Joe and Della are still doing Ok, but there won't be anymore stopping by to coax great and funny stories out of Joe anymore. This is a sad bit of news for us in So Cal. One of the last old time speed shops. A real one without the Celebrity crap of places like So Cal. I wish I had stopped and hung out a little more. Damn it.
phil... where is reath? i only places by location, not names... then again, im not older than dirt either
Mike, they WERE on 28th st in Signal Hill. They've been all over Long Beach for the last #$% years. First time I went there they were on 10th St in LB. Probably the first time you'd have gone there Joe was Cherry. Joe has sponsored so many racers that he can't remember all the cars that were called the Reath Automotive Special. Lakes, Drags and Drag Boats. I'm not older than dirt. I do remember back when it was made in America, though Stuck under your fingernails a lot better than that cheap Tiawanese shit.
hehe... i wasnt insinuating that THE PHIL is older than dirt, what i meant was that some of these places are older than i had realised.... mainly because i didnt grow up in southern california... nope, im a Gay Area kid. its fucked up, whats going to happen with the store front and inventory? are they just dropping from existance? this is why we should sometimes spend a few extra bucks buying at a real store rather than settle with the convinience of online purchases at speedway.... or perhaps, they should have opened an online service... who knows... they are gone now
I'm going to ask Full Throttle Richard what is next, probably this week. I think Dellie will sell stuff on the net. I'm just really going to miss going there and having Joe put his feet on his desk and spin those yarns. But places like CPW and Summit have just killed the local speed shops. That and Reath sold real speed stuff, not exhaust extensions for rice burners.
Damn, I'm hijacking my own thread. Plan 9 your PM box is overflowing. I need to get hold of Dante to have him do some work. PMs and phone calls ain't getting it done. Pass the word to him, please. phil
Damn! When did Joe stop doing business I see alot of this happening lately with Barney Navarro selling his flathead tooling & all last month. We have to preserve this heritage-history buy getting younger guys in & training them how the originators did it & perhaps improve upon it. In other words, make their mark also. When Cook was ready to move on back in 76 he had his grandson Bill & his buddy Jim who grew up there buy the place lock stock & barrel. Jim bought out his partner 4 yrs later & he brought on Paul who was just a kid @ the time. Well Paul can run Cook's by himself if need be, but Jim does just fine coming in from Huntington Beach everyday . I was fortunate enough to have an earnest interest in the Cyclone line so Jim & I partnered up for that. We just gotta keep the flame burning guys & gals, because this truly is a great time to be alive.
Keven said: We just gotta keep the flame burning guys & gals, because this truly is a great time to be alive. * * Well put, my friend. It surely is.
Dang...I did a few cool stories there. It was truly old-school...it SMELLED right in there. The stories were great too. ~S~
I know this thread is old,Reath did all my machine workon a 427 BBchev I was building.They always had the best speed parts laying on counters in displays.used blowers,injection set-ups the place was awesome
Nice photo but you dug out a four year old thread with the post previous to yours being posted four years nine months and three weeks before yours? I always admired their work though.
I use to hang out there in the middle 50's when Joe Reath was still pardners with Joe Mallard. They did the engines on my 55 & 56 Chevys. They were at 10th and Cherry then.
Yep, same here. I had collected 3 Merc Crankshafts and had his shop offset grind the rod journals for 21A connecting rods. I remember the crankgrinder in the back of the shop...sometimes Joe had a hard time keeping track of him. He was a great machinist and did excellent work on my 59a block. I even bought a 97 coffee mug from him when the mugs first came out. At the shop on Cherry you would enter by the front corner window, walk through by the speed parts and accessories and then at the glass counter he kept all the "high end and rare" stuff. Great times! Offy 220
I recall going to Reath back in the day when the shop was down on 10th st. in Long Beach before moving up on Cherry Ave. Last time I was in there to have a distributor recurved Joe was so cool, took me back into the wearhouses where he had pallet racks full of Hemi engines. What a guy. In deed a sad day.
Dammitt, Del does need some help in caring for Joe, he is pretty large in more than stature ! Richard Heath has been taking them out to shop and have lunch and last week Joe went immobile on them , the paramedics took him to the E-room and they released him the next day. It's wearing on Del badly , and thank the Lord for Richard (the lionhearted) Phil and Troy for keeping us up to date. We all all family here (dysfuntional-yes !But a family just the same) they need your prayers and support.Spence AKA Snaptoo
I used to work for a performance warehouse where Dellie would get her fel-pro gaskets and melling pumps. I spoke to her on a daily basis and was always a pleasure to speak to. We met only once when I delivered her order. And yes, that place did have a traditional old school feel to it. I really appreciate you guys keeping us up to date with them. Thanks!
Hey Snaptoo: I have not spoken to Joe in at least 20 years, but he was a great influence on me and really helped me get started in hot rodding. I no longer live in the LA area - wish I was there to help a bit. Drop me a line and if Richard thinks I can help, I'd love to see if I can help out a bit (obviously from afar). Also, I'd like to write some letters to Joe and Del - to let them know that they've had a big impact on me and also just to let them know that people still think about them. Anyway, pass my info on to Richard and have him PM me - we can workout the details from there. HAMB CREW: People like Joe and Del are our roots, the generation that created what we love today -- the ones that make this whole damn thing "traditional" - as they lived it, gave their heart and soul to it and even cared for snot nose kids like me who wanted to build flatheads (in the late 70's no less!). The HAMB should be able to help folks like this - they GAVE . . . hopefully we can help them RECEIVE a bit back
Well said, Dale. Some of us still live in the area, let us know if we can be of any help. Joe and Del helped me during the same time period [late 70's-early 80's] when Flatheads were looked down on and was told by "hot rodders" [?] that they were only good for "boats" as anchors! Please keep us posted on what we can do.
Fello HAMBers,Joe & Del Reath 4201 Gardena, Long Beach, Ca.90807 . If you want to drop her a card, Richard Heath is trying to get on here to keep us more informed as to their needs. At the CHRR , there were some T-shirts to benefit them at the "Revelation" pit and although the sizes I needed for my Grandkids were out of stock , I pre-paid for them and recieved them from Del a few days later, she also sent me a Christmas card with a thank you note , people don't come better than them ! Thank Guys, Spence AKA SnapToo
Thanks for the replies and keep it coming. Jeez , I keep seeing the American Hot Hod on HDTV and wonder why more of the speed merchants of the day aren't included . To be sure Ivo ,Edelbrock, Isky ,Pete ,Jake and Mr. Meyers have made great contributions to our hobby/life/sport but they are not all there were.Bell, Reath, Howard ,Senter, Engle, Woodpecker,Blair's ---
Thanks! I have a couple days off, think I'll "pen" a letter to Del and Joe and maybe make their New Year a little brighter. They were very good to me and I know my little flathead projects didn't pay too many of their bills at the time - but they ALWAYS had time to help me, let me roam their shops, take me places, etc..
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