Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1949 i Hot Rod

On December 5 the Pasadena Roadster Club held their Second Annual Reliability Run. The run started and finished in the parking area of the Pasadena Rose Bowl at the base of the Arroyo Seco valley. The 129 mile course led the entrants through varied types of driving terrain; desert, mountain, straight highway and winding roads. The Reliability Run is not a race, but just what the name implies … a test of the driving ability of the entrants as well as the worthiness of the cars entered. The basic rules of the Run are those itemized in the California Motor Vehicle Code. A board is assigned to decide where the numerous check stations will be spotted. Then, the distance between these stations is recorded, along with the type of terrain…

The California Roadster Association held its last race of the 1948 season on December 5 at Carrell Speedway in Gardena. Twelve veteran drivers gave it everything they had for fifty laps to determine who would carry home the championship honors. Awards of all kinds were the order of the day. Cash awards were presented to the ten car owners and ten drivers with the highest point standings for the year. In addition to the money, Bert Letner, owner of car 19, and Troy Rutt-man, driver, were each presented with a trophy for being at the very top of the list. Roy Prosser, the little fireball who very recently returned from a successful tour of hot rod and big car racing in the east, made a clean sweep of everything. Just…

PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE S.C.T.A. FOR THE COMING YEAR, WAS BORN MARCH 18 th Mr-1922 at FORT COLLINS. COLORADO, CAME TO GLENDALE CALIF in 1928, NOW RESIDES IN PASADENA. GEORGE ENLISTED in THE ARMY AIR CORPS in 1994, SERVED 4 YRS! AFTER HIS DISCHARGE, GEORGE JOINED THE PASADENA ROSTR. CLUB WHERE HIS WILLINGNESS and LEADERSHIP WAS RECOGNIZEP BY THE S.C.T.A. IN ’47 HE WAS ASSISTANT STARTER and in ’48 WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE GREEN CROSS SAFTEY PROGRAM. GEORGE IS MARRIED and 1S ATTENING U.S.C. MASJORING in RETAILING and COMMERCE! GEORGE HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF THE S.C.TA AS LARLY AS 1938. ONE OF GEORGES FIRST CARS WAS A WINFIELD FLAT HEAD. HE LATER RANA CRAGER and THREE ’32 FORD ROADSTERS!…

RUNNING GEAR EDITOR'S NOTE: In the November issue of Hot Rod Magazine Mr. Woron presented a glossary of terms commonly used in automobile racing and timing circles. These terms were emphasized to give the reader a better basis by which to understand future articles of a technical nature. Mr. Woron followed this up with the first of his Building A Hot Rod series, this one called “Classification and Selection” (December, 1948). This article is the second of the series. It concerns itself with the construction of the running gear; frame, springs, axles, steering mechanism, brakes and wheels. This series is designed to help the amateur hot rod builder. It is presented without reference to particular “names” in equipment. The choice of brands is left to the discretion of the builder.…

In May 1946, the Oregon Roadster Racing Ass’n was formed shortly after a roadster race in Centralia, Washington. Cars from Seattle, Everett, and Vancouver, Washington, had raced there. It was formed to bargain with promoters and protect Roadster owners and drivers. Roadster Racing looked like it might have a bright future in this vicinity. Several more races were held at Yakima in conjunction with the Washington Hi-Winders, an ass’n of Seattle and Everett roadsters owners. Soon roadster owners were flocking to join the association to make some of that “easy money.” At this time, the cars racing were just street roadsters with the lights and windshields taken off, with the exception of one or two cars which had no flywheels and were lightened. By the end of this first season,…

Editor’s Note: Here’s a new outlook on the usefulness of a hot rod. Mr. Seth’s trip is one of many that can be planned. Hot rods have made trips to many different places. I doubt very much if there are many other rods that have started a trip from a mile above sea level and ended the trip just short of two miles above sea level. The car used for the trip had a model A Ford chassis, a 4.060 inch bore, ⅜ stroker, 4 barrel, full race, dual pot engine with a 26 Dodge roadster pickup body. The body, channelled 8 inches on a zeed bent spring chassis, gave the car an exceptionally low center of gravity, which made it highly suitable for a mountain trip. We were well…

Last year the Southern California Timing Association raised its Class A limit from 150 to 183 cubic inches of engine displacement. It wasn’t until then that Alex Xydias decided to build an A streamliner for dry lakes competition. Xydias was born in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Fairfax High School. In 1940 he became a member of The Wheelers, an S.C.T.A. club located in Norwalk, California. At that time he was running an A V8. In 1942 Alex entered the Army Air Corps, serving as a B-17 engineer until his discharge in March of ’46. Shortly before leaving the service, he decided to open a speed shop in Southern California. While stopping over in L. A. during a delay en route, he located a shop in Burbank at…

On December 10th the Carlsbad Oilers, S.C.T.A. member-club, held their first Annual Banquet at the Twin Inns, Carlsbad, California. The affair was a big success. It served to celebrate the close of the Oilers’ first season as members of the Southern California Timing Association and also as an occasion for the club’s trophy presentations. Club members (all of whom take an active interest) turned out en masse for the banquet. Also on hand for the presentation were Carlsbad Police Chief Harold Davis and S.C.T.A. Manager Wally Parks. Carlsbad Oilers Starting with a membership of eight, the Carlsbad Oilers Club today boasts a membership of thirty-one. Formation of the club began at a Carlsbad restaurant where the roadster enthusiasts gathered to drink coffee and bench race. Interest in the club grew…