Ryan submitted a new blog post: The Jim Hinds Roadster: Part 2 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Beautiful car, beautiful photography.... Must have been Kodachrome film,, give us the nice bright colors,,,,,,, I missed the first time the car was featured,, but how many noticed the crank driven mechanical tack drive? Our roadster is similar, duval styled windshield, 32 grill shell, model A shocks on front But ours is not as pretty
"The dynamic range, the grain, the color, the depth of field, the composition, etc… These shots almost feel modern to me. Obviously, Jim knew how to use a camera and had an eye for light. What I see here is better than 90% of the hot rod images published in the 1950’s… and frankly, it’s not even debatable. They are incredible." Hello, Incredible, indeed... those are some of the best if not the best 1950's color photos. The usage of color films for the ordinary everyday film was a 120 size photo. But, for those that had some experience, there were some cameras that took outstanding photos that were not 35mm in size. The early twin lens reflex cameras were just as clear and sharp. The early Hassleblads were also incredible cameras back then and into the modern era. There were even some 1950s Leica Rangefinder film cameras that gave outstanding photos for many pros and were popular with consumers back then, too. Those cameras were giving people quality photos from quality cameras, 120 or 35mm. I am assuming, having owned several large format cameras, that it was taken with a pro-style twin lens reflex or one of the early larger format cameras. Nothing coming out of a consumer Brownie Camera or box camera would come close to the clarity or quality of the photos. Early color slide film also had better quality photos than color negative film. So, kudos to Jim Hinds' handiwork. Nice roadster and very nice photographs. Rangefinder 35mm or large format camera… the photos are outstanding. Jnaki When my dad’s brother visited us for the first time back in 1955-56, he had a couple of rangefinder cameras, one being a Leica. Then when he showed up in 1960, he had an early version of an Asahi Pentax 35mm camera. His continuing visits provided my dad to purchase other cameras for our needs. A couple of 35mm Pentax Cameras along with the newer Nikon cameras for my brother and his recovery. Finally, in the mid 60’s I was able to get a new Pentax Spotmatic camera for my own photography.
Aww man, this is great! I'm so glad that the Jalopy Journal story helped make a connection to this guy's son, who happened to have amazing pictures that we would have never seen! How great is that??
That is amazing photography and a finely build roadster! Notice in one shot the RR wheel well cover is off and the other shots sow the one on the left side?
I really dig this "Build Pic" as it shows the transition from when Albert Barnes built & ran it at the Dry Lakes and when Jim Hinds was making it "his own." 1949: Albert "Red" Barnes, Albata club, 1929 A Roadster 1937 Ford flathead with Cummings OHV heads. One of the nicest hot rods of the late 1940s. Checkout the engine turned firewall. This had a lot of custom mods like filled & molded cowl custom split boat style windscreen. 10 Stewart Warner gauges in modified 1932 dash. Rear of the roadster the body swage lines running down the side of the trunk were shrunk out and corners rounded. 1937 Studebaker front suspension. In the 1950s, the car was rebuilt by Jim Hinds who removed the Studebaker front-end in favor of a 1936 axle and split 1941 wishbone and spring. Car was on the cover of (& featured in) the March 1957 issue of HOT ROD Magazine. image & caption from @Jimmy B's collection Here's a great shot of Al Barnes' engine compartment at Bonneville in 1951. He wasn't a pre-entry so we don't know the car's number but the Model A Roadster ran in Class B and was fitted with a 249" Ford running Cummings heads and a home-built fuel injection unit. Al drove the car to a speed of 143.084 mph to take second in class. Note the lack of front brakes and the whitewall tires. Barnes went on to develop dry sump systems that you can still get today. ©AHRF/Chuck Kirckpatrick Collection via Philip Lyon image & caption from unknown source
@Ryan, I completely agree! My father was a professional photographer by trade, and "knew how to use a camera" (be it his Calumet large format camera, his Hasselblad medium format cameras, his Rolleiflex TLR cameras, or his Nikon F 35mm SLRs) "and had an eye for light" ... but none of his pre-1960 COLOR images have survived the years as well as Jim Hinds' Kodachrome slides shot in the '50s. Kudos to Gary Hinds for preserving them and for sharing them with you / us! Here's a few examples (from my The 1958 NHRA Nationals thread) that illustrate just how much my father's pre-1960 Ektachrome color transparencies had deteriorated in the 51+ years that they were in storage (i.e., he shot them with his trusty Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex camera in August of 1958 and I found the slides in May of 2010): NOTE: I obviously cropped these 2¼" x 2¼" slides and added the watermark ... but did no color correction after digitally scanning them
Wow, great pics really nice car. Spring in front, chrome shocks, hell chrome everything, boat? Windshield, & rear bumper. Nice f-ing rod. Where the he’ll is it now???
Noteworthy is the profile shot of the radiator/front wheel relationship. Car has a '36 (spring in front) axle, well-placed so car doesn't have that 'pushed-back front axle' look. My first roadster had the '37 V860 tube axle, but it took a different front crossmember and some work to get the right look, (and keep 106" wheelbase)
It is just a nice believable roadster. As nice as it is, it really is typical of builds in the period. The wood blocks to mount the wheel well covers is something anyone of us back in the day may have done. Brings me back to the Cove in Stamford. Great picture taking and quality.
Those photos are as amazing as the Roadster! Timeless. What fascinates me is the second to last photo; a helmeted run at the 1/4 mile complete with numbered up windshield. The photo looks to have been taken from what looks to be the back of a film truck? Upper right corner looks to be a light reflector used in filming. Is there a movie camera on board (behind that dude's noggin)? Freshly laid asphalt on what may have been a runway, couple of passenger buses (for the crew?) and an ambulance. Was the roadster ever featured in a 1950's movie or TV show episode?
Hello, A mystery just makes one continue with further research. The mystery of what kind of camera is solved until Jim Hinds’ son, Gary, provides the actual camera or history of the photographs. It is a wonder at the quality of such early photographs, not shot by a professional magazine, gazillion dollar photographic equipment. Since the photographer is holding up a camera to his eye, it is not a twin lens reflex camera size wise. I held up my modern twin lens reflex on a pistol grip and it was a lot larger. One thing that was just skipped over is the border edge of the developed photograph. Even though I took 2.25 x 2.25 twin lens photos, it was difficult to get that rectangular proportion in a finished print with the composition necessary. With a 35mm camera and film, those final prints could easily be printed and saved. My future plan for the rectangular photos was the latest 6 x 7 inch Pentax SLR camera. With that format, 8 X 10”, 11 X 14” and even 16 x 20”rectangular photos would have been a snap, let alone the high quality photos the 6 x 7 negative format provides. Jnaki So, hopefully this display of photos gives all of us some insight into how well Gary Hinds did in his own personal photography. In that the photo spread happening in 1957 or earlier, a 35mm rangefinder camera had to be the camera of choice. Being accepted by the magazines with photos is no small task. Since there are many eyes looking at and criticizing each photo, quality and composition reign king, here. This photo spread oozes tons of quality!!! IMPRESSIVE !
I am a sucker for little red roadsters. This one has it all; built back in the day, craftsmanship is great, history, stance, proportions, overall look. Beautiful car. Thanks for posting.
Nice Hotrod indeed...love the often frowned upon filled wheelwells...a streamlining finishing touch to the Highboy look...and this Roadster was obviously loaded with personal touches by a man with an eye for getting it right... Thanks to all sharing the many additional observations on this noteable Hotrod...
LOL More than my love for this site .. is the amazing hot rod .. forensics examiners therein. Love it. This place rules !
The Jalopy Journal
