You ain't right Boss! It's that cold weather and lack of power & water last week that has effected your thought process, hang in there! When you get feeling back in you fingers and toes you will be right as rain. HRP
Hey Ryan, thanks for the response, and I too meant no disrespect. I guess my point was, post war hot rodding, the era most us hold dear to our heart (not many of us building pre war gow jobs) was populated by mostly good guys, albeit a little wild at times. Were they really hoodlums as the Press portrayed them? Or just our Dads & Uncles displaying some youthful vigor? Incidently, what's your thoughts on a red oxide 32 being called pink by unknowing witnesses?
Ryan, I would recommend you check out the relatively new book "The Brown Bomber" the story of Rajo Jack. It is a great read about the pre and post war racing efforts of a Black mechanic and Driver. There is a lot of great history in the book. He was a real outlaw with many alias's to survive the descrimination back in those years, I think you would really enjoy it!
I second the recommendation on the book. While the last third or so kinda drags on, since it's very SEMA-centric at that point in hot rod parts manufacturing history, the first 2/3 or so is very interesting. The book has an extensive footnotes section with sources cited, which leads to other books and a ton of magazine articles, so if there's something you find particularly interesting, there's likely a source cited that you can explore further. That bibliography ended up getting me into collecting 50s magazines for the past year because it pointed me toward particular articles specifically about Chevy Stovebolt Six parts manufacturers. I started buying a few here and there, and that became a slippery slope...
hotrodjack33, I would agree with that because the poodle skirt, fuzzy dice side of the hot rod world didn't come until after the NSRA era started in the 70's. When I think of the early years, I think of the guys I knew personally that lived through it, like Bernie Couch. I talked to Bernie about his life from the when he was a kid, to when bought is roadster in 1942 with his older brother Morey's help, his years in the Navy in the Pacific and then after he got out, racing at the lakes. Of course he was just one guy, that lived, breathed and worked his ass off to own and hot rod his roadster, but I'm sure there were many more just like him. But there were always that few that gave everyone else a bad reputation, like these guys in the '32 sedan or the ones killing themselves street racing. Because we take our own path in life and come from different backgrounds, there will always some that take the wrong path. That's what makes the news and I'm sure there isn't anyone here that hasn't done a lot of stupid and dangerous stuff when we were young (and still do!), so we deserved some of that reputation. Just like today, when you see some kid walking around with his pants half down imitating a gangsta or rapper, trying to be somebody they probably aren't or never will be, just smile and remember. But I'm so damn glad there were enough of them that took a different path, like Wally Parks, Alex Xydias, Stu Hilborn, Ed Iskenderian and so, so many others did and gave us the the golden age of hot rods for us to learn about, admire, imitate and enjoy. It's pretty amazing to me that Ryan gave us this site for all these years so we can celebrate those formative years of hot rodding some 80+ years later. I hope those boys that ended up in jail eventually learned from it and got to enjoy this hobby that we all love.
“Three men estimated to be between 20 and 30 years old left the scene in a pink Ford sedan without fenders. Witnessed described the car as loud and fast and obviously built for racing…” "Well, there it is"! See Dannys' comment below, "I didn't want to say it but............
I'm always amused when I see old newspaper articles that list someones name and home address. Could you imagine the uproar if that happened today? Though, I bet it kept people 'honest'.
Blowby, how many places do you have to rob before you can afford a paint job? . I would have painted it after the first heist. lol
...........Just for the record, I remember seeing lots of cars with fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror in the 50's and 60's, long before the NSRA came along. And as far as Poodle Skirts go, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one!
Here is a DRAGNET EPISODE,for those who want to know what Joe Friday was doing,working another crime.with similaritys
Hmmm... Pink '32s. Man...I remember 1954, I got a pink-and-black shirt. It was cool with Levis, I didn't even tuck it in! My '36 Three window I got and chopped 5-1/4" in '55 got a hasty coupla coats of lavender primer. (for that "cool Rythm & Blues look") Coolness flowed freely thru my new Binks gun... My Mom said it looked 'hideous'. I recall a bright pink '40 Coupe, from San Jose. Fast flattie, belonged to the Gear Jammers.
When I was old enough to take any interest in the newspaper, other than the comics the court news/notices were the first I looked at. In the small city I lived in you likely knew or knew of the perps and where they lived was always printed. It was a source of extreme embarrassment for a lot of families. Those mug shots look like 20 miles of bad road.
I would dare to venture that the collective IQ level (at the time) would not even get close to "mastermind". Well said. A concept very few grasp. Couldn't agree more...................
Great read. We had something similar happen here in Omaha in the late 80s/early 90s. There was these young guys that lived in South Omaha and drove a black 49-50 Olds 4 door. Had chrome rims and loud pipes. The owner parked it in an alley totally visible from busy Vinton street. One day the boys decided to hold up a bank and they used the Olds to do it. The cop shop was about 8 or 9 blocks away and the cops saw the Olds every day. The robbers were apprehended when the police saw the olds sitting in the alley after the crime. Duh! Prolly some alcohol involved with the caper. Never saw the Olds again.
Wow, what a topic. Honorable, what exactly could that season in the salad of traditional hot rodding. Imagine a mixed up variety of car guys n gals. All gainfully employed, all talented in some ways and maybe less in others. None of them with dishonorable habits or activities (at least not spoken of in the midst of their peers). We all engaged in the dishonorable activity of street racing. Mind you, we ain't talkin the occasional stop light contest, organized gambling and racing amongst ourselves and raising the bar higher and higher as the weeks, months, and years went on. It was always there but I like to think we took it as far, and as honorable, as it could go. No drunks or potheads, no dope dealers, shit fellas we even had a fuckin remote control christmas tree! If someone broke we all helped get em out of harms way from Johnny Law. Is that "punk rock" as our esteemed benefactor noted? Maybe there is that element. I also like to think that it was "us" who gave rise to those HRM "Street Shootout" events for a jacket and cash. "The boys from Detroit" were a known and feared element in the early days of that shit. Our street cars did 9 second passes for Car Craft magazine at Milan Dragway for the whole damn world to see before those events came into vogue. We all had a back story in the foundations of this world we celebrate today. Some were the offspring of seasoned drag racers who ran slingshots, altereds, factory sponsored stock and super stocks. Not a Deuce in the bunch but 1 guy finally did show up in an outrageous Model A coupe with a sheetmetal tunnel ram and way to much juice. "Punk rock" indeed, we were different, we were dedicated and disciplined. We were sober and safety conscious and so full of piss and vinegar we couldn't help but get noticed. Getting noticed in all the bad ways, we were on the TV local news, in the papers, and a massive raid at a local hang pretty much drove it all underground or to the tracks where it really DID belong. I missed the raid as I was learning the hard lesson of too much juice way too soon, eliminating a cylinder wall from my labor of love BBC at the test n tune that night. Good thing, as I too left the world and went to the track. I took the roll of spectator, enabler, curbside gambler and lookout, but my personal racing exploits went legit. Dear ol Dad was one of those too. He didn't talk much about it until I was well on to building an adult life with kids and mortgage pmts and running a small business. He ran a 36 Dodge pickup stuffed with a dual quad Eldorado engine and automatic. I posted pics in the past of that beast. Ran the biggest snowtires he could fit for traction and seldom got beat. He was there when local speed king Psetto Pastoian raced a "kid" from out west with a custom Buick, that had of all things an Offy hooked up to a Dynaflow. Don Garlits confirmed the legend to me when I shared that story, he and Psetto being close friends. Talk about punk rock, an Offy in a fuckin Buick? God Save The Queen! A Teenage Lobotomy! Yeah, there is and always will be a criminal element within our ranks, and also like our fearless leader I too believe there's nothing worse than a thief within them. Parts and tool theft ought be treated like horse thieves or imprisoned and reduced to sagged denim bitches owned by the general population in those institutions. Lastly, poodle skirts? My dear departed Mom told me girls with those were taunted and teased and usually didn't wear them for long. Fuzzy dice? I'd always heard they started as air fresheners from a car wash chain and then took off as a momentary cultural gig. In my day it was a bandana hanging from the mirror. Anyone remember that? Sometimes we take offense at select elements of this chosen craft, life style, hobby, habit, whatever we want to call it, when the actions of just a few random scumbags use our art forms for unlawful acts. Personally, I tend to agree with the punk rock reference in this way. In the days of same ol-same ol music those of us who were actually real "Ramones" knew it when we heard it, saw it, saw others who knew it, and sometimes tended to disuade others from keeping company because of it. And are fine with that too. So "our" cars, just like Elvis, Punk, even hip hop, we know it when we see it, easily separate the fashion plates from the life in the 1st few words of convo, and can spot the sincere grins of approval from yards away. I'm glad those punks paid for the stains they made using the fiber of hot rods for their nefarious purposes. None of us are real outlaws, even the lawless racers I started out with, I never considered it in the realm of true crime. Maybe just a Blitzkeig Bop...
My dad recalls having his school grades published in the newspaper. The high school did it for all students. Being smart or stupid to your family wasn't enough, the whole town knew.
LOL, friend of mines Dad told him he would help him get a car if he would just get one A on his report card. Poor schmuck was still walking when he joined the Army.
There really is a lot worse criminal than a thief - a robber. That's what those guys were. A thief steals stuff when no one is looking or around, the robber threatens to stab you or puts a gun in your face to force you to give him stuff. The one is far worse than the other.
Ha. Forgot about that. Car Stone did rob a bank !! But did he drive a purple get away car ??? I dunno' that answer. *** B/SR winner at the 1957 Nats, with the bottom flick.
This is a pretty damn cool thread! Had some nostalgia mixed in with that episode of Drag Net... still remember watching that with my grandpa on that old console black and white tv! Along with some thought provoking ideas of what is/isn't punk rock, love it! Looking forward to the book Ryan!
Very interesting comments and perspectives. But let's cut to the chase... has anyone checked the HAMBs member list to see if any of those five belong?
The Jalopy Journal
