60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Was going through a box of old papers this morning, and ran across this letter from my father (OldDad) to my uncle Dick that was written in 1952. In it, he refers to the new "hard-tops" that had just started running, and building an engine to compete with at the track. Dick lived up in Eureka, CA in those days; not a particular hot bed of hot rodding at that time!

The old man was a machinist, first at Blair's Speed Shop, and later at Tim's Precision Engines in Pasadena. These were a couple of leading-edge shops here on the west coast back in the late '40's and early '50's. At Tim's, they built the original 265 (bored to 283) Chevy engine for Duffy Livingstone's Eliminator, among other things.

Anyway, if anyone is familiar with the circle track racing of those days, and can shed some light on just what these "hard-tops" were, I'd certainly like to know more about it, as I wasn't born until eight years later! Also, he refers to fixing a blown-off bell housing for $35.00, and if that were possible, I have one hell of a block from those days I'd love to fix! I'd even pay $40.00! I'll post that in a separate thread. Hope you find this stuff as interesting as I did:

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5e17f76e.jpg

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...psc77c6fc9.jpghttp://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e0a94a0.jpg

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Nice letter .

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

That is a nice letter.

A 3/8 x 3/8 (killer) flathead for $300.00. Oh Man! Now where did I put that time machine.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

That was a neat story. Those guys must have had a great weekend-he wanted to trade in the empties to buy a new car! That's a bunch of empties.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

HR magazine ran a feature story on those cars back in the fifties and how to build them. I doub't that big engine would have stood up long on a circle track as short stroke has more rpm, long stroke has more torque. I believe the Blair shop turned out some famous track cars back then.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

What a neat memento from dad. A fine reminder of a more "relaxed" time when it took awhile for correspondence as opposed to texting/twitter.

Reading the engine specs was a kick too, I've got a 3/8 Potvin in the '30 roadster, love it.

As to the hardtop reference, you might have seen the old pictures of the CRA (California Roadster Association) events in So. Cal., cars that inspire the track roadster styling that some rodders emulate. Hardtops became the shorthand name to differentiate the roofed cars that competed on the dirt tracks under different sanctioning/rules.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

here are some pictures of hardtops at vallejo calif during the 60s and after they went to 305 cu max OHV motors. were flatheads in the 50s. i spent alot of saturday nights there. pitted for bob newkirk & kieth hanson and spent many weekday evenings fixing what they broke on saturday nights. lots of fun and memories.... don

http://vallejospeedwayhardtops.homestead.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=git3uhP4MEk

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Excellent letter and reflection of Hartop racing in America. I raced at Motor City Speedway in Detroit in 1953, good times! (I was 17)
As for the $300.00 I'll try to put that in perspective, the starting pay for a factory worker was $1.65 an hour, some people were raising family's on that. $1.65 X 40 hours=$66.00 a week! Mark

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

"Anyway, if anyone is familiar with the circle track racing of those days, and can shed some light on just what these "hard-tops" were, I'd certainly like to know more about it, as I wasn't born until eight years later! Also, he refers to fixing a blown-off bell housing for $35.00, and if that were possible, I have one hell of a block from those days I'd love to fix! I'd even pay $40.00!"

Here's short video of exactly what it was and still is in some areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55JFLUZ6OpE
All the cars in the video are flathead Ford powered.

As far as the bell housing goes, it is very likely it can be repaired.
I have done quite a few of those in the "olde dayz".
Most any cast iron welding repair shop can fix it.
You are not going to get it done for $40 bucks though....lol

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Thanks for posting that letter. I smiled the whole time I read it!

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

This picture is of My Mom in the early 50's racing in the Powder Puff Derby,an event for the Ladies Between the Heat Races and Main Event for the Guys,picture was taken @ Belmont,California Raceway

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Nice, I will bet the corrosponadance from the initial letter to the return was nearly 2 weeks. Thats a long time to wait in todays world. Rod

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Thanks for all the nice comments, guys! Thought it over later, and kind of figured he was just talking about coupes versus roadsters with the "hard-top" thing. But I didn't know the time frame for the switch from roadsters to coupes on the circle tracks. I guess that happened when the supply of roadsters started to dry up.

Thanks for all the photos and video -- always think I was born too late when I see this stuff!

Blair had quite a few successful circle track roadsters back then, one in particular that my dad used to talk about a lot was the "pickle wagon" as they called it. They later sold it to Andy Granatelli, and he told a rather unflattering story about Granatelli wanting to race for pinks against one of his cars. Won't go into details, but the race never happened, and it wasn't Blair's idea to call it off!

And yes, that $300 sounds good today, but it sure didn't in 1952! I know this deal never happened, as my uncle never would have had that kind of money to blow back then.

Yeah, just what I thought when I read that! I think he figured that one out a little later on.

Anyway, I'm glad to see you guys enjoyed this! And now I want to see about getting that bell housing fixed . . . hmm . . .10x the price, 20x the price???

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Quote:"I doub't that big engine would have stood up long on a circle track as short stroke has more rpm, long stroke has more torque."


Old wives tale...We turned 315 ci flatheads 6500 twice a lap and 10 race programs before freshening up. (and still do) That's a 1/2 inch stroke.My last flathead was 323 ci and is still turning 6500 in a vintage sprint car.That's a 7/16 stroke.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Thanks for the memories.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

That letter is definitely a piece of history. There are folks around doing their best to preserve it. Check out the Fantasy Speedway in Maine. www.fantasyspeedway.me

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

in the 50s Less Speed shop was the place to go
he was only a few miles from me
and the shop was part of his house
ive kept this business card since the late 50s
maybe your dad bought stuff from him
tom

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Old wives tale...We turned 315 ci flatheads 6500 twice a lap and 10 race programs before freshening up. (and still do) That's a 1/2 inch stroke.My last flathead was 323 ci and is still turning 6500 in a vintage sprint car.That's a 7/16 stroke

Glad to hear that, Pete. You would certainly know better than I!

That video you posted is quite amazing to me, as I had no idea this kind of stuff was still going on. Too bad the old man is gone now, because it would have astounded him more to know that all this is going on these days.He missed it by only a few years.
Had to share this letter the minute I saw it, because so much of this first hand experience is going away from us now. Thanks for sharing yours with us, Pete.

And that picture of your mom at Belmont is a real kick, Dave!

That Lee's Speed Shop card is another great piece of history. Wish I had a similar card from Blair's or Tim's from those days. Amazing you still have it!
.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

A little history on that video.
Bill Blair is driving the #2 car that the camera is in.
His Dad won the first NASCAR Daytona beach race in 1952.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

here are some pictures of hardtops at vallejo calif during the 60s and after they went to 305 cu max OHV motors. were flatheads in the 50s. i spent alot of saturday nights there. pitted for bob newkirk & kieth hanson and spent many weekday evenings fixing what they broke on saturday nights. lots of fun and memories.... don

Dammit Don, my other uncle Ray ran the paint shop at Mare Island, and lived in Napa until his death at 99 a couple years ago, so we could have taken some of that in when we were visiting back in the 60's and early '70's! The old man was holding out out on me! He pitted for Duffy with the Eliminator back in the '50's, but by the '60's-70's he was an engineer (sans diploma) at JPL, working on the Viking lander that landed on Mars in '76, so I guess all that had fallen off his radar by then. Dammit!!

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Thanks for sharing the letter. Takes you back, even though I'm too young to have ever been there.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Here's my 1963 Almquist reciept for complete 3/3 x 3/8 flathead stroker kit made by Crankshaft Co. Check out the price.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Here's a pair of 1966 water pumps to go with that 1963 stroker kit from Almquist. We picked these up when BOTH pumps gave it up on a trip in the '40 when I was six years old. Found the receipt in the glove box:

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2467f3b1.jpg

Goes along with this 1959 receipt from another disastrous road trip, when the fan blew through the radiator. Towing, salvage yard radiator and labor for $21.00 plus tax!

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...ps20417c56.jpg

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

And, to beat an old horse, here's an article from March of 1955, promoting the engine balancing service at Tim's Precision Engines. Note the ad for "Blair's Auto Parts" on the lower left (Midas, anyone?), and the article about the upcoming 6th running of the Pebble Beach road race at the top left. A short mention of the little car show they were throwing out on the lawn there, too!

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...psbd6b9b59.jpg

Here's another one from the same time frame. Old man told me he basically wrote these articles himself -- a little free advertising for the business. The white coat made it all official, I guess!

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...psefc2ebbc.jpg

And finally, here's a couple shots of my uncle Dick in 1955, to whom the letter was addressed. He had a friend who worked at the jail in Eureka CA, who made these two shots possible. Hope I haven't bored you all too much with all this!

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c024f4e.jpg

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Really enjoyed the posting. First thought was to frame that letter.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Bored us? It was a refreshing thread-no bickering, back-biting, or complaints about a lousy vendor. What's not to like? I especially got a kick out of the Uncle Dick deal, and like dude said I'd frame that stuff for sure.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

LOL. I understood all the flathead lingo perfect. But...what does keep a stiff up'er...mean...exactly? :confused:

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

[QUOTE=OldDad;507094]And, to beat an old horse, here's an article from March of 1955, promoting the engine balancing service at Tim's Precision Engines. Note the ad for "Blair's Auto Parts" on the lower left (Midas, anyone?), and the article about the upcoming 6th running of the Pebble Beach road race at the top left. A short mention of the little car show they were throwing out on the lawn there, too!

http://i1071.photobucket.com/albums/...psbd6b9b59.jpg

They may have called it a Merrill balancer but it was made by Stewart Warner....
We bought one in January of 1955 and immediatly started modifying it.
As they came, the bed was not long enough to handle big diesel truck and tractor cranks..A simple fabricated extension fixed that.
We balanced most of the blower impellers for the unlimited hydro's and
the amplifier was not sensitive enough for that job so we added a preamplifier that increased the sensitivity by 10 times. That was done with vacuum tubes in those days. Frankenstien technology by today's standards.

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

Keep a stiff upper lip is the full quote. The simple explanation is to remain firm, don't show emotion. Supposedly the first sign of fear or emotion is the tremblingof your upper lip or so the story goes.

Great letter and receipts guys, thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Rob

Re: 60 Year Old Flathead Hot Rodding Letter
 

"looked like a cat-o-nine tails" lol