I hadn't posted a new thread in years and really screwed it up yesterday! Im ready to try again. This is the story of a Hot Rod that was the starting point for my life long love of Hot Rods and Customs. In 1953 Ernie Brunskil of Castro Valley ,Calif, owned a Model Hot Rod. It was a 31' Ford Roadster channeled over a 32' frame with a Hopped up 4-banger. Ernie was a member of a well known local car club , The Hayward Rod Benders. In 1953 Ernie entered his car in the Oakland Roadster Show.
In the 1960s Ernie sold his Roadster to a family friend Frank Peters. Frank begun the process of installing a fresh built 283 Chevy . Frank got the motor in , but at some point the project stalled and he put the car for sale. Enter my Father. He looked the project over and told his sons about it. My younger brother and pestered our Dad to see it and eventually to buy it. I was the oldest and turning 16 soon so it would become my car. The Roadster needed a lot to get it back on the road ,wiring ,steering throttle linkage etc. Eventually Pop rented an air compressor and it was painted a pale yellow in our garage. I drove my Pride and Joy to High School.
In 1969 I was getting tired of only having a fair weather car for transportation, so I decided to sell the Roadster and bought a 40 Ford Coupe. In the 70s and 80s I would see the car at the Lodi Rod Runs and the NSRA events. It was being updated and changed but I always recognized its distinctive features. Eventually it morphed into a potent Drag Racer.
Hanging around the Hamb has reinforced my love of the older Hotrod...while it's preferred from my standpoint to see them survive I personally lose interest when the newer moves in as the soul of the Yesteryear is lost...many would argue that but this is my own opinion... This is not always the case as many embrace and don't lose that original soul... What I do see in the many generations of change in this Hotrod was its general stance remained till its newest tubbed look shared... @R&C RON thanks for sharing this Hotrod that has been a force in your love of Go Fast over the great many years...too bad it didn't remain with you...
I guess the "mods" had to get rid of those pics of the last/current version of the little roadster (blown & pro-streeted). The evolution of the roadster had taken a sad turn.
R&C RON, do you know what happened to the car? Where it is now? The end of the story? It would be cool if it still around somewhere.
It is...It was just deleted...you didn't miss anything...just a fate that many vintage survivors have had...It was Tubbed with foot of tire in and a foot out...
Yes the car is in Modesto. The point of the story was to show it still survived. It is no longer traditional , tubbed with a monster motor. The car is a serious Drag Racer ( 9.50 @132mph) Any one that knows me knows I am a fanatic about traditional Rods and Customs. I just wanted to tell the whole story. Oh Well.
I bet you had all the girls in high school! I never cared for anything that didn't have a top but that was a sweet little roadster. I really like the 40. I always loved the cars of the 60's, some of the 70's but seems like that the 80's they went down hill. The pro street thing was a complete disaster. It's like the cars of drag week now, the fastest ones, hang wipers and lights on a pro mod and call it a street car. Need more squirrels in the world.
The Jalopy Journal
