Vintage Hot Rodding Books

Fantastic footage of late 40s track roadsters.

FLATHEAD V8s

Mickey Cooper 222 "C" modified roadster. 148.02mph

Mickey Cooper 222 "C" modified roadster. 148.02mph, a photo by Jimmy Bs 1925 Chev on Flickr.

I went thru and Id'ed the cars in the LIFE magazine collection that were taken at Bonneville.

view here for more hot rods I have identified Bonneville 1954

Charles Scott's AV8

This one is an absolute pearler, who in their right mind would run a Chevy parallel leaf front end under '32 rails. Further more who in their right mind would massage the 1/4 panel bead lines out of existence and fill the wheel archs. That man would be Charles 'Scotty' Scott who ran a junkyard had whatever parts  he needed. Charles ran 123mph in '47 by '49 he was up to 135mph

1949 Exposition Highlights

A familiar car from January 1949 Hot Rod. This drawing by Tom Medley is obviously the roadster of Chuck Spurgin & Bob Giovanine.

Parts With Appeal

Parts with appeal Dec 1948 HRM.

Prewar Dry Lake Footage. Harpers Dry Lake 1940

I Know most people who view this blog have seen this but it is worth posting again




I posted this info on the HAMB to help Id the cars

0:05s - 0:05: #9 Bill & Tom Spalding T modified. Riley OHV heads Mercedes roots blower. Post war Don Blair rebuilt it into The Goat. 0:10s - 0:17s #8 Danny Sakai Modified outfitted with Mal Ord speed equipment. 0:09s - 0:09s #111 Sandy Belond Sandy's Speed Shop. 0:18s - 0:21s #42 Uncle Tommy's A? 0:49s - 0:49s #20 1932 Roadster 1:02s - 1:02s #224 T modified. 0:58s - 1:04s 1939 Ford convertible custom I have seen this pictured somewhere. 1:09s - 1:14s #360 Sprintcar Streamliner 1:14s - 1:22s #9 Spalding bros. Mod 1:23s - 1:24s #26 1932 roadster 1:24s - 1:25s 1930-31 Model A RPU 1:49s - 1:49s #402 Model A Phaeton  2:06s - 2:08s #20 '32 roadster 2:23s - 2:25s #410 1935 FWD Miller Ford entered by Willet Brown owned by Tommy Lee speed 116.88mph 2:26s - 2:31s #311 1929 A roadster banger 2:31s - 2:37s #414 Tommy Lee's 1931 T-51 Bugatti 2:38s - 2:42s #414 Bugatti T-51 straight 8 engine 2:42s - 2:51s Tommy Lee 2:51s - 2:52s #265 '32 roadster 3:07s - 3:09s #350 modified Rod Pugh 3:13s - 3:17s #151 '29 A roadster Clint Seccombe V16 cad 124mph 3:17s - 3:24s #113 '28 A roadster V16 Cad 3:28s - 3:30s #69 Bob Knapton / Jim White (aka Jim Harrell of Harrell speed equip.) Mod was later run by Doug Caruthers and is still around as Art Chrisman's #25 dragster. 3:42s - 3:45s #32 1928A roadster 3:35s - 3:46s Tommy Lee Kurtis Offy special 3:47s - 3:49s #290 Actor Robert Stack's '31 supercharged A roadster  3:50s - 3:54s 1940 ford coupe from earlier in clip appears to have had a rollover 3:54s - 3:56s #244 Arnold Birner's '28 A roadster 3:56s - 4:00s #265 1932 roadster Hornets 4:00s - 4:15s Bob Rufi's Streamliner 4:15s - 4:19s #286 Sakai modified. 4:20s - 4:24s #2 entered/driven by Bill Spading. Roadster owned by Bill Kurten. Riley OHV Engine owned by Gene Von Arx. 4:24s - 4:39s Earle Bruce '40 Ford Custom 4:29s - 4:29s #44 sprintcar streamliner class 4:40s - 4:43s #155 T modified 4:43s - 4:47s #270 T modified 4:47s - 4:54s #265 '32 roadster 4:54s - 4:56s Tommy Lee Kurtis Offy special 4:56s - 4:59s #265 '32 roadster

Jim's Speed Shop 1930s

Ok ladies and gentlemen the following goes right back to the infancy of Hot Rodding. Roger Harrell is the nephew of Jim Harrell aka Jim White. Roger wrote a great book a few years ago on Jim and Nick Harrell which is great & very important as it delves into the past of one of the lesser known Speed Shops and Speed Equipment companies. Jim was an active member of the famous Albata club and partnered with a number of the club members (I will do a post of this at a later date)


Roger asked if I would like to post a little early history on a few cars that had an association with Jim's Speed Shop. Roger research led him to Vic Maleo, I am very happy to post this great piece of history

The following photos are of a popular “T” roadster in the 1930s at the dry lakes just outside of Los Angeles, California. They picture a small group of friends who built and raced 4-bangers during the 1930s. They lived and worked in south Los Angeles. Vic Meleo had a gas station and garage on San Pedro Street just a few blocks from Jim’s Speed Shop which was over on Main Street. Jim’s Speed Shop was one of, if not the only, speed shops in the area at that time specializing in machine work on 4-banger race engines. In appreciation for Jim’s work, Vic and other friends in the area made it a habit to paint “Jim’s Speed Shop” on the sides of their cars. Some of these cars are pictured below and illustrate some great days at the dry lakes. (After World War II, Jim’s Speed Shop was better known as the Harrell Engines shop and was still located on Main Street, and was still building some fine race cars in the mid-1950s such as the one you included on your site Harrell Engines Model A Roadster.)

Photo no. 1 was given to me about 2 years ago by Vic Meleo. He identified the roadster no. 21 as his, and that he was in the driver’s seat. Vic also identified the man whose back is to the camera as his “…friend Monte who also spent lots of time at Jim’s Speed Shop and was also always willing to give Jim a ‘plug’.” I asked what Monte’s full name was, and Vic said he didn’t know. “Everybody just called him Monte.”

Photo no. 1

Vic told me that in those early days, he often broke crankshafts in that old T roadster no. 21 during the mid-1930s. And apparently he was still breaking them in the late 1930s. His stories triggered a memory for me. I remembered seeing a reference to Vic breaking a crankshaft in an early SCTA Racing News. So, I checked and sure enough, in the Feb. 15, 1939 issue of the News, I found the following, “Vic Meleo, Road Runner Club, broke another crankshaft in his T which formerly belonged to Monte.”

Fortunately, not for Vic at the time of course, his crankshaft experiences were recorded for us in the following photos. Recently, Don Ferrara, a racer from the 1940s and ’50s, was showing me some photos his late brother-in-law had taken at the lakes decades earlier, and what’d you know, there was Vic Meleo’s car number 21 with “Jim’s Speed Shop” still artfully lettered on the door. Don’s brother-in-law had captioned the photo with this information: “After checking the shaft,” (photo no. 2) and “After the shaft broke.” (photo no. 3 )

Photo no. 2

Photo no. 3

The following photo no. 4 from that day illustrates the depressed mood.


Photo no. 4

Of course, lake racers always bounce back. Vic’s roadsters were soon back on track and once again thanking Jim’s Speed Shop for its work and friendship. The following photo no. 5 is from Vic Meleo’s collection.

Vic’s car number 21, pictured in photo no. 1 is the same car pictured below carrying the number 45.

Photo no. 5

When Vic gave me photo no. 5, he told me no. 45 was his, and car no. 52 was Monte’s but that he later bought it from Monte. The 1939 SCTA Racing News mentioned above, mentioned Vic’s broken crank after he had bought Monte’s car no. 52 around the time photo no. 5 was taken. As Vic recounted his experiences at the lakes and in south L.A. with his roadsters and friends he was clearly reliving some really great times.

Roger Harrell


:ed: this is the book Roger wrote and is a must for all Hot Rod history buffs HARRELL ENGINES & RACING EQUIPMENT

Returning to regular programming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...........

Ok, I'm back not that you knew or cared I was gone. Due to ongoing respiratory problems & the effects our sub-tropical climate has on my condition I had no desire or energy to post so I didn't. I was going to cancel this blog but thought that would be selfish. I need a nice hot dry climate like Toowoomba in Qld or hell maybe even somewhere in So-Cal.

Back to the point of this blog Hot Rods pre 1955.

Oh, I got the opportunity to attend the 1st River City Reliability Run host by The River City Coupe & Roadster Club. I was very fortunate to be given the honour of driving the run in an awesome little T roadster owned by Michael Ahern. What an awesome experience and fun car to drive, Thank you Michael!

This has really got the enthusiasm going and inspired me to push to get my roady on the road.

new post soon..................

don't touch that dial!

this blog is on hiatus

no more post, sorry!!!!

Harrell Engines Model A Roadster

1956 Lions dragstrip.

So-Cal Streamliner Recreation

Dan Webb's recreation is almost finished he and his team have done a superb job recreating this icon

see more here So-Cal Streamliner Recreation on Facebook

Dan Webb remakes the Xydias/ Batchelor streamliner

R.I.P. Don Blair (1921-2011)

Don Blair of Blair's Speed Shop fame has passed away age 90.

R.I.P. Don!

Some recent artwork

As most know I am a sucker for the early dry lakes racing and associated Hot Rodding Movement sprouting from So-Cal. I have recently started to illustrate again after a spell away after leaving the industry 2 years ago.
First up is a illustration of a 1925 Chev 4 with 3 port head.

Next up we have a lakes scene from the early 50s

Fred Carrillo's modified T roadster in its 1952 lively ala July 1952 Hot Rod cover.

& 1951

Phil Remington's modified

R.I.P. LeRoy Titus

Recently I learnt of the passing of dry lakes racer and LA roadsters club member Lee Titus. Lee was an avid hot rodder with a life long passion for cars. Dry lake and early Bonneville buffs will remember the T roadster Lee raced that was on the September 1952 Hop Up cover

Spurgin/Giovanine Roadster

Fred Smith T roadster

Ernie Hashim Ford Flathead 6 powered T Roadster

Kelly Spl. 123.96mph. Merc flathead.

Kelly Spl. 123.96mph. Merc flathead., a photo by Jimmy Bs 1925 Chev on Flickr.

Bonneville 1954

#247C Brocchini-Semas GMC "C" mod. roadster. 166.66mph, a photo by Jimmy Bs 1925 Chev on Flickr.

247C Brocchini-Semas GMC "C" mod. roadster. 166.66mph.

Mistaken Identity. Herman Felts Rear Engine T Roadster

Herman Felts T roadster is so close to the roadster built by Don Waite that I never really payed attention to the fact it wasn't Don's famous T. Herman ran his T roadster at Bonneville in 1951 and turned 153mph in class C Modified Roadster. That 153mph speed got Herman 6th place in the most hotly contested class that year.

Where is it now???

The Cruising Cam Snappers

Anyone know this car?

Fred Zaft's 1932 Ford 5 window

Dick King Roadster.

Recently I purchased a lot of Nor-Cal & Cal-Neva Drag & dry lake pictures among them were a couple pictures of Dick King (Richard King) roadster on the Dry Lake outside of Reno.

& the Dick King Roadster today