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History 1954 So-Cal Drag Race & Sports Car Racing Footage

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jimmy B, Sep 2, 2020.

  1. A few years ago HAMB member @Terry Buffum gave me this reel of 8mm and I finally digitised the film after I purchased a Wolverine MovieMaker Pro. The back story is in 1954 Terry & his older brother Bob went to California from Oklahoma with a few friends in a '40 Ford coupe. Terry & Bob stayed for the summer with their Aunt who lived in Southern California. Terry shot footage at various tracks like Santa Ana, Saugus and some lesser known tracks. I will let Terry chime in with more details.



    Some screen grabs.
    Screen Shot 2020-09-01 at 8.45.53 am.png Screen Shot 2020-09-01 at 8.46.30 am.png Screen Shot 2020-09-01 at 8.47.25 am.png Screen Shot 2020-09-02 at 8.42.50 am.png Screen Shot 2020-09-02 at 9.17.22 am copy.jpg Screen Shot 2020-09-02 at 9.22.01 am.png
     
  2. Speed Gems
    Joined: Jul 17, 2012
    Posts: 6,433

    Speed Gems
    Member

    I also noticed the Sparks Bonney& Automotive Willys at 0.49 in the film.
    image.jpeg
     
  3. lumpy 63
    Joined: Aug 2, 2010
    Posts: 2,603

    lumpy 63
    Member

    Very cool! Thanks for posting!
     
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  4. Speed Gems
    Joined: Jul 17, 2012
    Posts: 6,433

    Speed Gems
    Member

    It looks like from the top down.
    The smokin white owl (606 Dragster)
    Creighton Hunter (sp)
    Art Christman
    ???
    Jazzy Jim Nelson (Fiat)
    ???
     
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  5. @Speed Gems Yes that is Creighton Hunter's old T. 1954 Hill Alcala owned it, I wonder it one of the kids is Jules Alvarez.
    jpb-santa-ana-drags-015.jpg

    This is Paul Schiefer's T run by the Bean Bandits

    Screen Shot 2020-09-03 at 12.07.14 pm.png

    JPB-DW-schiefer002.jpg jb-6.jpg
     
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  6. Terry Buffum
    Joined: Mar 20, 2008
    Posts: 304

    Terry Buffum
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Oregon

    Thanks for posting this, Jimmy. I'm glad it is no longer sitting in a box of family films no one will ever appreciate!
    Our road trip to California was covered in Rodders' Journal Scrapbook. Jim Perkins '40 coupe, with 276 cu in flat head was our transportation. Guy Stroud was the fourth member. Guy and Bob are gone. I'm now 81, Perkins must be getting close to 90.

    Those of you old enough to have viewed 8mm film know this is several short rolls spliced together. I think my mother did it around 1970, and the order is certainly messed up. The sports car race was likely in Okmulgee, OK. After that is what I think is the earliest drag we saw at Santa Ana. Shortly after the still of the Chrisman dragster is the "Duncan Jitter Bug" T Coupe, one of my favorites. He blew the Ardun right in front of our parked car (Grandmother's '49 Ford Business Coupe which she gave to Bob in 1957and he pulled the 322 Buick from our '34 sedan to make the shoebox more driveable). I think the Top Eliminator run is Ollie Morris against Chet Herbert's fuel Harley but Tommy Auger on a Vincent HRD was a big threat for top bike I can't see the images well enough to tell which it is..

    Another of my favorites was Ollie Morris' "smoking White Owl" which I saw again a year later at Great Bend, Kansas.

    Thanks for stirring up the memories, Jimmy!
     
  7. SR100
    Joined: Nov 26, 2013
    Posts: 1,130

    SR100
    Member

    The black sports car at 00:25 is a Swallow Doretti. I can't make out the yellow and black roadster in the other lane. Any ideas?
     
  8. BrerHair
    Joined: Jan 30, 2007
    Posts: 5,006

    BrerHair
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Time travel! Thank you Terry and Jimmy. Fantastic.

    upload_2020-9-3_7-37-32.png
     
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  9. brg404
    Joined: Nov 10, 2008
    Posts: 159

    brg404
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The red 5C car is a C-Type Jaguar
     
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  10. 42merc
    Joined: Dec 19, 2010
    Posts: 894

    42merc
    Member

    As a broken up ex bike rider, seeing most of these riders with no more protection than a tee shirt makes my skin crawl.

    Great film.
     
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  11. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,801

    Marty Strode
    Member

  12. That was fun, thanks for posting.
     
  13. Terry Buffum
    Joined: Mar 20, 2008
    Posts: 304

    Terry Buffum
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Oregon

    SR100 is right, that is a Doretti next to what I think is a Kurtis 500 S with different front fenders to comply with the SCCA ban on "cycle fenders".

    The Doretti is likely driven by Max Balchowski who put Buick engines in several of them. I can not find the Conversation I had about them, but someone said there were a half dozen with Buick, and one or more with Chevy or Cad engines. Balchowski kept one which he both drag raced and ran in sports car races until he built the first of the series of Old Yellow cars.

    A D Logan in Tulsa bought one of the "Buettis" as well as the old Jimmy Summers roadster from Balchowski. Stogy posted great pics of that with Max here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...enized-hotrods.1002926/page-131#post-13376191

    Logan "detuned" both cars for the street. In early 1954, Bob and I got all the speed equipment from the roadster:: cam, intake with four glass bowl Hollys, Mag Spark ignition. In 1955, Bill Lynn got the McCulloch set up off the Buick Doretti for his Buick powered '50 Chevy.

    Logan sold cars as fast as he bought them. He kept the Chuck Porter custom pick up (Cad engine) for just a few months, and these two cars for a year at most. When I asked, he said the roadster went to Kansas. I have no idea on the Doretti, but after 65+ years, I'm sure it has changed hand several more times.
     
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  14. Terry Buffum
    Joined: Mar 20, 2008
    Posts: 304

    Terry Buffum
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Oregon

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