Yesterday's Young GunsForty years ago, we introduced you to 9-year-old Johnny Bloom, who burned up Bee-Line Dragway in Phoenix with his wheelstanding kid-sized dragster. Johnny's interest in racing began at the age of 3, when he began accompanying his father J.R. to races. The older Bloom raced a straight-eight, six-carbed A/Fuel Altered Bantam at the time.
When Johnny outgrew his pedal cars, his dad built this mini digger. The frame and cage were half-inch conduit tubing, with a 3 1/2-inch dropped axle. A pair of 1.00x12 Firestones rolled on doll buggy skinnies with wagon slicks in the rear. The side-mounted Clinton two-cycle engine put out 1 1/2 hp. The styling, as you can see, was inspired by an early Chris Karamesines Fuel dragster.
A lot of imaginative engineering went into the suspension and drivetrain of the dragster, including the adjustable V-belt and screen door spring linkage connecting the engine to a "clutch" pedal, allowing for Johnny's crowd-pleasing wheelstands. That's not bad for a dragster built for less than $30, even considering inflation. When Johnny made his first exhibition pass at Bee-Line, the crowd went wild. Seven wheelstands later, he zipped through the traps with an e.t. in the 3 1/2-minute range with a top speed just under 20 mph (200 mph off the national record). After R&C featured the dragster in the August issue, we got a mountain of mail from kids all over the country. J.R. answered every single one.
Little Johnny is now an aircraft engineer in Tucson, Arizona. The dragster disappeared for 31 years, but was rediscovered in the late '90s and now hangs in J.R.'s garage, awaiting restoration.
Mail your vintage photos of you and your hot rod, along with a brief story to: Tim Bernsau, Rod & Custom, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870, or e-mail them (3x5 inches at 300 dpi) to timothy.bernsau@primedia.com. We are unable to return any submitted material.
A Chevy's StoryWe showed you Greg White's '54 Chevy in the Mooneyes Xmas Show coverage in our May issue, and mentioned that Greg was seeking insight into the car's history. Several readers pointed us to Russ Meeks of Portland, Oregon.
Russ told us that he began building the Chevy in 1976. Starting with a two-door sedan, he removed the B-pillar and chopped the top 2 inches, frenched the headlights, molded the grille opening, and frenched two '55 Merc taillights. Russ had worked for Gene Winfield in the '60s, and had soaked up the necessary knowledge to spray a first-rate Murano pearl finish with brilliant tangerine flames. The car was nearing completion in the late-'80s-Russ even had a blown Chevy inline six ready to power it-when it ended up going down the road.
The following 15 years are a bit of a mystery, but Greg bought the Chevy a few years ago, shortly after a shop in his hometown had installed a Scott's IFS setup and 454ci Chevy big-block. At this year's Grand National Roadster Show, several people told Greg they thought the Chevy was Bill Hoffman's old car, which was on the cover of R&C in April 1958. Bill's car was also a sedan-turned-hardtop, but was a '53 model, and wasn't chopped. Coincidentally, Russ and Bill were actually acquaintances back in the '50s and '60s.
We put Greg in touch with Russ, who filled him in on the details. Greg said the car's metalwork and paint has held up remarkably well through the years, while the updated drivetrain makes it easy to cruise. Now he's trying to track a few remaining pieces so that, 30 years later, Russ' Chevy might finally be "finished."
Kustom KornerThe intersection of Riverside and Riverton in Toluca Lake, California, now has a new name. The Los Angeles City Council has officially recognized this site as George Barris Place. The famed custom designer and builder was honored at a ceremony on March 23 at Barris Kustom City, located at 10811 Riverside Dr.