Innehållsförteckning för July 1950 från Hot Rod

Twenty-six cars, out of an approximate 150 entered in the SCTA’s first meet of the 1950 season, clocked speeds of 140 mph or faster on the El Mirage dry lake speed course. Although the speeds were boosted a few miles an hour by a prevailing tail wind that continued to blow throughout the two days of running, three new records were established and the overall types of equipment showed marked improvement over that of previous years’ competition entries. Fastest speed of the entire meet was made by Earl Evans’ belly tank Lakester when Bob Ward drove it through the traps at 172.74 mph. The car was powered with a big Mercury engine equipped with Evans heads, Evans 3-carburetor manifold, Potvin cam and Potvin ignition. This was the fastest speed ever…

The BLIMP BASE at Santa Ana, California will be an active spot on Sunday, July 16, according to plans announced by A1 Papp, race promoter. Schedule of events includes an Air Rescue Demonstration by the Civil Air Patrol, Hot Rod Acceleration Tests with some of the SCTA’s finest cars, a Drag Race between 4 Hot Rods vs. 4 of California’s fastest Motorcycles, and European style Road Races for Motorcycles. Time: 2 p.m., Sunday, July 16, 1950. Admission $1.25. For hasty pit repairs at night races, for those last minute adjustments to be made before dawn at the dry lakes, or for ordinary all around general use where good visibility is essential, a new convenient electric hand lamp has been introduced by the U-C Lite Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois. BIG…

Although Kansas is commonly thought of as the Sunflower State and is famed as the Wheat State, there are many other products in which it excels. An outstanding example of midwestern ingenuity is displayed in the sleek street roadster which was built by Robert E. Daniels of Wichita, who, with the help of his father, completed the entire car in sixteen months, working evenings and week ends. Most of the car’s construction was accomplished the hard way, all smoothing and polishing of metal parts being done without benefit of the usual special power equipment. The basic chassis was built of Ford component parts, using stock suspension system on front and rear with late model hydraulic brakes. The 1941 Ford transmission, with column shift, has been fitted with 1948 Lincoln gears.…

When we asked Sal Macchia and Louis Banto how they happened to build their neat little car they came right back with the reply “We both just happen to like roadsters—so we built one.” And, after thinking it over, we couldn’t think of a better reason. But little did they realize, when they started work on their spare time hobby, that it might some day pay for itself in customer attraction to their place of business. They started with a 1927 Model T roadster body and an old 1932 Ford frame. In order to drop the body over the frame, which channels it 3”, they had to make the frame narrower than it was originally. This was done by shortening the rear crossmember and remounting it in place. Instead of…

Tom Hynes, it appears, is one of those rare persons who prefers to do things the hard way. So instead of following the customary pattern used by the majority of hot rod car builders he still clings to the old “4-barrel” as the engine of his choice. Tom’s yellow T touring, as shown in the photo which appeared on HOT ROD Magazine’s March, 1950 cover, is a neat and well constructed concentration of equipment. Being a skilled machinist, he made most of the car’s parts himself and even though many of the car’s contents date back as far as 1925 the little “tub” is in excellent condition. An outstanding feature of the car is its engine, a 1928 Model A Ford block which has little resemblance to the original counterpart.…

On hundreds of tracks throughout the U.S. this summer, fans will be treated to an unusual kind of auto racing. Known by various names, depending upon what part of the country you’re in, the sport has gained momentum as a crowd attraction until it threatens to overshadow other types of more specialized auto racing. In fact, the popularity of this new tack on an old sport has become so great that it begins to pose a serious question regarding the future for auto racing in the United States. Under the billing of such titles as Hard Tops, Modified Stocks, and even just plain Jalopies, the methods of racing and the types of equipment are as different as the tracks upon which they are run. For example, in one part of…

The morning of May 20 brought ideal weather to El Mirage Dry Lake for the running of Russetta’s second meet of the 1950 season, and by 2:30 that afternoon, when the meet was temporarily shut down due to roughness of the course, approximately 100 cars had been timed through the traps and nine cars had made record attempts. Fastest speed of the meet was made by Don Waite’s consistent Mercury powered rear-engine “T” which turned a qualifying speed of 152.78 mph. Then attacking his own record of 149.00 mph average, Don turned speeds of 152.02 and 152.54 mph on the two-way runs to gain a new Russetta “C” Roadster record of 152.28 mph. In the “A” Roadster class Kenneth Burlingham’s maroon ’32, with Evans heads and manifold, Weber cam, and…

NOT JUST A DREAM—A NECESSITY For years, devotees of the sport of automobile speed timing have hopefully discussed possibilities for someday obtaining a Test Strip. Several times it appeared as if their dream might come true but the inevitable always happened; some obstacle came up which halted all progress. Usually the main barrier was their inability to find a suitable location which contained the necessary length and was still within reasonable driving distance of the metropolitan areas. Now, however, the need for such a facility has become a serious problem. The desert dry lakes, which have provided Southern California organizations with a semi-satisfactory substitute for a paved course, have become almost too unsafe to use. And with at least four major Associations now using the same location for their trials,…