Car Dreams Do Come True

It actually happened! I own a car that is worthy of being shot for a major car magazine. Good old Daytons will appear in Rod & Custom Magazine --issue date to be determined. It’s just really exciting to think I may get a little recognition for my hot rod prowess, for the ability to find a gem, and that maybe my disorder does have merit.

I have to thank my friend Ed Gallagher, also Axle from GNRS, for bringing attention to the car to Aaron Kahan of R&C. Not that it took too much persuasion. Aaron had interest in the car from the beginning.

As the story goes, Aaron has a friend (the second fellow to call about the car) waiting at a nearby diner to see the car if I were to pass on it. I’m still not sure whom it was that was waiting, but it’s a friend of Verne Hammond as well. Verne being a member of the same club Aaron is in, the Burbank Choppers.

The photographer was Timothy Sutton. Absolutely, one of the nicest people I have ever met. He is a newer freelance photog for the magazine, but a real pro. He’s shot a few cover cars lately, and really has a great style. Tim also shots fashion photography; he brings his own lights to the shoot –something I wouldn’t have expected in an exterior car shoot.

Before I knew Tim personally, I had already noticed the difference he had made in the look of cars in the magazine. The look Tim achieves in the cars he’s shot have been, let’s say --‘more energetic’, maybe ‘flashy’ for lack of better adjectives. He also can add a heap of drama. Drama from the lights he brings, remember. Tim can add life to static cars, some glossy reflections on the sides, interesting fore & background shots with multiple cars. It’s all in the details.

I must bring up the Chris Casny coupe from early 2010, because it caught my eye right away. It happened to be the first car Tim shot for the rag. I instantly noticed it was a side-step from the mag’s usual stuff. He had a driving shot from tire height, I thought “wow, this is different!” Also a long shot from a roof of the coupe on a railroad bridge. Which happened to be a bridge I’ve driven by many times in Burbank.

In my opinion, Tim is a welcome relief. I really don’t want to put down the magazine's recent past, but some of the cars features have been a real snooze.

Now to the shoot of Daytons. Tim asked if I knew any locations I liked as backgrounds for the car. I drove around took some photos, but it wasn’t very fruitful.

The day of the shoot Tim did a little scouting, but we ended up in tried and true, Culver City’s old industrial area off Jefferson Blvd.

Tim had me move the car around a lot, getting great shoot angles obviously very important. Ed was in town for the LA Roadster Show, so he helped. We drove the car to three different backgrounds, some with lights set up, some without. Tim had us mix & match parts; the hood on, no hood; canvas top on, no top.

Just before the last shots, Tim had me turn the car around. I got in to start it –the starter stuck! A minute of head scratching, starter hammering, we just push started it. Took a few more shots and back to home we went.

Tim wasn’t done with us yet. It was dark now and Tim had the idea of shooting me driving Hollywood Blvd and night. It was terrific & hectic, but I think the artist got what he wanted.

The car being shot was certainly was the highlight of my year. When the issue is released I’m sure I’ll be excited all over again.

New Seat, part 2

Here are the long awaited photos of the restored seat in Daytons. It really turned out well. Marc did a fantastic job using the old photos I provided to get it looking just like it used to.
The leather isn’t a 100% match to the elbow & door panels, put I’m just happy it’s done!





























Look at the comparison of new & old, identical!

Below was the work I completed by Sunday night. I had the original vintage seat belts in, and has made a board for the package tray to which I then glued a shaped length of running board rubber -as it had long ago.

Power Plant Preference

What scores highest in power plants for traditional hot rods?

In my opinion, the best engines to power a 1932 Ford roadster are:

10 out of 10 is the Ardun OHV conversion on a flathead
9 is a hopped up 24-stud flathead Ford
8 is a stock flathead 24-stud, OR vintage early race engine; Offy OHC for instance
7 is souped-up 4-banger Model A or B
6 is an ‘other’ brand vintage V8 engine, ie; Nailhead, Rocket 88, Chrysler hemi, Ford 292
5 is lesser Ford flatheads
4 is a vintagly dressed-up early Chevy V8
3 is a less-then vintage V8; Ford 289, FE, 429, Mopar, or anything late 60’s & newer
2 is a plain-jane Chevy 350 or Ford small block V8, or anything fuel injected
1 is any import engine

At the top, only one engine deserves to score a 10 out of 10, honestly it isn’t even really the engine but an add-on; It is the historical Ardun overhead valve conversion for the Ford flathead V8. No part can deserve as much respect from hot rod guys; its presence alone is awe inspiring, even to well-seasoned parts junkies.
Numbers 10-7 are all early Fords due mostly to tradition. But number 8 included race engines from the 30’s to the 50’s, because I couldn’t think of a better place to put it, and they can be some of the coolest looking things you ever did see.

At the bottom, numbers 3-1 are the least desirable, least imaginative choices for engines. If you are bothering to build semi-nostalgic ’32 roadster, steel or even fiberglass, and are considering any engine at the bottom of my list, Stop Now! You are wasting your time, nobody want to see a Ford 302 or a LS1. It just shows poor planning, a lack of imagination, and come with sorry excuses. Vintage engines are still available and worth any extra effort to use them, plus make great conversation pieces.





Here is what a legitimate Offy race engine looks like in a Model A. It's just so rare to see. Owned by Bob Anderson.

New Seat, part 1

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My special ordered leather finally arrived. While on holiday in Florida visiting my in-laws, Ron & Dottie, it came to the house after an 11 week wait.

Dayton’s interior leather isn’t made commercially anymore, 50 years later. And there aren’t too many places to get dyed-to-match custom leather these days. But SMS Fabrics of Oregon is one of them, specializing in automotive upholstery replacement materials. After a sample arrived for me to sign-off on, I was told it would take another 6-8 weeks to complete the order.

Well it took a little longer, but I’m happy I finally got it. A few days later I was off to Mark at Rudy’s Upholstery in Hollywood. Rudy’s was recommended to me but my friend Rey, who had taken several GTOs to Mark previously.

Last week I spent some time building a foundation for the new seat. I build the slats you see using Poplar wood from Loews’ Hardware on top of some old wood already there. I fashioned the slats after what is in a stock ’29 roadster. The 3/4” plywood panel in the subframe tilts up to access the battery. Not pictured is the 1/2” plywood seat base & backrest base, nor the foam I bought. Mark is stitching the leather and tacking it to the plywood bases. The bottom seat comes out, but the backrest is tacked to the beltline wood at the top.

And finally, rather then the bottom seat just sitting on the floor (the car is missing a stock seat frame), I used dowels secured into the plywood floor to lock the pad base in. My friend David and I worked on that, it turned out well.

Letter to the Editor (Art Director)

Rod & Custom Magazine wants to take photos and write an article about my Craigslist find. I feel very honored and so thankful to people over at R&C for their enthusiasm about the Daytons. Aaron Kahan, Art Director at R&C, and Tim Sutton the photographer are really swell guys, I’m really glad that I’ll be getting to know them.

Today I grafted a letter to them with and update and some great news I got recently.

"Hi Aaron & Tim, I just wanted to update you on some news gathered about the roadster. I have a proper spelling on the guy who owned the car for over 50 years, William (Bill) Bair. Turns out he had lots of friends, I discovered this after finally bumping into the other guy (purple shirt) 'Fredy' at the Pasadena Reliability Run. Fredy and Dave Lazardi, had lots to say about Bill --for instance, Bill was a fan of sprint/midget cars, the reason the car has Dayton wire wheels. Bill & Fredy were good friends it turns out, Fredy says he'd even driven the car in the past. I'll include what I've learned in the tech-sheet.

I also bumped into a fellow at the PRR that has a strikingly similar blue roadster as compared to my roadster. Turns out, Jim Foltz of N. Long Beach bought the car from Don Montgomery's car lot only blocks from where my car lived for 50 years near the intersection of 70th & Olive Ave. This isn't a coincidence either. Because the similarities go a lot further then the leaded in cowl and V-windshields. The 32 frame on Jim's '28 A has built details that could have only been done by the same person, we both think our cars related --like family.

Jim's father, and old time local race car driver actually remembers Bill Bair, knew he was into race boats & roadster racers too. Jim also found several other Long Beach natives who remember Bill as well. It seems the hot rodding world just gets smaller and smaller.

Jim & I are working together to gather more fact, perhaps nailing down who actually built the cars originally, whether it was Bill or someone else. --AJ"