Alex Answers Your Questions…

Can I just say “WOW”, for Alex Xydias being 100 years old and still having a mind like a steel trap. He’s sitting there telling stories from over seven decades ago about racing at Bonneville with Isky (also 100 years old), who leans over and asks me if my shirt is a Pendleton… These guys are serious legends. So I got a few minutes with Alex and asked your questions, as always he was so eloquent and wise in his answers:

Q: Looking back through the what you’ve witnessed, as well as implemented, in the hobby of hot rods, what advice would you offer to keep the hobby alive and thriving as we look ahead? Does the future look bright?

A: Well to tell you the truth, I think the hobby is in pretty good shape. Right now they’ve gone through the lockout, and the virus and all those things… Everybody is busy right now. People still want cars restored or new cars built. There’s a great demand for it. I think it’s a great time in history for the sport right now.

Q: I’ve always wanted to know what Alex’s opinion and relationship with Bill Kenz was. The two had quite a rivalry in 1949 and 1950. The two of them in my opinion, some of the greatest pioneers and innovators.

A: Oh, we were rivalries, but we were best friends, too. No, that whole Denver bunch of guys were just wonderful people, and we loved it. The first Bonneville that we saw the twin engine truck, and we all got blown away by it. I mean it was something we had never thought of in L.A., but he did in Denver. So, no he was a great friend, we had a great rivalry with the streamliners, and we both came away winners and we both were on Hot Rod magazine covers, and so it was a good relationship. And Roy Leslie too!

Q: If I were visiting with him I’d ask him if his WWII experiences played a part in starting the Socal Speedshop or if the war kinda got in the way of his hobby/ sport he was already involved in. What did you bring back from the war that was helpful?

A: Well, the fact that I enlisted in the (Army) Air Corp, which later became the Air Force, the reason I did that was to have the chance to work on all those airplanes. There were some great airplanes during the war- The P-51, the P-38, the B-17 bomber – I was the engineer and gunner on that, on the B-17- And all those experiences of working on those, seeing the type of equipment, the dzus fasteners, there was just so much to learn, and I brought that home from the war. Yeah, no question.

Q:  Could you ask him, what is his personal preference of a motor in a vintage hotrod and why? Does he prefer the flathead or the small block or even an inline? If you built one today, what motor would you run?

A: I wouldn’t put a Flathead in it because that’s really nostalgia, but there would be no reason to do that, unless you were running in a certain class. I don’t know, I would try to come up with something new… Maybe an electric motor? What are people running now?