The man is going to be insufferable......... great story and a great guy. I'm proud to call him a friend & fellow O.F.
Excellent read. I too have the magazine that featured Dean and his roadster pickup. I had occasion to pull it out and reread it a short time ago as I have been in touch with Dean about some 16" knockoff wire wheels that his dad had for a project he did a long time ago. In a recent thread Dean mentioned the wheels. He also said that they were no longer going to be used. I PM'd him and inquired about the wheels and if they might be for sale. A few PM's later and we had arrived at a purchase agreement. I send a knockoff hub I had to Dean to see if it would fit the wheels just to make sure I could use them. The hub fit and I am now waiting for the wheels to arrive. I intend to use the wheels for a V8-60 powered small scale modified I've been collecting parts for. It's a back burner project that just might get kicked into gear now that i've got some parts "with history". Frank
Dean mentioned that the RUP was bought from Joe Gemsa, has anyone thought about collecting all the stories related to the cars and engines Joe had in his lifetime. I did get to visit his shop the first time I got out to LA, and still have all the letters he sent with info on setting up a Riley 4Port Banger motor.
I'm another one who has always had that Hotrod Mag cover in his list of favorites since I pulled it out of the mail box as a teenager. The image of that car has always stuck with me and it was instant recognizition the first time I saw it in Dean's avator. I've still got the magazine and need to dig it out for another look and a bit of inspiration., th Dean, that has to be one of the best hotrod stories ever written. Put me down as one of the first in line to buy the book if and when you write it.
If anyone is looking for more pictures and commentary on this incredible RPU, take a look at his earlier thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274041&showall=1
Great read!!! Man, to be 15 with "those" caliber guys helping build yer hotrod.....man.... Dean sounds like one cool cat.....so does his dad.
All joking aside, I really appreciate you writing that up for us, Dean. I'm glad that there was a place for us to 'come together' where I could talk to some of the guys who were truly there. One can't put a price on the fact that these guys are available to share their stories, and allow me to pick their brains. When I got my coupe last fall, I knew that for the time being I would just 'refresh it' and drive it around for a bit (much like Dean did, as it turns out) and figure out what direction I wanted to go with it later on. One day I happened to catch a post that Dean had made, where he said something along the lines of "I'd take my (then) girlfriend (now wife) out on a date friday nnight in the pickup, then go out saturday morning and race" That was it, thats what I wanted my coupe to be. I wanted to build a 'weekend warrior' coupe, something a young guy would drive during the week and battle over the weekend. Thank you Dean, I owe you one buddy.
Thanks Dean for putting that down for all of us to enjoy. That kind of history is priceless. Somehow I think an earlier story about the 1/4 midgets would be equally good and with a different interesting cast of characters. Again ,thanks.
Thanks for all the kind words guys. I have to say, I am humbled by the response. When Ryan approached me about doing a history piece on my old roadster, I was surprised. I had never thought of my self anywhere near the same league as most of the guys he writes about, and still don't. I realize I got to do more than some, but that was because I was the luckiest SOB in the world to have a father who loved going fast, was increadible with his hands, and was associated with some of the best hot rodders our sport has known. At the time, what I was doing didn't seem like much of a big deal. I didn't have a full appreciation of what my dad and I did together until many years later. We were both blessed to be hot rodding in the '50's and 60's when two guys with a little machine shop and a love for racing could be competitive. We were just having fun.
Thanks to Ryan and Dean. Such a good story and it really helps to know that nice kids do finish first! Dean, I hope you write down more of your experiences. This stuff needs to be preserved.
Thank you...your own writeup was about 10 times as informative as the old HRM and R&C articles! This car was an instant hit with me...I was about 13 or 14 when the magazines came out, and that car was etched right into my brain as a perfect hotrod. I immediately built a model of it, using the Ala Kart/'29 Ford double kit from AMT...sawed off the roadster body, added a pickup bed from the double T kit, lots of red paint...that was a killer for my rodding budget! I usually couldn't afford both a kit and paint!
Great story Dean I really enjoyed going back in time with your story, it was a different time then when your friends helped out because they wanted to, not because they could make a buck off you....
By the way, when I said that the car stood out...that doesn't really say enough until you know in exactly what company it was a standout! If you weren't at the news stand back then...the cover before Dean's roadster was Ivo's 4 engine dragster...the one after it was the Orange Crate...then next the Highland Plating Special...and still this simple roadster STOOD OUT. All of those '62 covers are still occupying the brain cells that are supposed to have been filled up with Algebra II at the time...
That was a great story Dean, Thanks! Right place, Right time, and a cool Dad to help you and give lots of encouragement. My Dad was a lot like that, I miss him.
Yes it is, and that's fellow Old Fart Harley Gene from Indy sitting on the wall at the 2009 GNRS. It was the first time a bunch of the OFC from around the country were able to meet each other, the old fashioned way, in person.
I remember well reading that 1962 Hot Rod magazine and being really impressed by that car. I was just a bit younger than Dean and I also had a 29 Model A. However, building such a great hot rod was well out of my reach at the time.
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