Waterlogged Trog
WET.Mother Nature tried to ruin the first West Coast TROG, but hot rodders intent on racing wouldn’t let a little water spoil their fun.
Well, OK, it was more than just a little water. But racing went on, regardless.
The Race of Gentlemen, or TROG, is a phenomenon that started in 2012 when the Oilers CC/MC—a resurrected version of the dry-lakes-era club blessed by original founding member Jim Nelson—held its first drag race on the Jersey shore. The Oilers were looking for a dynamic antidote to the usual parking lot car shows, while bringing back the spirit of beach racing in the years leading up to WWII.
What they have created is so much more than just an eighth mile drag race in the sand. TROG is a total time machine, with a lot of effort spent on period correctness. Entry vehicles can be no newer than late-’40s-style cars and bikes, hopped up with period speed equipment (later flatheads are OK, overhead-valve engines aren’t). The racers themselves wear gear appropriate for the era, and photographers at the start line are issued vintage-style coveralls to better blend in with the vibe. Race signage is rendered on canvas or wood in the style of the period; even the bar in the spectator area sells “libations,” not beer and wine.
We first heard that TROG was coming west from Bobby Green, whose Old Crow Speed Shop is a temple to this same retro immersion. Bobby partnered with Oilers member Mel Stultz, who spearheaded TROG in New Jersey, and they planned to hold the first TROG West on Central California’s Pismo Beach in October, “when the weather is just right,” said the TROG website.
This story is from the March 2017 edition of Hot Rod Deluxe.
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This story is from the March 2017 edition of Hot Rod Deluxe.
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Cal, Nick & T-33
REBORN.
Backstage Past Part 10:1963
This Glendale, California, photo session produced the Bob D’Olivo (behind camera, right) transparency that became one of HOT ROD’s most-artistic covers.
Travellin Deuce
A stock height windshield, in conjunction with a body that’s been channeled the full width of the frame, gives the ex–De Fillipi/La Masa ’32 roadster a chunky, almost perky appearance. Discrete lakes pipes peek out beneath the framerails, just behind the firewall. In the mid-’50s, the lakes plugs exited (curiously) in front of the rear wheels.
back to basics
bountiful. the ’32 ford has become the quintessential hot rod, thanks to its good looks and the fact that the model year coincided with ford’s release of a v-8 engine in addition to the reliable four-cylinder.
Nothing Screwy About It
In this space in the Sept. ’16 issue I wrote about several topics, including the Screwdrivers car club of Culver City, California, and whether or not the famous cocktail was named after the club.
Blue Bird
Fathers. The plan was this: My son Sebastian and I had just finished one of many restorations, the Blood Sweat & Gears 1948 Prefect.
Mark of Excellence
Tilt. Somewhere in a small farming town in central Illinois is a garage with a couple of car builders who live in a time warp that starts and ends in the 1960s.
his purple passion
eli english was a grade schooler when he first spotted this '34 couple peering through the open doors of a local garage. thirty years later, he got to work on this period-perfect late-'50s hot rod and put her back on the road.
waterlogged trog
waterlogged trog
