History Dick Kraft's Highland Plating Special

One of my favorite cars from the era. I first became aware of it when it made the cross country trip to one of the first Street Rod Nationals along with the restored '28/9 Neikamp AMBR piloted by it's restorer Jake Jacobs. I don't recall who drove the Highland Special but they added a couple of winged radiators to the front nose to ensure adequate cooling for the flathead on the hot summer trip. I should dig out those old magazines for a refresher course in Hot Rod 101.

Frank

 

Here's an obscure 1972 USC film class short movie featuring the car AND Ron Weeks as a 50's be bopper dancing around when he owned the car. (This is probably a skeleton in Ron's closet, lol).
A weird film. The car appears in a dance number late in the film and looks to have been filmed in a studio back lot. Great song.
We have to consider 50's days in 1970's Socal High Schools were extremely popular...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZGuUgoAQoQ

 

This car sliding across the cover of Rod & Custom in '73 or so at I think Ascot is yet another piece of the puzzle as to why I'm here today. Ron Weeks did the rebuild, and I know it's on the east coast these days.

 

It was the 2nd Street Rod Nats held in Memphis. Ron Weeks drove the Highland Plating Special, Jake with the Niekamp and Bud Bryan with hi 29 A V-8. The road tripped cross country together. Jake documented the trip in Rod & Custom, it's a great read.

 

Ryan, Thanks! for posting all these History threads, (Pics and History, best parts of HAMB, IMO) All of these old Hot Rods that ended up in magazines, Car Shows are what shaped, developed and planted the seeds for our future in the "Car Crazy" life. Grew up in the Midwest, 60's, not many real Hot Rods, Exposure came from Ca. in Magazine form, McMillan 32 Roadster, Hot Rod magazine 63, was the one for me. Thanks! again. John

 

Pretty sure that's the earlier car that Dick Kraft built. From what I have read and researched over the years, he built at least two of these cars, with the Highland car being the second and better known. The first one if I remember correctly was entered in the first Oakland Roadster show and placed pretty far up behind the Neikamp car, and was sold shortly there after. That was the promt to build this one.

 

That last pic....mmmmm, mmmm, mmm!

 

What is the story of that channeled and chopped pick-up next to the "T"? Anyone know or have additional pictures of that?

 

If I'm not mistaken it's the Ray Desbrow deuce truck.

 

I've never been a big fan of the nose on this car. Always seemed to me personally that it would look better being a bit steeper and wider with the chin flowing towards the bottom of the car. More similar to the nose on the first car that was the same as Navarro's and others.

I did a really quick photoshop...

 

One of my favorites

 

I'm torn between image #9 and the later version with the blown flatty. All are pretty cool.

 

It's pretty cool to see a car that IS SO DISTINCTIVE go through such transformations but still retain it's "look". Of course the early race version is just so awesome but the White Walled version has to be my favorite. Just looks like it's bursting with personality.

 

I took this in 1962 at Pamona Drag Strip. Wish I could make it bigger.

 

I know it is now on the East Coast, anyone have more details for those who have forgotten?

I remember when it first made the HRM cover, was wowed then, still am, THANKS FOR POSTING!

 

Check the June '92 issue of Rod & Custom, when I did a 4-page article on the red car when Art Bastian had it on the East Coast, plus photos of other Kraft cars, including the blue one with the wider, flatter Ingles nose, built first in 1948. Kraft, Marvin Webb, and Art Ingles built these cars at Webb's house in Anaheim. Despite what magazines say, I don't think the Seidens did much more than add the chrome rollbar and wheels. I've sen no evidence they actually ran the 4-71 blower.

My latest book, Hot Rod Gallery, includes a photo of the red car running at Pomona in '53, with someone other than Kraft or a Seiden Bro. driving. It also includes the great photo of the blue car being pushed off at El Mirage (and even the Roy Desbro pickup, in color).

I think the narrow nose on the red car is the nicest ever on a track T--probably made by Webb and/or Ingles. The more distinctive Ingles nose was used on Kraft's blue car, The Navarro T, Wes Cooper's 4 cyl '27, and the Spalding Bros. 6-cyl. The Navarro car is the only one that I know still exists. Kraft said he sold the blue car at the 1950 Indy car show "to some guy who raced it, crashed, and killed himself." But since I'm building a duplicate of the Spalding car, if anyone knows of the existence of a grille from one of these Ingles noses, I'd love to hear about it.

BTW, Highland Plating is still in business in Hollywood. They chromed the wishbone for my '32.

Pat Ganahl (Pgan)

 

Thanks Pat, I KNEW you knew the complete score! I was going to mention your '92 article, but I couldn't remember the month.

 

Yes, thanks, Pat (just went to the Amazon home page and ordered not only Hot Rod Gallery [available on pre-order], but also Lost Hot Rods II), thanks for the reminder that it is now available....

 

It is in Boyertown, PA in a personal museum. He has a lot of cool cars from survivors to a Ridler winner. THree Dog Garage.

http://www.3dog.org/

 

^Great museum and good site, thanks.
http://www.3dog.org/

 

Good thing Krafty's not around he would probably take a swing at you hahaha...Betz said he used to go down to Long Beach and beat up sailors "for the fun of it".

He gave me this tag years ago...it was a "shut-off" run. Krafty wasn't too proud of it so he gave it away...




Still cool to see his name on the tag. Anybody know or have a picture of what car (#24) he was running in '48...I'm not sure Stan even remembers.


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That might have been the blue roadster before this one. The time frame would seem to be about right.

 

Thanks! It's in pretty good company, with the Larry Shinoda (ex-Don Montgomery) 3-window, the Don Ferguson lakes '34, the Tony LaMesa roadster...and all well presented....all of us who love old hot rods owe guys like 3-dog a great deal of appreciation for restoring and saving these cars!

 

Sixcarb's dad bought that car from Weeks and drove it from CA to NJ in the eRly 70's


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Thanks for the link LongT, I never knew so many great cars were in that collection. I've seen the Coupes at Hershey, maybe the Highland Plating car will be there some year in the future. Bob