Our friend Travis at Roy Boy Productions has a host of photos online, huge thank you for coming out and capturing the show!!
Here are a few of my favorites!
Category Archives: Photo
The Original Hot Rod Coverage – 1953 and 1954
The March 1954 HRM
The April 1955 HRM
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp191/Barn_Find_T/Hot%20Rod%20Hill%20Climb/HRM_1955_APR_025.jpg
2014 Hot Rod Hill Climb – Line-Up preview
Here is a quick glimse of the line up, some of the cars you will see at the Hot Rod Hill Climb!
T-33 Chevy Roadster
T-33
This is a short Photo essay on T-33, the Hot Rod Cal Kennedy and Don Scroggs campaigned during the 50’s at drag races and the Hot Rod Hill Climbs.
These photos are posted on our Instagram page, seach #t33build for more photos.
While investigating the Hot Rod Hill Climb in 2013, I met Cal Kennedy, he was at both the 1953 and 1954 Hot Rod Hill Climb events. His racing partner was Don Scroggs at those events, Don has been gone many years now, but his son Dave runs in our local hot rod circle.
Cal Kennedy downtown Georgetown getting ready to take on the hill. This photo by Ted Spencer was in Hot Rod Magazine March 1954.
Don Scroggs taking on the climb in the now Wayne powered Roadster. This photo by Ted Spencer was in Hot Rod Magazine April 1955.
Photos from Cal’s scrap book, the top is at the dirt drag strip that the Colorado Springs Cam Winders club ran in the 50’s.
I had this crazy thought that T-33 should be recreated again, and with the help of Dave Scroggs, Tom Wentworth, Phil Trill and so many more, the car has started to take shape.
Cal and his friends rallied with Encouragement and Support to get the old Wayne motor breathing again.
Cal and his life LuAnne brought the Wayne motor to Nick’s Garage so Mike could put it in the chassis.
Cal firing up the Wayne motor for us with the zoomies
We got the Motor in the chassis for the Inliners International Convention
The State of the car 3 weeks before the 2014 Hot Rod Hill Climb, Cal came to take a look and tell us some stories.
The Before and After progress shot of what we started with and what we have now.
You can also check out the T-33 Fan Page on Facebook.
Legend Don Joy
I wrote this in March as a tribute to my dear friend Don, commemorating his life and the love he had for “the Vic”. I often refer to the relationship the two had with the Hot Rod Hill Climb as bookends. At age 17 Don had the Vicky in Georgetown for the first Hot Rod Hill Cilmb in 1953, shortly after he pulled the flathead heart beat out of it and the Vicky followed him life-less during his years of career, family and children. Until he finally devoted a few years to see his girl all dressed in red, the way he had always dreamed her to be, that was 2005. It was a joy to have Don drive the Vicky to Georgetown September 2013 for the 60th Anniversary event, it was a bookend that marked the 62 years those two shared.
Remembering Don Joy
1934-2014
Don Joy’s battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is over. He passed away March 1st, 2014 in his home. It only seems appropriate that he wait until March being that was his page in the calendar (pictured below). Shockingly (or not), Don’s calendar in his kitchen had been hanging on March since November when I delivered it to him.
Last year on my hunt for information on the 1953 Hot Rod Hill Climb, nearly everyone that I ran into asked, “Have you talked to Don Joy?” Don was not shy about letting people know he was there in 1953, in-fact his business card was emblazoned with that famous photo of him standing proudly by his 1932 Ford Victoria on Rose Street downtown Georgetown. On the flip side is Don 54 years later with his beloved bright red Vicky.
On our first in person meeting, like he did with everyone that asked about his car, he handed me this card. As the 2nd owner, and 62 years at that, he had every right to brag!
He was proud of his family and especially his grand daughters, his black labs and the Joy ranch in Evergreen where he spent much of his earlier years. We sat at the table flipping through his ‘Picture Books’ and laughed about his lifetime adventures. He had documented the life with ‘The Vic’ well.
He showed me a photo of him in the September 2010 Good Guys Gazette, and explained how he had to kick the guy in the shins to get his story and photo on paper, “Mike, how many people do you know that have owned a car for 62 years?” You see, it’s more than a shiny red Victoria, it is an amazing story of a boy and his lifelong partner.
I was lucky enough to hook Thom Taylor, he and his crew from Hot Rod Unlimited flew out to cover the 60th Anniversary event, see the video here. I let Don know I had some visitors that would like to meet him, we knocked on the door, Don poked his head out. “Don this is Thom Taylor from Hot Rod Magazine, he wants to see The Vic”, I said. Don looked him up and down, paused at the ‘Hot Rod Magazine Staff’ logo on the shirt. Now Don was no dummy, he subscribed to Hot Rod, he knew exactly who Thom Taylor was. Then he turned to me and said in his grumbuly voice, “Mike what have you done?” Ha Ha, it was priceless! You can read the article here.
A photo Thom took of the two that day, in the very garage Don re-built the Vicky.
He found ‘The Vic’ on South Pearl Street behind a service station. Don’s father told him he had to “sell the Cord to buy the Ford”, that was 1951, he joined the Strippers Car Club of Denver Colorado, built a ’48 flat head to 276ci backed by a 1940 Ford column shift trans (incidentally he pointed to that as the cause for not winning the 1953 hill climb). After his 1953 Hot Rod Hill Climb appearance he raced at Lowry Air Force base on Nov. 7, 1954 and was clocked at 72.46. Don went to school at CU Boulder with Jim Nielsen, during that time the motor was pulled out and sat for many years. In 1960 he started to fit the chassis with a Dodge Red Ram, after finding out the block was cracked he started to fit a BB Chrysler in the rails, it was now 1964. Don’s dad was a devout Chrysler man, with that in his blood Don finally settled on a Dodge 360 for ‘The Vic’. During the mid 2000’s Don was able to rebuild the Vick to the Bright Red version most of us have come to know. Don was an avid body man for years working over many British cars, he applied those skills and had the body painted. With help Jim Nielsen, Bill Rush, Gary Nardi, and so many more he was able to enjoy ‘The Vic’ in his Golden Age.
I’ve referred to this story as ‘Book Ends’, there were so many years in-between where the car was ‘on the shelf’, but the left and the right of that where Don’s Joy with ‘The Vic’.
I’m honored he packed the O2 bottles in September and drove himself up the hill to relive the Hot Rod Hill Climb 60 years later. Some sweet moments with Don were captured by Adam Reynolds in this video, a must watch. Enjoy.
God Speed my friend
* this article is a reprint from the March 2014 email – Join the list here
Another Hot Rod Hill Climb Legend
This adventure just keeps on giving.
Saturday July 19th I took my mother, in town from California, and my two boys to Green Mountain Falls, west of Colorado Springs, for the Thin Air Nationals. This was the 35th Annual event hosted by the Colorado Springs Rod and Custom (CSR&C) car club. These guys also staff the NSRA event in Pueblo, so they now how to put on a good show.
We stepped into the Pantry for lunch and Brain Anderson of the CSR&C spotted me. Brian and the club are HUGE supporters of the Hot Rod Hill Climb, he and the CSR&C club ran the tech inspection last year, and will do it again this year, along with hosting the Valve Cover Races (more here). Brain grabbed a stack of HRHC post cards and ran out the door, but before I sat down he was back! He had two very tall men behind him. Before I tell you anymore, I want you to know, I’ve been working really hard to round up as many living HRHC legends as I can, I’m going through old photos, programs, results etc to get names with faces and track these guys down.
Brain spit out, “Mike, this here is Cotton Warren and his son Spider”, he continued after catching his breath, “Cotton was at the original Hot Rod Hill Climbs!”
HA HA! All Of course I new the name! I’ve been looking for him! I stuck out my hand, the hand shake would have to wait, Dann “Spider” Warren handed me a framed photo of Cotton in front of his car on Rose Street in Georgetown 1953. The store front is now Troia’s Italian Restaurant. It would seem that they were looking for me too. Awesome. Cotton went right into how his flathead Vicky was the hottest of the times! (Seems everyone of the legends had the fastest hot rod around… ha ha)
There were two Vicky’s at the Hot Rod Hill Climb in 1953, Cotton’s fender-less one, and of course Don Joy’s with full fenders. What I found ironic is that the only photos I have with proud drivers posed in front of their Hot Rod’s, are the Vicky’s. Don proudly shared this photo on his business card (seen below).
After lunch we sat under the trees and I showed them the photos so many have shared with me.
While going through the album, I had this photo (below) that I gave to Cotton, Dann commented on the two boys sitting on the wooden sidewalk (upper left), “That may be my brother and I, we were there as a family with my mother too, I think I was 5 at the time”. Only a magnifying glass and a fortune teller could tell us for sure, I like the story and that’s the way I’m going to tell it! In the case you don’t know, the ‘W’ stood for Cam Winders of Colorado Springs, and if you noticed the photo above, Cottons plaque is mounted on the body above the fuel tank. The W2 car is that of Doug Cimino who would come back in 1954 with Ardun heads on the same coupe.
It was a pleasurable afternoon, and of course I encouraged them to come to the tribute 60th Anniversary Hot Rod Hill Climb event September 13th, 2014.
Join us.
New Jersey Represents!
We met Jim in 2013 at ‘The Race of Gentlemen” on the sands of the WildWoods!
Well, he’s coming to Colorado in September!
What is he bringing?
Hot Rod Details
1927 Ford Model T on a narrowed model a chassis
Hand built body
Model a banger dual carb aluminum Thomas head
Side drive magneto
Rear mounted water tank
Single seat
New Jersey Jim
1934 Ford Raced 1941 Lands End Hill Climb
Brothers Jim and Kent are bringing the recreation of their dads 1934 Hill Climb Car. The original car was raced at Lands End Hill Climb, south of Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1941 by their 26 year old dad. He competed against Louis Unser finishing 7th overall. The 1941 course had 212 turns over 14.5 miles, a 5,000 foot elevation gain to 10,300 feet. The race was AAA Sanctioned and had over 12,500 spectators.
The replica was hand built in 1982 by the original driver, Bob Baughman at 67 years old!
The car has a 1946 Mercury flathead backed by a 39 3 speed trans and a 4.11 ratio 1934 banjo out back.
We are thrilled they are coming to celebrate the 60th Anniversary with us!
Read more about the early years at Lands End here
Valve Cover Races – Rules
The Colorado Springs Rod and Custom Car Club is hosting a Valve Cover race following the feature Hot Rod Hill Climb Saturday September 13th, 2014.
1. Racer dimensions are
- Max Length 30”
- Max Width 10”
- Max Height 10”
- Max Weight 10 lbs
- Max Wheel Diam 6″
2. No Engine, propulsion or moving weights. Gravity is your friend
3. There must be a total of four wheels, either inside or outside of the valve cover
4. There must be a non metallic wheel surface contacting the track
Find out more about the Colorado Springs Rod and Custom Car Club here