Metalworking and Burnouts With Custom Car Legend

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I can’t let another day go by without sharing about my amazing past weekend! Yes, I was at Gene Winfield’s. Yes, I learned a gazillion metalworking tips from a legend. Yes, I even did my very first burnout.

Let me start at the beginning though… Early Saturday morning I stumble out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and jump in Stude for the hour and a half drive up to Mojave, CA. My Dad makes the trek there from Vegas and we meet at Roadhouse Mikes – just the sort of greasy spoon you’d expect in a small desert town. With full bellies we head eight miles down the road to Gene Winfield’s. We’re signed up for Gene’s bi-yearly metalworking workshop.

By 9 o’clock Gene is busy acquainting all 10 participants with the various tools around his shop. Among the tools are a slip roll,  english wheel, beverly shears, pipe anvil, bead roller, and dozens of hammers, dollys, and dies. Soon Gene is fully absorbed into teaching us about various metals, chopping customs, gas welding, breaking an edge, and hammer forming metal. (You’ll have to come back for how-to articles!)

After nearly 10 hours of class, we all call it a day! My Dad and I head off to eat at Domingo’s – one our favorite restaurant stops over in Boron, a nearby town. On Sunday class was no different, by the time I rolled in a few minutes after 9 it was already underway. Sunday we covered topics like hole repair, hammer welding, sectioning a car, and making louvers. You’re gonna have to keep your eye out at MyRideisMe.com for articles on everything I learned!

 I even got to try my hand at leading and aluminum welding! I felt right at home leading, it seemed much funner then applying Bondo. And during my first try at wire welding, my welding line looked pretty hot before I burned that hole!

As class wound down, most everybody said goodbye and drove off into the desert sunset. But I still had one thing I wanted to accomplish. Back in October when my tire blew, my hubcap was crumbled. My attempts to get it even enough to fit back on my rim were unsuccessful. I was sure some of Gene’s special hammers and dies could even out my hubcap (I’ve been unable to identify what make/year it was to look for a replacement.) Always the perfectionist, Gene wouldn’t let me bang on it, but rather took to the job himself. And did it get fixed? We’re talking about Gene Winfield here people! That hubcap looks nearly brand new and is fit securely back onto my tire – never to roll off and hit a Mercedes door again!

This weekend wasn’t over yet! One of the guys who works for Gene offered to tune my Holley carb. After making some adjustments we took it out for a test drive. I was given the directions to “give it as much throttle as I would” and it didn’t take Bart long to realize that I’m a pretty conservative driver! So we switch places and he takes off atfull throttle, a velocity I have never felt in my Studebaker! We then decided that Studey should experience her first burnout. With a stroked Chevy 383, 700R4 trans, and Ford 9″ rear she’s made for this stuff. Bart started her with a nice couple of burnouts and then we switched places again. After a short explanation of power-braking it was time for me to put the lesson into practice. I’m not sure if it was my first or second try…but I got some nice rubber tracks on that desert road!

By this time the sun had long-ago set and it was time for my weekend at Gene’s to end. Pulling out from his place though I realized Studey just wasn’t right. In fact, she wasn’t even shifting out of first! I go back, we check a few things, I try again. I go back, we check a few more things, and I try again. No good. So, yes… I was stranded. But at least I was stranded at Gene Winfield’s! Monday was spent exploring the transmission and checking into things (as well as checking out more of the cool things around Gene’s place…like the Winfield original – The Reactor!) After digging my fingernails into my transmission, I have two things to say about it… Why don’t transmission oil pans have empty valves??? and Yikes… transmissions are scary!!! All of the copper bits in Stude’s oil gave a very solemn clue as to what’s wrong…it seems my 700R4 needs a rebuild.

The next morning I waved goodbye to Studey as I took the train back to LA. I’m hoping this next adventure of getting a trans rebuild goes well… because I fear burnouts may be addictive!

Keep your eye out at MyRideisMe.com for more articles from Gene’s workshop as well as plenty more learning adventures from yours truly, GreaseGirl ;)

50th to 60th Grand National Roadster Show

Written by Len Stupski

I moved to the Bay area in 1996 and attended the 1997 & 1998 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). As good as they were, nothing prepared me for the 50th Anniversary show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco that next year in 1999. As I set my eyes upon the main floor my jaw dropped down to my shoulders. Just about every previous America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) winner right there in one spot. Awesome!!. Then, scattered throughout the rest of the building were more and more dynamite cars, built by guys like Bill Reasoner, Gene Winfield, Dave Crook, Marcos Garcia and many other great craftsmen. Saying hello to Big Daddy Roth was a great highlight of the event. After taking in all the colors, the chrome and history I vowed to be at the 60th show, God willing.

Fast forward ten years and I’m living in Gilbert, AZ, and the show is being held much closer now in Pomona, CA. Pure chance? I don’t think so…. perhaps God shares my love of cars.

Early Saturday morning I pile into Pikesan’s car with my son Brian and new friend Paul “Swanee” and head west on I-10. Along the way we catch up to Jimmy Smith and Boston Mike and caravan into Pomona. We stopped for some much needed coffee, oversized breakfast and a quick lesson in water glass safety. (a story for another time, perhaps) All finished we head to the main gate and wait anxiously in line.

As I pass through the turnstile it’s like “Wow…” I’m the farm kid on his first visit to the big city. The show encompasses eight buildings full of cars and has even more cars parked outside in between all the buildings. We head for building 5, and the first car we stop to look at is the ‘52 Buick, “Resilience” designed by my son Brian and built by Tim Strange & the crew from Strange Motion. So, when I finally stopped drooling over this Motorama-styled beauty and shoved my eyes back into their sockets I took off to see the rest of the cars.

So many cars and so little time. Did I mention I was there for two days? This had to be the finest collection of automotive art I have ever witnessed. Masterpieces by Foose, Cotati Speed Shop (talk about fit & finish), D’Agostino et al. blew me away. There was a dynamite ‘61 Impala from Stockholm, Sweden, the recovered Orbitron of Roth lore and the fantastic tributes to the late Boyd Coddington, Dick Dean and ‘Lil John Buttera. Then a trip to the “Twice in a Lifetime” display which featured winners from the ’50’s thru the ’00s. It was great to see the late Ermie Immeroso’s multi AMBR winner which I first saw in Buffalo, NY in 1989, the Hansen’s 2005 winner “Seduced” and so many many beautiful cars. I could go on forever.

Sadly it was time to hit the road. During the drive back to Gilbert I took some time to reflect and compare the 50th to the 60th show. And when I really look back and think about how well done the cars shown in 1999 were, the new paint concepts introduced, the styling by the trendsetters of that era, I realized how they had raised the bar of excellence. Then when I look at the things being done today with the tremendous advances in technology, paint, computer driven machinery to make “one off” parts I can say that a new and higher bar has been set. The 60th Anniversary GNRS has surpassed any level previously known to man and automobile. I can’t wait to see what happens at number 70.

Len Stupski

Hot Rod Indie Film Made by Faith

I caught up with Faith Granger the lady behind the Hot Rod movie, “Deuce of Spades”. Not long ago, I told you more about her in this Blog, but I left out some critical details to the readers at MyRideisMe.com:

She owns a really cool vintage styled 32 hot rod herself and it’s the star of Deuce of Spades and more importantly… Damn! She’s good-lookin too!

Faith wrapped-up the shooting of the painstakingly accurate 40 nostalgia scenes for the movie back in December. Don’t forget this is an independent film done almost entirely by Faith. Any major film company who can make period correct 1950 come alive deserves credit and this is practically a one woman show.

Now, Faith is shooting the scenes when the movie’s back in present time. The first of the 2008 scenes featured hot rod and custom builder Gene Winfield as fictional character “El Mirage George”!! This was filmed live at the last SCTA meet and features quite a few cool race cars.

Faith’s been whispering so many great things about what’s to come including a SoCal drive-in movie premier and hopefully a chance at other drive-in’s around the country. There’s no doubt that would be the perfect place to watch this movie.

Until the films release (I’ll keep you posted!) here are a couple promo shots from the movie. Should I put these in the pinup section or what?

Also, here’s another clip from the movie called “The Jalopy Race.”