Calling all Couch Potatoes!

Rodders Journal Issue 54 due soon...

The subscriber cover of TRJ #54 features the recent recreation of the So-Cal Streamliner built by Dan Webb of Burton, Michigan, which debuted at the 2011 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The construction of the original So-Cal Streamliner began over 60 years ago when Alex Xydias commissioned Bill Burke to build a narrowed Model T frame for the So-Cal belly tank. It then became the basis of the Streamliner. The influence it had on hot rodding in general, and more specifically land speed racing, is undeniable. The Streamliner held the title of Top Speed of the Meet at Bonneville in ’49 and ’50; eclipsing 200 mph in the process. Unfortunately it was destroyed on the sand at Daytona Beach, Florida in ’51, and until this recreation, could only be seen in photographs. The article, written by Greg Sharp, delves into the history of the original So-Cal Streamliner campaigned by Alex Xydias and Dean Bachelor and includes extensive vintage photography. It also details the build of Dan Webb’s replica, which we photographed at the TRJ studios. 

The newsstand cover features a ’32 Ford five-window owned by Ronnie and Avis Beasley of Mobile, Alabama. While it made the cover, we show the Beasley five-window along with another equally impressive Alan Johnson-built ’32 Ford, a three-window owned by Rodney Harris of Leighton, Alabama.  We shot the pair on location in Gadsden near Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop where the coupes were built. Alan Johnson and crew have long been known for producing traditionally styled hot rods with aggressive stances and they have taken the genre to a new level with this pair.

Keith Charvonia’s choice to chop and customize a four-door ’51 Kaiser may seem out of the ordinary to those who are more familiar with chopped Mercs, shoebox Fords and early Chevys. But that is just it, this Pheonix, Arizona, resident (and at the time college student) whose previous experience mainly focused on mini trucks, had not been exposed to traditional customizing. With great enthusiasm he set out to chop the top and convert it to a two-door. Little did he know at the time the amount of work he had ahead of him and the vast learning experience he was undertaking. The project culminated with Gene Winfield painting the car in his Mojave, California, shop.

In TRJ #54 Senior Contributor, Pat Ganahl, takes us through his discovery of Dick Price’s ’32 Ford roadster. He connects the dots to tell the story of a Deuce highboy that first caught his eye in an image he saw in 1976. The photo shown above, likely taken in June of 1950, depicted two roadsters on the starting line of a one-time AMA motorcycle drag meet (which included some SCTA four-wheeled racers) at the Navy blimp base in Tustin, California. This article goes on to explain how another image of the roadster came to Pat’s attention, which led to his research about the car and eventual conversation with the owner.

You may recognize Moorpark, California resident, Scott Roberts’ 1941 Ford Pickup from many of our holiday promotions last year. We happened to have the truck in our studio during the height of our holiday marketing efforts and luckily Scott was up for letting us “borrow” the truck for a bit. In this issue we give the truck the full studio treatment as well as a location shoot. The interesting story behind the bronze pickup is that it is not only the first hot rod project, but also the very first automotive project Scott had ever attempted. In fact, Scott tackled much of the work in his own garage with only help from reading rod and truck magazines. He then called upon the experience and expertise of the folks at Hot Rods and Custom Stuff in Escondido, California, and the result is one perfect little pickup.

TRJ#54 also contains a collection of vintage images from Eddie Baumann’s scrapbook. A life long hot rodder and drag racer from San Antonio, Texas, Eddie shares with us his photographs and stories of many years in this sport/hobby. In this issue we also take a look into Eric Zausner’s book, Spindizzies: Gas Powered Model Racers, which lavishly documents the sport of miniature automotive racing and its history. You will find each of these features and much, much more in TRJ #54.