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The X-Sonic

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Jun 20, 2008.

  1. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    I'll get ya pass tech... don't sweat that part. :)
     
  2. If it's as light as I would guess (2000-2200lbs), and really has 400HP, it should go low 12's (traction permitting), with the chance at high 11's (traction mandetory). If I got the weight correct, and it really "hooked" hard, it can go even quicker yet.
     
  3. beatnik
    Joined: Nov 8, 2002
    Posts: 2,209

    beatnik
    Member

    So it's a little cramped, you'll be making history.
     

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  4. James66g
    Joined: Sep 20, 2006
    Posts: 558

    James66g
    Member

    The atomic punk is insane ! I would love to see a rodders journal on bubble tops! So now we know from Plow boy that a good ac system makes it liveable and who ever builds the x sonic can make the nesc changes to be comfy in it, how bout it someone build the xsonic maybe with a sponsership from vintage air? would love to see that thing sliden down the road. The Vettes are tiny but wouldnt the bubble top give you more head room?
     
  5. Nads
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 11,862

    Nads
    Member
    from Hypocrisy

    Do it Aaron.


    You know if I ever gave up the hippie lettuce I'd like to build a car called the X Chronic.
     
  6. Plowboy
    Joined: Nov 8, 2002
    Posts: 4,278

    Plowboy
    Member

    Sorry Nads, I'm giving up bubbletops and hot rods in general. I think I need to spend some more quality time snuggling with my lady.
     

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  7. Billybobdad
    Joined: Mar 12, 2008
    Posts: 960

    Billybobdad
    Member

    Is that leaning head/neck thing from sitting in the passenger seat under the bubble top??
     
  8. I love the bodywork/styling!... but the bubbletop reminds me of an old boss's pointy, bald head...
     
  9. Nads
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 11,862

    Nads
    Member
    from Hypocrisy


    She's fucking hot dude, I was sitting on a broke ass dick until I saw that, now I feel like the twelve year old I am deep inside.

    Thanks brosiph.
     
  10. MarkX
    Joined: Apr 8, 2003
    Posts: 1,232

    MarkX
    Member
    from ...TX

    I couldnt "Clone" that car....... there would be TOO much argument over correctness because of the different versions that car went thru.

    It will be more of a "TRIBUTE to X-Sonic" and it will mostly resemble the early bubble version.

    Heres how it sits today..................... Im put'n some fire under my ass since this thing has sat for too long already.............. I will keep you posted.
     

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  11. monsterflake
    Joined: May 13, 2003
    Posts: 3,763

    monsterflake
    Member

    hell yeah! he leans right, she leans left and it's spit swappin' time!:eek:
     
  12. selfmade66613
    Joined: Mar 10, 2006
    Posts: 31

    selfmade66613
    Member

    the gold interior in the green version wasnt so bad but those taller seats are horrible
     
  13. RodP
    Joined: Mar 24, 2007
    Posts: 331

    RodP
    Member

    I found this picture in my files.
    I think the bubble top looked a lot better.
    RodP
     
  14. RodP
    Joined: Mar 24, 2007
    Posts: 331

    RodP
    Member

    Oops forgot the picture
     

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  15. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

  16. xderelict
    Joined: Jul 30, 2006
    Posts: 2,475

    xderelict
    Member Emeritus

    Not a first.I believe I read the Moyer AMT Willys was Ryans favorite car at Mokan last year.
     
  17. Nappy
    Joined: Jul 6, 2001
    Posts: 797

    Nappy
    Member
    from York, PA

    This Email exchange with Ron Aguirre was posted on the LayitLow board. I don't know Ron or the original Emailer, but thought it was an interesting read- especially the fact that the first version of the hydraulics were apparently hand pumped...


    >> I have seen just a few pictures of your corvette, the "X-Sonic" and I
    >> must say it is outstanding. I was wondering if you would be so kind
    >> as to possibly share alittle information and maybe a picture or two
    >> of the corvette.

    Jason, I'm glad you liked my car and the way I customized it. I will be
    glad to share some of X-sonic's history with you and your group.

    >> We are all intrigued on the hydraulic setup and really dont have a
    >> clear idea as to how you went about it originally.

    It is true that a law was past by Gov. Brown in 1957 against lowered
    cars. I lived in Rialto CA. a suburb of San Bernardino (60 miles East
    of Los Angeles) and having the lowest car in the Berdo (San Bernardino)
    area and after the law was passed it wasn't until 58 that the law was
    really being enforced and I had one cop (Lester Groves, nicknamed
    "Sandy") and made it his #1 priority to give me tickets for being too
    low. The way Lester got the nickname "Sandy" was one time he was
    busting a bunch of my friends for street racing and someone put sand in
    the gas tank on his bike (NO! it wasn't me).

    How I invented Hydraulics - In 1958 I was visiting a friends body shop
    and saw a bodyman pushing a dent out with a hydraulic Porto-power tool.
    I looked at the ram and instantly got the idea to put this little unit
    between the spring and the frame to lift my car. I explained my idea to
    my Dad and being a welder by trade he started to fabricate the cups I
    designed to hold the rams. I had hoses made that would extend into the
    car and I set the hand pump on the hump between the seats. This worked
    great but the pump was designed to pump fluid to one ram and I had two
    - the problem was that the rams would not lift equally and the car was
    not level until both rams were full. A couple of months later my Dad
    took me to a place in L.A. that sold used aircraft parts called
    Palley's. This is where all the parts for hydraulics came from. With
    the aircraft parts the right and left sides of my car could raise and
    lower equally. An electric pump made it much easier to raise and lower
    the car.

    But it wasn't until 1959 that I was able to raise a lot of Hell and
    with the system the way it was and I was going to drive "Sandy" THE COP
    crazy. We waited for him to ride his bike (he was always on a police
    motorcycle) to his spot across the street from the local hangout in
    Berdo "Ruby's Drive-in". I was parked on the lot with my car lowered
    way down. There were about 100 of my school friends at the drive-in
    waiting to see what would happen.

    I left the car down and started to drive out and the side pipes were
    scraping the pavement (It was way cool to have your car dragging on the
    pavement). I had my girlfriend get out and my buddy got in with the
    instructions to pump hard on the handle of the pump as soon as I gave
    him the word. In the 50's our cars were so low that we developed a
    technique to get out of driveways. We would position our cars on one
    side of the driveway and drive slowly to the opposite side to exit
    without dragging too much or getting hung up on a high spot.

    Well, knowing "Sandy" was across the street and waiting for me to leave
    the restaurant so he could give me a ticket in front of all my friends
    and teach them that this punk was not going to get away with breaking
    the law, again.

    I pulled out onto the street and watched Sandy start his bike, I told
    my buddy start pumping. I didn't get twenty feet and Sandy had his red
    lights on me. I got out of the car and everyone from the drive-in was
    standing on the sidewalk. I greeted "Sandy" by name (as no one called
    him Sandy to his face) - "Hi, Lester what seems to be the problem"? He
    stated "You know your car's too low". "But Lester", I said," it isn't
    too low any more, I took your advise and raised it to legal height". He
    smiled at me and took his ticket book (Back then, this is how the cops
    checked cars if their ticket book did not pass freely under your car
    you would get a ticket) and he slid it under my car without hitting
    anything. Boy, was his face red and with all the witnesses yelling and
    screaming, he didn't say a word, he gave me a confused look and got on
    his bike and left. OH... revenge was so sweet.....

    >> I have also heard that the car ended up being remote control.

    Yes it was, I used a model airplane remote control and could raise &
    lower the bubble top, open & close the doors, raise & lower the car,
    start the car and turn the wheels. I don't believe anyone else has
    attempted to do this.

    >> Here is a link to the website / forum thread where we are discussing
    >> you and your car.

    I read some of the discussion and noticed that much of history changes
    depending who is writing the story.

    1. My last name Aguirre is of Latin decent, but I must admit that I
    never had a connection with the Chicano movement that developed the
    fantastic achievements that were and are preformed with hydraulic
    lifts.

    2. If you look closely to the pictures you do have of my car the rear
    is higher than the front. Back then we set the style of the raked look
    it was cool to have the front of your car a couple of inches lower
    then the rear. Plus if you look close, I have racing slicks on the
    rear. I used to street race prior to the radical customizing. I beat
    every 55-57 Thunderbird on the street and they came from L.A. to race
    me. My car was also the first to have chrome wheels and chrome
    carburetors.

    3. San Bernardino had no Chicano groups in the 50's they were in L.A.
    and one of the the main car clubs was the Dukes. I understand from all
    the old timers that I have meet in recent years It was a family
    orientated club. I know some of the people that are still part of the
    club and their family members they are very nice people and am proud
    to have them as friends.

    4. The term "Lowrider" did not exist in the 50's. I believe the term
    "Lowrider is truly a Chicano phrase that has been adopted by many
    cultures to refer to an extremely lowered car Custom cars were
    considered lead sleds and lower cars were simply lowered cars without
    any specific terminology attached. It was just a contest to see who
    had the lowest car and he was the coolest guy in town. But, back then
    it was the front of the car that was the lowest, no one lowered the
    rear to match the front . The rear was always a little bit higher.

    5. Since it has been documented that my car was the very first car to
    be automatically raised and lowered doesn't mean that I take credit for
    the phenomenon of the Hydraulic Lift Culture that sprang from my
    invention. My father, brother and myself only did about six hydraulic
    lifts before I went on to do other things. I didn't mind that others
    were copying my idea. They improved the idea and went into directions
    that I never dreamed of. Remember all I wanted was to stop getting
    tickets for being too low and I was not going to raise my car to some
    stupid legal height.

    6. Paige Penland is a very nice and good looking young lady (that used
    to work for Low Rider magazine) who wrote the story mentioned by one of
    your forum members. The article in question was prior to her going to
    work at Low Rider Mag. and did not have her story right nor my name.
    She has since interviewed me and in her book "Lowrider History, Pride
    and Culture" she has corrected her mistaken information.

    >> I would truly enjoy hearing back from you and possibly discussing
    the
    >> corvette and your innovations.

    I noticed the two pictures you had posted of my car.

    The first one (prior to being the X-sonic) was a unique experience.
    First you must know that I traveled a great deal with Ed "Big Daddy"
    Roth and we were between shows and I had just stripped the paint of my
    car for Larry Watson to repaint when Ed call me and said he wanted me
    to bring the car to a special car show at Disneyland the following
    week. I told him I couldn't and told him that Larry could not paint the
    car for two weeks.. He said bring the car over that the two of us would
    paint the car for the show. Well, Ed painted my corvette these
    god-awful colors/design that fit in nicely at Disneyland. Right after
    the show we stripped it again and larry painted it a Rainbow Pearl

    The second picture was taken in a photo shoot by Ed Roth for the 1961
    Sept. issue of Rod & Custom Magazine. If you look at the interior the
    X-sonic still had the Gold Tuck-n-Roll interior and a steering wheel.
    It wasn't until 1963 issue of Car Craft that the new interior and the
    remote control system was photographed by Bud Lang.

    A couple of years ago I decided to build a mild custom to carry my
    custom Harley and picked one of my favorites a 1972 Ford Ranchero GT.
    naturally it's been Bagged. I believe that this is now the greatest way
    to automatically raise and lower your car.
     
  18. Stone
    Joined: Nov 24, 2003
    Posts: 2,279

    Stone
    Member

    Could you post a link to that thread? Me and a friend of mine named Jason emailed lowrider magazine a few years ago and the editor fowarded the email to Ron. I remember the name being of latin origin in the exchanges my friend would send me. Supposedly the car was going to be restored.
     
  19. 6t5frlane
    Joined: Dec 8, 2004
    Posts: 2,399

    6t5frlane
    Member
    from New York

    I've seen this many times in the 80's. Every Italian guy in NY had a IROC Camaro. They would lean in so not to mess up their John Travolta hairdo. IROC ( Italian retard out crusin ) No offense to my Italian buddys but thought this was worth sharing....LOL
     
  20. koolkat
    Joined: Apr 1, 2009
    Posts: 84

    koolkat
    Member
    from Merced CA

    Here's my take on the X-Sonic. I love bubble top cars.:D

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Imperial Kustom
    Joined: Dec 20, 2007
    Posts: 270

    Imperial Kustom
    Member

    One of my favorite Kustoms of all time!
     
  22. Stan Back
    Joined: Mar 9, 2007
    Posts: 2,179

    Stan Back
    Member
    from California

    In 1962, I had (still do) a 29 Roadster with a 6-pot Chevy and a quickie. I thought it was the coolest car around. I'm cruising the main drag in Berdoo, and here comes this purple/lavender bubble-topped Corvette, on the ground coming up E Street. Puckered me right up.

    Maybe 40 years later I first met Ron at a rod run in San Diego's Campland on the Bay. He saw the Krankers plaque on the sedan in my avatar, and asked if I was in the club. He said he was 2 or 3 years as president. I said I'd never had as good of a car back then to get in the club. We spend some time together and I'd never met as nice a guy.

    Sometimes the guys you looked up to back then were really nice people. (Never mind about John Bradley.)

    Here's kinda how the roadster looked back then (nowhere as nice as the Corvette).

    50 Years Ago.jpg
     
    Cyclone Kevin and 51 mercules like this.

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