High school senior Ron Mang was a member of the Hooligans car club of Wichita, Kansas. It was 1958 or 1959 when he talked somebody with a camera into taking this photo of him next to his prized possession-a '51 Ford Vicky custom. Ron modified his cool shoebox with a '54 Chevy grille with a few extra teeth ("thanks to the guys at Star Custom"), '57 Plymouth Fury hubcaps, US Royal Master skinny whitewall rubber, and the whole low stance. The interior was done up in black and white Naugahyde. The mild Flathead was tied to T-bird gears. Pretty impressive ride for a teenage kid! When Don joined the Navy in 1961, he sold the car ("I had a younger brother!"), but all these years later he's still in the hobby. He now lives in Golden, Colorado, where he's working on a '53 Willys Aero Eagle two-door hardtop, which will be a resto rod/cruiser. From time to time, he told us, he still has dreams about his old Vicky.
Mail your vintage photos of you and your hot rod, along with a brief story to Tim Bernsau, Rod & Custom, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., 8th Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90048, or e-mail them (3x5 inches at 300 dpi) to timothy.bernsau@primedia.com. We are unable to return any submitted material.
Read All About ItSo-Cal Speed ShopHot rodding was already a growing hobby before World War II, and Alex Xydias was one of its most enthusiastic members. On March 3, 1946, right after returning from the service, Xydias opened the first SO-CAL Speed Shop in Burbank, California. It didn't take long before SO-CAL belly tankers and streamliners-and Alex-were becoming well known at the dry lakes and in the pages of the new hot rod magazines. The success of the SO-CAL cars fed the success of the hobby and the success of the shop. The resulting publicity increased the popularity of hot rodding, which increased the demand for something new called "speed equipment."
The rest, as they say, is history, and Mark Christensen has done a great job of chronicling that history in "SO-CAL Speed Shop: The Fast Tale of the California Racers Who Made Hot Rod History," recently published by Motorbooks.
Christensen's thoroughly researched book (he had an advantage in that Alex Xydias is very much alive and well) is full of firsthand recollections and stories, dating back earlier than Xydias' birth, through his childhood, the evolution of his interest in cars and racing, and right up into the 21st century. In between, the writer takes the reader to the heart of the action at El Mirage, Bonneville, Daytona, and other locations where history was being made by guys like Ak Miller, Dean Batchelor, Bobby Meeks, Wally Parks, and of course, Xydias. As you'd expect and hope, the text is accompanied by a couple hundred photographs, including great black and white shots from the early days of prewar hot rodding along with some beautiful color photos of SO-CAL's more recent projects.
"SO-CAL Speed Shop" is a great read for anybody with any interest in hot rodding, or anyone who just loves an exciting story. The book is available at SO-CAL Speed Shops or on their Web site (www.so-calspeedshop.com), and from online bookstores.