NEWSLETTER 46 - February 27, 2008 |
In May of 1948 the group held its first meet as a real timing association. Russetta was made up of a bunch of clubs. See if any of these sound familiar; A.R.C. (American Racing Club), Arabs, Cam Pounders, Choppers, Coupes, Dusters, Gazelles, G.C.R.C. (Glendale Coupe and Roadster Club), Hi-Winders, Howlers, Hutters, Nighthawks, Pan Draggers, Prowlers, Revs, Roadents, Road Hogs, Road Rascals, Rod Riders, Rotors, Screechers, Screwdrivers, Taft Roadster Club, Throttle Merchants, Turtles, Velociteers and Vultures. These were active clubs at the August '49 meet. Hope they bring up some fond memories. I've attached a drawing from that program by Robert Martinez depicting some of the clubs. Enjoy the memories until next time. |
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In regards to a relationship between Art Tilton and Martha Tilton (the big band singer) my wife, Claire, asked Liz Tilton's (Martha's sister) daughter if Art could have been a brother or cousin or ?. She said there was not an Art Tilton in their family and had no knowledge about Art Tilton. In all the 50+ years that we have known Liz and Martha and their Mother there was never a mention of an Art Tilton. I did send a copy of your Newsletter article on Martha to her with your email address should she want to add anything. Don Montgomery Don: The family did respond, see below. Thank you for clarifying this for us. It helps to stop errors and rumors from spreading. That is just the type of effort that the readers give us that keeps the facts straight and our knowledge of the past more correct. We tend to see the past from our views in the present, which any historian can tell us is a process filled with potential for error. We still want to learn more about the early men and women in land speed racing and hot rodding. All biographies are welcome. |
Dear Mr. Parks, I received your e-mail regarding Art Tilton from my dear friend Don Montgomery. I am Martha Tilton's niece and Liz Tilton's daughter Holly. I'm afraid that Art Tilton is not a name that I am familiar with. He is definitely not their brother. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. Sincerely, Holly Chabre Dear Holly: Thank you for your reply. Don Montgomery is a friend and a prolific writer of books on the hot rodding culture. I've reviewed all of his books and I edit the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter. For reference, you can see it at www.landspeedracing.com . Someone mentioned that Martha Tilton was the sister of Art Tilton, a World War II veteran and fighter pilot who died while on a training mission. Art Tilton was a co-founder with many others in the SCTA, an early group of hot rodders who went on to found some of the successful speed equipment companies after the war. Our group is interested in the history of hot rodding, the car culture, WWII and land speed racing and someone brought up the point that Art and Martha Tilton were siblings. Naturally we asked our readers if this was true and Don informed us that our belief was in error. Nevertheless, many of us remember hearing Martha Tilton sing and we included her biography in our newsletter because she represents an important period in the culture. Many early hot rodders also worked in the movie industry. It was an exciting time and though we are more distant to the entertainment world today than we were in the 1940's, it is still important to us. Thank you for confirming a fact we held in error and we wish you and your family all the very best. If there were any hot rodders in your family that you would like to discuss, we would love to hear their stories. |
Editor's notes: The following Gear Grinders Club minutes for January 2008 were received. Personal remarks not germaine to racing was left out. Anyone who is a member of a club and would like to send us minutes will be most appreciated. The purpose is to inform. |
SCTA Reps meeting report: - January 2008 (Minutes from December approved & passed.) BNI Report: Speedweek will stay at 7 days. Inspection will be on Sunday. Race Monday thru Sunday. Course Prep fee will go up $10 from $25 to $35. El Mirage fee to stay at $40. 2008 will be the 60th Anniversary. Class changes will be $300. Save the Salt - Russ Ayres to take over treasurer duties. Pumping to start 2/23/08. PRI Show/SFI/MT Tires - Roy Creel to attend as a rep. 18" Tires if anyone is interested call Roy Creel right away. They are approximately $800 each plus shipping. These are 18" rim, 26 �" diameter streamliner tires. The 18” x 30” are still in stock as of one month ago. Rule Book; All the ad space is sold and they are just waiting for Lee Kennedy to provide pictures of roll cage and verify one record before the book can go to print. El Mirage Property Report - New building has a leak in the roof and a hole in the back of the building that needs fixing. Well shed is done and the water valve is ok. Tiny's trailer got a new window to fix the leak. The water quality of the well is still very bad. We need a volunteer to manage SCTA property for 2008. West End Grading - Wet Car Tech - Head Restraints - Hans - Hutchins - Look on website. ISP will cover your plates that attach to your roll cage in the helmet area. Send them pieces to be covered and they will send them back. ISP is on the web. Motorcycle Tech - Lots of first time callers. They have had 15 calls from people outside the U.S. on how they can run. Dana Wilson to get with "Focus" again to do the taxes. BNI Membership fee up $10 from $60 to $ 70. Timing Trailer - Wheel bearings & brakes need servicing. Mark Vigeant volunteered to do the work when the trailer is down in Irwindale. |
Reps meeting report: - February 2008, Minutes from January approved & passed. Treasurer's Report - Business as usual. BNI Report - BNI By-Laws have been revised, checked over by lawyers, and passed. They will be printed and handed out to the clubs. |
SCTA Dates: |
Bill Groak sent along a calendar for events at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona: |
March Meet, March 7-9, 2008. This year is special: they are celebrating 50 years of racing. Auto Club Famoso Raceway, 33559 Famoso Rd, McFarland, CA 93250 (20 miles north of Bakersfield). |
I don’t know if you’re aware of the upcoming inaugural Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance in Palm Springs, California. It will be held on March 1, 2008 at the historic O’Donnell Golf Course. They are accepting cars up to February 28th, if you are interested in participating. In addition to the concours their will be a tour on February 29, 2008 with a visit to the Bob Pond Collection. Here’s a short description from their website at www.desertconcours.com – In creating the inaugural Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, we are stepping back in time. The California sports car races of the 1950s were unparalleled social events that cultivated automotive enthusiasm in a post war America. These road races were the training ground for a generation of bigger than life drivers, piloting what have become today's most celebrated competition collector cars. The wicker basket festivities of the Paddock and Parking area of the races have evolved into the modern Concours. The focus of post-war enthusiasm were the races at Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Paramount Ranch, Torrey Pines, Pomona, Riverside and of course through the Del Monte Forest. The grids were filled with the MGs & Jaguars, Alfa Romeos & Oscas, Bristols & Healeys, Aston Martins & Allards, Kurtis & Corvettes, Ferraris & Maseratis, Porsches & Cal specials that defined an era. The Paddocks were filled with Sunbeam Alpines & Mercedes Gull-wings, MG Magnettes & Fiat sedans, Buick Roadmasters & Chevy Nomads. All with a tartan blanket, tool box, sandwiches and thermos. In the Parking area were the great automobiles of the pre-war era: Bugattis & Bentleys, Packards & Rolls Royce, Duesenbergs & Delahayes, Delages & Isotta Fraschinis, Hispanos & Cadillacs, all pulled out of the garage for a weekend of driving and social activity. The Desert Concours d'Elegance will reflect this Pits, Paddock and Parking area spirit in the way the cars are displayed on the O’Donnell Golf Course. The teams of participating judges are a discerning bunch, who currently set the standards for Concours events internationally. Maserati will be the featured Marque. This sentimental favorite will be showcased in its many competition cars from the 1950s, its superb road cars thereafter, to the firm's current examples of road going superlatives. If you have any questions the organizers can be contacted at [email protected] . Edward R. Justice, Jr, President & CEO, Justice Brothers, Inc, 2734 Huntington Drive / Duarte, California 91010. 626-359-9174 / 626-357-2550 FAX, website: www.justicebrothers.com. |
We have some very important information to pass along to all of you who may be buying a car online. We have heard of two instances where buyers thought they were buying cars in Canada and actually wired money, $30k in one case and $100k in another case and it turned out there was no car, these were experienced car buyers and even they were fooled. The guy was a scammer and knew how to talk "the talk" to these car buyers and now these guys are pretty much out their money. These were NOT cars on Hotrodhotline.com. They were on two other online publications and I must tell you that when these publications were notified they would not even give out the information they did have available to them regarding the seller, citing privacy policies. That would not happen here, if our visitors are being ripped off we would cooperate fully with you. There are some important safeguards that may help you avoid being scammed, see www.hotrodhotline.com. Mary Ann Lawford |
Leslie Long is working on a comprehensive history and result sheet for the Santa Ana Drags, from the opening date in 1950 to the close of the drag strip. He is looking for photographs and result sheets and for first hand help in identifying the cars, drivers and spectators. If you can help, call Leslie at 714-921-1814. NHRA announcer, Bob Frey, has a personal hobby of saving and recording every drag race every run. He has a huge collection of result sheets and is looking for more. While this concerns the early days of drag racing, we should also work to find all the result sheets of dry lakes and land speed racing records set by all the various national and international sanctioning bodies; i.e. SCTA, FIA, Russetta, Western, Muroc, Bell, etal. |
Members: Jonathan Amo, Brett Arena, Henry Astor, Gale Banks, Glen Barrett, Mike Bastian, Lee Blaisdell, Jim Bremner, Warren Bullis, George Callaway, Gary Carmichael, John Chambard, Jerry Cornelison, G. Thatcher Darwin, Jack Dolan, Ugo Fadini, Bob Falcon, Rich Fox, Glenn Freudenberger, Don Garlits, Bruce Geisler, Stan Goldstein, Andy Granatelli, Walt James, Wendy Jeffries, Ken Kelley, Mike Kelly, Bret Kepner, Kay Kimes, Jim Lattin, Mary Ann and Jack Lawford, Fred Lobello, Dick Martin, Ron Martinez, Tom McIntyre, Don McMeekin, Bob McMillian, Tom Medley, Jim Miller, Don Montgomery, Bob Morton, Mark Morton, Paula Murphy, Louise Ann Noeth, Frank Oddo, David Parks, Richard Parks, Wally Parks (in memoriam), Eric Rickman, Willard Ritchie, Roger Rohrdanz, Evelyn Roth, Ed Safarik, Frank Salzberg, Dave Seely, Charles Shaffer, Mike Stanton, David Steele, Doug Stokes, Bob Storck, Zach Suhr, Maggie Summers, Gary Svoboda, Pat Swanson, Al Teague, JD Tone, Jim Travis, Randy Travis, Jack Underwood and Tina Van Curen, Richard Venza. |
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