Three of Your Old School Hot Rod Hero's?

[#41]

... and why. For the sake of thread readability, please keep it brief !

These three guys have pictures posted in my shop to inspire me:

1. Richard Petty. The one and original..... took his family hobby and made it his entire life. An absolute legend... and one of the most personable guys you'd ever meet.
2. Burt Monroe. Dedicated his entire existence to speed, making his own speed parts when they did not exist. An unstoppable force... yet as humble as can be.
3. Gene Winfield. One of the original car customizers, still running his own shop and working in it in his 90's.

 

[CoronetDarter]

1. Richard Petty for sure
2. Sox & Martin. As a kid I built a plastic model of their Pro Stock Cuda
3. Don Prudhomme

Special mention: Racer X

 

[RTDaddy]

1. Buddy Baker
2. Ronnie Sox
3. Harry Hyde

 

[Hotrod20]

1.Richard Petty- Nascar 1970 Super-bird
2.Sox and Martin-67 to 71 Super Stocks and performance clinics
3 Dick Landy 67 to 71 Super Stocks and performance clinics

 

[Richard Cranium]

Three of your old school hot rod hero’s what?

 

[beanhead]

Uncle Lujie (Lesovski)
Kowalski
Ed Roth

 

[Dodge33]

George Barris
Bill Hines
Gene Winfield

 

[Budnicks]

you did say Hot Rods, Hero's not sure any are a hero
Hot Rod builders, not racecars drivers or just famous for being famous
But;

#1
Ed 'Big Dady' Roth (old school) he saw the future in cars
It didn't come to fruition, but he saw it

#2 tied
Arlen Ness/Jim Davis both from East Bay area Northern Ca.
Brentwood Oakley Area, (later Dublin for Arlen) both were on a
Nostalgia T/F team I wrenched on
my neighbors (Pete from Alameda Ship yard too) Pete & Marlene K.
in Pleasant Hill owned the car,
Arlen (mostly known as a custom bike builder)
& Jim both were legends in fabrication & builds,
Jim was a T/F racer/chassis builder for 35+ years
great drinking & stories buddies, about bikes & cars/racecars = RIP to both

#3
Bob Monroe, if you have watched any car shows, in the past 25 years
you've no doubt seen him, you probably don't even know of him
he's from the Concord/Pleasant Hill area Eastern Bay Area
build many a car/racecars, custom bikes
& didn't the/his due credit, the big names all got it
But Bob, he did the work/fabrication, very skilled & humble man...
Thanks Bob

a couple special mention
#1a right up there with Bob Monroe
Don Tourte, chassis builder in Pacheco Ca., he hepled/guided me to build my
1st Altered/Funny Car, quite a few after that for specialty stuff
A great old school guy, old Alameda Ship Yard Macinist from the 60's-80's
great fabricator, hot rod builder/racecar chassis, bikes etc., since the late 50's
& the best welder I've ever met...

#2a
Ian Russel (spell ?) does old school builds, very few tools & a nothing shop
I respect that guy totally...

#3a
Chip Foose, a real humble guy, does a lot for charity too
I know some won't say it admit it or they say he's a hack
because he doesn't do OE **** or more likely they don't know ****, about him really
you're wrong he does that **** too, just not what he's known for...
He grew up in his dad Sam's SoCal Body shop... (he's a person of enterest too)
Chip;
He's won the Riddler award in Oakland & Later in LA for best Roadster
or Great 8 appearances, too many to mention
Awarded by all 3 MoPar, Ford & GM for excellence in design & build styles
'&'
I don't care, what others think, it's my list of mine that I like,
someone I look up to...
He's a good man & a great builder...
I don't agree with some of his stylings or choices, 100%
but he's very highly decorated, very well respected by his peers
but, I don't agree with many of people, that I converse with daily either...

 

[RemCharger]

The first 4 post wraps it up, and I will raise you a David Pearson.
If I'm not mistaken, the king looked up to the silver fox.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Steve Lisk. I read about his car as an 11 yo kid. Maybe the first “Pro Street” car. It ran mid 9’s thru the mufflers. Was a regular on Oakland St. in Detroit. Oh, and it had a Lenco.

That’s Steve in the striped shirt.

 

[F4R/T]

Dandy Dick Landy
Arlen Vanke
Bobby Isaac
Richard Petty
Sox and Martin

Where should I stop ! I like them all, they were/are legends I was lucky to get to meet some of them..

 

[440 4 speed]

Question?? What is a hot rod?
I have books going back to the 50’s that talk about hot rod’s. They were mostly talking about customized cars, trucks and bikes etc. Those books didn’t mention USAC, NHRA, IHRA and other racing venues.
Keeping it short.

 

[gdrill]

Me, myself and I.

But they didn't get famous.

 

[Budnicks]

Question?? What is a hot rod?
I have books going back to the 50’s that talk about hot rod’s. They were mostly talking about customized cars, trucks and bikes etc. Those books didn’t mention USAC, NHRA, IHRA and other racing venues.
Keeping it short.

albeit NHRA is National Hot Rod Association
it's racecars, track cars
not really "exactly" what I think of when people say hot rods
Something other than a completely stock car,
is to 'hot rod' it up
something modified to someone's specific taste,
some of the old SCTA desert land speed stuff,
like El Mirage, or later Bonneville
eventually paved tracks in the NHRA, ADRA,
tracks like Great Bend & Pamona
those were 'Hot Rods'

Kids in the later 1950's (even later 1940's) hacked up
old 20's to 40's Willys or Fords light **** boxes
mostly originally, a few other brands later
put an overhead valve v8 in it, then a blower then fuel enjection
to go faster get rid of the 40-80hp flatty
or Belly tanks from a WWII fighter, with wheels & a canopy

Guys coming back from WWII or Korean Conflict
old jalopies, model As or Ts, mostly
some V8 from something else stuffed in it, bigger rear wheels & tires
racked stance, performance additions, multiple carbs, lake pipes, bigs/littles
open engine compartments
flatheads, had high-compression altitude Denver (or Offy or Edelbrock) heads,
2 Strombergs, or even a V' belt-driven Judson Blower etc.
old school
was usually to make them lighter & faster, cooler,
remove fenders, bigger engine than stock, different wheels & tires
trends come & go
org. it was 20s 30s 40s 50s cars
later the term Hot Rod was generalised

 

[moparwacko]

1. Roger Lindamood - Color Me Gone, my all time favorite drag car.
2. Herb McCandless- Mr. 4 Speed
3. Dick Landy - Dandy Dick

I met each one of these in person and got to shake their hands and say thanks.

Notables:

Big Daddy Don Garlits - made the Hemi an everyday word.

Ronnie Sox - made Pro Stock what it was.

Linda Vaugn - ok, not a driver but soooo many good memories.

 

[Outlaw525]

Richard Petty
Steve Lisk (more so the Challenger than the person)
Raymond Beadle

 

[moparedtn]

Herb McCandless
Bob Riggle
Don Garlits
I've had the pleasure of meeting them all. The vibe was excellent in each case. Dudes are legit.

 

[padam]

1. Richard Petty
2. A J Foyt
3. Don Garlits

I was lucky enough to meet 1 and 2

 

[gkent]

As a 12 year old ... Scott Jackson, Clint Curtis and Rick Roberts. Anyone else remember them ??

 

[cosgig]

I’m going to go with this guy. He was my best friend and mentor for decades until he was killed in a motorcycle accident, not long after retiring from the Chrysler Proving Grounds. He was a hot rodder, custom fabricator, motorcycle builder, and top notch welder. I built him his first real shop, and to thank me we did my 66 Barracuda there. He only got one ride in that car, but he loved my old black GTX. I would loan that to him for the summer and he would drive it to the proving grounds every day and put it in the “bullpen”, where they let employees park their classic cars. I sure do miss that guy. I still have a message on my phone from him from when I got my current bike, his message simply says “let’s ride”. Never got to take that ride with him! .