Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hot Rod Kid Artist From The 1950's

As someone who has had thousands of vintage car magazines pass through his hands, one of the neat unexpected surprises while thumbing through them is discovering what was not originally part of the magazine.

 I find index cards with notes, receipts, clippings, and once in awhile, I find some kid's dream hot rod, drawn back in the day, inspired by the magazine in front of him. 
Here's a couple...




I like the way this guy thinks. Classic 1932 Ford style, with a Duvall windshield. Or maybe it's a 27, since he seems to have an affinity for the early grille. The mismatched flipper caps on the coupe back wheels versus the front steelies is a bold touch!

Then there's this solo effort...



Again, this guy digs his custom-look windshields. This is a chopped down stock-look, maybe hinting that this is a "coupester", or top-removed, coupe-turned-roadster. He seems to have love for the double-pot carb set-up, also. The square inset is something I've puzzled over, and I still don't know what the color-cues refer to. Chances are it was his "real" homework that he should have been paying attention to.

 I look on these as mini-time capsules, missives from a distant day when a high-schooler was sitting in the back of biology class, his notebook hidden by an upturned text book, scratching away on the cheap paper at his real dream; not to memorize the stupid elements table, but to be out on the back-country road, outside of town where the local cops don't patrol, listening to the quick blub-blub-blub of his flattie-powered Model A coupester as the late afternoon gives way to cricket chirps and the soft cooling breeze of the early Summer evening...

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