I sold my '30 coupe, deuce rails,s to a younger racer in the 90s.. he put in a hopped up sbc… 6 sec. 1/8s... go scotty go ! the hard cover edition has a pic of that car at Epping … pg. 181... chopped 5" with a ventilated visor... I was too young to have raced at Sanford...and at the time was a hockey nut... so to have a pic of the car in the same book as New England's hot rod heroes is very rewarding... good friend recently passed, did 100 mph. at Sanford in 1957 with a carburated flattie... also spanked the nomad's Ardun powered push truck... RIP ... Blaine.
There's a first and second edition. The second edition has a few corrections and extra pages at the end. That's me on the very last page of the second edition. I have both editions, btw. ...and you guys are right about Paul Aldrich. He's a dedicated hot rodder and he's restored and cloned some pretty significant New England race cars over the years He and I have been close friends since the early seventies.
I was invited to a nostalgia type event in Barre, MA. 25 years ago... [thanks mr. H.] rained hard, all the guys were standing against the barn wall... Paul A. was looking for the flatty heads to restore a '32 tudor drag car...owner was in a wheelchair when they raced.... his name is ? ? ? bunch of older guys at the event were what I would call TALKING … then one at a time they told of the particular day they got their 100 mph patches at Sanford, Me.... most driving the guy's '32 tudor... I was happy to have been invited.. I was in the midst of hotrod's heroes... and somehow they didn't seem so old after that...
IIRC the 400jr was at the Northeast Motorsports Museum when I stopped in last fall. Paul was, and remains, one of the movers and shakers in the Museum's conception, creation, and operation. His recreation (he had found the original bare chassis but it was too far gone to do anything with) of a Bannister Bros dragster was there. A visit is well worth it if in the area when it's open - https://www.nemsmuseum.com/ I feel truly blessed to have met and chatted with Arnie at the Maxton LSR meets. Especially so when he spotted and spoke to me before I spotted him in the crowd at the '08 Speedweek Wendover Nugget car show. An unsung hero and true gentleman who went far in the automotive world following his start as a New England Hot Rodder. Ed
Does anyone know if there are plans to re-print this book. I still have my copy but I know of a few people that would like to buy one for themselves.
Go to : http://www.coastal181.com/nlm-working-April-2005/hot_rods-drags.htm#SQUARE I have no direct financial connection other than a good source for books many times with no issues dealing with them. Note they'll be taking a break for the up coming Florida Speed Weeks. Ed
Cool Cars and Square Roll Bars what an amazing book about our East Coast Hot Rod history. Arnie was a great friend of mine when he told me about he and his brother were planing on writing a book about the history and what the Title was going to be I was extremely happy. Finally the local history would be documented for all to read I along with others who were collecting what ever we could about the early years were now able to see this information finally used as we hoped it would be. Arnie was actuality working on a second version of East coast hot rodding this version would focus on the next era that being the reincarnation of hot rodding taking place from the early seventy's and on. The new version was going to be in a disk format not print in a way he was going to be ahead of the curve seeing how things are going these days with printed publications going digital. Sadly it was not completed when he passed away in 2013. Arnie not only documented the early history he continued to live the life. His hot rod a 27 T roadster was always being driven and not gently at all he was a terror for sure Im proud to say the Flathead Ford V-8 that powered his roadster was one I built for him it was darn fast for sure. His son David now owns the car I recently helped David get the car back on the road after sitting for many years it will remain as Arnie had it no updating or restoring just enjoying the hot rod just as his dad did for so many years. I will say I drove that little car and dam she sure is fast just like Arnie would want it. Ronnieroadster
Arnie contacted me back in '96 or '97 looking to see if he could borrow the material I had assembled for five years worth of slide & movie presentations that were shown at the Ty-Rods Old Timers' Reunions. I wasn't ale to help him because I had only borrowed the pictures, slides and movies but I was able to provide him with a list of everyone I had borrowed material from. The last time I saw Arnie was the day he shot a picture of me wiring Rob Montalbine's '34 five window..
@desoto, how many miles do you have on that hot rod? I have seen that car everywhere for as long as I can remember. . .
just under 270,000. It's got antique plates so those miles are all event miles and not daily-driver miles.
Hello, One of the most unusual roadsters we saw during those early morning days at the Bakersfield Smokers 1960 March Meet was the Durfee Automotive A/R campaigned by Cirino and Groves NICK CIRINO AND FRANK GROVES. It was unusual as to the overall look. A square roll bar, and the most unusual intake for the top of the 671 supercharger. at :34 Nick Cirino from San Andreas, California Frank Groves was the driver of the Durfee Automotive Roadster. “OK, here's one for the old El Monte guys. (Am I the only one ) This is Nick Cirino's (Big Al's carponents) Durfee Auto roadster. He teamed with Jim Steele who owned Durfee Auto Parts in El Monte. They ran Jim's big olds unblown at San Gabe, I mean Old San Gabe, the original, and won their share of top eliminator trophies. They wanted to run a blower at the March meet in 60, but didn't have an injector for the 6-71. Notice the Hilborn port injectors on a home made pyramid manifold on top of the blower. That boys and girls is inginuity! This was one of the very few 30/31 roadsters I ever saw set up for altered class. I wish I had a pic showing the whole car. it was pretty showy for the day. Painted a pretty green.” Besides being a modified roadster, the light green color could be seen for the whole distance of the Bakersfield pits. It was one of the first race cars we walked up to, while checking out the rest of the competitors. March 1960, 2nd Annual Bakersfield Smokers March Meet Then different looks until: Jnaki This version was the most popular, but they had been setting records since the late 50’s. Then, they added a 4 port Hilborn Injector system for the big 671 supercharger. 1965 Getty Images That final image is a far cry from the original modified roadster:
Arnie Shuman was a classmate in college when I met him. His club was running an Olds powered '32 roadster at the time, at Sanford, and at the Quonset Point Navy Base. One spring, the deuce body was not available; IIRC, it was apart and being refurbished. I was building a '29 roadster (from a sport coupe) on a '32 chassis. I suggested to Arnie that he borrow the '29 body, until his '32 was finished. I can recall doing a bunch of gas welding, using two pairs of sunglasses and coat hangers, on an all-night stint to get the car ready for the upcoming weekend's drags. After graduation, Arnie went into the Navy (pilot, I think), much later was editor of "Hot Rod" magazine, and then head of Mercedes USA motorsports program (when Roger Penske was cleaning up in Indycars with Mercedes badged Ilmor engines). Roger had Arnie's "T" roadster shipped east from the west coast when Arnie retired. I used to run into Arnie every once in a while at local car shows, after he retired. I really enjoyed reminiscing and chatting about the hobby. A very likable, classy guy, that I truly miss conversing with on such occasions.
Tony Berardini SOLD the 1929 roadster TO THE HARRELL BROTHERS Hello, In the very early days of hot rodding in Los Angeles, the local racer/builders all knew each other. The Berardini Brothers compound was an auto sales, paint/body shop, and the muffler shop. They made the early Ford motors/cars their bread and butter. Originally, the two separate Berardini Brothers roadsters were built/modified at their shop on 84th and Figureoa. It was just a stone’s throw away from downtown Los Angeles. Currently, it is now known as South Central area of Los Angeles. Just two blocks over on Main St. was the Harrell Brothers Engine Shop. Those brothers built a couple of racing Flathead motors for the Berardini roadsters. It was early 1955 when Jim Harrell bought the Berardini Brothers' '29 roadster. At first the roadster continued to wear its black paint and white flames while racing on the local So Cal dragstrips. Jnaki By 1959-60, the 29 roadster took on a look and power all on its own. I was able to film the Harrell Brother’s red roadster on one of the record setting runs at Lions Dragstrip. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-induction-thread.1042950/page-109#post-12758608 "Everything changes..." R. Plant As time marches on, gone was the old square tube roll bar and supports. Now it had more power and began to set speed records at Lions Dragstrip. Harrell Engines red roadster at Lions Dragstrip.
Speed shops were everywhere back then. I worked for Speed Products (wholesale speed equipment distributor in Springfield, MA) for a couple of years and delivered to a lot of the New England speed shops in the late sixties just when the shops were just starting to thinn out. I made a lot of deliveries to Carl Carpenter's place back then, too. In the Springfield area, alone, there were three big ones. Carl Debien's "Deb's Speed Equipment", Walt Meisner's "Agawam Speed" and Richard Ryll's "Richie's Speed City".. The late John Lilley (Wild Thing AA/FD) had a one man shop in Westfield, too, (Western Mass Speed Equipment).but everything had to be ordered. He didn't carry any stock.. Don Allen owened a shop in the early seventies on Riverdale Road in West Springfield that did well, too. Don was a founding member of the Strokers in Springfield (still has the Model A roadster he had when the club started in '52) and is a charter member of Street Rods LTD (started in the late sixties). He's still with us and shows up in Burlington, VT every year and, occasionally, in Louisville, too.
Thanks Desoto! I am in NC now but lived in Littleton, Westford, Groton, Pepperrel, and Westborough for many years. Worked in Lowell, Maynard (DEC), and Marlboro, as well. I remember seeing your car at various shows back then in Mass. I think the Ty Rods show, which was one of my favorites. Thanks.
Another Ex-DECie. I started in WFO in January '73 and wound up getting "downsized" in DAS 29 years later. I grew up in western Mass and didn't get to eastern Mass until DEC transferred me here in Feb 76 (where I went to work in the evenings wiring Fred Steele's yellow Merc) for a position in Field Service District Support. Been in Ayer since 11/78
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