Wickedly awesome blogging. Hats off the Ryan! If you want to get a first-hand period feel for Cobbs' technical prowess read the captions from the Hot Rod pics on Jimmy B's post #26 above--the engine is one thing but i mean this is the guy that put the tubular front axle under the Pierson coupe! Also, note that the intake manifold in the Hot Rod pic is different than the pic on Ryan's original post. Being personally familiar with the contents of the find I can say that that both intakes' were still in Cobbs' garage and are with the motor. The one in the Hot Rod pic is basically an Edelbrock 3x2 with hand fabricated feeder tubes from the blower. The one shown in Ryan's pics is a much more elaborate and sophisticated hand built job with injectors at the ends of each tube as well as in front of the blower setup. This dual delivery point injector configuration ended up being widely used by the pros, but only way after Cobbs' days. This guy was a real MaCoy, if unsung, genious!
There is an issue of Rod & Custon with the exPierson Coupe and the same Ford pickup on the cover, think it was in the late 1960's.
Also an early '54 HRM with the how-to on an A V8 has them on the cover. Ryan...I think these Cobb history posts need to be nailed to the top for a while...really, really neat stuff, but they drift down simply because none of us have much useful input beyond "cooool!" And who is Buddy Fox??? I raise the question because of strong resemblance between the aluminum crafting on that Chevy and the aluminum artistry of a HAMB Fox...doubt there's actually a connection, but who knows??
Hi Ryan Again I must commend you for doing these articles such as this one about Tom Cobbs. I would like to add some info on Tom's hot rodding history. In 1948 he joined the Rotors club, one of the original Russetta Timing Assn. clubs. He ran the '29 roadster in the C Roadster class that season. His no. was 106C. The raced the 1949 season as a member of the Rotors in the D Coupe class using the metal top noted in the pictures. The Rotors club faded away in 1950 so Tom joined the Auto Union club ( North Hollywood area ). His class D Coupe hit 135 mph that year. The Auto Union club dropped out in 1951 so some of the club members joined the GCRC club from nearby Glendale. Incidently prior to that Tom's no. 11 D coupe recorded a good 145.74 mph. Buddy Fox was one of the Auto Union members who moved to the GCRC at this time. Buddy had a nice '40 coupe that he was running in the A Coupe class. The 1952 season had the Fox-Cobbs entry using Buddy's coupe and Tom's blown flathead engine. They were one of the fastest stock bodied coupes that year at 146.222 mph time. It was the 2nd fastest class B Coupe speed that year:the record of 150.062 mph run that same day by another competitor. Tom was one of the earlier hot rodders to try to develop the GMC blowers for hot rods and an interesting guy. Since I have tried to show hot rodding history as it really was I offer a couple of comments. I in no way mean to critize; only to add some insight as to the past. In regards to the "old and poorly lit garage somewhere in Southern California" the article already stated that Tom's family was wealthy. My visit to Tom's shop in Santa Monica was not to a dim and poorly lit garage. Attached is a picture of my SCOT blown Chrysler on Tom's dyno in April of 1956 when I was switching over from GMC power. The guy standing over the engine is Tom. My understanding was that it the dyno belonged to Tom although Jack Engle or Stuart Hilborn may have been a part of it. Both times the engine was on the dyno was with Tom. I am a little hesitant to agree that Tom was a "most dominant speed competitor" in that period. Tom did some good Lakes and Bonneville performances. He did very little drag racing. This is not to belittle his accomplishments but there are many other hot rodders in that period that accomplished many good performances. Tom was one of the guys who showed that supercharged engines were the "way to go". Incidently I totally agree that Alex Xydias is a really nice guy who has had a great career in the automotive field. Thanks Ryan , for doing this stuff. And please do not take my notes as being negative. I merely want to be sure that the history info we put out there is accurate so errors are not repeated. Don .
Wow! Great first-hand insight from Rockerhead. The club history is particularly valuable. Also, confirms that many of those who wanted to go fast went to Cobbs. It's my understanding that the dyno belonged to Hilborn, but Tom put it to the best use in terms of advancing and validating his (and others') technical inovations. Leaving aside the symantics of "dominant" or not, He had to be among, if not the, most technically astute hot rodders and consitent winners of the period. His hand written note books are full of mathamatical formulas and slope graphs. Money might buy equipment, but not knowledge. I am sure he drew on the best information of the day, but ultimately the expertise was his. The very best called on him for his input. He and Fox won the SCTA points in '52, and he racked dozens and dozens of consistent First places for a span of 16 years. His engines also made the two most well known Bonneville coupes go their fastest. 198.8 MPH with a 265 chevy! Stunning! This is why it's puzzles me that the most definative historys covering the time make scant mention of him? As Ryan mentions, he obviously did not beat his chest or hype himself, so now that he's gone without even a meager mention in the popular hot rodding press it's super that he's getting a little hype here!
Incidently, speaking of National Treasures, I vote for Don's (Rockerhead's) memory! All the computer power in the world can't convey the look, feel and smell of the times as his words do.
Wow, many thanks to you, Ryan, Don and rodster. This is a fascinating story and one of the major reasons I hang out on the HAMB. I have always loved the color photos from the Roddick collection. I think they epitomize everything about hot rodding. I also have loved Tom's car, though I never knew who's it was. The thing that most amazes me about these threads though are the engines that were dug up. Man I hope that those are the originals, like some one said above, it is the holy grail of hot rodding. I love when folks find history in some garage, dim or not. Thank you guys for making my evening! Best, MRAK
Haha it was just last year that all (or at least most) of this stuff was up for sale on ebay for 50 grand cause his son in law that was selling it and didn't know what he had. Nobody even raised an eye brow. See the post labeled "have you flathead speed guys seen this??" It all ended up going to a guy in SD, ca for a little over a 100 grand, and from the storage containers to a museum.
Thanx for this... my favorite kind of thread. And if you happen to have any more pix of the 128D coupe, that would be a very big plus for me! Gary
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