Hot Rod Water Transfer Window Decals

Like a stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards, new speed parts all come with a brand logo sticker for the most part.  We stick it on our toolbox or designated wall, or we'll save in the drawer.  They are all made or paper and vinyl, they are bright and big to get other people's attention.  Parts makers want to make sure non-part owners see the logo even more then you.  Hey, you already bought the part, right?

And some of those stickers today are huge! Some as big as Oreo Cookie boxes --so big it covers over other stickers on your rolling tool cart.  Maybe it's on purpose.

But there was a time, many moons ago, before even the ubiquitous 'bumper sticker' was invented.  Back when one would order speed parts by mailing in a postcard and paying for it C.O.D.  Way back, when a Mustang was just a horse and there were no aluminum wheels. 'Stickers' were decals, and they were applied with water and patience.

Decals required minutes to apply, rather then a few seconds like a sticker.  They were smaller, because if they were too big they would tear when trying to get it off the paper due to their inherent delicateness.

They were also see-through.  And when applied to car windows, it was like colorful stained glass for passengers and a distraction for drivers.

Just like me, many of you have had practice with water transfer decals in our youth.  All scale model kits from the 1950s on, come with a small sheet of water transferred decals.  Aah, memories are flooding in...

Today, these vintage decals are like rare sports trading cards.  The ones that have survived decades at the back of a drawer, or unforgiving hand of a Virgo mom.  Will make their way to collectors and enthusiasts, who cherish them like the small gems that they are.  Representing a time you could recognize an engine by the sound it made, and when ice cream was only a nickel.

2011 GNRS, Saturday

Mickey Thompson Indy car from inside the NHRA Museum at Pomona

I slept in this morning because there was no need to rush over, I'd already seen all the cars over the last two days.  But I didn't want to miss the HAMB Meet & Greet at noon, among other events.
So I left at 11 o'clock. Little did I know that just the line to park was 30 minutes! Needless to say, I got there a few minutes late.  And I still never met Ryan, the organizer of the HAMB, to shake his hand.

Soon after, my friends Ed, Ed, Tim, & Tim showed up and we proceeded to walk the halls in an effort entertain ourselves further despite the throngs of spectators, it was still fun.  This was actually their second day, I got them in on Thursday.  So they had already seen most of it.

At 2 pm, we were at the Pinstriping Auction to support Tim and to see what he'd donated to be auctioned to help fund Progeria Syndrome research. All I did was clap.

At 3 pm, there was the Then & Now, Customs builders get together.  This is where history's greatest living customizers all came together for a mass greeting a signature session.  A can't miss event! Unfortunately the crowd was so thick I couldn't get near it.

Then at 4 pm, the NHRA museum hosted the Low-Flyers car club panel discussion with Alex Xydias, Phil Remington, Stuart Hilborn, Dick "Magoo" Megugorac, and others.  This time Ed & I had seats.
They all talked about what they built and raced in the very earliest days of hot rodding and lakes racing.  Stu Hilborn may have had some the most interesting stories. He spoke at length about his lakester with the first fuel-injection unit.  The amount of times Stu evaded fatal racing accidents were incredible!  From flipping his car on the lake bed over & over and living through it. To inhaling toxic fumes as a result of an engine fire.  And to narrowly avoiding driving his racer into a 10' ditch, that would have killed him for sure!

This was a real treat for me.  I got to hear about what those early racing pioneers had to do just to gain a few seconds at the track before there was any race car parts available to them.  It makes me feel like what I'm doing the backyard with hand tools, was what they might have done 60 years ago as well.

From left --Dick Magoo, Bob Wenz, Jim Miller Jr, Xydias, Remington, & Hilborn

The infamous Miss Linda Vaughn came in at the end to wish Phil Remington a happy 90 birthday, which was today.

Any time spent inside the NHRA museum is very rewarding.  So many of the best racing cars are here.  They tell a story if you simply study them  with your eyes, each car frozen in time.

Here is the the newly restored "BEAST" early land speed racer.

Also parts, memorabilia, artifacts, & complete engines are all on display

6 pm; The award ceremony at for participants of the Suede Palace getting under way.  There is Daytons boxed in to the right.

Following the awards was the Trophy Girl Contest.  Each of the 10 beauties was introduced and asked an appropriate question like, "What is your favorite tattoo".
Each lady an example of the "loose city woman mom warned you about", as seen on illustrated movie posters from the 50's.

GNRS Suede Palace Trophy Girl Contest

And the winner is... the brunette on the right.  Winners were determined by the amount of applause one received from the crowd.  Making all other judging criteria null.  Apparently she brought all her co-workers to cheer her on.  Although, I must admit she was quite good looking, and knew how to work the crowd.

Dirt Track Roadster Inspiration

These are a few of my favorite roadster photos I've collected from the web.  I've used them to help me, along with some old publications, as inspirational material for my latest build.  Click on any picture to zoom in.
All of these cars were build in local garages for local events.  I doubt any were build by full-time  professional 'car builders'.  These builders were your local shop mechanics, that could modify & tune their cars while servicing his neighborhood clientele.

In future posts, I hope you'll see some of the best elements of these cars adapted into my very own T roadster-racer.

One of my favorites is the photo above; two Ts battling it out before packed grandstands. A common event in some parts, especially in California.  Driving up on a competitors tires was unfortunate, and extremely dangerous to say the least.  I'd hate to have a tire hit me in the back of the neck!

I'd just have to say, I'm in love with that T above with the hood & deuce grill! So simple looking, almost toy like.


This is another favorite, Phil Weiand's T.  Driven at race tracks all over LA as well at El Mirage dry lake bed.  It was painted gold (I like gold...) with chromed wheels which was rare for the 50's.
The engine is set back for better weight distribution, with a suicide front end, and a belly pan.  Pieces of bumper bolted to the rear radius arms as smooth tire deflectors.

This one is similar to Weiand's. But this time driver/owner is unknown.  I like the stock type hood, looks great with the 32 grill, and this one visibly has a deuce frame as well.  A very clean looking car. The exhaust is under this car, it changes the look of the car a lot from Phil's above.








Here is another 26/27 T, although not in great shape.  I like this car because I thought I'd use a rear bumper bar like this. It's simple, yet serves a purpose.  Check out the hand grooved tires --for dirt track traction.

This car was driven by Ike Hanks.  It's another Model T, pretty basic, it's made of parts commonly found at any wrecking yard of the time.  Here you get a better look at a suicide front end or 'bulldog' perch.  Rolled-tube Nerf bumper bars in front & on the rear radius arms.








Although the driver in the above picture is named Hanks, the driver in this photo (Chuck Ceder) has a striking resemblance to one actor named Tom Hanks.  Don't you think?  Click on the picture for a better look.

I added this picture because the car is so rough looking I had to show it.  To a lot of guys it was only important that the car ran.  In fact I've seen some rougher cars, this one is a '27 T roadster welded together.  His rear tire looks as tall as the one on my car.













Another '27 T,  and it seems this car has seen some action!  It has a pretty well used Model T on a beat Model A frame. Well at least he has a sponsor, so he's doing ok.
Quite a few guys would compete for fun of it, sponsor-less.  But having a garage or business back you helped. As long as you could keep up with better teams, you could keep racing.
He probably, minutes earlier, took the license plates and headlights off the car.

And speaking of sponsors, here's one team that has it made!  I see some expensive race parts on this very clean roadster, other then the new tires & paint, there are those pricey Kinmont early disk brakes.  I don't know who Suds Sutherland is exactly, but he looks like a pro to me.  It's hard to believe, but this type of car was high-end for the day.  And many famous race car drivers who's name we are familiar with today came from humble race track this this one.  Parsons, Rutherford, just to name a few.

Here is another clean, purpose-build roadster. 

This car is particularly special to me, because there is a rare photo of it's interior (below).

Here you can see the belly pan as the floor.  Sparse safety equipment, only a seat belt and basic roll bar.











I had to include one picture of a car that has many of the characteristics of the race cars above, but made for the street.  I hope my car will be somewhere in between this and the cars above --leaning towards racier.  Although my car may never actually see a track I still want it to look like it could have been competitive in 1952.

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.

Daytons' buddy: The Joe Mack 'T'

I attended the annual Long Beach Model T Club swap meet in Los Alamitos Saturday, and low and behold I spied a strikingly similar set of vintage Dayton wire wheels! They were under a very nice T coupe owned by a older fellow named Nick.

I got to speaking to Nick, turns out he knew Bill Bair. Talking some more, he said he bought his T from Joe Mack, long time owner of Obsolete Ford Parts, Joe died a year ago. Joe was a good friend of Bill’s as well. I found that fact out two weeks prior at the Trompers of Eagle Rock swap meet where I met John ‘Kretch’ Kretzschmar. Kretch, also good friends with Bill, saw the roadster at the Trompers swap and instantly knew he was looking at Bill’s car. Kretch worked for Joe for 30 years at Obsolete Ford, Bill hung out there often.

So now I able to put a few more connections together –Bill’s circle of friend is widening. And couple more puzzle pieces are coming together on the roadster's history.

I can't help but to find it interesting that both Joe & Bill had the same wheels on their cars. Exactly the same in fact –same color, caps, size. Either Bill bought the wheels from Joe, or Joe from Bill. I hope to know someday.

Joe loved that T, he kept it in is den apparently, so he could look at it all the time. I can see why, it is beautiful. Nick says he’s been in love with the T for 40 years. Finally when Joe called Nick and said he’d like to sell it (this was shortly before Joe's passing). Nick told Joe over the phone he'd think about it. But it wasn’t until Nick’s wife heard and said, “Sold!” was when Nick actually bought it.

Opinions In Rodding: Vintage or Nostalgic?

A lot of people might think those two adjectives may mean the same thing when it comes to hot rodding. But in fact they couldn’t be more different.
A “vintage” hot rod may be a rod built a long time ago or a car built today with vintage parts. Any car that has raced on the dry lakes of southern California in the 30’s-60’s for example, and has survived through today, is certainly a vintage hot rod. The Doane Spencer ’32 roadster may be the most famous of those cars these days.
While a nostalgic hot rod on the other hand, is a car constructed more recently and looks like it was built in another place it time. A good example might be Jimmy Shine’s ’34 Ford pick-up with it’s Ford flathead V8, a red painted steel wheels.
I call my ’29 a ‘nostalgic hot rod’, and like to say it looks like an early 50’s street roadster.
There a lot of guys I’ve met recently who are building era-specific cars. The popularity among younger car builders is growing do in part to the focused coverage by popular rodding magazines like Rod & Custom, Street Rodder, and newer periodicals like Hot Rod Deluxe. The latter only covers cars & shows that are predominantly 1940-60’s nostalgic & vintage hot rods & customs.
The father of all rodding mags, Hot Rod Magazine, covers hot rodding maybe too broadly, and includes the entire spectrum of domestic car performance building. Which is exactly what they were doing when the magazine started in 1947, so I have to give them credit for staying focused. But what was new then, is nostalgic now. A lot has changed since 1947, souping cars today is mainstream America in every sense of the term. And so may be building an ol’scool hot rod soon.
Although the number is still very small, building pre-1940’s cars into vintage street machine seems to be on the rise. And fervent to avoid the rat rod stigma, guys are taking more effort to add old parts in a manner to make them look purposeful and with respect to way it was done in the past. There are some who like to take nostalgic to new heights with themes never on vintage cars like aviation focused cars, referring to WWII fighter planes. I won’t argue, they don’t hearken to times past, but they tend to be too showy and unrealistic.
“Rat Rods”, the scorn of in the hot rodding community, is the modern day term that defines a barely drivable, unfinished, rough & rusty car. Often built by individuals with little or no sense of rodding history, having only basic mechanical knowledge, and light on funds to do the job right. Typically using a junkyard 1970’s or newer engine, and often having 1920 to 30’s sheet metal hanging off a homemade frame, the car will have a minimal interior. More time is spent placing adornments such as skulls, flames, or lightening holes then replacing leaking gaskets or completing a weld bead. Air-bad suspensions, crudely chopped tops, and misuse of modern car parts is a tale-tell sign you are looking at a rat rod.
But “rats” are only one facet on the automotive cultural gem, and there are many. Tomorrow builders will do things differently… or maybe not. For what has been before, will be again. And as long as there are open plains with American iron in them waiting for the day they can be resurrected again --there will be someone with a pick-up truck and a run-away imagination willing to take the challenge.