Great story, very moving, Rogellio is the real thing keeping hot rodding alive one man at a time, wishing him good health and a long ride.
Hambers in particular seem to be cool guys. Look how few pissing contests are out here. It's amazing.
Thank you for the great story - a tribute to a true hot rodder. My bucket list has another cross-country trip planned in my avatar - I will be sure to stop by and say my thanks for keeping the faith personally.
Hey, Mighty. Thank you. I know you're a friend of Rogelios and have been helping him out. I know he appreciates it.
Wooo, Thanks for sharing an inspirational and moving encounter with a man who has a love for what is important in life, his wife, his hobby, his past. God Bless him!!!
I met him Friday at the show when helping PhatCaddy set up his display, Rogelio was flying round the show like someone half his age, parking cars, dragging carpets out and generally running the show single handed. Thanks for the effort, and hope it happens again next year.
Now YOU, my friend, are a true hot-rodder! That is some impressive knowledge! Rogelio was indeed the publisher of Custom & Classic Magazine back in the 80's and then again in the 90's. He is bringing it back in 2011! He hasn't said so, but I'm pretty sure the memory of his wife is intertwined in this. For those of you who don't remember, his magazine was big on content and small on bullshit. Huge, glossy pics of the cars and only a tiny amount of advertising. I, for one, can't wait! Should be in Spring or early Summer. Maybe sooner.
Sounds like a super cool dude. Would love to meet and chat with him some day. Maybe I'll call him and see if he can do my truck seat for me.
It's the human stories we often miss when being involved in this hobby/obsession. Well writtien. Frank
He does awesome work. He did my 62 Tbird dash, door panels, front & rear seats (leather) and in a couple weeks, the convertible top. Just freaking gorgeous! I can PM you his phone # if you want. Well worth the drive from Berkeley. Make sure to let him know you're a HAMBer!
I've been an auto Service Manager forever. I like to say: "It may be the automotive industry, but it's a people business." It probably doesn't make any sense, but I like to say it.....
Great story. Sometimes we have to stop and step back and remember its not so much the cars as the people behind them, and what inspires them. I'm sure Rogelio has inspired more than a few.
Great story! Rogelio's Classic & Custom magazine was my favorite in the early eighties. It featured early style hot rods and customs, lowriders and even a few restored cars. But for me, it was all about the customs that were my first love. Rogelio was way ahead of the curve on traditional style cars. How-to features by people like Lana Haynes and Lee Pratt were really great. I look forward to seeing it again. Here is a link to a thread I started in 2005 about C&C: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44620&highlight=cevallos Below is maybe my all-time favorite issue.
This is a great story. Guys like this are the heart and soul of hot rodding. Back in October 1982 Classics and Custom ran a story on our little car club, the Rockingham County Rod and Customs, which we sent in unsolicited. We were amazed that a small club in rural NH got national coverage. Still treasure that issue of the magazine. May Rogelio have many more car shows in San Jose!
He's hard at work on the new magazine. Anyone have any article requests? Is there an interesting Hamber out here that you want to nominate for a feature article?
How about Gary Howard in Austin. He has a paint and body shop, does custom work and had a fire last week. Could use the boost.