#pose credit: venu @ xma | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

itsworn · 7 years

Text

Hot Rods, Customs & More Make the Scene at the 2016 Mooneyes Xmas Party

We should all give the Mooneyes team credit for organizing two major events in December, certainly not the most popular month with car show promoters. Festivities began on the first weekend in Japan with the 25th Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show, followed only six days later by the Mooneyes Xmas Party at Irwindale Speedway, California.

The Santa Fe Springs outlet has been associated with this winter meet since 1977, at a time when folks still called it Rat Fink Reunion. More akin to an artist get-together than a car show, it mostly revolved around the spirited Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. The event moved several times over the years, taking place around Mooneyes’ headquarters from 1992 until 2001.

The Mooneyes Xmas Party finally adopted Irwindale Speedway in 2006, which proved large enough to welcome the ever-growing affair. A decade later, it drew close to 15,000 visitors and an impressive 1,500 vehicles, with more being turned away by the track’s staff after 8:30 a.m. due to the venue being full. Today’s meet is much more than an artist’s reunion, although pinstripers, painters, and tiki sculptors still show up en masse. But this pre-Christmas gig celebrates other facets of the hot rod hobby, too, with vendors displaying and selling vintage hi-perf parts, T-shirts, and so on.

Another interesting aspect of the extravaganza lies in the eclectic assortment of vehicles put on exhibit. American metal from the 1950s and 1960s represents the bulk of the entries, complemented by a nice showing of earlier hot rods and customs. But the lineup also includes many lowriders, along with vans, choppers, and even air-cooled VWs. Clubs give a tailgate party atmosphere to the event, though other attributes ensure its success: a pinup contest, five bands playing almost nonstop, and drag racing. The eighth-mile strip mixes all sorts of pre-’69 vehicles, with the A/FX Challenge remaining a crowd favorite.

Since 2015, word has been that Irwindale Speedway will “soon” close its doors due to land development. It hasn’t happened yet. Even better, Mooneyes has confirmed that its party will take place in December 2017, fantastic news for this beloved Californian staple.

The event would not have been possible without these two heroes. Shige Suganuma (left) has been at the helm of Mooneyes’ Japanese branch since 1986 and purchased Mooneyes USA (then simply known as “Moon”) in 1992, five years after Dean Moon passed away. While Shige spends most of the time in Japan, his longtime friend Chico Kodama (right) handles the logistics of the U.S. headquarters as the president of Mooneyes USA.

Mooneyes had several vehicles on exhibit, starting with its famous yellow dragster, a replica of the rail campaigned by the company circa 1963. Behind it sits the real-steel ’32 coupe owned by prominent car collector Tom Malloy. Pinstriped by the talented Hiro “The Wildman” Ishii, the big-block-Chevy-powered Deuce has been a Bonneville record chaser for years, running 178 mph with Tom behind the wheel.

Quarter Midgets were huge during the 1950s and 1960s, and HOT ROD put a bunch of them on its February 1958 cover. Even Frank Kurtis, better known for his Indy 500 exploits, built QM kits. James “Smitty” Smith vividly remembers these days, leading to a lifelong passion and an impressive collection of memorabilia and cars, including fully restored models.

With lines such as “Peel out, I just love it when guys peel out,” and “Is that tuck and roll?” Candy Clark has been the dream girl of many hot rodders since 1973, the year Universal Pictures released American Graffiti. Candy is a regular car show guest, happily signing pictures and chatting with enthusiasts. She took a moment to pose for HRD in front of The Race of Gentlemen booth.

United Pacific, producers of replica sheetmetal for hot rodders, recently added new 1932 bumpers to its line, along with various components for ’32-’34 Ford trucks (doors, fenders, one-piece pickup grille), seen here on its well-preserved R&D test vehicle.

One of the oldest car clubs in SoCal and the subject of Brian Darwas’ movie This is Long Beach, the Cavaliers CC has had a colorful history going as far back as 1948. That topless roadster belongs to current club associate Aladdin. Hard to believe, but his small-block-Chevy-motivated project began as a ’29 Chevy four-door sedan.

Louis Stands did his homework when building his traditional ’27 Ford roadster at Hot Head Speed Shop. It runs a ’63 Corvette 327ci V8 bolted to a GM Saginaw four-speed box, while ’48 Ford drums handle the braking duties. The Orange, California, resident did both the paint and upholstery. Note the rare supercharged ’32 Studebaker parked next to it, the property of Eric Simonson.

Did you guess what it is? Experts might recognize the diminutive hot rod as a rare ’30 American Austin. It combines a custom-built tubular frame stretched to 100 inches and a ’39 Ford front axle, resulting in more aggressive proportions. The stock, tiny, four-cylinder motor is long gone, now replaced with a ’51 239ci Ford flathead V8 dressed with Offenhauser goodies.

A four-door ’33 Plymouth might not seem like an obvious choice for a hot rod, but TJ Russell got it right. Its low attitude comes courtesy of a 6-inch channel (no, it wasn’t chopped) with matching shortened grille, in addition to airbag suspension in the back. For motivation, the car relies on a ’56 354ci Hemi engine that delivers about 400 hp.

The roots of the lowriding scene can be traced back to these “bombs,” typically ’37 to ’54 Chevys. Models of choice include four-doors, and the majority today feature period-correct accessories. The beautifully penned ’47 Chevy Fleetline lends itself particularly well to the treatment, as demonstrated by this example.

In 1949, GM’s Head of Design Harley Earl developed a range of brand-new cars with smooth bodies and lower beltlines and rooflines that overnight made the ’48 models look antique. Pontiac offered a variety of body styles, including a fastback known as the Streamliner. It looks fantastic in stock form, although David Villarruel still elected to slice a few inches from the roof of his great coupe.

The van scene really took off when HRM plastered its cover with the “West Coast Vans” blurb in August 1971. Decades later, vintage vans are back, and they even have their own publication called Rolling Heavy. The Mooneyes show typically gathers a bunch of them, thanks to the support of various clubs, including California Street Vans, Vandoleros, and Wheels of Confusion.

Creighton Hunter managed to get a small sponsorship from Moon for his C/Modified roadster, thus explaining the twin-eyed logo on its flanks—arguably the first racing vehicle to ever carry this iconic symbol. The HRD cover car (July 2012 issue) changed hands in 1953 and has since been part of the Alcala family. Both Hunter and Hildardo Alcala managed to amass more than 200 racing trophies back in the day, the fastest e.t. being 10.30 at 133 mph.

A handful of vehicles joined the Cacklefest, including the Ewald Motorsports Mastercar, an AA/FD built in Texas for Don Cook in 1968. John Ewald purchased the completely original rail (sans engine) more than a dozen years ago, before restoring it to 1969 Top Fuel configuration. Brightly painted orange, this Cacklefest regular features a beautifully painted logo stating “392 – 6.48/250,” which says it all.

Fiat Topolinos have been a crowd favorite at drag races since the 1950s, with one of the most prominent examples being campaigned by the team of Ratican, Jackson & Stearns (R-J-S) starting 1958. It posted a best e.t. of 9.54/157 mph before being sold in 1961, but it returned to the R-J-S crew in 1995. Spectators could hear the growl of its supercharged 430ci Olds V8 during the Cacklefest.

Our friend Dale Snoke has been instrumental in reviving the West Coast’s gasser scene. He also helps Shige and Chico with the A/FX and B/FX classes during the Xmas Party. Dale’s ride of choice is this ’64 Mercury Comet, incidentally a Special Guest at Mooneyes’ 2012 Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. Notice the front and rear ends moved forward, 4-1/2 and 6 inches, respectively.

Pontiac LeMans in the vein of Glenn Gibbons’ ’64 example make great A/FX or B/FX racers. The Arizona resident found the coupe in a salvage yard and went on to morph it into the stout Pouncin’ Poncho. Through the hood, you can see the stacks of the Hilborn injection that tops the 455ci Olds V8, punched to 462ci.

Based in Ventura, California, the Spirits Car Club showed up with several vehicles, a couple of them even trying their luck on the dragstrip. Linda Ryno was one of the many ladies having fun at Mooneyes’ shindig, driving her 9-3/4 Hogwarts Express. Harry Potter geeks will get the name and the Potters Speed Shop script. Look closely: This isn’t a Ford product but a rare ’31 Studebaker five-window coupe.

The short-lived Henry J company (1951-1954) produced small automobiles that can morph into interesting gasser material, though handling might be challenging due to their short wheelbase. They also weigh about 2,300 pounds in stock form, a big plus for any drag car, as Tim Herron will confirm. The resident of Covina, just a few miles away from Irwindale, runs this ’51 model with “just right patina,” as he puts it.

Stan Chersky regularly races his ’55 Chevy during Irwindale’s Thursday night weekly Test-N-Tune sessions. The straight-axle B/GS Quicksilver relies on a healthy 496ci big-block V8. Some might be familiar with Stan’s name for another reason: He has a collection of more than 13,000 car club plaques!

Front wheels up in the air, that’s Bruce Bordman driving Bad Obsession, one of the many 1955 Chevys that entered the racing field. The coupe is equipped with a 331ci small-block Chevy topped with a tunnel ram, while ponies travel through a Powerglide ’box.

The grandstands were packed to the brim to witness the antics of such racers as Pete Wrieden from San Diego. He has owned his ’57 Bel Air since the early 1980s, when he was still a high school student. Under the hood lurks a 416ci small-block Chevy, complemented with a Turbo 400 transmission and Ford 9-inch rearend. This combo allows Pete to run in the 10-second bracket over the quarter-mile.

This ’63 Chevy II was built as a race car only two years after it came out of the factory! Owned by Jon Hoisington of Orange County, California, Humble II makes a ton of power courtesy of a supercharged 496ci big-block Chevy motor hooked to a TH400 trans. This burnout photo also divulges the ’37 Chevy front end.

The design of the Dodge A100 and the longer A108 van did not change much during its 1964 to 1970 production run. With its wild paint job, Keystone wheels, and nerf bars, this example has a cool 1960s custom vibe, though it happens to be a 1970 model.

Gasser-style vehicles represented a sizeable chunk of the 100-plus track entries. Among them was the 1955 Chevy of Ryan Brown, which pleased the crowd with its hard launches.

The post Hot Rods, Customs & More Make the Scene at the 2016 Mooneyes Xmas Party appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hot-rods-customs-make-scene-2016-mooneyes-xmas-party/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Hot Rod Network

0 notes