Flat Out Press

The Lincoln Cadillac

Proof that not all the ideas applied to custom cars worked out. It’s impossible to tell what the builder began with, but we can be certain that the car was built before 1950. Front end is from a 1942 Lincoln, and rear is from a 1946-47 Cadillac. The front fenders and hood have been lengthened. Split windshield has curved glass at sides.
Copyright 2010, Albert Drake and Flat Out Press.

Matranga’s 1940 Mercury

Nick Matranga’s 1940 Mercury was a stunning example of custom bodywork when it was introduced in 1950. The chassis was lowered front and rear, and the top was severely chopped. The quarter windows slid in and out on channels. The car created a style that is still being copied today, although it was destroyed in an accident a mere six months after it hit the road.
Copyright 2010, Albert Drake and Flat Out Press.

Garlits T-Bucket

In 1989 I went to the Nostalgia Nationals in Michigan. I parked, got in the gate and walked around a building. As I turned a corner a T-bucket hot rod came toward me. In a flash I snapped this photo. The camera was totally manual and I had no time to focus or adjust it, but the photo came out well. The guy is "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, and he’s driving a clone of his first hot rod, a ’27 T bucket with a hot flathead. He was towing his Swamp Rat I.

Roadster Racing Association of Oregon Timing Tag

This is a loyal reproduction of the Roadster Racing Association of Oregon (RRAO) Timing Tag from the 40s and 50s.

Bob Winters told me he made this tag in 1938, but RRAO, which governed track roadsters, was not formed until 1946 and lasted until early 1950s.

Black on aluminum, with some relief, this tag measures 1 1/2" x 2 2/1" and comes pre-drilled for mounting to your dash.

Reproduction Roadster Racing Association of Oregon Timing Tag...$10 (free shipping in the US).

Columbia Timing Association Timing Tag

The Columbia Timing Association (CTA) was an Oregon / Northwest organization that timed drag races and straightaway runs. It existed from September 1951 until the 1960s.

This is a reproduction of the original timing tags. Screw or affix to dash or firewall for the finishing touch on era rods or customs. Give as a gift to a rodding buddy!

Like the original, this tag is red on aluminum, measuring 3 3/4" x 2 1/2". Undrilled.

Reproduction CTA Timing Tag...$10 (free shipping in the US).

Portland Pictorial Review

There's also nice review of Portland Pictorial by Richard Parks at HotRodHotLine.com.

"The photos and their captioned stories provide us with a great deal of history. It’s just that the readers have to dig it out for themselves, bit by bit. The format of Portland Pictorial, The 1950s is similar to benchracing with the gang on Saturday night, thumbing through the local hot rod club’s photo album and relishing the memories."

He also has reviewed Hot Rodder!, mentioning that it's not a slick book, but it

"...more than make(s) up for it in the quality of the text, research, photographs and sheer exuberance in loving the sport of hot rodding and land speed racing. Drake is first and foremost a fan of motorsports and it is his love and loyalty that shines through loud and clear."

Thanks Richard!

Dick Larrowe's '34 Chev Coupe

In 1952 Dick Larrowe cruised around Portland, Oregon in this 1934 Chevrolet coupe. It was lowered, had home-made fender skirts, painted WSW and a cut-down spare. A few months later Dick cut the top off, made it into a roadster with home-made cloth top.
In the 1980s Dick started Stovebolt Engineering. He currently has a couple hot rods with in-line Chev/GMC engines.

Making It Fit!

In 1949 Stan Blinco had a '27 T roadster that had been a circle track car now converted to street. It had a grille shell and an aluminum hood from a Franklin car and looked striking.
This inspired Don Krueger and a friend who had a '29 Ford roadster that they were building into a hot rod. They also had a complete, running 1930 Franklin sedan -- a nice 18 year old car. The Franklin was air-cooled; Don and his friend took the hood and grille shell to use on their '29. After some cutting, fitting and pounding, it was clear that the hood would not fit. A nice, complete Franklin sedan went to the scrap yard! I don't know what happened to the '29.
Here's a photo of the '29 roadster with the Franklin front end.

Russetta Timing Association Timing Tag

Now you can own a reproduction of the timing tags given by the Russetta Timing Association (RTA).

Russetta held speed meets at various southern California dry lakes, beginning in 1939 and continuing until the 1960s. It was an independent association, owned by Ray Ingram, who also owned the clocks. It flourished in part because SCTA did not allow coupes or sedans until 1951, and RTA did.

Like the original, this tag measures 3 3/8" by 2 1/8", and is red on aluminum. It can be affixed to the dashboard or the corners can be drilled for screws.

The perfect finishing touch for your era rod or custom.

Reproduction Russetta Timing Tag...$10 (free shipping in the US).

Christmas at Ed's Richfield & Other Holiday Stories for Guys

Do you know an old hot rodder? Are you wondering what to give him for the holidays? May we suggest: Christmas at Ed's Richfield & Other Holiday Stories for Guys, a collection of stories by Albert Drake.

From memories of childhood Christmases during World War II, to the teen years in the 50's, to holidays with children and grandchildren, Drake brings a personal touch to the wintry roads we all travel. Sometimes we have to endure floods, cold days and long nights. Other times it's the tantalizing anticipation of seeing family or hoping to get those 1939 aluminum heads for your '29 ford roadster.

If you remember the taste of striped hard candy, when tinsel was called "rain," the excitement of getting a new cap gun for Christmas, then you'll enjoy Christmas at Ed's Richfield. Available exclusively through Flat Out Press.

Christmas at Ed's Richfield & Other Holiday Stories for Guys
60 pages, perfect-bound (November 2009)
Flat Out Press; ISBN: 0-936892-23-4; Signed copy...$10.95 + shipping.

An excerpt from Christmas at Ed's Richfield:

I got to Ed’s Richfield shortly after dinner, and I was surprised none of the guys were around. It was already dark, and I was thinking about the impossibility of snow at Christmas, just two days away. It never snowed in Portland at Christmas, but my mother, who was from North Dakota, yearned for snow. It was just not Christmas without snow, she always said. She had a small glass globe with a farm scene, and when she shook it white flakes appeared in the solution to remind her of what she had left behind. Now, as I got out of my car, I noticed that the air had a metallic sharpness, but it was too warm for snow, almost as if the weather hovered between seasons.

I had expected some of the guys to be at the station as well as a bunch of customers, people out Christmas shopping, but the place was empty. From the office Ed saw me pull up and he waddled out the door to his car, calling over his shoulder, “Guide me on the rack.” Less than a month earlier he had traded his pristine ’53 Mercury in on a new ’55 Mercury Monterey hardtop, charcoal and salmon. As Ed backed the car up and maneuvered it into the building, the salmon paint glowed pink under the station’s fluorescent lights. I gestured him forward, guiding him onto the lube rack, although I wasn’t sure he needed help. It was typical of Ed, giving me something to do. I worked in a garage all day, but had to take a second job nights and weekends and Ed was good enough to let me work about 20 hours a week. I hoped that, with the extra money, I could buy some Christmas presents for my mother and sister.

Bobbed Job - Hot Rod Magazine 1958

Flat Out is a "favourite book"

We're happy to learn that Flat Out has been named a "favourite book" by Peter Stevens of the British magazine Classic & Sports Cars.

In the May 2009 issue Stevens says:

As an avid collector and reader of books I have loads of favourites, but this is a standout...this paperback captures the feel of early hot-rodding like no other book. To me, the whole essence of a hot rod is that it represents one enthusiast's idea of how a 'faster than stock' car should be, and Flat Out is packed with images the represent that philosophy.

You can buy this book on early California Dry Lake Trials 1930-1950 and the cars and people who drove them here on the Flat Out Press website. Check out the Flat Out Press catalog to see all of our merchandise.

The Dukes Club

The Dukes club of Portland wins the prize for the most beautiful plaque. It is a reproduction of a Ford flathead cylinder head, scaled down to about a quarter as large as the actual head. Like a racing head it's finned. It's also more substantial than most plaques, being over 1" thick (and 10 1/4" wide and 5 1/2" high).

The design of the head led to some problems. A member tapped and threaded the area for spark plugs, and added actual spark plugs. A couple other members followed suit. Then one guy added red wires to his spark plugs.

The club, like all clubs, wanted the plaques to be uniform, but at first changes were accepted, even encouraged. I have a copy of the club minutes of April 14, 1954, when "Freddie Krecklow moved that it does not make any difference whether the sparkplug holes are tapped or not. Motion carried." But when members began adding plug wires the club tried to get the plaques back to their original condition.
The Dukes did not evolve from the Mobileers, but it got some of the earlier club's members. Don Krueger had been a Mobileer, and he became a leading member of the Dukes. Krueger told me: "We met in the meeting room at the north end of Montavilla Park, which was convenient because most of the members were from the Montavilla area. The meeting room had cooking utensils, silverware, dishes, every-thing. We didn't eat there but we could.

"I think we met there once a month, but if something was coming up, like the Portland Roadster Show we might have another meeting, twice a month. Sometimes we met at different members' homes. Lots of times. We met at Steve Weber's house, at 128th and East Burnside. And at Jimmy Davis' house at 150th and Prescott--that's when he had that 1956 corvette.

"We had our club banquets in different places. One year we had it at Top O Scott golf course. We had music and all that. We also had them at Amato's Supper Club on Broadway, and one year in the banquet room at East Side Bowling."
Excerpted from Jacket & Plaque: Portland Rod & Custom Clubs of the 'Fifties
Copyright 2008, Albert Drake and Flat Out Press.

Jacket & Plaque: Portland Rod & Custom Clubs of the 'Fifties

Jacket & Plaque: Portland Rod & Custom Clubs of the 'Fifties is now available!

Car clubs were a phenomenon of the 1950s. They were rare in the 40s, and had mostly disappeared by the 60s, but during the 50s car clubs were a source of inspiration, camaraderie, and participation in the emerging hot rod culture. When Drake began to track down the clubs he remembered only a handful from Portland in the 50s. To date he has located over 150 clubs around Oregon, all from the Fifties, and assuming very club had at least 10 members, that means there were perhaps 1300 active hot rodders on the streets.

Jacket & Plaque is an extensive survey of the clubs in the Northwest. From the early stirrings of the pre-War Oregon Roadster Club, to the Asphalt Monsters, Mobileers and Leadfoots of the late 40s, to the explosion of hot rod clubs in the 50s, this book gives a good idea of what hot rodding was like during the "good old days."

In addition to the clubs, the book has chapters on the birth of the Northwest Timing Association, Multnomah Hot Rod Council, and other interesting trivia about the burgeoning hot rod culture.

With over 350 illustrations and black and white photos of dash plaques, jacket patches, hot rodders and memorabilia this book represents a lifetime of research.

Read an excerpt from Jacket & Plaque.
272 pages, perfect-bound (December 2008)
Throttlers Press; ISBN: 0-936892-22-6; Signed copy...$~~24.95~~ $19.95!

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Albert Drake at the 53rd Annual Portland Roadster Show

Albert Drake will be selling and signing books at the 53rd Annual Portland Roadster Show at the Oregon Convention Center. March 6, 2009 - March 8, 2009.

Drop by and say hello!