Folks Of Interest Jim "JAKE" Jacobs, The Original Traditional Hot Rodder ! "TRODA"

100% correct,... Pete Eastwood is a awesome guy with a lot of talent, knowledge, enthusiasm and spirit,.... However it seems he always liked to fly under the radar,... But in the world of way cool Hot Rodders,... P-wood is Da' man.

 

Scrolling through the pictures on this link, is an incredible array of hot roddings past.

 

Couldn't agree more with everything that has been said about Jake and the rest of the west coast traditional builders. When Pete and Jake's were in the early years I put one of thier 4-bar suspensions under my friends '33 coupe. Couldn't believe the dramatic improvement in the ride and handling. Not long after they introduced their ladder bar rear. My friend wanted to put one under the coupe so called and ordered one. As it turned out it was the first one sold east of the Mississippi. It arrived in a crate built by Jake to survive the trip east. You could have dropped it out of a 747 at 30,00 feet and it would have survived. It took me the better part of an afternoon to unpack it. As usual there were instructions written by Jake in the crate. I didn't want to make any mistakes so I called them a couple of times during the installation just to confirm I was on the right track. Both times Pete himself answered the phone and yelled back to Jake in the shop to pick up the extension. After confirming I was "good to go" we chatted a bit about hot rods before hanging up. Good memories from back in the early days of the revival of street hot rodding.

Frank

 

Great thread. I don't know how I missed it before.

 

And me holding on to that steering wheel and to my left is Johnny Sikes,then Dan and of course Jake.We were all "Early Times" then.

 

I have never had the good fortune to meet any of these guys. I'm just an interested observer who was hooked on a great magazine (R&C) that was published, edited and written by a super group of hot rodders. Unless my memory fails me it seems that I read that both Petes worked together at Blairs Speed Shop. Can you imagine what innovative hot rod parts came about from the two of them brainstorming while working there? I think Pete Eastwood may have originated the triangulated rear radius rods that P&J's later offered. I remember seeing them on some of the frames that he built prior to P&J's going into business.

 

If given the choice of any car ever built This car would be my choice hands down.

 

Thanks for the cover shot of the magazine. What a great thread.

 

Great thread -- thanks to all that have contributed!


Malcolm

 

In 1973 this was total sacrilege to the Street Rodding Elite,... with there "Resto-rods",.. But two guys that didn't know each other were about to do some "In yer face" Traditional Hot Rods,..... Jitney Jake was doing the slice & dice on a unsuspecting 34' 3W , and Pete was working on a lumpy ol' 34' 3/W that he bought for $250.00 and scavenged his T-Bucket for the drivetrain and rolling stock..

Yer' Ol' Dad Gray Baskerville (I sure do miss that old goofy fart) Introduced the two "nonconformists" And decided it was time to give Hot Rodding a good solid kick in the butt !!! Then the Nov. 1973 R&C.... Reignited the the flame,...... How can any traditional Hot Rodder look at this picture and not get goosebumps !!!!

 

Back in about '73 or '74 while on a trip to "Temple City Kawasaki" for parts that "Norm Reeves Honda/Kawasaki" did not have in stock (we lived in Downey) I talked my dad into a side trip to "Pete & Jakes".... I was right in the middle of my first pre-'48 Ford... a '46 pickup. Those guys treated us the same way! Grand tour, and time for our questions... Great atmosphere there! Big influence on the outcome of my truck. I ended up with a way more "traditional build", keepin the flatty & warming it up and getting some headers and skinny front/wide rear painted "Steel Smoothies" from them later on.... I was about 16 and had been set on mags and a Chevy....

 

me too

 

I always thought that Jacobs' coupe was a cooler hot rod than the kid. Seriously would love to open my garage and see both of those front ends looking out !

 

I wonder how you guys would react if someone posted a photo of Jake's Model A pickup when it had Cragars, raised white-lettered Polyglas tires, and front disc brakes?

...and Jake's name wasn't mentioned in the caption.

 

I don't ever remember the Cragars,... But I do remember the Torque Thrusts,.... This is a pretty cool like up......

 

I'm just saying that in the era of 1967 there was the time when innovation was what lead to the loss of interest in traditional hot rodding. I don't recall any cars in the "Early Times" having flathead engines, although there might have been some.
The OHV engines were "King" and the combination of Americans and Cragars seemed to be everywhere.
It just was what it was and I loved that period mainly because I was 16-17 years old at the time and I look back fondly on that era.
Many of the cars weren't HAMB friendly but most all of them were great looking cars.
Oddly enough, Jake's pickup was noticeably absent from the classic overhead cover photo on the Rod & Custom magazine of 1967 when the "Early Times" were featured.

 

As I have mentioned in the past I am cloning or doing a loose clone of Jakes pickup here on the Ranch. Another HAMBer shot me a note that the original frame for that truck is for sale. I have not checked into it to confirm nor deny as I have way to many irons going at this time!

 

just thinking there Tman ,... How cool would it be to have the original chassis under your tribute / clone..... Nail that puppy down.

 

I know, we have talked about that already!

 

As a kid in the 70's I wore the pages out on dads Magazines looking over these creations. Had the pleasure of seeing Jakes coupe in person for the first time
at a NSRA event in Winston Salem, NC and WOW!! Iv'e been just as exited every time I've had the chance to look it over since. The Yellow coupe has for sure stuck in my brain.... when I think cool hotrod, its the first thing I see! After reading thru this thread I've realized why, even though I like a lot of different rods, my favorites as long as I can remember have been kick-ass model 40 coupes & sweet 28-29 closed cab pickups.

Jake is a true "hotrodder" & a super nice guy. The whole "traditional" thing really wasn't even thought about back then in my opinion, its just the way some people built'em, and i'm proud to say I was (and still am)traditional when it wasn't cool!

thanks to all that contributed to the thread,here is a pic of the coupe from the mid 70's:

 

Jim's pickup is also etched in my mind........I have an old magazine with his truck featured in it and that's why I'm building one now, it's sure not because an old man 5'11" 235 with bad knees can actually fit in one. I just love the looks of that truck.

 

another pic of the coupe.... just 'cause its COOL!

 

Does any one have the article showing how Jim chopped his yellow coupe which could possibly be posted on this site? I used to have it in a How to Do Bodywork & Painting (or similar title) book which I recall was very detailed with lots of pictures. I think the first one shows a bearded Jim strapped to his coupe like a lumberjack with wood saw in hand about to wack the rear pillar. I really wish I still had that book but I lost it during house moves many years ago. Is it still published? I think it might have been a Petersons publication.

 

Northener, That article series appeared in Rod & Custom and I believe written by Gray Baskerville. It was an issue devoted to chop tops. I know I have it, just need to find it and I can email you a copy. Shoot me a PM if interested. hammeredabone

 

what a great thread, ive just been skimming threw it just now. I love those cars, I just noticed that the California kid has been with the driven dirty tour putting on even more miles in the down pour we've been getting the last few days!

 

jakes brother lived across the street from me,He'd come over from time to time in that truck,parked rite across the street.that truck to a 16/17 yr old kid was a inspiration,had my own car I was putting together(56 chevy) worked for his brother in a performance used car lot on Lakewood blvd .damn those were the days

 

While not HAMB related, it should be mentioned Jake worked with Roth on the "Choppers" magazine, including helping to build the "Mail Truck" trike!!! And personally, his open-top truck with the "Choppers" camper shell and flaked fenders is my kinda traditional!!!

 

Great thread! This one should definitely be brought back up to the top. I love hearing all these great stories! Here's a little write up from Auto Culture:
http://autoculture.org/?p=671

 

I hear he's doing a modified now, anyone have pics?

 

He has been working on 2 '30 Tudor's cool stuff no photos though