One of the things I like to do in my garage is to restore old dashboards from vintage cars. I have about nine of them now hanging on my walls. I try to imagine all the hours someone must have spent looking at these over the years. Imagining what they looked like when the brand new car was brought home. This one is from a 1946 Plymouth. It was in remarkable good shape for it’s age, so it was an easy one to do. I have two more to restore,…
Last month’s article brought back memories, to when I was a little kid we would read the signs when we traveled. My dad used to take us to the small town of Centerville Indiana, for our haircuts. It was about ten miles from our house and haircuts were only fifty cents. I was about seven years old and my brother was five. We would pass a sign that read: Listen birds These signs Cost money Roost awhile And don’t Get funny As young kids we didn’t know what that meant,…
He Could Have a V-8 Although the body was essentially the same from 1965 to 1969, the introduction of the beefier Saginaw trans is what made possible converting to the V-8 that is nestled inside this Corvair. The radiator and shrouding now takes up much of the front trunk. While some people might be satisfied with the stock flat six engine in their Corvair, John Pritchard was not. He wanted a V-8. Now he’s well on the way to seeing his desire fulfilled. It all started a couple of years…
Garages are an unusual place. I think when man went into his first cave looking for shelter; he actually went into the first garage. Think about it. It’s dark, dirty, and if you make a mess-who cares. It’s a place to store stuff out of the weather and to keep it out of the reach of other cavemen. It’s a place to get away from the world’s woes. It’s a hiding place from the angry cavewife. It’s where you can just hang and do nothing. It’s a place where you…
Before I begin this segment, I need to do a quick correction- I stated John Bickford built and owned hardtops driven by Gene Dudley. Actually, It was Gene’s brother, Darrell, who was partners with John and drove the #97 Hardtop. Their younger brother, Lee, was also involved with Hardtops and stock cars over the years. When John came home with the two Quarter Midgets, he was envisioning a sister – brother racing team. Well, after a few parking lot tryouts, Jeff was totally into it but Kim would rather be…
Many of the Roamin Angels are ‘gearheads’ i.e., the type of guys who can rebuild an engine better than new and enjoy doing it, but not all are. Some are what Steve DeSena terms ‘wax on, wax off’ people, those whose automotive talents are basically limited to keeping their car shined. And he calls himself one of those guys. It has nothing to do with lack of love for cars, but mechanical ability. Steve fell in love with T-Buckets (topless hot-rodded Model T roadsters) when he was sixteen and rode…
Although husband Gio had his Model A and ‘34 Ford street rods (what he calls his “adult toys”), Bev Giovanetti was never comfortable driving them. It wasn’t that she didn’t like classic cars, but petit Bev had trouble handling Gio’s cars. As Roamin Angels, they went on many cruises with the club and Bev was always riding shotgun. Finally, in 2000 she decided to sell some stock in her retirement portfolio and buy a more active stock: a stock ‘57 T-Bird. She had loved the Baby Birds since her high…
The intention of writing this article is to help you prevent some of the pitfalls of what happens when a survivor of your family is faced with selling your prized hot rod, classic, or muscle car. First of all, the last, worst, and most dreadful thing you can do with the all the stuff you leave behind after your death is NOTHING. Right now, I just want to get into how to set up the paperwork for that wonderful chariot you leave behind and prevent the nightmare your grieving survivor…
Most of the many friends I have I have made in the Roamin Angels in my short 3 years with the club, know that I have a long relationship with NASCAR Legend and Hall of Famer, Jeff Gordon. I have shared some of that background with some friends in the club but our Diane Blakley asked me if I would consider sharing it in an article published in our Newsletter. So, with all that said, here goes… Growing up in Benicia and Vallejo, I was a gearhead at birth. My…
John K. has no expectations that his ‘50 Ford F-1 shortbed pickup will ever win any trophies. But then, he doesn’t take it to car shows either. He did not buy it to show. He bought it because he needed a truck for household hauling and did not want to buy a new one. About years ago, he told a fellow Roamin Angel he was looking for one and the Angel told him of one that was sitting in a garage in Penn Valley. After an amateur restoration, it…
Pre-1972 American-made Classic Cars, Trucks & Hot Rods. Our mission statement is To restore and maintain classic cars and street rods in a way that brings people together, preserves vintage vehicles and contributes to the community.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.