O/T...Who wants to tell me about Ed Roth?

You are right. Us folks here are fortunate to have this message board, there's a lot of folks out there that aren't.
I think you writing a book about Ed is awsome.
Thanks for this oportunity you have givin us to tell our
stories.

 

C'mon, we can't be done yet! BTTT

 

about 1967,im 17 and i drive my just finished 32 highboy to eds shop in maywood to have ed stripe it and he says first thing i want you to do is go down to the liquor store as he points to it and says get me a 6 pack and tell the quy behind the counter its for ed, i said im not old enough and he says no problem he will give it to you, well that was my first experience in getting thrown out of a liquor store. he stripped it for free that day. when ed was experimenting with kevlar on the la zoom i helped him and i get stuck to it holding the inner shell and outside body together and he yelled for a neighbor to come and cut us loose,when i helped ed move to manti his non stop action for days and my partacking in his eating habits caused me to christen his new property with my insides. enough? there are things also no one needs to know.

 

Been meaning to add my story all weekend...well two stories. First met Ed back around '95, or whatever year the first Cruising Branson Lights show was held. My wife had driven her car, and was having trouble with it...I was out in the parking lot of the hotel about 10 pm. jumping it off with my '52. Ed and one of his sons were just getting back to the hotel from a celebrity dinner (or something) that was part of the show. They came over to see if I needed any help....he thought it was funny as hell that my "chase" vehicle had broken down and I was using the '52 to jump it. Ended up sitting out in the parking lot that night with Ed and some guy from St Louis listening to Ed's stories...man he sure could tell some. Fast forward a few years...I had started collecting signatures on the glovebox door of my '52....and was wanting to get him to sign it. He was touring with the World of Wheels, so I arranged to help some friends set up at the show in Birmingham, hoping to get a chance to see him. Brought the glovebox door, and even stopped and bought a new pack of Sharpies...just in case. Well, he was busy setting up when I got there....then I got busy. Didn't see him around the rest of the day...got ready to leave and saw him pull back in. Grabbed the glovebox and headed off to his booth. He was chowing down on fried chicken....said he'd be glad to sign it but he didn't have a pen. Somehow the one I had in my pocket for the occasion had disappeared...I told him hang on I'd be right back. Out to the parking lot, got my other new Sharpie and hurried back. Ed was still eating the chicken...took the glovebox door and started drawing while still eating chicken with the other hand. I commented looked like I was getting more than just a signature, he said "Well, since I'm gonna keep the pen I thought I give you something more...I can keep the pen can't I?" Of course you can keep it! I think of all the signatures I have on the glovebox that one is the one that means the most...and I got a Rat Fink on there as well!

Brian

 

J.A. I sent ya an e mail....

 

Candyman....got your story! You really captured the way Ed treated people in situations like that...It would be great to see that drum,by the way!
If Ed felt that a person did not respect his copyrights.folks, he went after them like a bull who saw red...But he did have a soft spot for guys who included his tm....Thanks again,Candyman....Please continue to pester Mike for recollctions...Gotta hear 'em!
George...I'm glad ya posted...I KNOW that you have tons of stuff you could relate....off-color and such...I,myself would like to hear everything you have to say, but not in a public forum....There are stories I can never tell,either...and some are hilarious,depending on where you were standing at the time....For some reason I thought you lived in Hawaii?! I would like to hear more from you regarding Ed.....
Brian...did He leave the chicken fingerprints on the glovebox along with the autograph?
Please tell me He gave it back to ya nice an' GREEZY!

 

J.A., i kinda live in kona hawaii if you count owning a house and one of my kids goes to school there but the rest of us cant get rid of stuff fast enough or have figured out how to make the final " get the hell out " actually happen. too much stuff and one more here in school, i keep telling myself soon! gege. Roth! well to get the real feal and real story i would say you would need to talk with all of the real roth blood family then it would make sense, not one but all then it would come together as who the man was,not his outward persona but what the majority of his life was as a whole then we have what we might think might be a completed picture, but us as mortal beings still may have a wrong picture as only ed knows the true person.

 

hey johnny my grandpa who got me into this whole kustom kultured mess worked with ed and later hooked me up with him . i owe ed alot and PROUDLY support his life on my sleeve you might say......tatoo sleeve that is.... he was the kindest sweetest most loving man i ever met.....praise to him and his servants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

J.A. I would be glad to send ya a picture of my conga. I need to take a picture and get it scanned in and such. My ole lady is going into labor so it might be a bit before I get around to it. hehehehe... I am pretty excited as you can imagine!

 

[ QUOTE ]
My ole lady is going into labor so it might be a bit before I get around to it. hehehehe... I am pretty excited as you can imagine!

[/ QUOTE ]

Prayers & good wishes with al three of you! Keep us posted.....

 

Candyman..ditto what Sk8 sez!
George....I have spoken to Daryl Roth several times about growing up with Ed....very candid and friendly conversations about Ed...that whole Rumpsville board thread is hilarious ,now....
I've seen him MAD several times..REALLY MAD! and believe me, it was something you don't forget.....

 

Apologies if this is a well known pic,thought I'd share it.A youthful BDR from Best Hot Rods(1960).

 

Lowlife...that is a great pic!
Imagine being on the other end of that German piledriver arm!
And he still had the crusher-grip as a senior citizen....

 

I know there's more to hear...c'mon out !

 

I hadda put this back up front,
any more stories?
FRITZ

 

I have a long interview with Robert Williams from the 80's with a lot about Roth in it. It was in kind of an obscure Music magazine. I'm thinking about transcribing and posting the whole interview sometime, as Williams talks a good bit about growing up in the 50's and Hot Rod culture.


Sometime in the mid-late 80's I knew someone who had something to do with setting up a dealer exhibition at some Boston car show and he got me in during the 2 hour pre-show setup period, so I could help him, and so I could also get to see the show before the crowds.
Roth had a booth and was setting up for the show. Roth's early VW Trikes inspired me to build a VW trike with a WilMac frame in the early 70's. It was kind of a "rat rod" trike with no body: Harley Glide Front end with drum brake and big Harley full fender, Old Harley Dresser Seat, Flat Black painted oak package deck in front of the 1600cc 1970 Dual Solex carbed, extractor exhaust system, power pulley equipped, Bosch 009 dist, with Goodyear G60's on 7" Chevy rally rims with beauty rings and the top hat hub covers.
The first VW trikes Ed made (He invented them) were built REALLY low to the ground. Too low, he eventually decided as other drivers could not see him, so he eventually raised the frame up quite a bit. I had read a late 60's Chopper magazine article about when he gave prospective buyers of his soon to be in production trikes a demo ride (this was the low frame original model) he would come back down the regular 2 lane street near his shop at the end of the ride at about 30 miles and hour, and would hang a U-Turn in the street right in front of his shop without slowing down. The article said he scared away more potential buyers with that move than he got to commit to buy a Trike when he went into production.


I had found that with the right size tire/rim/and inflation, that I could almost duplicate that move on my Trike but it involved briefly locking the front brake while turning to help initiate a partial slide. I could also take a 90 degree turn onto a side street from about 30-35MPH without slowing down by just sliding the rear with the clutch out and then popping the clutch when it was pointed where I wanted to go, which set it on the straight course again. Some Harley only guys who I let ride the Trike hated the way it handled and thought the way I rode it was suicidal, but I never had any problems or accidents.


I ended up talking with Ed for 5 to 10 minutes about the handling characteristics of VW Trikes. He did confirm that the really low ones he first built, handled great but really were nearly invisible to drivers (especially guys in Vans). It sounded like he had as much or more fun than I had riding VW trikes. He really was a nice guy, but I forgot to get him to sign anything (the guy who had his hats and shirts had not shown up at that time). I have since learned that if you want to get someones autograph, but have nothing to have them sign, have them sign a bill (dollar, 5 dollar bill, 10 dollar bill, etc). Most people will sign them and as the paper is really good quality it will last a long time (and it will always have some value too).

 

Hey BigJim, great post I got a copy of that article and it's real heavy! Robert tells some really great stories on the dayz of old,
the real deal on Ed one on how Ed went up against a well known biker club and a bunch of other really kewl stuff.

The Magazine is called Gearhead a very obscure music mag. only published when they have enuf articles to fill a mag..
The issue that your are referring to is # 10. It was published in the fall of 1999 and Mike LaVella had re-published it in 2000.

He may still have some copies left well worth looking into.
Here is a link to his website.
http://www.gearheadmagazine.com

Johnny might be something to look into, pretty intense stuff maybe too radical for the general content of what yer doing but
Mike might be willing to allow you to re-publish the article or excerpts in you new book.

Mike has also been working on Gearhead # 12 for a couple of years now. The entire mag is supposed to be dedicated to our
large father should be a good one whenever it gets done.

VW trikes and Ed's genius. Ed was one of the only designers to have an actual patent filed for a trike. (The American Beetle)
The basis for his patent was the concept of having the center of gravity extremely low to the ground for the trikes handling
ability and the fact that they were almost impossible to flip. They were extremely fuel efficient and very fast.

Ed's sons Dennis and Reno still build trikes today. Just recently a friend of mine completely restored one that was a mess. It
came out real nice.

Here's a link to a slide show of the build.
http://www.aeclassic.com/RothTrikeRevisited/a0001_JPG.html

Moldy

 

Not interested in Gearhead or LaVella.....bad blood-nuff said.
I try to stay away from "tributes" done by people who didn't really know him,or work for him.
They fill up magazines and books with bullshit about how big their collections are, etc...they base the bulk of their material on stuff they smoke out of Robt Williams arse,and they gloat over it like they represent Ed's legacy in some self-delusional way...then they get all these wanna-bes and never-weres to do "artwork" in tribute to Ed...people that Ed sometimes greatly disliked, or even disapproved of greatly....people who made careers out of ripping off Roth Studios catalog output from over the years...it's an insult to his name and hard work...

 

BigJim....great post and thanks for the thoughts on VW Trikes....but,I've accidently spent cash with important phone #s or autographs on it!Can ya post a photo of your 70's Trike?
Moldy... thanks for the suggestions....can Germ and I work the Barris booth at next year's Musty Melvin party?
we are WAITING for ya at RF/375......

 

Finely have had some time to read this thread it's great and want to read more. A Big thumbs up Johnny thanx for posting it.

Anyway no reason wo work Barris booth at next year's party. Yer more than welcome to have a booth of yer own.
The more the merrier I sincerely mean that.
Always wanted to meet Germ, love his insight think it would be fun!

Would like to get Chad back down here too.

I'll hook up on the RF/375 group in a few C U Soon. Mildew

 

Moldy: Actually the interview I have with Robert Williams was in the Boston based music, kind of huge fanzine, magazine called Forced Exosure. I'm starting to transcribe it into a text file so I can post it on the HAMB. It's from the mid 80's. I'm not sure if Gearhead reprinted the interview or if the Gearhead interview is completely different. There's a lot abhout his years working with/for Ed Roth in the article.


Johhny Ace: I lost the pictures of my Trike in a move, though I think one of my friends has a pic of it somewhere. I ending selling it to a "Biker Poet", who was really kind of a "livin' the biker lifestyle to the extreme" character, who had been in an MC accident and had a bum leg, and could not support an MC when stopped. He used to show up at some local music clubs and do his "biker poetry" inbetween acts.


The day I met Ed, I didn't realize he was going to be at the show. I wish I did because I had about 3, New In the bag, with the paper tag still on them, original 1960's era RAT FINK plastic rings. Wish he could have signed one of those tags.

 

BigJim...
I had that issue of FE when it came out...that thing read for hours! Very in depth, very informative...Robt ALWAYS enjoys telling stories that he knew would irk Ed...there's one about tacos,HCL, and Ed's hearst from around '70...but I won't tell it!
I have a few ....the time one of Ed's German shepherds clamped on to his arm while he tried to break up a fight between his guard dogs....and the Blue Fox......the infamous rooftop/biker incident.....Ed Fuller's Slauson "cut-off" during rush-hour....much more....the time Ed pulled a pistol in New Orleans....our wedding dinner....so many stories....

 

Keep em coming.....

 

oh yes! Forced Exposure mag. I just recently checked out the issue that you are referring to one about a month ago. Wish I
had a copy of that one. Excellent reading only gawt about 1/2 through the article when I had to put it down. Man you gawt yer
work cut out for you on that one as I remember the interview with Robert is like over 20 pages long almost a book within it's
self. Kewl thing yer doin' I'll finely get a chance to finish reading it. Thanx ... Moldy

 

Johnny,
Here's a story about Ed at the Washington, D.C. World of Wheels in 1996. Please enjoy my website: www.mightyquick.com which features the Wagen Meister, a Radio Flyer wagon by Ed.
John

As I finished cleaning the car, I stood back to admire my work. Car guys always do that, you know. I hiked up my jeans and stared at the thing, thinking it might be nice to get a shower right about now. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing just off my shoulder. “Man”, he said. “You spent the grocery money on that thing”. He thought about that for a second and then he said “No, you spent the grocery money, the refrigerator money, the stove money, and the kitchen sink money”. With that he was gone, off to finish setting up his booth. Ed Roth had t-shirts to sell, you know.

During the show we talked back and forth about selling me a vehicle. At one point he set a price and I said “okay.” I ain’t gonna negotiate with Ed Roth. A used car salesman maybe but not Ed Roth. We talked for a while and he dropped the price five hundred bucks! I said “okay” again. He made some notes on my note pad and wrote down an even lower figure. I said “Hey. Whatever you want, I’ll take it”. Then he said “Now, if money is a problem”... “Money’s no problem” I said. ...“then send me a hundred a month whenever you can” he finished. I think if I’d of stayed there all evening, he would have paid me to take the thing. I guess I’m not as smart as I look.

 

o god thats so awesome! im crying laughing, i guess that explains how his brain works. the one and only, RIP

 

So where's the book?

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

LOL I had bought an original Rat Fink sweatshirt at the Hartford autorama way back in the 60's. It was my most prized possession at the age of 12 or so and I happened to be wearing it when my friend and I riding double up on a bicycle crashed and burned.

Cops came and took me to the hospital and my arm was broken and it hurt like hell.

Got into the ER and the nurse told me she was going to CUT OFF my RF shirt and I told her "THE HELL SHE WAS" my father had arrived by that time and told me we would be "discussing" my swearing at the nurse at a later time and asked that I let them get to work.

I said no way in hell anyone was cutting off my shirt.

They tried saying well it's going to hurt a lot more if we try to take it off the regular way and I insisted I don't care you are not cutting off my RF shirt as I paid for it with my own money and it was MINE.

The adults knew when they were beaten and they took off the shirt carefully the normal way and it did hurt like hell but my RF was NOT CUT and I was happy.

I did get to chew on a bar of soap for one full minute for yelling at the nurse when I got home with the arm in a cast but it was worth it to me.

 

In 1990 I made a trip to Bonneville. They had a rain storm that left water in the low spotson monday. Cars were lined up on the approach road and there was Roth cooking egg omlets on the tailgate of his pickup truck. I have video but no still pictures. Those eggs sure looked good on that morning.
deChrome

 

Ed Roth I seem to remember he guest stared on dobbie gillis show. A friend of manard g crebbs. (Bob Denver) my brains a little fuzzy remembering black and white TV from the early 70's. I enjoy the site run by mouldy Marvin. lots of roth history. There.