Thread: What Was The First Car To Inspire You To Hot Rod

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Originally Posted by 41willys

I heard a lot of stories from my folks about the hey day of bootlegging in Iowa. Some of which were about the CedRel Supper Club west of CR on Highway 30. My brother-in-law used to go to Rock Island and buy cases of liquor (pints because they were easier to distribute), and sell them out of his trunk at various nights spots, like the CedRel. He was doing just that in Clinton the night he totaled the bird.

We have eaten at CedRel but it must of been over ten years ago.
The food at that time was some of the best.

Originally Posted by 41willys

Eric,
I guess I never noticed you were in DM. I lived in West DM back in the 70's and frequented both Couch's and Racers Den. Are either of them still in existence? As I recall Couch had his business in an old school bldg. on the north side for a while.
John

As far as I know those bars are long gone.
There was a motorsports bar out on Ingersoll.
The last time I went in there it was all early twenties kids talking about having a "super-chip" burned for their import.
I drank one beer with my buddies and then left rather quickly.

Let's talk about the Bart Root '29/'32 again. For me my memories of Hot Rod magazine articles read as a 15 year old teenager had to do with the shape of the '29 Ford cowl. It blends the engine compartment into the body in a way similar to a track roadster and it has always facinated me, even today. Thus I would have to say that reading articles with pictures of '29 Fords had a large effect on what I think a rod should look like ('41 Ford Coupes look good too! Hey, a nice '40 Ford convert. with a Carson top can be dynamite as well!). Here is a picture I have posted before from the 2006 NHRA Richmond Nats which shows that sweet cowl! Whoever has those old pictures of the Root Roadster could post them again for me! The Root roadster was included in one of the anniversary issues of HRM, the 20th I believe.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Let's talk about the Bart Root '29/'32 again. For me my memories of Hot Rod magazine articles read as a 15 year old teenager had to do with the shape of the '29 Ford cowl. It blends the engine compartment into the body in a way similar to a track roadster and it has always facinated me, even today. Thus I would have to say that reading articles with pictures of '29 Fords had a large effect on what I think a rod should look like ('41 Ford Coupes look good too! Hey, a nice '40 Ford convert. with a Carson top can be dynamite as well!). Here is a picture I have posted before from the 2006 NHRA Richmond Nats which shows that sweet cowl! Whoever has those old pictures of the Root Roadster could post them again for me! The Root roadster was included in one of the anniversary issues of HRM, the 20th I believe.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don is it the picture or have they extended the "wheel- base on the car??

I wonder what this kids answer would be ?

"Was that good?" he asks



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnf17cp3Eg

Erik, As far as I know it is a '29 body on a '32 frame and maybe the angle on the front wheels make it look a little longer. As I recall I took pictures of the full fendered Deuce behind it and it did not seem that the '29 was any longer than the Deuce. Also note that the full fendered '32 in the background cannot be seen here but the crown of the front fenders would make it look like the front wheels were further back while without any fenders on the front of the '29 it does make it look like the frame was stretched. If you look closely you can see the bead in the '32 frame under the '29 body and the position of the bead looks like the familiar '32 bead so I would say the '32 frame is the stock wheelbase. This car was probably built during the fiftys and I was most interested in the older chrome plated top mounts on the cockpit edge since at that time I was trying to install metal top mounts in my 'glass '29.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Erik, As far as I know it is a '29 body on a '32 frame and maybe the angle on the front wheels make it look a little longer. As I recall I took pictures of the full fendered Deuce behind it and it did not seem that the '29 was any longer than the Deuce. Also note that the full fendered '32 in the background cannot be seen here but the crown of the front fenders would make it look like the front wheels were further back while without any fenders on the front of the '29 it does make it look like the frame was stretched. If you look closely you can see the bead in the '32 frame under the '29 body and the position of the bead looks like the familiar '32 bead so I would say the '32 frame is the stock wheelbase. This car was probably built during the fiftys and I was most interested in the older chrome plated top mounts on the cockpit edge since at that time I was trying to install metal top mounts in my 'glass '29.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I was looking at the distance from the back of the door to the front of the rear fender and for some reason the entire car looks like it is about a foot to long.
Who knows like you said it might be the camera angle.

Originally Posted by erik erikson

I was looking at the distance from the back of the door to the front of the rear fender and for some reason the entire car looks like it is about a foot to long.
Who knows like you said it might be the camera angle.

maybe its the booze or the crack! , looks okie dokie over here ..

Originally Posted by flh4speed

maybe its the booze or the crack! , looks okie dokie over here ..

It must be from the shine you sold me the other day.

For Me it was my Dad's 57 chevy.
I took it one day with out asking when I was about 16 and it had one of those miserable vertcal gate 4 speed shifters in it and I got it locked in reverse and first gear at the same time. Maybe they were just miserable shifters because I was 16 & didn't really know much about anything.........
Anyway, that was not a fun ending to an otherwise perfect day.

Krash
Dallas TX

for me it started at a very young age,coming from a large family and been one
of the youngest of 10 boys and 5 girls,(cold winters is what I was told)
one of my brothers had a red and white 55 old 98 2 dr ht. skirts and cont.kit,
beautiful car as I remember,then when I was enough to drive and chasing skirts on my 55 ford 4 dr. ht.,(yes a FORD) we would throw away our hub caps,paint the rims black and add baby moons,(remember them ?) we though
that would make it run faster, this guy that was a few years old had this
sharp 3 window 35 ford, light gray primer, ( he called it the Gray Ghost)
it was the fastest car on our streets back then, too this day we don't know
what he was running under the hood..

My dad had a 57 Corvette gasser in 71 gold metal flake with sunburst orange fade job, whit interior, flip front, chrome rollbar and chrome suspension...It was the real deal...As a small boy that was the only style car that mattered...It ruined me for the rest of my life, we found the car about 3 years ago and some guy spend his retirement to restore it back to original beautiful, but not as beautiful as it was in 71....

Originally Posted by erik erikson

It must be from the shine you sold me the other day.

man that swill was for cleaning parts ya wasnt suppose to actually consume it

my dad and uncles were always into dirt track cars...i remember in about "56" my dad put a straight 8 in our "51" chevy family car..and blew the doors off my uncles hot rod "49" ford tudor V8 flatty..i was in the car with him that day and ever since thats what i craved "more power"..its sad to say that in "60" that car and my dad didnt come home no more..but my uncles kept me going by building faster cars..and showed me with a few dollars, a cutting torch and a little elbow grease. big engines will go into small cars..we were poor but owned a small salvage yard.... if anyone wants to see my place now go to my ME page at ebay..cast*iron*memories

Ya, Right, Which peice of candy did I like the best when I was a kid! ,.. I don't know! I just always knew I wanted a 392 Hemi T Coupe since I was a kid, and now I have 1 and most of a 2nd one!

Pat