Hot Rods The car that changed your life!

Lynn Arrowsmith's Oz '34 Ford coupe, cemented my love of channelled cars.


& the Spurgin-Giovanine '25 Chev Roadster. No other car has had the impact on me like this little roadster.

 

Norm's T when it was the Kookie car on 77 Sunset Strip. I never missed a second of that show waiting to catch a glimpse of that car . My first build that actually ran was a T bucket built on a very low budget.
Dad's 57 Olds Super 88 with the J-2 tri power and lowered was a big influence as a teen ager as I found that a clean simple car that ran like a bandit was pretty cool.

 

Sorry for the photo quality. But what you see here is one of two 1934 Plymouths that had (and in the case of the sedan pictured still have) a huge influence on me at age 13. I didn't know it then but I was hooked (addicted that is) for life.




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It's pretty simple for me.

The first one, a 34 Roadster. Not a famous car, it belongs to a buddy and happens to be the first hotrod I road in (1983 to the NATs) when I was 8 years old and was the first hotrod I got to drive in 1995. Love this car.


The next are all movie cars. Not sure what that says about me.

Some may think the Milner coupe is a bit cliche, but when I first saw the movie, I was hooked on hotrods and wanted to be Milner. I never wanted a clone, because I believe there should only be one of anything.


The T in Disney's shaggy dog made me want a T roadster back when I was very young. My T roadster was the 1st hotrod I built.


The Willys from Hot Rod. This car hooked my Willys obsession, but I don't have one yet.


Bandits Trans Am. Since it is OT, I won't post a pic of it, but this car and movie taught me how to drive. When I was 20, I bought a 78 TA SE Y84. And drove it just like Burt. I still have it too.

 

You More than one car for me this is my top 4 My Dad's car influenced by The Beach Boys car Doyle's 32 and Milners 32

 

So I had a chance to see The Munster Coach in Scottsdale Az. at the largest run I've ever been to. It happens every year on Saturday night at McDonalds on Indian School road on the Saturday of Barrett-Jackson, (might be more often but I only know of this one.) Did not get to talk with the guy driving but did get a chance to appreciate the build as I never watched the show in its day.

 

My first car (bought in 1963) was a black '57 Chevy BelAir 2 door hardtop with a 283 3 speed on the floor. I paid $800 for it and sold it for $800 when I got drafted in 1966. My buddy who was a year older had a red '55 Chevy BelAir 2 door sedan.

He got drafted about 3 months before I did and left his '55 with his sister, Jan, who was my age. The three of us used to run around together and, to me, she was the girl of my dreams. One night she showed me a trick I had never seen before in that '55 and the car was forever burned into my young brain right alongside Jan.

When I got out of the Army a couple of years later Jan was married and had moved out of state. I still have a thing for '55 Chevies though.

 

Hudson Hornet out in front of the '55 Chevys at the Akron Ohio Rubber Bowl
dirt track. I went on to own 15 Hudsons.

 

The car that influenced me the most was when I was 16 years old, and we moved to San Francisco, was Joe Carlomagno's chopped 1932 3-window coupe. He lived right across the street from me. I got to be friendly with Joe, and his fellow club members in the San Francisco Rambler's . Joe, and club members Howard Leever and Fred Esser, shot pool at Joe's house Thursday nights, and they let me hang around with them. We also went to Mel's drive in, and to Half Moon Bay Dragstrip. It was an exciting, and educational time for a 16 year old kid.

 

My own '62 SS 409 convertible, never been the same since.

 

probably my '56 pontiac safari that i had in the late sixties. stock and white with chrome reverse wheels. shudda kept it. even had a add on a/c. drove nice.

 

'50 Lincoln built locally in early 90's by a friend of mine. Was into muscle cars back then. Had a 66 Elky with 350 and 4 on the floor. Other cars back then included a 35 Ford chopped tudor slant back he built and his Father's tubbed and primered '33 Plymouth coupe. After 20+ years I saw the slant back again for the first time and took a pic of it. It could use different wheels and paint. Below that is an older photo of it from 93-ish.

 

never thought about that until now
I have never bought myself a new car/truck, nor can I remember wanting one

 

Nothing really famous, but my Uncle had a 63 1/2 Galaxie fastback hardtop. 390 3 speed, red with red bench seat interior, dual exhaust with Thrush mufflers. It sounded great, and looked 1000% better than my old mans 4 door 67 Ford. Tried to find it a few years ago, the trail led up to my ex brother in law, then went cold. Turned out my ex Brother in law's sister was married to my Uncle's brother who had bought the car from my Uncle. From my Uncle, to his brother, to his brother in law, then who knows where, ex bro in law couldn't remember who he sold it to. I look at every red 63 1/2 Galaxie I see to see if it's the same one, but something is always different, interior color, seats, automatic, etc. I wonder if it's still out there somewhere....

 

The Blown Hearse



Garage was next to my school when I was 10-11 years old. They fired it up as I was pedaling my bike home and I just HAD to see what was making that glorious noise. Went over and ended up being the "hey Kid' grab me a ... being the gopher.


And then the rich kid in our neighborhood's dad bought him a brand new 1962 Chevy a real she's real fine dual quad 409 that he gave me a wild ride in and I was hooked on drag racing forever.

 

When about 5-7 my cousin had a '50 Ford conv., red, white top, tail dragger with cruiser skirts and venetion blinds in the back windows. His brother had a maroon '53 tail dragger with white interior and glass packs. Those two set my goals on custom cars. The cousin with the '53 later had a '61 Corvette, I haven't been the same since.

 

My older brothers were hot rodders -50s to 60 and I was kind of the tag along, though now I realize they used me to show how sensitive and nurturing they were , caring for a little brother etc, to all the buxum great looking gals who were in their circle. I was too young to know why it was so much fun to to be stuffed in a Hot Rod with these babes squishing me in as my crazy brother drove around. Every curve and turn was an experience, not at all like being stuffed in my Dad's 50 chevy on a Sunday. I did not know then I was being pimped out nor do I care at all even now.
Then one day my brother Bill brought home a 32 3W he had rescued from conversion to a stock car. The car came and went from our Dad's newly built garage several times as work progressed. (Dad's Chevy never did get inside!). Each time it returned the transition was stunning. When it returned chopped, and I studied the shape of the now tiny rear window and the magical way the roof flowed into the beltline--"hooked" is too mild a word to describe the effect. Bill joined the Navy and left the Ford in the garage.Several times a week I would go out to the garage and check on the 32. By now I was 13 or so and could hot start it at will and was moving towards a clandestine midnight ride when Bill came home on leave and announced that he had sold the car. Romance and other plans had taken hold of him and there was no changing his mind on this. Even now, with both of us in our 70's changing his mind on anything is still not possible. That car led me to an endless procession of rods, sports cars, bikes and so on. It was the impetus for a lifetime of automotive enjoyment which is still a passion.
Whenever I see a beautiful 32, especially one that is chopped and channeled, I snap a photo and send it to Bill. I love to remind him how well he did getting his $300 investment back on that 3w! In his defense, he did once admit that it was a mistake to sell that car.

 

Yes, I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was sitting in the back seat of a black and white 1962 Ford 4dr. I wasn't in handcuffs yet, but I was getting my ass handed to me. The next time I'll drag race out in the country somewhere.

 

As a kid in the '60s that loved drag racing there was no shortage of automotive stimulus, but two cars stick out in my mind, one famous, one not.
Ohio Georges '33 Willys gasser was and still is one of my favorites. It was in part the look; way high, wheel standing, "in your face" type look. The few times I got to see it on TV it looked like a wild ride going down the track. Also, the blown Cammer introduced me to the FE series motors and I've wanted one ever since.
The other car was a '55 or '56 Ford that belonged to my buddy's older brother. Nose high, no front bumper, bright red with chrome reverse wheels, it had a Y-block with tri power, a nasty cam and four speed. I could hear that car coming down the street from blocks away.

 

I grew up in the 80s in a small farm town so truck and tractor pulls were something I gravitated to and Id say that The Orange Blossom Special was one of my early influences. I even have the toy truck that Hasbro put out

 

Cars like this definitely got me into the hobby, although i didn't see american graffiti until high school, i had been into 60s muscle cars, mainly novas and when i saw toad turn the corner in this car with the dual headlights on and runaway by del Shannon playing in the background i immediately was hooked on 50s cars, especially tri fives and 58-59 chevies.

I also was really into "That darn cat" when i was 3-4 and canoe Henderson drives this ford woody.

 

Well as far as cars that have changed my life. I would have to say in real life it would be a 1964 Polara 426 wedge 4 speed that my dad bought new. He had that badass jewel till about 71. 1966 Corvette that he bought in 76 I am working on getting it back on the road now.

My first car that i got for a graduation present 1966 SS 396 Chevelle. I would love to own another one of those.

As far as the he magazine cars.
The McMullen Roadster
Little John Buterra's T sedan
As far as movie cars
The Willy's from Hot Rod
And Falfa's 55

 

Here's the Vette right now