I grew
up in the San Fernando Valley of California in the 1950's.
This was a period when hot rods were common in the school
parking lot, drag racing on "The River Road" for pinks was
all the rage -- well, in conversations, at least. I
remember driving down a ramp beside the Glendale Police
Department to enter the LA River channel (a wide cement
trough with an occasional trickle of water in the center)
where there were regular weekly drag races. One Friday
night, a fellow drove in with his brand-new 1957 Ford with
the supercharged 312 engine. Brand new. He had stopped at a
gas station on his way from the dealer's lot with it.
Couldn't wait to race somebody with it!
Since my Mom put me in school as soon as she could talk the
authorities into taking me, I was younger than my
classmates by almost a year but I had much the same
interests. My very first car was a crude sort of go-kart.
Our gardener, Joe, gave me an engine for it from an old
lawnmower. The frame was angle-iron, bolted together;
wheels were old soapbox derby standard. The brake was a
rubber-covered piece of wood on a tube handle--pull the
handle and the pad would rub the ground to slow you down! I
couldn't afford a centrifigal clutch for the engine so I
put a pulley on a lever and pushed a pedal to engage the
engine with the wheel. Several boys in the neighborhood
built these cars and we would race around the neighborhood
streets after school. Mom just said to be home for dinner.
I had my first real car at 13 or 14, a 1941 Chevy sedan. I
got my first ticket at 15 in my Dad's car (long story and
you will NEVER hear it here).
Tommy Ivo lived on Orchard Street in Burbank. I walked up
and down Parrish Street, parallel but one block over, on my
way to and from high school. Sometimes I'd take the long
way to see if Tommy's T-bucket was parked in front. This
was the second T-bucket hotrod ever built and a beauty to
behold. I met Tommy at the SoCal open house last year (the
Friday before the LA Roadster Show). He told me he bought
that house when he was 12, with his movie/tv earnings, and
that he still lives there!
Icons of racing such as Jack McAfee, Don Prudhomme, Kent
Fuller, Tony Nancy, and countless others lived in the
valley as well and were racing at the San Fernando drag
strip, Lions, LADS, and even up in Bakersfield. Wally Parks
started the NHRA in the LA area, where he edited Hot Rod
Magazine. There were custom shops in Burbank and North
Hollywood that I could ride my bike to; they let me look in
the doors as they worked. It was like magic to me. Alex
Xydias had his famous speed shop on Victory Avenue in
Burbank.
My brother-in-law, Dave Dunbar, got interested in sportscar
racing in the mid-50's. He bought a car from Ted Cannon's
shop: 38 Ford frame and suspension, MG-TC front fenders,
Model-A rear fenders, Franklin radiator shell, and a
stroker Mercury engine. He raced this in the Cal Club races
for several years and let me crew for him sometimes. He
called this car the FUBAR Special.
Through Dave, I met a number of racers and carbuilders
and saw sights that remain vivid to this day. Maybe
someday I'll try to add a page on what I remember from
those days.
My first hotrod was a 1934 Ford Cabriolet. It had a 1950
Olds engine that I rebuilt (and bored 1/8" over). Fun car,
I never forgot it. Stock 1934 drivetrain, which provided
important lessons in replacing rear axles. Later, I bought
a car from a friend. This was a 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline
with a Corvette 283 engine. The transmission was a '39
LaSalle floor-shift 3-speed. Fooled a lot of folks with
this car since it was also customized. At that time, the
kids in the San Fernando end of the valley tended to build
custom cars with lots of exotic bodywork and paint, with
lowering blocks and fender skirts and stuff like that. More
often than not, the engines were stock. The kids at my end
of the valley tended to build cars that went fast. Primer
was actually considered a color by most of us. Neither
group understood the other at the time and we certainly
didn't mix. Funny how kids are. This car also had some
lessons to provide on replacing axles.
Anyway, the Navy and then family intervened and I didn't
have the time or money to mess with hotrods for quite a
while. That changed in the mid-90's as the kids were
growing up and out and I actually had a couple of dollars
in the bank. Turned out Martha liked going to carshows and
looking at the hotrods. Eventually, I bought a project car
to work on, then a driver (and, simultaneously, Martha
bought another project car), and things grew from there.
Meanwhile, I re-discovered racing. The rest, as they say,
is history.
