Just a Car Guy: 6/7/09

Saturday, June 13, 2009

there are 21 square feet of fragile, non-safety, plate glass on a stock 1924 model T

That's a bit of glass shards to cut you if that car gets hit.

Superchargers, ones that failed to survive against the competition

Von Dutch on the Mothersills Special of Carl Borgh, a 1948 Class A record holder at B-ville

The Roadster was the “Cover Car” for the Hot Rod Magazine in March 1949 and the “Hot Rod of the Month” with a feature article. The above photos are from the 1956 article about it's 2nd life when owned and raced by Carl Bough.

Spurgin & Giovanine once again raised their own record when they raced the two-way runs in an average speed of 123.655 mph, after having qualified at 125.52 earlier in the day.

This gave them a perfect score in S.C.T.A. class competition in placing first and setting a new record in their class at every scheduled meet of the season.

This most incredible feat brought them a total of 1800 points and won the Spurgin- Giovanine Roadster the title of Seasons Champion for 1948.

To win an event in 1948, one had to qualify at a world record speed, and run an A and B run at the world record speeds. The car was the Cover Car and the Hot Rod of the Month with a feature story in the March 1949 Hot Rod Magazine.

Featured as a Cover Car for the SCTA -First Annual Hot Rod Exposition in Los Angeles and was a feature car at the 1949 Second Annual Hot Rod Exposition in Los Angeles as the 1948 SCTA overall Champion. http://www.hotrodhotline.com/feature/heroes/landspeedracing/2009/09newsletter93/Spurgin_Information.pdf

" I would like any information and comments from anyone regarding what they remember of the Spurgin-Giovanine Roadster as it had quite a long run and it was one of the stars of the Albata Club. If there are any photos or historical information...it would be appreciated. I am going to have Tom Fritz do a painting as he is the ultimate master of the low orange yellow sun and swirling dust from the clay pan. Thanks and I will keep you updated. Ernie Nagamatsu " http://www.hotrodhotline.com/feature/heroes/landspeedracing/2009/09newsletter93/

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Conservative pinstiping by Von Dutch on 1924 Barris customized sedan, and the #333 1929 Walker Bros sedan was graced with a Von Dutch grill

the T was completed at Barris Kustom City. George Barris displayed the finally finished coupe at the '64 Winternationals Custom Auto Fair in Los Angeles. Von Dutch did the striping in '66

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/0305rc_1924_ford_model_t_coupe/index.html

1956 Hot Rod magazine article on the El Paso Hot Rod shop

The Yeakel roadster, a upside down Von Dutch work of art across the grill.

And for more on the Yeakel roadster, try the HAMB thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159047 or better yet see the Rod and Custom magazine article online with a full gallery of photos http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/thehistoryof/1929_ford_highboy_roadster/photo_04.html

there are a couple photos around the net that aren't very clear, like http://gassermadness.com/norms/Roadsters/ the photo I led this post with

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

the Hirohata Merc by Barris... found for sale in the classifieds, it is amazing what you could find for sale in the back pages of car magazines

Think this was a once in a lifetime find?

How about Roth's Orbitron? http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/classifieds-in-old-magazines-turn-up.html Or cars owned by Phil Hill, Fangio, or record holders like Mickey Thompson's Bonneville record setter! Race cars (owned by Fangio) that won the Italian Gran Prix, or Max Bulchowsky's Old Yaller III!

Summer brings back all the car cruises, here's the Clairemont Neighborhood Cruise at Woody's chili dog

This is a pretty cool innovative way to use a modern side mirror..

This is the only 23 Buick in San Diego, it was originally sold in San Francisco, and is only one of 4 known 1923 Buick model 23-4-36 to still exist

1944 Chev 1 and 1/2 ton

This was the material in the Fairlane seats

Grape Day park historical area with blacksmiths and wheelwrights

Grape Day park car show, Escondido annual event

Road Runner eye candy

photographed at Escondido's Grape Day park

Tachometers from the 1960's

Photographed at the Escondido Grape Day park. For more tachometers, see the advertising of tachs, Airguide, Sun, Stewart Warner http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/airguide-tachometer-advertising.html

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/sun-tachometer-ads-from-1950s-and-60s.html

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/stewart-warner-guage-advertising.html

1958 Desoto Firesweep, wow this is clean

at the Escondido Grape Day park

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Letters from GI's in Korea, 1952-1953 to Hot Rod Magazine. A different war, a different breed. No cell phones or internet, just shared magazines

the above is from Lt Dierks... the below is from a GI in response to it

Click on all of the above to get the full "easy to read size"

I hope all those guys made it home, and that you get an understanding of how the Korean War vets were hungry for Hot Rod magazines, and how they spent some free time thinking about the cars they had to leave behind when they were drafted into a war, that today some of us only know of as the setting of the tv show MASH.

I hope you immediately think about the military stuck in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan... and do something to make their time in the sand pit easier to bear.

More of Chula Vista's season opener

For more of Chula Vista's season opener see: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/club-signs-and-pinstiping-bit-different.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/old-school-bus-manufactured-by-white.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/some-great-30s-and-40s-classic-cars-at.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/custom-touch-must-really-love-mexicos.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/lots-of-impalas-in-chula-vista-do-they.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-paint.html
and http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/tichos-39-chevy.html

Monday, June 08, 2009

"Parts with appeal", it's been referred to many times. It might have been the "pin up" girl appeal to the Korean War soldiers and hot rodders

From the 1954 Hot Rod magazine issues

From the 1953 Hot Rod magazine issues

Above: Mamie Van Doren (discovered by famed producer Howard Hughes 1949 on the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. Hughes launched her career by placing her in several RKO films. 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painting of Van Doren was on the July cover of Esquire Magazine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamie_Van_Doren The above is from 1953

Above: Merry Anders (actress "How To Marry a Millionaire")

From the 1952 Hot Rod magazine issues

This last one is the segue into the next post, about the record business Hot Rod Magazine went into

Hot Rod magazine tried to get into the music business in 1952

The guy holding the sheet music at the top of this.. is Scatman Cruthers. That is cool!

The top article explains it

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Old school bus manufactured by White trucking company on the restoration path to like new!

Some great 30's and 40's classic cars at Chula Vista

The most thorough and complete collection of hot rodding car club plaques

for how this plaque was made see: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/torquers-of-ocean-beach-hot-rod-club.html
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_i_AovfzNXgQ/SKhV4GPN0TI/AAAAAAAAWKw/zVHD1DIgGEA/s1600-h/IMG_7213a.jpg

A post of plaques: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/09/club-plaques-at-el-cajon-for-nitro.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i_AovfzNXgQ/SMP2tZmG-iI/AAAAAAAAXW8/be_7qRWpACI/s1600-h/DSCN0469.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i_AovfzNXgQ/SMP2tBD7s_I/AAAAAAAAXW0/eQN2EVRn1xc/s1600-h/DSCN0474.jpg

A couple of my favorites are the before and after cutouts of the Coastal Cruisers

For an alphabetical listing check out the great collection at http://www.relicsandrods.com/carclubplaques.htm

A couple steering wheels I don't think I've seen before

Custom touch... must really love Mexico's flag

I don't understand so much emphatic displays of Mexican pride on the USA side of the border, we're just 5 to 15 miles from Tijuana... why anyone with so much love for Mexico lives in the US when they can so easily live about 10 miles away in less expensive Mexico if they prefer is an enigma I'll never understand

Lots of Impalas in Chula Vista.... do they make the best lowriders?

I needed to look at the top one to see why the bottom one was odd looking

I was informed that it's a rare optional light that surrounds the horse

Great paint

Club signs and pinstiping, a bit different in the Lowrider clubs from the hot rodders, but similar

Ticho's 39 Chevy

Want to do a good deed and show off your hot rod in Encinitas? Friday June 12th, picnic with some oldtimers

Need a few more cars to make 10 - Almost anything works - could use some pre 50's and 70's as well.

FRIDAY: - JUNE 12TH at 10:30 - 2:PM

NOT A SHOW: - One prize , no cost - just lunch and a smile
WHERE: Silverado Senior Living - memory Impaired facility, Encinitas
WHY: "...A real world time machine - like a vintage car can trigger a life altering memory response ..." John Daly- UCSD Geriatric Medicine, director at Silverado.

WHO: we did this for the first time last year - "A concrete reminder of earlier times, a piece of living history, the sound, the look, smell and color can spark the memory and brain to refunction" - it works. No particular club this time- last year was Heartbeat Classics.

Not only were the patients, staff, families and guests very appreciate... they had good food and many dressed in 50's fun. Just merely showing up and parking our cars had a profound effect on many patients. Nice people, good fun, EZ and especially endearing outcome.

Thanks to Encinitas Foriegn for showing up with the fresh gellato machine. Jimmy from Rancho Autobody, Larry Johnson, Steve Deering , Roy Tucker, Bob Brown and others I don't know but arrived anyway.

LOCATION: 335 Saxony Road -across from ECKE YMCA two blocks north of 5 and Encinitas Blvd.
THE PRIZE: The look on their faces and the funny stories when they remember. The family and staff appreciation.

Just call me or email
Doug 760 427 9700