted F100 panel truck.

[madpole]

these are great pictures.

[Slim Pickens]

btt

[Atwater Mike]

I thought the Spaulding Brothers T ran a 12 port fuel injected GMC. Same car different set ups?I'm not saying it ain't, just looking for more information.This has to be my favorite chassis of all time.I really like the torsion bar front axel.
************************************************** ****************
It's the same car. It predates the meader$ clone$ by 40 years...No copy, it's the real Jack...Do some research, and find out who has the Jimmy mill now.

[Atwater Mike]

Originally Posted by casper

That's not just any cop....That's Bud Coons, he used to go to So. Cal car club meetings and show movies about drag racing on old airport runways instead of on the street. He did most of this on his own time because he loved hot rods. He is responsible for meeting with the city council members in various So Cal towns and asking them to let the kids drag race on a strip instead of the streets. He was very successful at keeping the kids out of trouble. I'm not a cop or anything, I'm just saying there are some cool peace officers and he was one of the coolest!

Bud Coons. Yeah. He, Chic Cannon, and Wally Parks signed me up for NHRA membership in January 1955, at San Jose Autorama, where they were for Drag Safari. I was 13, halfway thru a 5-1/4" top chop on my '36 Ford 3-window. Chic Cannon (NHRA advisor) moved to my town (Santa Clara, CA.) in '56, taught me to drive in his show-winning chopped & shortened '32 pickup.)
Bud Coons did more for hot rodding than any amount of 'rat rodders' then or now. (we didn't call guys like that 'rat rodders' then. We called them 'squirrels', and other things.)

[Atwater Mike]

Incredible pics of Norm! I saw the car about this time (timelining it from the bedrail pipes and the relocation of Natasha Badenoff to the rear axle) at Normandin's Chrysler in San Jose, CA. (1959? If memory serves) The salesman let me crawl under, for a closer look. My channelled '30 Coupe was out front, made me look 'credible'. My co-pilot, John Lyons, had moved to San Jose from N. Hollywood, was a friend of Norm's pal pictured in Life Magazine! Small world...

[LowKat]

Originally Posted by Atwater Mike

Incredible pics of Norm! I saw the car about this time (timelining it from the bedrail pipes and the relocation of Natasha Badenoff to the rear axle) at Normandin's Chrysler in San Jose, CA. (1959? If memory serves) The salesman let me crawl under, for a closer look. My channelled '30 Coupe was out front, made me look 'credible'. My co-pilot, John Lyons, had moved to San Jose from N. Hollywood, was a friend of Norm's pal pictured in Life Magazine! Small world...

I accidentally added the photos of Norm to this thread instead of the 1957 Santa Ana thread they were supposed to go in.

[Royalshifter]

How did I miss this.....great photos.....looks like Norm can kick some serious ass back then.

[vein]

excellent! I hope theres more to come. I have looked over this thread like 3 or 4 times already.

[buickvalvenut]

= (.were did those days go..if i could only clim inside the screen and ...
thanks for the nice pics...

[Dirk]

What search words do I use to find the photos of Norm in his room and working on his car? They are from the life archives?

Anybody have a link to them?

Thanks!

[greazhonkey]

love the lady with grease on her cheek, pretty cute

[Wolfie]

Yah! Like "Propwash" said! I'm old also and I don't remember ANYTHING like all the Rock-a-Billy stuff or "Rat Rods"! The '50s and '60s were some wonderful times for us who lived them. I never got to see Elvis live but I did see Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the "Big Bopper" just a few days before the tragic plane crash. Not much "Rock-a-Billy" there. Also on the show was Dion and the Belmonts, still one of the great artists!

Wolfie

[Zombie Hot Rod]

I love that dude with the crutches! Awesome!

[LowKat]

I've had a few PM's about the Norm pictures so, I started a thread with a link to the pictures here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=435044

[Hot Turkey]

That was fun!

[acmechris]

no fat people

[LowKat]

With the loss of Joaquin Arnett I'll give this thread a bump as a tribute.

[El Hueso]

Does anybody have anymore pictures or information about this 1926/1927 Model T Roadster Pickup? It looks like it is running a "Hi Winders" car club plaque.

[LowKat]

bumpin' this up for the newbies

[frank spittle]

This is one of the best threads on the HAMB.

[ZZLEGEND]

one more bump

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by acmechris

no fat people

lol