Beltsville beaters car club

Cool to see Gary Manley is still alive and finally found the HAMB.

 

"haunted monastery, a ghost, a dead hooker" Sounds like a Steven King movie. So, entertain us. Just throw an old rod in the mix now and then to keep it on topic. I guess if is a car club experience it's on topic anyway.

 

Tommy, Thanks for posting Gary's 39 photos, That car has been built in more different ways than anyother car i could think of. It has been all black, black with flames, red, maroon, mostly small blocks but at one time (in the bad days of the late '70s) with a 4cyl. pinto motor i think. I think I liked it best when it was black with green wire wheels and set much lower in the front. Still not bad the way it is now, with the gasser look.

 

46inter. No Pinto in the cpe. Just small Chevys 283, (2) 327s, 350, 412 (small 400 60 over) If you count rebuilds I have worn out 7 engines including the 412 that is in there now. Time for another one. I liked the 327s the best for performance and gas mileage. You are thinking of my '53 willys station wagon. It had the Pinto 2000 in it. I took pics of the Beater tag on my wall, didn't turn out very good from floor. So I'll get my ladder out today. Gary

 

Gary, I thought you had a 4 banger in the coupe at one time. o-well I guess you would know. The 4 cyl in the Willys must have grown into a V8 by now.

Did you do the Mustang II front end thing on the coupe at one time, or has it allways been a straight axle?

 

I know this is an old thread. I found this randomly posted on a Facebook hot rod page. Gary Manley driving his 39 Ford.

 

My friend 'Dirty Ed' Heller has Buzzy's 39 Ford Coupe now. He accidentally found in 2011-12 and took her home. They were good friends. Ed hung out with the Beaters.

 

Scott, Thanks for bringing this thread back to the surface. Hopefully others will see it now and chime in with more stories and pictures from back in the day..........Don.

 

Here's the latest version of Gary's 39 and Bantam from Jalopyrama Reunion through my windshield. Not sure who took the photo.

 

The Jalopyrama award was called the Maryland Hot Rod ICON Award!

 

back up just for the fun of it.

 

Gary is King of 5 Spoke mag wheels.

 

Always good for a reread and conjuring up old memories of days gone by. Beltsville in those days was a hub of hot rod activity. Having the Rod Shop, with Pete & Dave, there was a definite focal point. Miss those guys and all the associated fun.

 

......................Not to mention Coleman Brothers and A-I just up Rt.1 a ways in Elkridge.

 

Gary is one cool dude. Just chatted with him at the Showdown last Sat.

 

Well, AI and Coleman Bros. had a lot of work going on whereas, at the Rod Shop there was a lot of BS and hijinks going on. Pete Labarbera was one funny dude. He cud tell some stories and wasn't above some practical jokes, either. He once told the story about some dude who kept pronouncing his name wrong even after Pete wud give him the correct pronunciation. This guy wud call him "Mr. Law bar bear uh," so naturally that's what we wud call him each time we came into the shop. Dave Wallace was a bit more reserved than Pete, but he joined in with the BS, too. While many people came there to buy their hot rod parts, many wud stop in just to shoot the shit. It was good times with good people.