Folks Of Interest Jim "JAKE" Jacobs, The Original Traditional Hot Rodder ! "TRODA"

Over the years,....

A lot, (both good and bad) has been said about "PETE & JAKES", But I really want to give credit where credit is due,... There are a lot of people on this board, as well as others, that feel, "We" are the keepers of the flame, and responsible for preserving and protecting "Traditional Hot Rodding",.. When in fact there was a small hand full of guys that started this movement long before a bunch of you were even born.

Guys like Bud Bryan, Ron Weeks, Jim Jacobs As well as others, They wanted to restore original Hot Rods from the day, Build true era specific Traditional Hot Rods and drive the wheels off of them,... paying a tribute and giving honor to those pioneers of Hot Rodding,.. and Keeping the flame alive !

Even tho we embrace Traditional hot rods with a passion,.. They did the same thing, against the popular tide of Street Rodding,... But they went at it full throttle,.. Buds 29 A/V8 , Ron's "Dick Kraft special", and Jitney Jakes NieKamp roadster,.... When True Traditional Hot Rods were about to slip through the cracks of Hot Rod History. Guys like these held on tight to the roots of where we came from.

Back in 1971 (or there about) They formed an association called "TRODA"
"Traditional Rod Ownersand Drivers Association " They didn't baby these cars, They spanked these puppies !,... They did a number of long distance trips in these old time hot rods all across the country,...

Here is a quote from a article in R&C years ago,..

"Two historic hot rods and a newcomer to the group, Ron Weeks owned and restored the '24 T Dick Kraft Special (later the Highland Plating Special) that Kraft drove 60,000 miles and won 20 trophies in at Santa Ana Drag Strip. Jake's restored '29 A NieKamp roadster and Bud's '29 highboy are also pictured. The three drove their cars from SoCal to the 2nd annual Street Rod Nationals in Memphis in 1971, where such long-distance trips in Flathead-powered roadsters were unheard of back then. So was the concept of their club, Traditional Rod Owners and Drivers Association (TRODA) (no Chrysler Hemis, no SBCs) ,where they shared a common foundation to build or restore cars their heroes used to race."

After the NieKamp car,.. Jake's next notable contribution was again to buck the tide of "Resto-Rods" and actually Chop a top to build a true Lakes racer,.. Up until this time it was practically sacrilege to butcher a old car by chopping it like they use to back in the early days,.... It didn't stop Jake.

And finally,.. In a sea of "Jelly Bean" smooth, monochromatic Street Rods,.. Jake took a pile of old discarder parts to build what I consider to be the cornerstone of the revival of Traditional Hot Rodding,.. When he came out with the Tub,... Thumbing his nose at the current trends, and bringing it back to the real roots of Hot Rodding. Going so far as to paint it with a brush at the Nationals,.. and leaving "real bullet holes in it".

Jake has built a number of really exciting cars in his life,.. But it seems every time things were getting out of hand,.. Jake was the visionary to pull back on the rains.

So when we start patting our selfs on the back and thinking we were there when the movement began,... Just remember a small group of dedicated guys that went against popular opinion, when other people thought they were nuts,.... and kept the original heart beat of Hot Rods alive.

I for one, am grateful to TRODA,... and it's vision,.. Thanks guys.

 

i believe
I BELIEVE I HAVE SINNED


SAT ON JAKES YELLOW CARS FRONT TIRE BRIEFLY AT 1ST. STREET ROD NATS IN ST. PAUL FELT LIKE BEING WITH A MOVIE IDOL INTIMATELY....

and my pennace is ...reread early R/C
WATCH SELECTIONS FROM BURNT RUBBER CD SET
AMEN

 

Cool. Thanks for the write up. I'm young and ignorant; I didnt know anything about the people behind Pete and Jake's.

 

Street Rod Quarterly was my introduction to the traditional hot rod. I went out and bought all the old magazines I could find to continue my education. You are right in that Bud, Jake, and the others are the real pioneers of traditional style's revival.

 

You are so right! Jim Jacobs, Mickey Thompson and Graham Berry are my 3 favorite hot rodders ever. Jim has surely lived the life, with a lot of soul! When I was about 19, on my first trip to the USA I made my way to Pete & Jakes shop in Temple city and they gave me the grand tour. Cool dudes. They gave me a catalog, stickers, 8x10 b&w's. It was an awesome visit. I had been reading about those guys since the Nov 73 R&C came out and changed my life. I was exited to have Jake at my BBQ a couple of years ago but I tried to play it cool.

 

Some great history there, thanks so much.

 

Great thread. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

amen

 

I first met Jake in 1978 at the old Timonium *Nats East*......he was there with Pete and they had their coopays there .......I met them early one morning and we took a few pics and I appreciated their friendly manner...........move ahead to 2009.......I took the photo with me of Pete, Jake, and me to the Bobby Walden Speed Shop party and hung with Jake for quite a while and had the time of my life.....he was friendly, funny as hell, and just a superb person to spend a little time with......and, in addition to that, who walks up to chat a while? Gene Winfield.....whom I have met many time and he is my all time hot rod, kustom, and dry lakes racing hero......he has done it all and continues to do so! What a great evening......I will long remember it.....





CB

 

I'm with ya 100%. You forgot to add that Jake is really a nice guy also.

 

Jakes brother (Gary) lived across the street from my parents house.he'd come over now and agian in his 29 pick-up,that truck was bitchin,as a kid in my early teens it made a very lasting impression.I went on to work with his brother in a specialty used car lot that he was partners in.they had corvettes,early birds,nomads and a 58 chev sedan delivery.the best was a 66-67 comet cyclone 427 auto BLACKw/american TT's. they were both very good people.

 

RIGHT ON!!!! GREAT tribute to Jake and those "around" him and his great efforts. Truly a legend!!!!

 

That's really nice. I don't know Jim personally, but grew up admiring his work and his attitude on hot rodding and such. Jim actually designed and prototyped the bulk of Pete & Jakes most popular items, and I can tell you as someone who has used just about everything in their catalog many times over,he did a wonderful job. He has a great eye for building clean looking parts that fall together when building a car. You can't go wrong with Pete & Jakes parts, and Jim is a big part of that.

 

Jakes life bio would be quite a story ........... Weather it was all factual or not

 

I caught him driving this '34 Fordor not too long ago.

 

The first I ever heard of the concept of "traditional" hot rods is the article on Jakes yellow 34 with the truck grill. I remember thinking that this made more sense than the Jag IRS and IFS cars - not that I didn't like them, mainly for the workmanship. There was also an artcle by Jake on hammer welding with the 34 being chopped as an example. That had to have been in 1975 or 76 so it must have made a big impression on me. I must have seen a thousand pictures of cars in those years but that's the one I remember.

 

That tub is why I do what I do. I wanna shake his hand.

 

Kudos, Jakes cars have been some of my favorites since I was a kid, and Bud Bryans roadster made me want one more..............Thanks for the story these guys deserve it!!!

AMEN!

 

MMMMMM, K.C. Winkler ( in my best Homer Simpson,drooly voice).

 

Great history. True hot rodders. Thanks.

 

They were my heroes back in the early 70's and still are!

 

First cross country trip---L.A. to Detroit Street rod Nats 1972, with Bud Bryan in his new '29 A-V8 roadster, Tom Medley rode shotgun. Wife & I drove our '32 roadster.
Later, our adventures on the road were described in R&C & Rod Action magazines.

This pix is when we were going over the Colorado mtns. great divide.------Don

 

Bud Bryan, Jim Jacobs and Tom Medley made a big impression on me in the early 70's R & C. Those driving trips to the early Street Rod Nats that they wrote about flat turned this then teenager on.

 

Sorry---Here's the pix.

 

Cool story and truth spoken....I would also put Robert Williams in that mix as they all knew each other.

 

True heroes for me for sure! The Bud Bryan car is my favorite car ever! I became friends with the current caretaker Jules and he let me drive it around Santa Ana on one of my trips down there. Jakes Phaeton is so killer too!
Thanks for the read!

-Shiny

 

Jake came to the first few Lonestar Roundups and I meet him there. Really cool guy!

 

You know,..
I was really remiss in not mentioning Pete as well,... I don't think he was a member of TRODA, But he still has,.. and has had, a long and undying love of Traditional Hot Rods.

I have only had conversations with Jake 3 or 4 times,.. But a lot of conversations with Pete,... They are both engaging, entertaining, knowable, great guys,... But both are humble, and just you average Hot Rodder,.... In my experience, they don't buy into the celebrity,... there just your average good old fashion car guys.