Here's a nifty question for everyone -- what were your early influences to get into street rodding? I can remember my uncle showing a video of a street rod show at Rockaway Beach, Missouri. He went on to build the '41 Chevy (pictured above) for his first street rod. I'm just following in his and my dad's footsteps now with my project car. You can see my early influences pictures at:

http://morris.accesszone.com/html/pictures_influences.php

Anyone else have stories or things to share?


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Bradley Miller
http://morris.accesszone.com -- Honey I shrunk the street rod

Brad,

I was born in Los Angeles in 1943 and raised up in nearby San Gabriel. My neighbor, Dick Tindall had a 52 Chevy pickup with a GMC 6 and Wayne 12 port head. He also had a clean 55 T-Bird and a couple of BSA motorcycles. Bill Burke, the legendary dry lakes and Bonniville racer, lived two blocks over. There was a 29 roadster down the street, and a channeled 34 truck around the corner. There was no way I was going to escape rodding.

Steve
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An Old California Rodder
Hiding Out in the Ozarks

How about Mels Drive Inn. The Cam Twisters-S/G Valley Torquers-Van Nuys Drive In Theater. The Hat Pastrami Dip Sandwhichs at Hellman and Valley. Dagging between stop lights on Rosemead Blvd or Las Tunas (the rich boys Corvets). Mark Keppel H/S fighting San Gabriel H/S then we would both fight Alhambra H/S. San Gabriel River Drag Strip Santa Anna with the poles down the left side and the shed,also Shorty Geneion,Tom Spillers,Mark Rise,Chuck Rogers,The Crazy Mex and the Green Monster(ran inline Buicks). God So Cal. had it all. Plus Malibu Island home of the small swim suit(female) Know Berry Farm (when it was a farm)and Ford and Chevy intakes cost $20.00 and $25.00 would get your hood filled(with lead). Man the Valley was great back then.

Fat4dr

As of a couple of years ago the Hat was still in business and they had opened another on Rosemead in Temple City (a couple of blocks from the old Pete & Jakes). Still got the best pastrami dips in the world. We would eat the little green peppers while we waited for our orders to come up.

Remember Art Labow (sp?) and the Radio Show direct from El Monte Legion Stadium?

Remember when the San Berdo freeway had two lanes in and out and went all the way to Covina?

I attended San Gabriel High. Class of 61. Gale Banks was a couple of years ahead of me. His brother, Gary, was in my class. He had a real nice 56 Chevy Bel Air. Mike Nordall, another class mate, is still building early Hemis for a living.

Left in my senior year to give the Army a try. Never really came back.

There were a lot of great cars and a really good sceen back then.

I miss it but there is no going home. Just about everyone is somewhere else. Mother passed four years ago. Think there was one other long term resident left on Montecito St. at the time. I went out to settle the estate and have not been back since. Our generation scattered to the winds.

Steve Hansen (AKS Bib Overalls)








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An Old California Rodder
Hiding Out in the Ozarks

I went to HS in Nassau County, NY in the 50's and performance cars were a way of life. The rich kids had Vettes, Tri-Five Chevys and the like and us mortals had stuff from Model A's to shoebox Fords. I started on a 49 Ford 2dr 2 years before I got my license thanks to my best friends dad owning a body shop and taking the time to teach me and hire me part time. My 1st car was a 49 Merc 2dr that was a true beater but it got me around until the Ford was done. It was pure R & R...rust and rap.
The Ford was a full custom, chopped, 3/4 flattie, the works.
Been partial to customs ever since but have owned true rods, muscle cars, Vettes, anything that performs.
My main warm weather driver these days is a 53 Ford Vicky, custom, 3/4 flatty, etc. So Ive progressed up 4 years in the past 43!
Carl
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Carl
Automotive gold is everywhere; you just have to learn how to dig for it

My early influences where some guys in buffalo, one was dave crook , ron gershner. My first vehicle was a 32 ford pickup and it started there, the rod an kustom[ small books] i collected like crazy. My first dealings with cars where kustoms and as years went on i whent the racing, muscle cars and then of course the street rods. The people i look up to today are fatman, gary meadors, sam momello, and i have met a great number of fellow car guys and ladys all over the united states, oh and uk also gary mac.One other thing now that i have the motor home i have learned a lot of car people have these things. hope to meet a lot of the srs members in the future at the up comming shows.
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A GOODGUYS REP

Well I was born in 1943 and my first car was a 40 Ford Deluxe coupe in 1959. I then joined the Navy and my next car was a 41 Ford Coupe with Tiajuana tuck & Roll interior, frenched head & tail lights, shaved hood & trunk, etc.
My next car was a joint effort with some buddies in CA when we built a 39 Ford coupe with a 406 Ford engine & 4 speed tranny.
We used to race at all the big Northern Cal strips in the early 60's like Fremont, Half Moon Bay, etc.
I then built a 49 Ply coupe with a 57 Olds J-2 engine & turbohydromatic. Ran that as a "C" Gasser at Fremont.
My next car was a 56 Ford Crown Victoria which I sold when I went over to Nam.
Whan I got back I bought a 55 Chevy 2 dr post and a 65 Mustang, that was in 1967.
In 1968 I bought a brand new 68 Road Runner and in 1970 I bought a new 70 Dodge Challanger with the 340 & slapstick shifter.
After that I switched to motorcycles for several years & just got back into rodding in 1998 when I bought my 49 Ford sedan.
One of my real early influences was a buddy who was a senior in HS whan I was a freshman. He had a 52 Ford 2 dr sedan with a 392 Hemi with dual quads. I loved that car.

Grew up in the bronx,we used to spend our summers sitting on the side of the cross bronx exspressway checking out the cool cars in the early 70's. we,d score points for who saw the coolest car first and have winners by the end of the day.Mopstly muscle cars,etc.

Picture it; Riverside, Ca. 1961, a young (not to mention exceptionally good looking) man, standing in his front yard on Thanksgiving day, when a Black Widow style T-bucket just dripping chrome goodies pulls up to the neighbor's house across the street...Stunned, the handsome young man gawked at the vision before him for several hours, almost letting his turkey dinner get cold. That handsome young man vowed that "someday, I'm gonna have me one of those". Fast forward to 1996...the same handsome, but somewhat older man, Got lucky with a Federal income tax return and bought a basketcase of a 24 Dodge Brothers roadster..not a Ford I grant you, but different enough to make it interesting...the rest is rodding history...Now, I gotta move on to a coupe of somekind..anyone in the market for a bit of my rodding history??
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Duane Williams

So Duane, Who is that handsome guy. Don't sound like anyone around here.
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Currently looking for a project. Have a late model customized truck now,but need some older metal.

lowand77...If you're looking for an old metal project..I am working on a 49 Ford Club coupe...I'm kinda thinking that I've bitten more than I can chew at this juncture since my roadster just started knocking a rod and I'm in the process of changing motors...I would part with this exceptionally
straight coupe, setup for small block, with a nova rearend..
make me an offer...Duane (the handsome young man)...
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Duane Williams

Having grown up in up state New York, the summer months afforded an opportunity to maybe catch a glimps of Billy Lander's 38' black primered Ford coupe. The sound of that three deuced, full race flatty with the Smitty mufflers! The alum spun full moon disc and dual spots just added to the thrill. Nobody knew how bad it was, nobody ever tried, they just knew it was baaad. At age twelve, I was lured to my cousin Spikes garage. The AM radio blastin with a DJ named Boom Boom Branagin talkin about some chick named Cha Cha who was cleanin up at the Fonda 1/8th mile. Cleanin grease caked parts with a putty knife and sandin on Spike's half primered 32' deuce p/u. The smell of torches and a power sander taken paint to bare metal. And they wonder why I turned out like this. Dave

WHAT IS THIS DE JA VU????
WE HAD THIS SAME POST ABOUT A MONTH AGO AS WELL AS THE ONE ABOUT "CRUSIN TUNES"

Ok, ok.
1963, San Leandro, Ca. 55, straight axle, 283 (I'd think) buddy of mine had to have someone ride with him to keep pressure pumped into the moon fuel tank which sat behind his seat. 61 Vette with an 09. YEP, an 09 stuffed into it. He had to change the spark plugs by pulling the front wheels and go in through holes in the fender wells. A 52 Chevy, I think, some sort of a large block thing, 348? 409? hard to say, would pick up the front end. It was brutal.
This was the Northern Cal equivalent of the Southern Cal deal. Fremont Raceway, South San Francisco Raceway, Sacramento Raceway, sigh.
We used to 'cruise' E 15th Street in San Leandro from Mel's Diner to Prings. The 'bad' guys hung out at 1/4 Pound Burgers, the good guys hung out at Prings, the middle of the roaders hung out at Mels.
Now THAT was the life. Hmmm, wonder where I got interested in rodding.
Jim

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Time is natures way of keeping everything from happening at once.