It Was A Good Run, Bye-Bye "Daytons"

A lingering reminder of the car that once occupied this space.

Yes, the car has been sold.  Trucked off today, on it's way to a new home --bon voyage mon ami.  Not to France, but to Japan.

It's been great to own this car for the last two years, the best really!  And in that time, numerous doors have been opened to me as an owner of a real vintage hot rod.  I can’t even count all the new friend and acquaintances I’ve made simply by knowing I was associated with this car there were so many.

Daytons, you will be missed by many. But I knew I wouldn’t own it forever. Hey, I got to make room, right?!?

I can’t say owning the car has been always easy either, there have been times the car was a real bitch to me.  Sometimes it felt personal!

The car has let me down several times, twice due to ignition problems. Like the time the breaker points broke the morning of load-in of GNRS.  And when the coil that burned out while at the Petersen.  But I sorted those problems out, and the car was better for it.  Giving your car the bird doesn't fix it, I learned

Knowledge, another thing I've gained in the short time it was my car. Priceless info like; how hot rods were build over half a century ago, 3-piece hoods, lead filler, slanted windows, and much more.  Gosh, that A-V8 had it all. I might just miss it more then I thought.

Yeah, that's me.

Daytons is For Sale

Yes, it's true.  The Bill Bair's roadster that friends and I call "Daytons", is for sale.

I'm posting this exactly two years from the day when I saw this car for the first time and purchased out of that small Long Beach garage.  Ahhh... I can remember that day very well.

My hot rodding life has changes immensely by owning this car.  It's been the topic of more then a few blog posts here, which has kept you the reader, and me, entertained.  It's coolness has helped me make many new friends, in person & online. And it is now featured in two popular magazines, Rod & Custom's Little Pages, and now Rolls & Pleats.

Plus, I've learned a lot about hot rods simply by owning this vintage roadster for the short time.  New techniques & ideas, some of which I am already using on my current roadster built, the '27 T.

I am a lucky persons, I got to reintroduced Bill Bair's car back into the world.  I only hope Bill would have liked what I had done with it.  People really love to see this car, it craves attention.

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. FOR SALE: Vintage 50's Hot Rod, A True Southern California Roadster

The new owner will get the whole package!  This car is more then meets the eye --you can change it's look to suit your pleasure.  It has a removable canvas top, a 3-piece hood, extra wheels with wide tires.

Everything you want, and more on a hot rod roadster! You can plainly see it's a Model A on a original 32 frame, but under that bonnet beat the heart of a winner. The Ford flathead engine is all vintage muscle. And just like the body it is custom everything!

A car with a long history and comes includes an album with many old pictures. The oldest dated photo is 1959, and some undated are older.

It is fun to drive, starts easily, shift well, stops well, and it gets a lot of attention.

The cosmetic condition of the car is less then great, the paint is fifty years old and has many scratches & chips.  All the chrome has aged, as has the rubber, and everything else in fact.  This is an untouched vintage hot rod, and it looks every bit the part.  Born right here in So. Cal. with hot rod history running through every part.

Update: Feb 17, 2012 Car Has Been Sold
The asking price was $35,000.

To learn more about this car, I've updated the roadster's page with all the statistics and new information.  Please click the picture on the left side of the page "Daytons" or click here.

If you have any questions or comments, would like to see the car in person, or to make an offer click this link to email me.

Springtime For Hot Rods

Probably my favorite day of the year, the day we spring-forward, it is Daylight-Savings Time.  It signifies Spring is here and Summer is on it's way!

 


Just in case you've never seen a picture of the roadster... I got Daytons out for a couple of photos of it outside with the big-fat tires on before I took them off again.  I really shouldn't drive on them.  One; because they are irreplaceable.  Two; they are somewhat brittle in there old age.  And Three; they are literally like steam rollers --adding over a foot of width to the car!

I also made a significant discovery on the car this weekend, it's a part hidden from plain view.  Turns out, the car has a somewhat rare item at the heart of the engine, a Winfield SU-1R camshaft.  The 'R' stands for full-race, according to Jim Gordon of Specialty Ford Parts in Rosemead, CA.  He says, "If it were a SU-1A, that's the street version". ('R' is street, 'A' was the race version, new source tells me.)
Now that may not be a big deal to some people, but when you are like me, it's a big deal.

Winfield SU-1R V8 camshaft, as seen under the distributor.

Here a little Winfield history, whether you like it or not:

Ed Winfield was has been labeled as "...the father of hot rodding and its first prodigy." 

Born north of Los Angeles in 1901, Edward and his younger brother, William (better known as Bud, developer of the famed Novi racing engine), began hot rodding early. At age 11, Winfield had stripped down a Model T--on the market for less than four years at that point--in search of higher speeds. A year later, he began grinding his own camshafts for motorcycle engines. 

At age 14 he Ed was working for Offenhauser, building carburetors for racing engines. By 18, he had already built his own camshaft grinder and was in business regrinding his own go-fast cam designs for Model Ts.

In 1924 Winfield Carburetor Company was formed to build, market, and sell the carburetor designs, and Winfield carburetors soon dominated Indianapolis 500 racing. Pete DePaolo's Duesenberg won the race in 1925 using two of the carburetors, and by 1930, all but one entry in the race used a Winfield carburetor. 

Winfield continued to experiment with fuel systems and engines, developing what's widely regarded as the first harmonic balancer, new carburetor designs, a continuous-flow fuel injection unit in 1934, along with overhead-valve heads and high-compression heads for Model T four-cylinders. He also continued to grind camshafts, mostly for race engines, until not long before he died in 1982. 

Portions taken from the an article that originally appeared in the December, 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.

2011 GNRS, Friday

Today, my brother and I got there early to take advantage of the hour participants gets before the public at noon.  By 11:20 there were at least 300 people waiting to buy tickets (Sat & Sun it will open at 10).

When we got over to my car, I set out some pictures, propped the hood open, and tried to look busy for a few minutes. And before we knew it, the place started filling fast up like the first summer day at Disneyland.

These are big crowds for a Friday!  So it wasn't long before people were ducking & dodging, in & out of pictures.  "Oops, I'm sorry", & "oh, watch-out honey" can be heard as people focus on little the camera screens through bifocals.  As expected, smells of buttered popcorn, pizza, hot dogs, and Budweiser start mixing into the air of these enormous fairground halls --tempting.  But the prices keep me away.


Certain building were obviously more popular with the crowds.  Building 4, where the main stage, big vendors, and most notably, the America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR or 'amber' for short) competitors stand on display, was bustling!  Building 10, or the 'Suede Palace' was hopping early on, it is the first building nearest the entrance. But it must have been building 9, the crowd was elbow to elbow.

This theme building #9 held the Then & Now Customs display, some of the most notable custom cars ever produced were on hand.  Most of these cars started their claims to fame right here in the LA area.  Now spread around the country, the have been brought together under one roof.  I'm sure this is the only time we'll ever see, really the most famous of them all, together in the same place

Below are some of my favorite cars of the show. We'll start with the customs.

Astra Coupe restored to it former glory

One of my favorites.  Looks great front to back, below.

Jack Calori 3-window, something I'd want

My favorite paint -- a Gene Winfield signature car, "Jade Idol"

Pictures out of the Suede Palace:

Travis Perich's RPU, we are new friends.  Car is an attention getter

Also a fav because of this view.  A '36 5-window coupe.

Hopped-up flatty in the '36 touring convertible below

Fairly rare car I must say

Unrestored hot rod, lots of great parts on this '32

Another memorable Model A survivor with 50 year old silver paint, Donald Pennington.

I like the look of slammed, but unchopped coupes

...and what an engine!

Another favorite of mine

Later that night...

A short drive over the hill from Hollywood, the fun continued at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank for some yabbering with friends, checking out what drives in, and din-din with the wife.

I drove My A there.  And boy the wind gets cold!  But exciting for sure.







I'm going back to the show Saturday.  I'll be staring at more hot rodding icons.  But this time the icons are people.  There is a Low-Flyers car club of Santa Monica reunion with some very famous names  --think fuel-injection for one.

GNRS Only A Month Away

The grandest indoor show in Los Angeles, the Grand National Roadster Show, starts Jan 27, 2011 (for me anyway).  That is 'load-in-day', and perhaps the best day of show actually.  It is an action packed day, filled with the hassle and bustle of car owners prepping there pride & joy for the main event --3-days of show.
It also a great time to meet new car people & car owners without the huge crowds, obstructed views, velvet stanchions, and intense popcorn smell.

Oh, you haven't heard?  Daytons will be there, in the Suede Palace, where the coolest old hot rods are on display.

Two years ago my other roadster was there.  But it wasn't "good enough" to be inside and was stuck outside in the rain.  That show was memorable though, perhaps for the wrong reasons.
This year is a little different, Daytons is my golden ticket inside the Suede Palace!  Who's going to say NO to such a crowd pleasing hot rod?  Maybe it won't be the coolest in the Palace, but it will have it's champions.





The rains lately have sort of had put a damper on the pace of the getting-readiness.  But I was able to have the new front tires installed over the weekend.  Bill's 50 year old Firestone grooved tires where showing their age --not a good thing with tires.  And rather then continue to risk damaging the priceless wheels at every drive, I finally bought some replacements from Coker Tire.









The differences are small.  The old tires were 5.50-16, the only new 16" reproduced are 5.00-16, so they are slightly smaller.  I could tell right off the change in looks.  Considering all the hours I spent staring at the car, studying it's every detail, a smaller tire is obvious --to me.  The new are smaller and rounder, the old were wider & flatter (cracked & chipped too).

Re-capped bias tires from Inglewood Tire Service

Another thing I had to do was fix the spare rear wheel, the ones with the big, fat meats.  The tubes inside had deflated and the valve stem has fallen inside the tire.  Maybe I could have fished the valve through the hole and tried to inflate them.  But I decided to just put in new ones rather then possibly waste more time.

You're are going to have to wait to see these on the car.  I'm saving them for the show only.




Before I end this post I have to mention a great wheels shop I discovered just recently.  Pico Wheels Service, not your average tire shop, they are a specialty wheels shop.  They may be the only people I would have trusted (besides myself) to work on my priceless, old Dayton wires, and irreplaceable rear tires.  Family owned & operated since 1920, I have to give a big thanks to Garry (grandfather) & Chad (grandson) for a great job.  They'll be balancing the wide-5 wheels on my track-T soon (because they have the adapter).

Here is my original roadster parked at the 2009 GNRS. Next to me is the Model A of Jordan Graham from Santa Ynez, CA.  

This was Thursday, it rained the next two days.  I had fun.

My Survivor on the H.A.M.B.

I receive a high honor today from Ryan, the creator & proprietor of the Jalopy Journal "Hokey Ass Message Board", or the HAMB for short. I have spent many hours reading and contributing to discussions in the forum, and made a few new friend as well. So being the center of attention, even for a short time, feels pretty cool to say the least.

I have to thank Ryan for taking time to write about "Daytons".  Not many receive this honor, I am one of the very lucky few.

Click here to read the whole article... if you haven't already.

To read more about the car, you may also want to click on the picture of it in the column on the left.

Daytons' Wire Wheels

I have received a personal request that I share some details about the Dayton Wire Wheels mounted on the hot rod… called ‘Daytons’. Fred wants to see how & what mounts them to the axles. I have to oblige him because I don’t get many requests. Actually this is my first --thank you Fred.

First a little history lesson:

"Founded in 1916, Dayton Wire Wheel was quick to establish itself as a premier designer and manufacturer of wire wheels. The company continues to design products today.

From the beginning, Dayton Wire Wheel set a high quality standard for the automotive industry. The Wright Brothers depended on Dayton Wire Wheel, Henry Ford chose Daytons, as did Charles Lindburg for the Spirit of St. Louis. Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg rode on Daytons, along with nearly thirty other makes. Dayton Wire Wheels were also put to the test for thirty years of racing in the Indianapolis 500. Many British and Italian sports car owners choose Daytons, and lowriders hop and dance on Daytons. Street rod designers and builders have discovered Daytons and Harley-Davidson owners ride on American Wire Wheels made by Dayton."

Earlier, I contacted Dayton Wire Wheels to see if the serial numbers stamped on the hubs could shed light on the exact age of the parts. Unfortunately, all records from this time period were lost, but they could tell that they were made previously to WWII. I also had the opportunity to speak with Pete Eastwood on an occasion. He’s an authority of vintage parts, and also a race car driver. Pete placed them from the late 30’s early 40’s era as well.

Once popular with most forms of racing, the particular wheel on my hot rod are today relegated only nostalgic or exhibition racing. And while Daytons made today serve as a novelty on customs and low riders, they are making a comeback in some street rod circles. In fact, the 2009 Detroit Autorama Ridler award winner, “Duecenberg” wore Daytons.

The only tool you need to mount & dismount a wheel is a lead hammer. Friction does the rest by keeping the cap on and thus the wheel. It also takes a little trust in 90-year-old technology. Three diameters of tooth patterns were manufactured, 6", 7", & 8". This car uses the 6" pattern.

You have to hammer the cap on until it no longer spins. Then re-tighten after 25 miles of driving. Right & left side caps spin on & off differently to prevent loosening while driving.

There was a lot of planning, some welding, and smidge of machining to mount the adapters to the 40’s ford drums. I may never know who did the actual work, but it looks to be sound craftsmanship. Perhaps it was Bill after all. The downside of having such cool wheels, is that the mounting adapters make it even harder to remove the brake drums then it is normally!

Finding replacement parts, like a caps for instance, would be nearly impossible. So extra care & handling has to be taken at every step.

Few people would do what it takes to adapt these wheels to a Ford today, that’s one of the reasons this car is so special.

The Hot Rod Disorder –One Year Later

Never did I think when starting this blog, I would have actually followers. The anniversary was actually two weeks ago. But I hadn’t notice until corresponding with Jared, or ‘McFly’ as he's known on the HAMB.

My original intention for writing was just a place fete my opinions for self-entertainment. And maybe a hot-rodder I didn’t know would read it, find it useful, or be mildly amused. But that is why every blog is written, right?

At first it was nothing special; I started it one day while bored at work. I didn’t have many subjects to write about, so I started with an introduction. Later, I used some of the discussions Ed Gallagher & I started in emails as a jumping off point for a post, like Power Plant Preference for instance. But now, the growing database (eyes rolling) is attracting more people every day. Basic Hot Rod Wiring, by far my most popular post, getting up to 20 search finds per day. Before that, I might get one view a day to the blog, maybe two. As a result, my Google search standing is higher.

My first was post was September 21, 2009.

Chapter II

October 30, 2009 --A simple Craigslist search while at work (I was bored that day) would change my life forever! The next morning I would be the owner of an actual “Survivor” hot rod (I have to thank my wife too). Owning a car like ‘Daytons’, is the once-in-a-lifetime experiences people talk about. It’s my honor to own this car --it felt more like a dream then reality taking the car home the first day. I hope to write more on the car that Bill Bair built, in future posts.

Overall, blog views are steadily going up. Obviously, actual tech articles are searched out more then opinion. So I’m planning some more tech. Soon you’ll be reading how I made my A-V8ers car club plaques from scratch --I poured 1250º aluminum in my backyard, it was thrilling!

Finally, the last thing I want to do is bore the reader of waste their time writing about stuff I do or opinions. So if you find any reason to add a comment or add your own opinions to my posts, please do, I welcome it, --questions too!

Throttlers Picnic 2010

Whoa boy! What a day --Daytons & I had a great time. We met lots of new people and made a lot of chit-chat. Several buddies of Bill Bair were amazed & relieved that his car was around, and as they remembered it.
A friend of Bill's named Richard, told me that Bill told him, he bought the car in 1939. 1939! My jaw dropped to think bill owned the car for... 64 years! Which makes me wonder if that seemingly random old picture of plain Model A parked on the side of the road, is in fact Daytons before WWII. This is that picture:



Back to the show --The weather was fine with some fog earlier in the morning, the birds were out and so were hot rods! Super cars were there, as well as some super famous --as every year. Tom Branch and his gold '32, the Burbank Choppers club never miss it, and Chris Casny -- to which I was happy to finally be acquainted with. But I was most impressed by a couple of fresh hot rods at the show for the first time. Lucky Burton's Model A pick-up has a lot of real vintage parts. Including Weiand F.R. heads, intake, & fuel block, & big'n'little Firestone dirt track tires. I remember the gas tank spin-off cap, it was on the '27 T he once owned.









I was also captivated by this Ford track-T. I never met the owner, but I'll guess his middle name is 'Louver'. It's a little overboard with the holes, what is being vented in the doors? But the rest of the car was nice. Halibrand quick-change rear, Nerf bars on the radius arms, hand-made aluminum hood, deck lid & belly pan, Schroeder steering box, and a liberal use of tan leather throughout.










Jim Foltz and family came a little later, he parked right next to Daytons so we could compare our Long Beach leaded cowls.













Throttler's Picnic is the best, little show in town. Burbank once again proves it still is the 'heart' of hot rodding today, as it was 60 years ago.

There are a lot more pictures here: www.donshotrodpage.net