The Raybestos RPU

I typically stay away from commercial posts here on The Jalopy Journal. This site started with a personal lean and despite what some of my detractors might say or think, I continue to work hard to keep it on a personal level. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached by big names with big budgets and a motive. I turn them down because such a venture isn’t me. I can’t be a whore. I can’t be a paid mouth. It’s simply not in me.

So, groundwork laid… This isn’t a commercial post. Raybestos isn’t paying me a nickel. I haven’t gotten, nor do I expect, free brake pads anytime soon. Nope. This post isn’t about any of that. It’s about a couple of guys making a living for themselves doing what they love. And that, I can tell you from experience is what life is all about.

Guy #1 is Josh Russell. You know him as Dynamic88. Josh is a car guy. He lives in Chicago and is a card carrying member of the Chrome Czars Motor Club. A few years ago, Josh got himself a job with the company that handles Raybestos Brakes, Raybestos Chassis Parts, and WIX filters. It wasn’t long before his business cards read, “Director of Sales and Marketing for Raybestos Online – Performance and Racing Division.” Josh works with team owners, drivers, and league folks from both NASCAR and the Izod Indy Car Series. Hot shit – Right?

Even so, our man has been trying like hell to get Raybestos in with the hot rod crowd. In an effort to do so, he dreamed up the ultimate shop truck. The idea was to plant this truck firmly into 1963. In Josh’s vision, this was the truck that cruised up and down gasoline alley delivering racing brakes to all of the Indy Roadsters of the day. A golden hot rod for the golden era of Indy… Knock-offs, nerf bars, tons of “performance” mesh, and even the original “Raybestos Safety in Speed” logo featured prominently on the door.

Somehow… Someway… Josh managed to sell the idea to corporate and the truck is becoming a reality thanks to guy #2 – Troy Ladd & Hollywood Hot Rods. Troy is the perfect guy for a project like this. He has deep routes in traditional hot rodding, but isn’t above or below striking out of that mould every now and then. Dude just has a knack for building fresh cars with new ideas (and in some cases, new technology), but without loosing the character of an honest to goodness hot rod. He’s also just a real good guy and someone I always enjoy bumping into when I’m in Burbank. I don’t know any other way of saying it, but… He’s one of us.

In any case, our two guys got together and now the RPU is going together. It’s a contemporary hot rod that tips its hat to tradition. Both Josh and Troy plan to beat the hell of the little car on both the road course and the drag strip. It’s not a SEMA car built to look pretty and sell brake parts. This one is being built to drive.

And I guess that’s why I’m kind of uppity on the Raybestos RPU. See, just about all of the players on this deal are HAMBers. Django handled a lot of design work for the promotion, Norwell did the artist rendering, Ebert has been pitching in here and there, and even Torchmen49 got his hands dirty on the windshield frame. It’s a group effort from a bunch of real hot rod guys that we all know and love. It’s personal.

Of course, it could get even more personal. Raybestos is gonna give this thing away and it’s Josh’s job to make sure we all know about it. So, support one of our own and enter to win. You’ll be glad ya did.

You can enter the contest and keep up with the latest on the build at RaybestosGarage.com.

Here’s just a few of the build pics: