The 75th anniversary celebration continues at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, as the '32 Ford, the quintessential hot rod, marks its diamond jubilee.
"Deuces Wild," the museum's anniversary exhibit, opened February 7 featuring several of the 75 Most Significant '32 Ford Hot Rods, as determined by a blue-ribbon panel of hot rod experts. Included will be Chili Catallo's Little Deuce Coupe, which appeared on the Beach Boys' album of the same name-perhaps one of the most famous '32 Ford hot rods of all time; a recreation of Fred Allen's Devil Deuce; and roadsters from Tommy Foster, Neal East, and the Berardini Brothers, among others. In total, 12 cars, 11 of which were deemed the 75 most significant, will be on display. The exhibit runs until June 18.
"You'll never see these historical cars together again," said Tony Thacker, museum executive director, who was on the judging panel and has authored a book on the Deuce. "If you're a Deuce fan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime collection." In addition to the cars, historic and never-before-displayed photography of early '32 Fords in production will be shown, as will early magazines, vintage model kits, historic speed equipment, and '32 Ford-related artifacts.
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., in Pomona. For more information, call (909) 622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.
Classic Transportation Becomes Classic Automobilia
Back in 1989, STREET RODDER Road Tour Director Jerry Dixey was playing with toys-pedal cars, to be specific, and gas pumps, neon clocks, and things that made great decorations for garages, basements, and cool kitchens. His company, Classic Transportation, became known for all things automobilia.
In 1996, things got a little bit busy for Jerry, as he began a journey called the Road Tour, which has occupied much of his time for the past 12 years. The Road Tour is still going strong, and Jerry still has the best job in the world as the driver. With the recent renewed interest in pedal cars, gas pumps, and retro items for the garage and home, Jerry has decided to bring back Classic Transportation as the new Classic Automobilia, specializing in all those great big-boy toys. The Road Tour will be checking out the Classic Automobilia showroom in Youngstown, Ohio, on its trip from the NSRA Milwaukee Nationals to the Syracuse Nationals in July.
You can get a look at all the neat stuff at www.classicautomobiliaUSA.com or give Classic Automobilia a call at (800) 676-3026 for a free brochure.
Hurst
Under New Ownership
Nate Shelton, chairman of the B&M companies, announced the acquisition of the Hurst Shifter Division, a Mr. Gasket Inc. brand since 1987.
Hurst is a leading manufacturer of performance and racing shifters for the manual and automatic transmission markets. Known as "America's Number 1 Shifter Company," Hurst has been an OEM supplier of performance shifters since the 1960s, and in more recent years, has offered Hurst-branded factory packages. Hurst also offers a wide range of shifter accessories and a rebuild program for early classics outfitted with original Hurst shifters.
"B&M Racing & Performance Products has been in the shifter business even longer than Hurst, and it has an excellent understanding and reputation in the marketplace," stated Shelton. "B&M is in a perfect position to take good care of the Hurst brand and its legacy." Both Mr. Gasket and B&M are committed to making the transition of the Hurst brand to B&M as smooth and seamless as possible, with minimal disruption to business.
B&M Racing & Performance Products is headquartered in Chatsworth, California, and has been a pioneer and leader in the racing and performance automatic transmission and shifter market since 1953. With the acquisition of the Hurst brand, B&M will be the undisputed industry leader in the manual/automatic transmission shifters and accessory market.