History Redondo Beach Drifters Car Club

I am trying to find out info on the Redondo Beach Drifters. My father Bill Vornholt was a member. I have attached a copy of a photo of some of the drifters. I don't know any of the names in the photo, except my father Bill Vornholt is in the front with the dark Sunglasses. I have also attached a copy of a list of members.
Thanks Tina Vornholt Smith
Huntington Beach CA

 

Wow.. that's awesome... wish i had any useful info. I wonder if they're still around.. would be cool as hell to hang out with those guys.

 

I ran into a guy several years ago that was a former member. He said they still had a few guys around and got together in Redondo area regularly. Try the yellow pages....

 

I believe that Jim Aust may know a little bit of the history of this car club.

 

I have one of their club jackets from the late 40's. I believe they meet at a place called "Eat At Joes" on the corner of PCH and Carnelian in Redondo Beach early on Friday mornings. I've heard they are gone by 8am, but can't personally verify that because I suck. I live walking distance from there.

 

Coby .....

I can't believe you still haven't visited them after I gave you the lead. Wasn't that a couple of years ago? I'm coming over that way next week and maybe I'll have to drag you out of bed on Friday so we can both visit them.

I knew quite a few of the Drifters, although they were all a little older and richer than me and my club members. My best friend and I did travel with them to Oklahoma City in 1958 driving my friend's chopped Merc convertible.

The car in the photo that Chatty posted wasn't the car they raced that year. I do have some photos I took and will post them here. I also have my program from the drags.

There was stiff competition between the Drifters and the Millwinders, another Redondo club, and I still have the magazine with both cars facing off in a drag race on the cover. It may be the same car in the photo. I believe they wrecked one or two cars and the last car I remember them racing was a 33 or 34 coupe.

Bill Junge
Magoos (1958)
Dry Heat Geezers (2009)

 

Hello Bill,
Could it be Hot Rods Cover Nov 1954? I did a search on covers and searched through all the 1950's covers and found this one? Thanks Tina Click on the link and the photo should come up. I also found a few more photo's of one of their cars 23 Jr.

 

I have been chasing Drifters info for over 20 years and that's one of the best photos I have ever seen. The REALLY wild part- my best friend from ALL my school years dad is on that list you posted!!! I NEVER knew he was a hot rodder! Sadly he has advanced alshiemers now and I haven't talked to my old friend in 20 years. I always wondered about the really nice Falcon Sprint he had with chrome reverse wheels. He GAVE it away when we about 12 and broke my heart. It had been parked since it was almost new- and rgis was about 1978 when he scrapped it. It was gorgeous and was a 260/4 speed bucket seat car. Should have known he was a hot rodder at some point.

 

I came across a few more photo's of the Drifters car with is 23 Jr. They had won first prize at an Annual Hot Rod Show, but I don't know the date. One photo also includes my father Bill Vornholt and the other photo is from a race. I called my sister and she is going to look some info she has on the Drifters. Thanks for all the replies.

 

Tina,

Here is a photo I took in OKC and this is one of the cars they raced there and the one I think your dad drove. I'm wondering if your dad is in the photo. I'm unable to remember names but I think that's Hozie Gomez on the right, partially behind the "official" .....



The other car was a gray 35 coupe and I think it had just been put together before the races. It's just off camera in front of the 57 Ford convertible on the left.

 

That's it!



I think 23 Jr. also appeared in one or two other magazines and somewhere I read a story about the safety features that had been built into the car after it wrecked. I think Glen Stokey was also a driver of the car.

 

Here is a photo of the car in the middle of a car show but I can't place where that may have been since I didn't take the photo .....

 

Here's the cover from the drag race program .....

 

I am almost positive that is my dad with his back to the camera and his foot on the front tire. In the program someone had on this race for 1958 and my dad is listed as the driver. This is so cool. I wish he was still alive but he passed away back in 1982. Thanks for posting. Tina

 

This photo is great. Thanks

 

Now I am going to have to go searching for a copy of this. Thanks Tina

 

Check out the photo of the drag race. Not sure of the strip but the starter has SDTA on his shirt so it may have been at a track in the San Diego area. Maybe Carlsbad?

Also on the right side of the photo is a 50 Mercury. Photos like this make me wonder if that's one of the many chopped Mercs that are still on the road.

 

I have an extra.

 

Tina,

I'm almost positive that the middle photo of the car and your dad was taken at Bacon Ford in Hermosa Beach. It was on PCH across from Pier Ave School. I worked there for a short time in 1958 in the Parts Department.

As a side note about Bacon, they were a Studebaker dealer in 1952 so that photo was taken after that since I can see "Ford" painted on the wall behind the car.

 

Not Carlsbad, the starting line had a hill behind (west) and to the south.

 

This is so cool that everyone is responding to my orginial message. I just talked to my mom and she doesn't really remember many of the drifters. She did mention Hozie. She also said that a few of the drifters were in their wedding, Gene Boughton, Tommy Bearsley and Norm Bullinger. None of these names except Hozie are listed in the sheet I have of the members. My mom also said that dad was in the Drifters for a long time and one of his nicknames was "Barney". I don't know much about his racing days. I do remember as a child going to the Drag Races and Funny Car Races all the time. I also recall that he knew a lot of the racers and we got tons of stickers, but that is about it. I am more of a baseball fan, and enjoyed the trips to see the Angels much more than the racing. My husband and son all love this. I would love to put together a scrapbook of this racing days and the Drifters. Thanks again. Anyone can contact me directly at [email protected]

 

I have attached some more photo's. Two of them are racing photo's and the other two it looks like they are working on the car or checking it out.

 

!!!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=676475&d=1244138662

That is about the coolest picture I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing this with us Tina!

 

The first racing photo has 23 Jr. racing against the red Millwinder's coupe (#96). They were the rival club in Redondo.

Here are photos of both club's plaques .....

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JimA's dad had the Drifter's plaque on his 32 3 window and I took a photo of it on a Saturday AM coffee cruise but I don't think he was ever a member.

Nes, a member of the Millwinders in the early 50's, sent me the photo of their plaque.

 

I remember the name Barney. A few years ago I stopped at H & H Body Shop on Torrance Blvd and Barry Hamilton gave me a list of Drifters members. Gene Boughton and Tommy Beasley (spelling?) are on the list but the only Bullinger is a Gordon. The list I have may be a later list than the one you posted.

Others I knew were Alex Madrid and his brother Herb, who bought a brand new 58 or 59 Corvette and stripped it to race at Bonneville. Alex worked at the Mobil station at PCH and Torrance Blvd and had a beautiful black 55 Ford convertible that I think he waxed every day.

"Bones" Dettmers worked for Barry and his brother Jarvis at H & H and he drove his 57 Ranchero to OKC but I dont' remember if he towed one of the cars. The following photo I took on Route 66 in the Texas panhandle on our way home after we had a blow-out in my friend's chopped Merc. My friend has the hat on and I think that's Gene Boughton pointing at the flat.

 

"Bones" was also in my dad's wedding but I mom didn't think he was a drifter. His name in their wedding annoucement was Vernon Dettmers. I have attached a photo of their wedding party and one of just dad and "Bones". I did a search for him a month or so ago and he died in 1985. As for the Drifters plaque, no wonder my dad liked orange.

He had an Orange 1940 Ford 2 door coupe that was similar looking to the Drifters 23, he sold to a friend. That is how this whole thing got started. Someone from my childhood died last week and the reception was at my moms house. Someone asked whatever happened to my dad's old Orange car. Now I am going to try and track that down.

Thanks for all the post.
Tina - Daughter of Bill Vornholt - Drifter

 

thats random just a few days ago i was working at a house in torrance and some lady was telling me that her dad was part of some car club called the "drifters".

 

Tina- I think I worked with your dad at a can factory ( made soda cans) in Wilmington from 1979-1981 (I left). He was a fork lift driver...Always wore an NHRA hat, always going to the races and was a total drag race fanatic...He was a great guy to talk cars with..I was only 21 at the time and he had a lot of stories...never told me he drove though...Or mentioned a car club...But he could talk drag racing forever....And he could be a rebel too!!!
You are lucky to be his daughter...
I hope you find the car

 

Yes, that is where he worked when he died. He had worked there for 3 years and died Mar of 1982, so about 1979 - 1982. That was Medal Box Can and he did drive the fork lift. Prior to that he had worked in two differenent Aerospace Companys. First Aronica ( I know I am spelling that wrong ) Aerospace for over 20 years and then a few years at Panel Air. He loved drag racing. He had 4 girls and 1 boy (the youngest) so the girls went everywhere with him. The Races, Baseball and Fishing.
Thanks for the post. Tina

 

Tina ... that "someone" was me ... I'll e-mail you the high resolution scans of the '58 Nats program.

See ... I told you the H.A.M.B. was an amazing place! ...