Lets start up that east coast car club history thread.

I did a search for east coast car club history and came up with a few old threads. I wanted to see if anyone had any NJ/NYC info. Specifically Newark or Elizabeth. Only car club I know of from these cities is the Road Angels.

 

To the top, I would also like to hear about some old east coast clubs.-MIKE

 

For the New England area you gotta get the book "Cool Cars Square Rollbars"...all about the early days.

 

my dad is in that book

 

I can get info on the Gents from the York PA area. They were a really active club in the early fifties. They had a clubhouse and built a flathead dragster that was hard to beat.
Clark

 

Florida in 1950/60's things were active,biggist custom & rod show run by a club was run by "The Block Busters" in Tampa-St.Pete/Clearwater,we all would go up to that one.
"Lighting Rods"&"Nomads" out of Miami,Ft.Lauderdale,Cabrelays?spelling
in Hialeah and Miami we had "Road Rebals","Road Staints","Grove Rangers"&"Scavengers",Rod Benders.
I know I've left some out,NHRA should have records of at lest some of the clubs,as all the clubs took turns running the dragraces at Masters Field(Miami)(NHRA)and other places around the state,not every club joined NHRA,but enough that those records should show part of them. Not all club joined NHRA.
I was Praz. of Scavengers(Coconut Grove) in 1959/60 and also in Road Sants,1962 & Road Rebals 1963 n on
"The Bat"
Miami

 

Don't have any pictures of plaques from Elizabeth but do have the following from Newark........







Did the clubs in Elizabeth have plaques?

 

Ronnie Roadster has the list of all the old Connecticut clubs. I've got the Lyndwood rail that The Danbuty Modifiers ran at Dover, N.Y. and other tracks up until 1962.

 

found this link in my stuff from SANFORD - mebbe there is stuff here too:

http://abacus.bates.edu/~gdawbin/carpics/sanford.html

 

I have never heard of any in Elizabeth, but that definetly does not mean that there never has been as I am way to young to be an authority on the subject. Anyone have anymore info on these clubs from Newark?

 

In a book I have, Hot Rod and Custom Car Clubs, written by Fred Thomas, there is a list of car clubs from the 50's and 60's. The following club names are listed as being from Newark.....

Avenue Angels
Drag Masters
Rickshaws (Newark, TX?)
Rodsters (Newark, DE?)
Stockers (Newark, DE?)
Torques

And from Newark Valley, NY.....

Saints

From Elizabeth.....

Road Angels (Elizabeth City, NC?)

I'm not familar with the NY/NJ area but also found the following club(s) listed.....

Wanderers in Bronx, NY - Brooklyn, NY - Long Island, NY - Pomption Plains, NY and Jersey City. There is also a listing for the Wandering Nights in Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY.

The fellow who wrote this book did a lot of research and pulled a lot of information from publications of the era. While some clubs may be listed twice with different locations, it's possible that was how it was published.

 

Back in the early 50s till early 60s we had a hot rod club called The Lehigh Valley Timing Assoc.in the Allentown Pa . area. We were one of the first NHRA Sactioned drag strips in eastern Pa, and are currently trying to revive the club which is still incorpated, we had a meeting last Thursday night to accept the bylaws[ we don't know if we ever had them], May 15, 02 we had a 50th reunion for the first drag race. There about 12 or 15 of us still get together one Sat. a month for breakfest.
I remember the Gent's of York they had a rear engine dragster and a rear engine 32 Ford 2dr to name two, quite a club

 

IMO probably one of the 10 best hotrod books ever written. It's funny, lots of imagery in the writing, and the pix are great, too!
If you haven't got a copy - find one!

 

Is this your typical barnes and noble find or am I going to have to go diggin' ?

 

Your going to have to do some digging to find a copy,but believe me if your into old New England rods and racers this is the book to get!It's done by a former Hot Rod Magazine Editor from the late 50s-early 60s lists most of the New England car clubs.lots of early drag racing pics 2 clubs not listed i know of is New Era from Webster Mass area and the Aristocrats from the Danielson Ct.area

 

My dad's 60 and grew up in Rochelle Park. In the early-mid '60's he was in the Bergen Wheelers. Obviously it's name came from them all being from Bergen county NJ. He worked at the Mobil station in Pompton Plains at the time.

The club fell apart after the treasurer pocketed all the dues. Anyone know anything else about them?

I know they were building a flathead powered dragster that never was. The motor was built, the frame was built and had a fiat topolino body, with "bergen wheelers" painted inside the spare tire groove on the back.

My dad's plaque, on the same AV8 he bought and built in '63...

 

etizzown?? welp....RoadRunners were boss back in the day, few guys i knew were in that. there was also the eport wanderers (phil mcquewen) sp? was in that. also without fail but later, we must mention my fav the Renegades (but im partial to the name!!)

 

There were a few clubs in the Elizabeth, Union county area. I can't remember them, as it's been a long time since I heard the "old timers" talk about them.
I do remember Pete Practhauser belonging to the "Golden Chariots". Manny Bastiao was in a different club. Tommy Cooney was in another (Rod Benders was tattooed on his arm). Chris, was John in a club, or was he a "Lone Wolf"?
I know there was coverage of some of the old Elizabeth Armory car shows in the little books. A bit of research in them may show names, or pics of banners of the local clubs in them. The old Perth Amboy shows would have Union county cars in them as well.

 

Here is some information I have. I have the full address for these clubs, but I dont think it would be a good idea to post them as i dont want the present owners to be bothered.

New Jersey:
Auto Maniacs, Penns Grove, NJ

Maine:
Shaft-Twisters, Portland, ME

Connecticut:
Cams, Hartford, CT
Wolves, Norwalk, CT

New York:
Strokers, Baldwin, NY
Globe Throttlers, Holbrook, LI, NY
Rhinebeck Rebels, Orangeburg, NY
Saints, White Plains, NY

Vermont:
Compton's Auto Racers, Brattleboro, VT

Virginia:
Cam-Twisters, Norfolk, VA

 

i know 2 of the more active clubs from "back in the day" were the Chatham Squires, and the Road Dusters, both were Union/Essex County based - some NJ Hot Rod royalty in these clubs - Pete Van Iderstine? Bob Dauernheim? etc. -

 

there was a club called the "R.P.M.'s" from valley stream Long Island NY. that my Dad belonged to in the mid to late 50's
was also another club called the "Rod Snappers" out of Freeport long Island same time frame.
FRITZ

 

the club that your club named after has a long history talk to joe,s dad he could tell you about the clubs in the 50,s from the island and jersery

 

My father was in 2 clubs around Tenefly NJ in the '50s
The Thundering Turtles and The Cam Snappers
Anyone have any plaques from either?

 

The Philadelphia Modifiers organized in 1955 and are still active today.

 

Started in the late 50s. Prince George is a county that forms a suburb of Wash. D.C. in Maryland. It played a big part in my life. We were always called the P.G. Kustoms. It seems misspelling custom was a very traditional thing.

I know that there are 2 of us that give a rats ass today but I may be the only one that ever paid any dues and still cares.

 

my uncles was telling me about joining the "Harrisburg Dragsters" when he ran at US-30

from Harrisburg PA

 

Former member of Freeport Rod Snappers here in Florida still alive and well. In the 50's we met in the Freeport Police Station. I have a ton of old pictures from crusing the Long Island area and from drag racing in Riverhead, NY. if anyone is interested.

 

Yes, post them on the board, it would have been really cool to see!

 

Maybe you guys can help me.
My car came from Maryland and this is the tag on the header above the windshield.
Car is a long time hotrod.


Anyone know the history or where it came from?

 

How about the Injectors from central Jersey... Tampa florida had the Strokers car club...Garlits belong to that club in the early 50's...