By Gene Davis
My best friend in the early days was Richard Stearman who lived down the block. Dick drove a '35 Ford 4-door sedan. My brother Keith, Dick and I would cruise Valley Boulevard drive-in's in Alhambra on Friday nights. My favorites were "The Clock" or "Henry's". Other drive-in's were "Two EE's" at the edge of South Pasadena or we would drive to "Bob's Big Boy" in Burbank.
If we were "unlucky" in our cruising, we would have picked up some young ladies that didn't have any money to help us put gas in the car, so we would make up an excuse to drop them and find some others. The plan was to get enough gas money to make a round trip to the dry lakes for Saturday morning time trials. The only choice you had to make on these tours was - - do you want to see roadsters or coupes and sedans run?. El Mirage for coupes and sedans -- or Muroc, now Edwards Air Force Base, for roadsters. Two different timing associations did the clock work. So-Cal was at Muroc and Rosetta at El Mirage. If we didn't make the trip to the dry lakes we could go to the drag strips such as Pomona, Lions in Long Beach or Irwindale at the Santa Fe Dam. In those days they had no light trees, but did have a brave guy with flags to start the drag races.
My car ownership began with a '29 Ford roadster pickup that a buddy and I started for $50.00. We sold it after he bought a '37 Chevy two door sedan. I bought a "37 Chevy coupe. I split the manifold and installed twin glass packs. Two inch lowering blocks helped hold down the rear-end. A pleat and roll seat and door panels were stuffed by me before installing.
After a few years I traded the '37 for a '49 Chevy club coupe - - two inch lowering blocks again, fender skirts, and twin glass packs finished the modifications. I next painted it black and then had a black and white pleat and roll interior installed. I always liked that combination ! The '37 was pretty fast but the '49 was a cruiser.
At this point in my life I made a hard turn and was into sports cars. I started with an Austin Healey 100-S roadster, Datsun 240Z coupe, a new 1960 Corvette, a new 356-C Porsche and later a new 944 Porsche. This ended my sports car days.
On thing that I never gave up was attending the L.A. Roadster show each year. In the parking lot in 1989 I saw an old drag car from Phoenix that was for sale. It was a 1931 Ford Victoria with a 327 Chevy and 400 Turbo tranny with an 8 inch rear end. It had been made into a resto-rod. I bought the full fender sedan and blew it all apart. I started with disc brakes in front, a Super Bell four inch drop axel and four bars front and rear. Vega steering, Ron Francis wiring, a custom gas tank built into the hump and Vintage A/C. I ran 165's on the front and 235 tires on the rear, mounted on Mc Clean wire wheels. I broke the 327 soon after I got the car and installed one of the first 350 Chevy crate engines. This is the car I shipped to Cedar Park Texas in 1992.
The Vicky was sold for funds to finish my Viper red 1948 Ford coupe that was sold in 2006. This car had a lot of body modifications as well as being slammed to the ground. It had a built 350 CI, 325 HP engine linked to a 400 Turbo and Currie 9 inch rear end. This sets on a custom powder coated frame. Big Centerline 15 X 10 with 295 / 50 in the rear and 15 X 8 with 235 / 60 in the front. A Mustang 11 helped keep in on the road. Dakota digital instruments, remote control, cruise control, Air-Tique A/C and Sony AM / FM with CD player finished out the comfort items.
After this car was finished I bought a 1956 Ford F-100 in California. I had a Mustang 11 IFS installed and drove it to Cedar Park. I sold this truck to a friend in California. He and his wife flew to Texas and drove it back home. He still drives it every day.
I bought a 1957 Chevy station wagon but didn't keep it very long. One evening at the old Round Rock car show and shine I bought a 1948 Chevy Club coupe, It was black with white pleat and roll interior. I put A/C in it, a hood with 100 louvers and Billet Specialties wheels with spinners. I sold this car and its still in the Austin area.
I next bought a stock 1955 Chevy two-door Handyman station wagon. This wagon required a lot of work, but it came out really good. I installed disc brakes and a 700-R-4 trans. I was going to ship it to California when a guy in Austin wanted to buy it real bad. I gave him a high price and he came back that afternoon with the check. Darn !
With this money I talked John White (of The Donut Gang) out of his 1955 Chevy Delray and had it shipped to California. I installed Auto Meter instruments, a 350 Chevy crate engine and a 700-R transmission. I always wanted to flame a car, so I had the car painted with a black top and white bottom, with green flames. When I was diagnosed with treatable, but incurable, cancer in March of 2005, I sold the car.
While I was cleaning house I ran across four pictures of a 1956 Ford F-100 that I fell in love with while attending the Bourne car show some years ago. Guess what? It had a black top and white bottom with matching pleat and roll interior ! I decided to clone this truck. It was going to be a "time driven project" for sure because of my health. A long time friend of mine had two basket case F-100's. I bought the Big Window truck and had it taken to another friends hot rod garage in Monrovia, Calif. The son of the man that built my Victoria and the '56 F-100 before it came to Texas and did the chassis work -- and what a GREAT job it is. He modified the frame with a Mustang 11 IFS, disc power brakes, rebuilt a Ford 9 inch rear end with 3:25 gears and installed a TCI rear leaf spring kit -- which lowers the rear 4 inches. Next, it went to a body and paint guy that was recommended by a new friend that didn't work out and I lost some money -- by more importantly, I lost two months !! I sent a tow truck after my F-100 and took it to another really good friends garage in Santa Ana, California. He did all the mechanical and wiring work which consisted of installing a new Chevy 350 CI engine, 700-R-4 trans drive line, Auto Meter instruments, E-Z wiring kit - - and a new radiator was built for the truck. While the truck was at this shop a local body and paint guy was asked to give an estimate for the truck -- which was good both in time and dollars. So, off it went and six weeks later I got a great truck back ! I just could not be more pleased. Next it went to "Armando" -- the BEST upholster in California - - for what else - - but black and white pleat and roll ! Total time from a basket case to a completed great truck is 6 1/2 months and that includes the two months that were lost at the first body shop !! This was a time driven project that each labor group bought into. There's still a great group of folks out there, and not all of them are in Texas - but MOST are.
Now, for as long as I can -- I am
driving the wheels off this truck!
I always say that "The owner of this truck is God, but its on loan to me".
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