History Father's Day Tribute

With Father's Day only a couple of weeks away, I want to start a thread that honors our fathers. Even though L.A. Roadsters aren’t able to observe Father’s Day with their traditional show again this year, we still can. Many of us have fathers who were paramount in our involvement in the hot rod hobby. To help preserve the history and foundations of hotrodding and what this forum is all about, I'm starting a thread to that end. I am going to post some stories and photos about my dad, and I think it would be great for everyone to join in. Tell us about your dads and how they influenced you. Show pictures of their cars, memorabilia, anything you have that reflects who they were, what they did, and what it meant to you. Ryan has told many stories about his father and his influence on him. Let us pick up on that and build a huge thread about the roots of this great movement.


My dad, Vic Sullivan, was actively involved in the post-war hot rodding movement in Southern California. He raced on the streets of So Cal (usually after meeting up with other racers at “Pic’s”—Piccadilly Drive-In— and deciding which spot to head to), at El Mirage dry lake, and at the early drag strips in Santa Ana and Saugus (which he hated because of its notoriously short shut-down area), and probably other venues I'm not aware of. Even though he held his own and rubbed shoulders with many of the early pioneers, many of whom are still well-known, he didn't remain in the fray, and so he isn't well-known now.


Dad wasn't a native to Southern California. He grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and was drafted into the navy in WWII. During the war, he was trained as an aviation bombardier but never made it overseas. While he was in the navy, his mother and sister moved to Venice, CA, so that's where he settled after he was discharged at the end of the war. That put him right in a hotbed of post-war hot rodding in the Culver City/Venice area. Members of the “Floaters” car club he helped found included Ron Hier and Hank Bender (of later Hier and Bender drag racing fame) and the partner in his race car, Bill (Zeke) Adair. Big Hank introduced Dad to my mom, and Ron was best man at their wedding.


Early post-war at El Mirage. Dad's on the right.


Dad's still in his navy dungarees.


Amazing how young they all looked.


I don't recognize this coupe, although it's similar to the Pierson Bros. and SoCal coupes.


After spending a lot of weekends at El Mirage and eventually racing his daily driver, he decided to build a dedicated dry lakes race car . He built the chassis and body, and his partner in the car, Zeke Adair, provided the engine. I’m not sure how many times he ran it at El Mirage, before organized drag racing got going, but drag racing was where he ended up racing it most often, flat-towing it all over Southern California.


Chopped, channelled, and blown '36 making a pass at Santa Drags.

The car was a '36 Ford three-window coupe. (Dad always called it that, but to me the sides of the cowl make it look more like a '35, without the deep embossed "X" for stiffening. Either way, without the stock hood and grille, it doesn't matter.) The car's most identifiable and remarkable feature is the chopped top.


Dad with '36 race car. Daily driver Merc behind. The aviation surplus water tank was later ditched, because it didn't let the engine run warm enough.





Arguably, of all the '30's Fords, the '35/'36 is probably the hardest to chop and make it look good. After '32, the problem of "sectioning a cone" was introduced, but the '33/'34 could get by fairly simply with laying the windshield posts back. Starting in '35 and after, the rear pillars typically needed to be sliced and diced to align the upper and lower parts, and filler material needed to be added to the middle of the top to stretch it. At least that was how it was usually done. Another thing with '35/'36's is that Henry made them with such a pretty profile to begin with that the roofline curve is hard to beat, but very easy to mess up, kind of like the '40.


Dad chopped his three-window in a unique way. This method may have been done by others, but I've never seen another, or a picture of, or heard of any other done this way. Instead of lengthening the top, he shortened the floorpan. He did this by taking advantage of the difference in width between 3-window and 5-window doors. He used doors from a five-window coupe to make it happen. (Front doors from a four-door sedan would also work.) Five-window coupe doors are narrower than the ones on a three-window by about six inches. He first cut the top off at the upper cut-line. Then he cut the floorpan transversely between the door sills and removed sheetmetal the length of the difference between the door widths of the two models. After welding the front and rear halves of the floor back together, he installed the narrower doors, with their square-cornered tops cut off. He then cut off the pillars on the body an appropriate amount and set the top right back onto the body. No slicing or dicing of the roof. Lastly he cut the rounded tops off the three-window doors and pieced them onto the installed five-window doors. I asked him once how he knew how much to cut off of the pillars, and he said he just measured it all and then cut off just enough so it would set back down on the shortened body. He said he only had to cut it once, and it fit perfectly.


There are several benefits to this method. First, it's a much easier process than the traditional chop. Second, Henry's beautiful profile isn't disturbed. Third, shrinking down the greenhouse vertically and longitudinally gives the car a more beautiful and also sinister look. I'm partial, having grown up with pictures of it, but I think it's the best looking chopped '36 three-window ever. The pieces all fit together quite well, and Dad, who was a master with a torch and hammer, hammer-welded it all into a smooth finish. Even though that was before plastic filler was reliable, he refused to use lead too.


Dad channelled the body over a ’35 Chevy frame, which had a shorter wheelbase, to fit the shortened body. The firewall was notched out to set the engine back considerably. A '40 hood was shortened at the rear to fit the '36 cowl. The grille was made from two side grilles off a '41. The center edges of the grilles were cut off and the two grilles welded together. The unit was then flipped upside down (with its flat side down and rounded side up)and then installed in hand-formed sheetmetal joining the front fenders and hood, giving it kind of a Willys look.


The flathead was topped with a McCulloch supercharger, Y-adapter and two 97's, with fuel lines running to a fuel block on the cowl. Engle Cams was nearby in Santa Monica and sponsored the race car. Basically, that meant Jack ground them a hot cam for gratis. Getting power to the rear Kelsey-Hayes bent spoke wheels was done through a '39 top-loader followed by a Columbia two-speed, which survived all the drag races because of the running starts at that time. The rolling starts allowed him to start out in 2nd gear also, which he said was the best pulling gear. Once he was rolling, he pre-selected overdrive, and when 2nd peaked out, all he had to do was momentarily let off the throttle and the Columbia would shift into overdrive. He said never shifting the transmission helped him beat a lot of other cars.


The drag strip at what is now John Wayne Airport officially opened on July 2, 1950. Dad raced his '36 there that day. He was always proud of the fact that he not only raced on opening day, but he was one of a handful of racers who were there the previous weekend to test out the track, before it became the first commercial drag strip. He said word spread through the grapevine that racing was going to be going on that day, so that's where he headed. Dad raced there as frequently as he could and won two races, in the "full-fendered modified coupe" class. His wins on August 12 and September 9, 1951, are documented in the self-published book by Leslie Long and Don Tuttle that collated all the news clippings from the Orange County Register on the races.









His trophies, which I still have, were never engraved with his name and class and date, but they do have the "Orange County Airport Drag Races" nameplate. I also have his "first anniversary" lapel pin that was given out by the track officials to all the racers on July 1, 1951 (two days before I was born). His top speed wasn't recorded, but he said he ran in the low 90's. Top speed for all cars at the track then was around 120 mph.


The car never was finished before it was sold. The bodywork was smoothed out, but it never got out of gray primer. The whole time it was raced, it never had floorboards. Not too long after my twin brother and I were born, Mom kind of gave Dad an ultimatum: either the race car or the family. Can't really blame her. Dad hadn't yet become the master machinist that he ultimately was, and they were living on a shoestring. So Dad sold it in late '51 and said he only ever saw it once after that, sitting on a used car lot in Downey in the late '50's. It had been painted, and made streetable with lights added, but otherwise was pretty much the same. Even though I wasn’t old enough to remember ever seeing it, it made an influence on me my entire life. An 8 x 10 photo taken of it while making a pass at Santa Ana hung on my bedroom bulletin board the whole time growing up. I built a model of it when I was a kid, using the AMT '36 kit. My first car at age nineteen was a '36 three-window. I've often thought of building a replica of the race car, but sadly, it's never become a priority. It would be cool to see someone else do it.

I have more pictures from back in the day to post, but let’s see what the rest of you have.

 

Wow, my grandfather and grandmother where from Culver City and went to Venice H.S, right about the same time. I have pics of them either during WW2 (on leave?) or after he was out, with a mild custom. Another weird point was that they lived in Downey after I believe '61 (Pomona before that). Fathers day was spent at my grandparents until he passed away (I was 16), at least I had him for a little while.

GREAT pictures and stories btw.

 

flathead60 - Thanks for pics & stories. 1oldtimer - Thanks for sharing

 

to 1oldtimer: my mom graduated from Venice H.S. in 1950. Here's a couple pics of her. Thanks for sharing.


Mom in 1951.



10 years later, Mom on our '59 T-bird in '61.

 

Here’s the second installment of my tribute to my dad. One of his many skills was being an outstanding automotive painter. While I was growing up, he frequently painted cars in our backyard garage. One of the more notable ones was this ’31 roadster which did, and still does, belong to a good friend of ours. Dad helped him build it, and then Dad painted it, in the early ’60's. What’s really cool is that it’s still owned by the same hotrodder, and it still has the same 60-year-old paint on it! The owner recently had a small-area touch-up done, and then the whole car buffed out. It still looks great.

Just painted, 60 years ago.


Recent pic of same bitchin' roadster.

And another.

 

Great stuff here, very much appreciated.

 

Mike--thanks!

 

Joker--you're welcome, thanks for response!

 

Well, Father’s Day is tomorrow, so here is the third chapter on my tribute to my dad. But first I’d like to say Happy Father’s Day to all of you out there who are fathers or who’ve had fathers.

Also I’d still like to encourage anybody else who’d like to share about their own father and add on to this thread.

I grew up in Southern California in the '50's and '60's with a gearhead father. At the time, I took for granted all that I was exposed to, not realizing how special most of it was. I was lucky to experience many of the iconic car activities of So Cal during those glory years of hotrodding. Dad dragged us everywhere, and even though he had stopped drag racing, he was so immersed in the car culture that we got to experience it all.

Like all of us, my dad had his own preferences. His were: he preferred coupes to roadsters, fenders to fenderless, flatheads to overheads, and there we're only two types of cars: Fords and non-Fords. Also, if it was a hotrod, it had to have red wheels.

Dad started my brother and me out early, with pedal cars.

That's the brand new '54 Ford family car in the background.

We camped out on El Mirage Dry Lake many times, to be able to see the cars start early the next morning. Dad was friends with the late Jack Stewart, Dick Zook (owner of the yellow ’31 roadster in a previous post), and the rest of their now-defunct SCTA club, the Wheelers. I was so impressed by Jack’s ’31 roadster with Chrysler hemi, that I built a model of it. In addition to all the early iron out on the dry lake, there were also some belly tanks, one of which veered off course and hit a tumbleweed hillock with disastrous results. Although I liked the cars, at that time I had not yet developed a burning interest in cars, and I took in most of the activity with only a little polite curiosity. My twin brother and I were more interested in playing catch with gloves and a baseball, and shooting off the firecrackers we had brought along, and hitting the roach-coach snack bar. One of my most vivid memories was the drive out 395 after crossing Cajon Pass. We were in our white '59 T-bird, and dad opened it up on the two-lane desert road, getting to a little over 120 mph, which was really flying on that narrow road with all the dips in it. I've been back out to El Mirage more recently, and although similar, it does seem different somehow. Not sure if it's just the difference of perception and memories between a youngster and an older adult, or the increase in sophistication in the technology of the cars today, or what, but the ambience on the dry lake today doesn't seem as laid back as it was then. Still cool though.


My brother, my dad, me, and Dick Zook, watching a car make a run, by Jack Stewart and Chuck Gregg (wrenching on Jack's roadster.)



Dad and sis in front of '59 T-bird family car.

One of my favorite times was riding around SoCal in the rumble seat of a '30 Model A coupe dad restored. He had gotten it out of a dairy field for $60. It was only a body on a chassis, no engine, some fenders and a lot of other parts missing. It was a family trip to flat-tow it home, and I remember the tie-rod coming loose and front wheels not staying aligned, requiring some impromptu repairs to make it towable. He did a complete restoration on it. After my mom and he pored over endless 1930 magazine ads of Model A ads in the L.A. Library for paint colors, he settled on a dark blue body, black fenders, and orange wheels and pinstriping. Of course he painted it himself. He commuted to work in it for a while, but on Sundays we would head out all over Southern California, from Mt. Baldy to the desert to the beach. Sometimes it would be poker rallies with the Model A club, sometimes it would just be the family out for an adventure. The A was completely bone stock, even the tall tires, all except for some minor mods to the engine. It sported spare tires in wheelwells in both front fenders. It had cowl lights, a motometer, and the previously mentioned rumble seat along with a couple of cast aluminum stepping pads on the right rear fender and rear bumper. The engine was an A four-banger, but it had a hot cam and a Winfield head. Dad had tried a Riley overhead-valve head, but he could never get it to run right, so he went back to the trusty Winfield. What a sleeper! Dad got the biggest kick out of sitting at a stop light next to some kid in a more modern car like a '57 Chevy, revving the motor and exchanging glances, and then when the light turned green the race was on. Of course, he only did that on short blocks, where the other car with a V-8 wouldn't have enough time to really get wound up. With the short gears in the Model A, and his drag racing experience, Dad could always beat the other very surprised young driver to the next stop light, even with skinny-assed tires and all.


The annual Model T hill climb up Signal hill was always fun. Some of the bone-stock cars really struggled to make it up the hill, some even having to run backward to make it. No problem at all for the hot rods though. The event was run by the Long Beach Model T Club, first run in the late ’50’s. The photos are from ’61. That year they invited the Model A Club to join them, I guess kind of as a friendly peace gesture, as there always seemed to be a little animosity between the T and A guys. Anyway, the Model A’s blew away the T’s, and they never got invited back again.



This area is now covered with houses.

Another frequent viewing we enjoyed was watching the motorcycles climb the hills on Beach Blvd. in the Buena Park/LA Mirada/La Habra area. It was near home and didn't cost anything. That was before real dirt bikes, mostly big ol' Harleys and Triumphs. I don’t think the photo is from there though; I think it was taken a lot earlier, somewhere in L.A.


Santa Ana Drags was closed down by then, but we went to Lions Drag Strip in Long Beach for night racing. It was fun, and loud, and full of memorable racing smells. That was when most of the cars were still door-slammers, before big-buck corporate drag racing. Whether it was watching the midgets race at Ascot in Gardena or it was watching stock cars race in the MotorTrend 500 at Riverside, there was plenty of car culture in the Southern California area at that time.


Swap meets like Long Beach and Pomona hadn't geared up yet, but the annual swap meet held in Long Beach by the Model T club was always a favorite of dad's. Of course there wasn't quite as much need for swap meets then, since you could still buy NOS parts from places like Obsolete Ford in Long Beach or Harold Looney’s antique Ford parts store in Orange, which later on became C.W. Moss. Dad's love for swap meets got passed on to me. He went to L.A. Roadsters Father’s Day show and swap meet every year, starting when it was at the Hollywood Bowl. I joined him later and flew home almost every year to be there with him on On Father’s Day at the roadster show. My first as an interested adult was in 1973 at the L. A. Roadsters Father's Day meet at the Great Western Exhibit Center when I was home on leave. It became a family tradition to go to the show every year, which I passed on to my son. Hopefully, it’s back again next year.


To end, once again, Happy Father’s Day to you all!


I’m also adding on a few cool old photos below, that I found in my dad’s collection.

'40 convertible mild custom.

Post-war custom.


'28-'29 roadster hot rod.


Dad on his Indian "commuter" in early '50's. Nice early flame job. He didn't keep this too long. He couldn't get it kick-started one day, so he had mom rope-tow him with the family car to try to get it started. Unfortunately, mom popped the clutch on the car and yanked the bike. The bike went one way, and dad went the other, landing on a curb. That's when he decided to sell it. I don't think he ever rode a bike again.

Couldn't help throwing in this pics below of the O.C Drags 1st anniversary lapel pin.



Finally, I thought there was an “Art Forum” here on the HAMB, but I’m having a hard time finding it, not being excessively technical/computer savvy. So I’m posting here instead a water color painting my son did, kind of a montage of a some of the photos I’ve posted in this thread.

 

SOOOOO much awesomeness in this thread. My grandmother graduated in '42 I believe (grandfather was '41). The yellow A is piece of history, a testament to the builder (bonus with a Costa Mesa reference). I didn't get to hear any of their stories (My grandmother didn't like to talk about the past after my grandfather passed), I think that's why I'm so hyper focused on the past (with EVERYTHING). I found all the pictures I have after my grandmother passed, so I don't know the dates.

Culver City mid 40's ?




Thanks SO much for the post and pictures.

 

Culver City mid 40's ?

GREAT photo of your grandparents. Yeah, probably mid-to-late '40's.

 

That is a lot of generations of talent.

 

@flathead60 thanks for sharing the Family History and more...Hamb Gold truly...I remember the Coupe shared quite some time ago by @ratamahata...the unusual scoop in the front had us guessing what was going on under the hood...

 

To daylate$short and Stogy: thx for kind words.

 

Inspirational and all kinds of cool. Great homage to your Dad.

 

1937 So Cal, first car after college, a 1936 Dodge sedan.

Hello,
Great stories and timeline from a different So Cal location and family history. That is quite some history and photos to showcase the development of your family background. Nice photos and information.

Our family history started in San Pedro and Terminal Island. Our dad like the area so much that our mom stayed in the Long Beach area the longest, until 1998. My brother and I sure thank our parents for not moving out of the area as was being planned from 1960 to 62.

My brother was in his recovery stage from our drag racing accident. But, continued his college studies in Los Angeles. Our dad worked in Los Angeles, so our mom wanted to live in Los Angeles. I was the only hold out, as all of my friends still were around in Long Beach. We were able to develop our history, thanks to our mom and especially, our dad.

Our dad was one of those quiet guys that was always in the background. Quiet at work, sporting events, at family gatherings and of course in the living room after his work. He was even fairly quiet with his two sons when they got a little out of hand. He was respected in the neighborhood and within his circle of friends.

A few choice words, not at us, but at the scene or questionable action, was all that was needed to quell the two brothers. He knew how to stop what he deemed not good action from his two sons. Our mom would yell at us and sometimes laugh as she chased us, but it was more fun than daunting. When our dad said what he said, we immediately stopped and moved on in a quiet way. It was like training at an early age. That lasted until the two brothers were physically bigger than he was and we were a little intimidating, too.
1948 Westside of Long Beach next to the Terminal Island Freeway (adjoining the huge grass field behind our house.) He saved up enough money to buy our family the first real house (Craftsman Design) after living in a government rental trailer for almost 2.5 years.

But, for me and for my brother, we would not have wanted it any other way. He was a great dad and we knew where and how much to push our fun, but we knew when that big noise was going to come up. He supported us in school, school activities, neighborhood sports events and teams, and also school team participation. He tried capturing family life with his version of a camera… a 4x5 Graflex fold out camera. Not the best for a fast point and shoot to capture the fast moving family action.

When he saw us tinkering on something (more like taking apart a lawn motor for our go kart) he got us some rims and tires from his friend in Los Angeles. He did not go out and buy a ready made go kart with an engine, but watched us develop some raw skills in abilities to create something out of nothing.

Jnaki

In our teenage years, he was a strong supporter of my participation in school sports and came to every game and some practices. When I destroyed my first pair of standard football shoes, I was walking around in ripped leather and broken soles, he felt sorry and went with me to get the latest “Teflon” sole and supple, stretchable leather shoes that lasted for three years. I was so happy and thanked him profusely.

Playing basketball with old torn high top tennis shoes was the standard. But, once I got an ankle sprain, we went out and got some newer supporting high tops for basketball. I had those shoes while playing until the team just outgrew my 5’9 inch guard position with several taller 6 foot kids that took over the playmaking position.

When my brother and I started our drag racing/hot rod building adventures, he wanted both of us to go to college, but for the time being, he supported us in the engine building and speed shop parts business we created. He even went to Lion’s Dragstrip almost monthly to watch those unusual races and racecars, like the “Green Monster.” The reality was captured by another So Cal person filming the action with his 8mm camera.

One day, in the 2000’s I was watching the new You Tube Channel and saw this film clip of my brother, his friend and me all dressed alike at Lion’s Dragstrip. (blue nylon jackets, white t shirts, Levis, and desert boots with our fairly short buzz cuts.) But, the thing that stood out was a fast moving blurb across the bottom of the screen. It was our dad in his famous Dobbs Fedora Hat. He wore that hat every time he went out of the house.
Rruss film capture
The teenagers on the spectator side at Lions Dragstrip in their flat tops and blue nylon jackets. Our dad in his Dobbs Fedora hat…LOWER RIGHT

Thank you, dad for all that you did for me and our family…

 

I can’t thank my dad enough for letting me play in his machine shop and trying to teach me the importance of taking my time and doing it right. I lost him in 1963 when I was 19, still a kid with a lot to learn. He taught me how to fly everyone of his airplanes from the time I was 12 or 13. I never got a license but still know how to fly. Just couldn’t do it after he was gone.

 

Miss you dad
Still using your tools

 

Lost my dad in '99, when I was a kid I could not have had a better childhood, we didn't have a lot of material things but dad was always there for us.

Recently we were going through boxes that we hastily pack when dad passed away and I found this photo - dad, me and a bass almost as big as me. HRP

 

To jnaki, jimmy6, Oldtmtech, and HOTRODPRIMER: thanks so much for joining in and sharing about your dads. Your pics are great too!

 

Thank you for this thread. I love seeing how others grew up and the stories of their youth.

My Dad...wow where do I start.

Dad loved his cars ... and he had plenty of them as I was growing up. When he was young he worked the dirt track speedway as pit crew for open-wheelers. It was Liverpool Raceway mainly. Even though Dad preferred the SBC powered open-wheelers it was the big US Cars that I loved to see. Little did I know, way back then in the years to come, I would become an accidental car tragic !! I do love my car stuff now... but it wasn't always that way. I wandered for many years doing work-related things... had a few car setbacks ... and then all of a sudden I found myself on the trail of performance street cars, drag races (some illegal), and classic cruisers.

Some images from when Dad was young.


There wasn't much Dad couldn't fix or maintain...from Lawnmowers to Diesel Generators.




It was a regular event that Dad would take my younger brother & me off to the Speedway on a Saturday night. I was about 10 and my brother 3 years younger. We would sit on the grass mound on turn four with a blanket to stop the mud from hitting us as the cars went by. Meanwhile, Dad was in the pits working on the cars.

There was plenty of octane in the air and of course coke and hot dogs for my brother and me to eat.









Like many here ... Dad taught me how to maintain a car and diagnose things by ear & eye. Very often as I am working in the garage I get the sense that he is there alongside me. It's been 20 years since he passed away but I still get those feelings that he is around.

I still have and use many of his tools ...I just wish sometimes I had his calibrated mechanical mind. He started on Aircraft engines as an apprentice, learned to fly but never got a license flew his brother's plane instead. He worked his way across all kinds of motors from outboard boat motos to diesel plant generators.



Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers here....

 

WOW!!---What a neat story! That was in my era too!! While in the USN 1951-1955, stationed at Amphip. base in Coronado Ca. used to go to Paradise Mesa & watch the Bean Bandits run.
Since you mentioned L.A. Roadsters Fathers Day, here's a pix of headlight sticker that never happened 2020-2021.-------IF I can bring it up.

 

I graduated from Inglewood Hi in 1950.

 

NICE!!!

 

Great story!---Thought you might like these!

 

To OzMerc39: Very cool story and pics of your dad. That was the whole point of starting this thread. Thanks for sharing!

 

To DeuceDaddyDon: Thanks for sharing. Yes, I do like like the posters! I appreciate the responses.

 

My dad,gone too soon