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That is bad-ass. I can relate. One of the reasons I went to engineering school in the mid-west was because I knew if I went to school anywhere in New England I wouldn't go to class if there were waves. Luckily I didn't get the hotrod bug until after I graduated. Haha.
Not a ounce of fat on any of those kids. Maybe a year of mandatory daily surfing for PE class will get todays kids back into shape. That and no more fast food. Bitchin' car
Living in the upstate of South Carolina I'm a long way from the ocean although I did try surfing at Cherry Grove in the 60's. It wasn't pretty! HRP
I can relate. Been into hot rods and racecars my whole 51 years. Also ben into bicycles and skiing. If I am not in the shop I am riding mountain bikes and in the winter just swap some of the riding out for skis. No surfing here in the center of the nation.
One son was on the surfing team at Pt Loma Nazarene University and the other had surf PE at Torrey Pines high in Del Mar.
Very very cool. Any details on the rpu? What ever happened to it? And more importantly does he still rock that fantastic mustache?
In fact, Mike DOES still rock that fantastic mustache the last I saw him! He’d really love to know what happened to the RPU too. He thinks it ended up in Florida but hasn’t been able to track it down.
I like the comment about him using unconventional tools to get the job done. If real woodworkers saw me using my car shop tools on my occasional wooden projects they'd call me a hack. But hey, my air grinder and a long bodywork sanding board get me there!
I have used my pnuematic longboard for wood projects. Sometimes the "wrong" tool is actually the best.
I’m so glad that somebody got him on tape for an interview. I just wish they’d been a hot rodder too!
This one spoke to me... through the crazy stuff that happens in life, I think it was my addiction to hotrods of all sorts (well pretty much anything mechanical) that draws me back to a happier place. I don't have to like the specific style of build to appreciate the effort and talent it took to build it. Just being around a hotrod of any sort, will brighten my day.
Hey H, Nice photos of Mike Eaton and the differences with larger size boards. Of course, everyone that sees surf movies and the larger speed boards in the Hawaii sequences can't identify with the one created for general all around surfing. The 70's brought back somewhat shorter boards that had the look, but were shaped with paddling and floatation in mind. They were not the skinny, 6 oz fiberglass mini boards of today. Into the 80s, more floatation without sacrificing the shapes was called for. Some saw them as "egg boards." Shapers were strange people. They had their own ideas that sometimes worked and sometimes were just experiments in their minds. Some still had the speedy narrow shapes with more floatation built in, while others did their own designs of the times. There is no exact science to shaping a board for a muscle bound person vs. a small thin girl, other than a thinner shape of the foam and glassing techniques. But, if a shape hits on all aspects of "down the wave" style and techniques, then people will jump on the bandwagon. That is similar to hot rods being "period correct," however incorrect they may be. But, it is a game that shapers have used to predict how the shaped board works versus the body style and surfing techniques. Jnaki Our local shapers on the OC Coast have an advantage. They can pump out a good surfboard shape for their team riders. Then have it glassed and finished, so the riders can take them out for testing of what works and doesn't. All measurements and shapes are preserved for changes that need to be done. The styles and shapes of the final "shop boards" that are sold to the general public will be based on size and floatation. So, one could go into a shop and pick out a board based on size, first, then shape or flotation next. (or vice versa) Hopefully, the purchased surfboards will paddle nicely for each buyer.
raised in So Cal -in High School, knew some true addicts in both schools but, no surfers into true Hot Rods and vice versa - surfers had knots on knees and tops of feet, etc & wagons of different styles - Hot Rodders made plenty of noise in the parking lot, car clubs, etc - need to really set your priorities to do either really good -
Trust me, if you paddled around all day, every day since childhood it would be easy to do now. I knew surfers growing up that would live at the beach if they could. I came late to the beach (6th grade) and didn't surf, but skimmed and sponged (80's kid). Everyday after school, weekends, winter, summer didn't matter, stopped when I really started working on my car and had a job......couldn't do it now if my life depended on it. Point is to me the only way you could have 2 meth head like needs is if you were getting paid to do one of them. Both worlds would be ALL encompassing and trying to add an outside full time job and a family.......things will suffer......I know my homework did back then . Your starting to get infected......using terms like "inside" and "outside"......lay back and let the saltwater poison work it's magic .
BIG BLOCK CHEVYS AND SURFBOARDS. As some of you may know, Mike Eaton shaped for Bing Copeland for a time. Bing and some buddies, early 50’s ( Skil 100’s and resin buckets, Bing factory, ‘63 ) In the early 70’s Bing took the young Campbell Brother’s under his wing and struck up a deal to bring their radical, three fin, BONZER to the masses. “Masses” being a relative term at the time before Pro Surfing really did a number on taming the grungy surf subculture’s image. Mike had a strong work ethic and history with Bing so the bulk (all?) of the shaping fell on him. He ended up shaping thousands and thousands of Bonzers. There is no love lost between the original designers who were classic “backyard” shapers back then and a seasoned vet like Mike. Why the friction ? Mike took what he knew about what worked and what didn’t and refined their design to his own standards. He also happened to be...gasp, “an adult”. Probably a pretty uncool thing to a couple punk kids from Oxnard. Eaton, no matter what the Campbell Brother thought, was a true believer in their design but needed to do it HIS way. One of the tools he developed to shape what his minds eye saw, drew heavily on his experience as a HOT RODDER. The Bonzer has unusually deep concave areas in the tail area that require a ton of hand work. Mike had a machinist friend adapt a Big Block Chevrolet intake valve to a sanding drum and ran it with a straight die grinder. Totally left field and brilliant. (Sketch drawn from memory) The contraption saved weeks of his time in the shaping room that Mike could devote to his other loves; hot rods, building and sailing catamarans, chasing waves....and women!
Hey J, Nice photos and posts. Prior to the 70s experiments and creations there were other So Cal shapers and surfers doing similar things to improve on the heavy longboards at the time. Speed shapes weren't part of the picture as yet with the general longboard shapes still the best sellers. In 1962-63, one of the local So Cal shapers was trying to get the flow of water to exit over the bottom of the heavy longboards. He experimented with ridges(not fins) at various angles to keep the flow going over/under the rails and bottom. He made one physical model that had a small ridge attached to the bottom of the surfboard. But, did not know what angle was going to be the best. So, he needed test models made, but being as expensive as glassing in fins untested, he asked the local surfers for help. He wanted us to try his technique, so we used 1 inch masking tape at various angles to see how well the heavy surfboards would turn and cut back on a wave. It was just an experiment, but several layers of tape allowed the water to be diverted away from the surface and actually make the heavy longboards turn better. The masking tape was doubled/tripled and gave some stiff resistance and directed the flow. It was funny to see teenagers with an upside down surfboard in the hot rod backyard running water over the taped ridges to see where the flow best exited from the bottom. It was similar to land speed guys putting small fins to direct air flow over various surfaces. Experimenting at its best… Those heavy 9-10 foot surfboards started to turn better and made the water flow faster in the direction planned. The tape lasted maybe three/four waves on this experiment. The surfboard maker created several glassed in ridges for some other boards, but the idea never took off with the masses now buying those popular long boards. Jnaki The shaper was still working on the rear fin area, with the base of the fin equal to the depth or height of the fin. That was the given theory that the fin makers were doing, so this side ridge experiment was part of developing that big fin and flow. As the businesses started the big time sales in the mid to late 60s, this part of surfboard development kind of faded away, but were still in some people’s minds. In 1963, all theories were tossed out as a surfer named Phil Edwards shaped his new style of long board. Single fin, three stringers and a shape to look like a rocket with pointed nose, instead of the popular round nose. His bottom shape had a design that far surpassed the usual heavy surfboards being made at the time. Instantly, he created a legend of a board and sold them through the Hobie Shops in Dana Point and Seal Beach. I had Number 004 as ordered by my friend, Mickey Munoz at the Seal Beach Shop. It was by far, the best design ever and it made surfing fast and stable in all sizes of waves. The trim point on the board was so fast that it would catch up with the guy in front once set up and balanced. No need for anything else, the custom shape was years beyond anything else. By the mid 60s, some young guy created the smaller board and the dual fin theory that took the industry by storm. By the early 70s, movable fins were created making the surfer adjust, to fit the wave’s power. By the late 70s, the side fins appeared and started a different track. Then, an idea from Australia, the tri fin, came on the scene and exploded world wide.
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