Vintage shots from days gone by!

I recognize the car as one of the Peat Bros Supermodifieds out of Salt Lake City, I didn't know Al Pombo ever drove it. The Peat's numbers were 17 and 71. Thanks for posting this great shot of my favorite Super!

 

Thanks guys, when I blew the picture up I can see the vert is a Merc.

 

1932 chevy----1948 Frazer-----1939 Mercury

 

A great history lesson - thanks!

 

Thanks DDD!
I'm trying to get a handle on what year the pic with the Merc would have been taken. Any idea of the year of the newest car in the background?

 

Is this a "mooo-par" billboard? ​

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I'll take a shot at it and say a '47 Cadillac, tough to see clearly. Unrelated, but note the sealed-beam headlight conversions on the '39 Merc.

 

WWI era USA Air Service Poster:

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Another WWI-era call to Service Poster:

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WWI-era "tourist"(?) poster:

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Early 1900s Bonds poster:

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Early 1900s Army dirigible:

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British Army poster - early 1900s:

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Les Martella used to race at Kearny Bowl, he comes into our shop all the time with great old stories. He's loud and a little nuts. Nice guy!

 

Looks like a '47 Caddy to me also.

 

I believe Kearny Bowl was paved by 67

 

The Burney Streamliner built in the late 1920's in England.

 

That's one weird looking beast. Here it is in Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streamline_Cars

 

I agree, it is very valuable to create a timeline for these styles. I can't take all the credit for this time line...Bigcheese327 is also a big "Gowjob" enthusiast, originally posted this time line after he and I hashed out what we thought best fit these periods.

THE SPEEDSTER ERA: 1910 - 1925



THE GOWJOB ERA: 1926 - 1935



THE SUPEJOB ERA: 1936 - 1941



THE HOT ROD ERA: 1946 - PRESENT

 

Okay I think I'm understanding the differences. SO, the pic I posted earlier appears to be a stock 1916 T - is it a speedster? It appears similar to the yellow T 'gowjob' in your post. Would or could these be 'before and after' non-factory mods?

 

MrModelT, as RaceRon said, THAT is a terse and very thoughtful piece of historical analysis and info. Much more than just an opinion, this is obviously based on years of reading and fact-gathering. Salute! You (and BigCheese) really helped to nail down (insofar as humanly possible, IMO) specific "performance" eras preceding the one we call hotrodding. You also did about the best job I've read clarifying the significant DIFFERENCE between mundane rattletrap jalopies, heaps, beaters, VS. serious go-jobs and, then, hotrods. Not to get O.T. too far, but would you mind if I add this material (quoting you, of course) to the body of info on the thread, For Debate: When Did Hotrodding Take Root? Thanks again for these relevant posts!

 

RE the term "hotrodding" itself, the magazine below apparently marks late-1945
as the beginning of the popularization of the term. Obviously, LIFE didn't coin the
term. The sign in the background suggests that Holland may well have come up
with it. LIFE publication, however, would have meant the term reaching a world-
wide audience within a week! Just as apparent, modifying stock cars to go faster
predates by decades the general acceptance of "hotrodding" as a hobby-defining
term, seems to me from all that's been presented on various HAMB threads.

In mid-2010, our regular, Moe, made this cogent observation about the below
article: "I wouldn't know who or when the <LAYER style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow; COLOR: black" id=google-toolbar-hilite-4>term</LAYER> was coined but Life must have
ingrained the term into peoples heads when the article was wirtten. I would have
thought that the <LAYER style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow; COLOR: black" id=google-toolbar-hilite-5>term</LAYER> was coined in the 30's and remained obscure until weekly
articles and newspaper headlines painted the picture of what the 'kids' were doing
back then."




This Nov. 5, '45 issue of LIFE, barely three months after VJ Day, clearly shows that boys
coming home from the biggest war ever was Story One, naturally. But INSIDE: A three-
page photo-feature on HOTRODDING in its infancy! The text, though spare, is worth it's
historical weight in gold, IMO. The article below from LIFE was posted in '08 by HAMBER
JimmyB.








And from Mart 3406 in Canada in '10. I hope these thumbnails open for you all!


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Mikes51 posted this CLASSIC LIFE cover elsewhere. Worth another look!

 

Here's some more video. This time a series from Ford Films describing the Rouge Plant and the Ford System and how it applies to the Model A.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EK-DEuFmeY&feature=related

There are 8 parts to this. each about 15 minutes long.

 

Are these cool headlights still made and available?

 

I would classify this car as a Speedster. The style of the build, the gas tank and seats....the whole look really optimizes that style and era.

*interesting side note, it appears that the builder of this car used a second set of early front fenders (1911 - 1912 or very early 1913 to be exact, they lack the re-enforcement rib across the mid point found on the later 1914 to 1916 fenders) for his rear fenders.

The car itself could be older then 1916. The hood seen on this can is an early style louvered steel hood dating it to 1915 or 1916, but the front fenders are early 1909 - 1910 judging by the narrow fender top (the inner seam can be seen in the photo) and the large skirts:

Front Fender 1909-1910


Rear Fender 1911 - 1912 (early 1913)

 

I'm not so sure it's even a '16, I'm not a T expert by any stretch. But it's what the picture source'archivist' said it was - but I think he/she also categorized it as a 'jalopy' - obviously whoever listed it isn't as versed on or as knowledgable of this stuff as you .

Some of the stuff I/we see in these early photos is amazing considering what they did and the technology they had, in order to accomplish. I've been posting some early 20th century pics & images this week; not so much that they're auto-related but more to depict an age when many young people were entering the military services then - if lucky enough to survive - some of them coming back to buy, build, drive and race cars. I gotta think it ties in to some extent, as a lot of their experience and know-how came from time spent defending their country. A good example is jimi's post of that Life Mag cover with the sailor on it, he just looks like a 'hot rodder'. Some great history here!

Thanks again for the explanation.

 

While we're on the subject of breaking down early perf eras: Following on a point in a previous post by NovaDude involving SCTA, I found this 1950 SCTA item a piece of real hotrodding history -- in particular the first two paragraphs. You'll note the key date of 1937 and evidence of a real and growing need for one or more governing bodies in the hobby/sport. I was a tad surprised to find written evidence of the negative "public feeling" mentioned in 'graph 1, rooted as early as the late '30s. That there was a safety outcry as early as the late '30s was an eye-opener for me; I'd honestly assumed that this was a '50s and early-'60s thing! I was VERY surprised that young guys tearing around the streets in their gow-jobs and supe-jobs was such a big deal THAT early!

 

I can imagine, that in 1961 when this photo was taken, the 1949 fleetline was a disgrace and the beetle was cool fashionable new machine. Today I would give away half a dozen beetles to get a 1949 fleetline...

 

Jimi, Thank you kindly....glad you enjoyed my lecture today

It is allot of fun researching and writing about this period...but also a real challenge trying to explain it properly. Bigcheese and I have had many conversations on this subject over the years and we have both learned quite a bit, and were shocked at just how much we knew already.

You may certainly quote me and add my write up to the thread you mentioned.