Did a search but didn't find much. Looking for history or information about the Pasadena Pacers Hot Rod Club from the '40s. I believe that Pete Henderson was a member at one time. What year did they form ? What happened to them ? Any members still around ?
This probably isn't what you're looking for but I belonged to a car club on campus at Los Angeles Pacific College (located in Highland Park, just a few miles from Pasadena) called the Pacers. I don't know if this was a chapter of a larger organization - I assumed it was a stand-alone club. Here's a couple of pictures I scanned from my '57 yearbook. One shows the plaque and the other the members in our club (that's me in the upper left corner). Good luck on your search.
The guy who would really know is Don Montgomery, rockerhead on this site, haven't heard from him in a while but corresponded with him about Pasadena hot rodding about a year ago. I think that the Dahm brothers from Pasadena were members of the Pacers, though a lot of Pasadena guys were either in the Pasadena Roadster Club or the Gophers (Don Blair), or the Glendale Coupe and Roadster Club (Don Montgomery, Acmo Laughton, Gil Hayward)....hope you find something, Pacers had apparently disbanded by the 50s when I was growing up in Pasadena...
I have a photo of a Pasadena Pacers plaque on our website but it was probably done long after the club started .....
Here's some proof that the Pasadena Pacers were alive and well in 1948. The Safety council meeting was held on September 19th, 1948 and the Pacers were present !
I'd like to know a bit more about them too. In 1949, a member by the name of Bill VanderPloeg ran a 29 roadster on 32 rails, powered by a 216 Chev 6. His number was 738. Don't know his speed at the lakes.
There is no mention of Pasadena Pacers in 1947 SCTA programs I have. They are present in a '49 & '50 SCTA program. So '48 seem like the year they formed.
Not sure why the plaques that I believe were re-made, have a 1949 date on them. I doubt that the original plaques, if they had them, had a date.
I know this might be shitty advice, but ad least it's better then BTT; Have you tried talking to the Pasadena Roadster club? Maybe some of them remember something? Maybe they was in a constant fight? Maybe only saw each other at the track and went all in? Or Maybe they got re-patched/joined forces or they was cast out because of the roadsters only rule, and at some point the roadsters lower there standard and let coupes and modifieds in? Just a thought from a guy that knows nothing and missed the 40s by 40 yrs.
Someone recently sent me the photo below for my website. I think it's the original Pacers plaque. He said his father-in-laws dad was a member. I'll have to try and get a name from him.
The Jalopy Journal
