Now this guy is far from an outlaw i’d wager to say, but that damn t bucket is a reckless driving charge waiting to happen.  The man in this pic while by today’s standards seems pretty conservative is probably a bit of a hell raiser……how could you now driving this thing right?  High revving small block, straight pipes exiting at onlookers, spoked wheels with little room for rubber and 8″ slicks out back mounted on chrome Cragars.  And that flame job probably had mother’s holding their children tight.

I have a special place in my heart for T buckets with motorcycle wheels up front.  This is basically a raked out chopper in Hot Rod form and I bet it’s have the same impact on children as a pack of choppers rolling past him/her on the highway.  It seems illegal no matter which way you slice it…..I mean, how can this thing drive on the streets amongst the bland vehicles that are the majority?   The real question is how come there are not more?  Go out and build one!!!

Could you imagine pulling up to the guy in the convertible BMW while he’s with his trophy wife while waiting at a stop light , knowing she’s wondering why her husband is so “soft”.  You keep focused on what’s a head only glancing over to give he a wink before blasting off with your pipes sounding off eight at a time.   That alone is worth the price of building one. 

Once in a while you run across something on the internet that totally blows you away and leaves you pouring over and over what sits before you.  It seems like it’s always when you’re not looking for anything in particular and then BAM! It’s smashes you in the head like a brick.  This is almost always true when someone finds old images of Dry lakes or Bonneville racing from a relative’s past.  And that’s the case with Pahl Morlang’s grandson Patrick who stumbled upon these images while going through a trunk with his Grandmother.

These images especially the one above are just about as cool as it gets and offer us a look into what the heyday of hot rodding really looked like either from a couple hundred yards out from the racing line or up close and personal.

Please enjoy these images and if you have any information on them or recognize anything please contact Patrick HERE!  It’s not often people open up an archive like this for us all to enjoy so I am super appreciative to share these with Patrick’s permission.

Wednesday I hope to share some of the early sports car photos he supplied as well.  

Being around hot rods and customs these days you’re almost guaranteed to know someone with a “shop truck”.  Well back in 1954 it wasn’t a generic term for a truck with a name painted on the side.  Nope, they actually had trucks that did work for businesses and sometimes, just sometimes they were made into hot rods like Don Hentzell’s 1927 Ford “T” RPU.

The truck sported 1929 Ford fenders and running boards with the rear frame kicked up to get it down out back.  A 1939 Ford gave up it’s front suspension after splitting the wishbone and making way for the 1953 Dodge Red Ram Hemi to get squeezed in above it.  That engine, equipped with a Offy intake, Strombergs, Mallory ignition and a ’39 Ford trans filled with 25 tooth Lincoln gears and a 10″ clutch was good enough to run 100mph at the drags.   Wheels as you can expect were custom made by Western Wheel out of 15″ rims with a custom offset center mounted inside.

Interior was done in black pleats with yellow tops.  One thing that should be noted is the very subtle blisters that were added on the hood later on.  There’s a lot of ways to go about that, however this is amongst the best.

So how much would you enjoy delivering goods if you got to drive this?  Yeah me too.

Found this on the HAMB late last night.  Thought it was worth of sharing. The film showcases family footage of the 444 “Little Giant” during the summer of 1963 going across the Bonneville Speedway at over 200mph.  Pay attention to the background, that’s my favorite part of these old films.  What cars do you recognize, which one do you wish you could see more of and what was the average person driving?

Enjoy.

I stumbled upon this while taking a break from work last night and it almost ruined my night.  There I was trying to finish up some jobs I have and now I couldn’t concentrate because I was thinking about this film, the cars that raced and the tracks that made them famous.  There are more episodes coming up so stay tuned!

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