[t-head]

A very interesting story with more of it to follow.

By 1936 times were tough, even on the Central Coast of California. A stock market crash on the East Coast in 1929 and a dust bowl in the Midwest had set off a slow rolling shock wave of economic downturn that would eventually be felt all the way out west. This tidal wave of depression pushed a boatload of broke and tired migrants to the West coast in search of jobs and the promise of a better life.

As the depression set in, the locals in Lompoc, California were resigned to the conditions of the times. A group of young men faced with a limited amount of work and very little money were looking for a diversion as a distraction to this depression. They found it by creating a local dust bowl of their own.

This dust bowl began with the formation of a Model-T racing club. Model T’s were not just cheap by the 1930’s, they were free for the taking. Often abandoned where they died along roadways and riverbeds, one could just tow one home or strip it down in place for the parts. These simple mass produced contraptions , were also easy to work on for the mechanically inclined.

There were plenty of mechanically inclined young men in an agricultural town. They grew up working on tractors and farm machinery. Many were garage owners or service station mechanics. They all shared one common love, building junk cars and making them go as fast as they could. In order to collectively pursue their passion they decided to form a club.

The first meeting of the prospective Model T membership took place in the basement of the Elite Bakery in the fall of 1936. As stated in their racing programs for the first track races in 1938, “The Lompoc Model T Club was organized in September 1936 as a recreation and hobby. There were only eight charter members. Today there are over thirty.” “Today” was October of 1938.

The first sanctioned race was held on November 29, 1936. It was a road race that started in the center of town and traveled a 35 mile course. A publicity release described the features of the upcoming course, “practically every kind of road condition to be encountered. Very little of the stretch is paved and there are several gates to be opened. A hard pull is ahead of the gasoline chariots on the Stewart Grade and it is the opinion of several that most of the cars will meet their Waterloo there.”


Meeting ones “Waterloo” was typically the outcome for most of the early race cars. They were built out of junk parts salvaged from long abandoned Model-T cars, which were practically free for the taking. In order to compete the cars had to be built upon a stock Model T chassis including the wood spoke rims and balloon tires. The motors also had to be basically stock, with some internal modifications as invented by these ingenious early engineers.

Mail order speed parts were unheard of in these early days. Beauty of design was definitely not a priority either. In fact in this macho world of racing they likely put more emphasis on ugliness than style. The main adornment on most cars was a decal or gas pump sign featuring the drivers fuel of choice. This early racing competition was mainly a contest between gas station and garage owners, so naturally they wanted bragging rights for the fuel they represented.