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L.A. South Coast Hot Rods California Special Customs Car

Race Rods California

Race Rods California badge vintage

It was Don Blair’s interest in racing the dry lakes that prompted him to opening a small business selling speed parts. If any business contributed to hot rodding in Southern California, it was Blair’s Speed Shop in Gardena where 25-year-old Don opened for business in 1946. From the early days of doing tune-ups and selling used parts to building legendary engines and complete funny cars, Don Blair left an indelible mark on the world of hot rodding.

American Graffiti Prom Night Down at The Diner

Hot Rod designs

hots rods and smoke and fire

On the last day of summer vacation in 1962..............

Hot rod garage. Road king. California. Vintage American hot rod car.

Like a lot of people in post-war America, Al Jerauld was an avid hot rodder looking for go fast thrills. He opened Jerauld's Speed Shop in the late '40s in National City, California. From catalog speed parts to many of his own creation, Jerauld's Speed Shop was the go-to spot in the San Diego area for go fast goodies. When he wasn't selling parts and installing them on customer cars, Al was a dry lakes racer who built and campaigned several cars over the years. One such lakester was the infamous Baby Bomb, which sported a destroked and sleeved '37 V8-60 Flathead with a tiny 88.75 cubic inch displacement that managed to turn some impressive speeds. Among Jerauld's many custom designed performance parts, many are still highly prized today.

Based in Anaheim, Orange County Speed Shop opened its doors in 1949 as the post-war hot-rod craze was gaining momentum and quickly became one of the top sources for go-fast goodies on the west coast. They not only had a full-service retail business, but were quick to get into mail order and wholesale as well, distributing all the top brands to shops throughout the SoCal area.

wait a minute that sounds like Rock and or roll

Vintage Rat Rod Pick Up Truck Ft The Death Valley Cactus, Rats, Skull On Super Cool Merch Available Now..Stand Out From The Usual Clobber And Get With The Kids On The Streets In Their Rusty Rides..

Vintage Rat Rod Pick Up Truck Ft The Death Valley Cactus, Rats, Skull On Super Cool Merch Available Now..Stand Out From The Usual Clobber And Get With The Kids On The Streets In Their Rusty Rides..

If you've been around the Southern California hot rod scene for a while, you're probably familiar with Rocket Muffler, the Burbank shop that spent several decades doing custom exhaust work for drag, dry lake, and street racers alike. Their business cards advertised "Racket by Rocket" which was probably a hint to the kind of work they did in squeezing out just a little more horsepower out of V8 engines in exchange for a little noise. In addition to sponsoring numerous local SoCal racers in the '50s and '60s, they also kept a sign out front of their shop on West Magnolia Boulevard offering free welding repairs on kid's toys, wagons, and bikes. Talk about community service!

Straight out of 1960's Orange, California, The Savage was the real deal.

Russetta Timing Association (RTA) held speed meets at various southern California dry lakes, beginning in 1939 and continuing well into the 1960s. It was an independent association, owned by Ray Ingram, who also owned the clocks. It flourished in part because the more prominent SCTA did not allow coupes or sedans until 1951, and RTA did. In their early years, this made RTA somewhat of an 'outlaw' as the new kid on the block that brought together the clubs with guys running traditional hot rods and not necessarily dedicated dry lake racers.

Grim reaper in a hot rod