Jimmy’s 1934 Ford Pickup
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The now-famous ‘34 pickup was bought from Toby Brown back in 1997. Price: $500.00
Jimmy started the project by taking it to SO-CAL Speed Shop on a home-built flatbed trailer. Upon arrival, some of the guys said “Well, it’s already on a trailer and the dump is only a few more miles up the road!” Lesson? Hard work and passion prevails. Built over many years—as projects like these often evolve—this one began with a cab, an original ‘34 chassis, ‘33 commercial grille, the top halves of each door, an original firewall from friend John Carambia, a ‘39 Ford transmission, a ‘41 Ford “banjo” rearend, a ’49 Ford flathead built by Mike Gilbert and countless other discarded early Ford parts. Jimmy spent many nights welding, grinding and hitting old metal with hammers.
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The truck graced the cover of Rodders Journal in 2001, featured in raw steel and in non-running condition. At the time, nobody saw the aftermath it would spawn coming. Over the many years following, it has been the subject of more than its fair share of magazines all over the world, with air time on numerous TV shows as well. The truck has traveled many miles on the highway and will continue for a long time to come. Jimmy sold the 1934 truck at the Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrett-Jackson auction in January of 2015 for $215,000. The new owner is Chris McPhie out of the Akron, Ohio-area. The sale was a necessary evil to allow Shine to finance this personal hot rod shop, the ‘Jimmy Shine Work Shop’. The truck will always be missed.
ERNIE Ladner’s 1930 Model A
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Ernie Ladner (Jimmy’s father-in-law) bought this original ‘A’-bodied Ford roadster on original Deuce rails late one night up in the San Fernando Valley. Cool car, open headers, super loud, cash deal done in a dimly-lit apartment building hallway—all the ear marks of a shady deal. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
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Ernie and Jimmy drove it back to the safety of Orange County late that night and began an overhaul of the little ‘A’. Matt Hegwood did the rebuild of the 350 Chevy and T-5 transmission. Larry Fulton handled the tri-power carbs. Joe and Jay Kennedy applied the black paint job while Ron Mangus went to work on the white vinyl tuck-and-roll interior. Decisions were made to run a “kick stand”-style exhaust, Superbell front axle, early Ford banjo out back, ‘35 Ford wire wheels and Firestone rubber on each corner—including motorcycle tires up front for a nice rounded, matching tread.
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All killer, no filler. This car was sold and now resides in the Chicago, Illinois area.
Flinger 1934 Coupe
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Denny Falschlehner, a.k.a. “FLINGER” (Jimmy’s dad), originally bought this coupe back in ‘59 for $100.
So the story goes, Sam Barris had done the chop in ’51—a fact that has never been 100% verified. It is also rumored to have raced on the Bonneville Salt Flats and El Mirage dry lake, powered by a S.C.O.T.-blown flathead Ford. When he got it, the car contained a blown-up 303 c.i. Oldsmobile engine, a ‘39 crash box and wasn’t running at all. That reality was soon to change. Denny got to work and built another 303 c.i. Olds but instead bolted it to a built Hydro transmission and an Olds rearend. The gravel driveway of his parents house was the build location. A rented ARC welder wasn’t ideal either but a kid has to do whatever necessary. Once the car was on the road again, it would be awhile before paint since he did the body work himself. Leo’s Auto Body in Temple City was the place for paint. Three coats of Roman Red lacquer were applied at $100 a coat. The coupe saw a lot of drag strip action and also some street racing.
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Denny sold the coupe for $1,500 in ‘63 to the Mayor of Temple city, who’d bought it for his son. Denny lost track of the ‘34 after a few years, and later, spent more trying to find it again. Thankfully, it surfaced in 2003—40 years after he sold it! A true ‘Cinderella story’, he was able to make a deal with owner George Wilson. George knew how far gone the car was in its current state and needed someone like Denny to preserve the car and not cut it up. Only then would it to be returned to its former glory. Working with his son Jimmy, the two spent years collecting the right parts and building the ones that couldn’t be located. Eight years into it and she was fired up and drove around the building at SO-CAL Speed Shop the first time in 48 years. The ‘34 still has a way to go but has already logged countless miles now powered by the 6-71 blown 324 c.i. Olds that Denny had always wanted. It has also been drag raced in Texas at “Day Of The Drags” where he got the coupe in the 100 MPH Club and also the “Mooneyes Drags” in Irwindale, California.
Paint and bobbed fenders will come in time—hey, if he can hold out for almost 50 years to see his dream car come to life, what’s another year or two?
Billy Gibbon’s 3 Window
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Front man for the band ZZ Top, Billy F. Gibbons has always had an eye for early ‘30’s Ford coupes. Billy found this 3-window in the works over at friend Rudy Rodriguez’s shop and had to have it. The coupe had a serious Bonneville chop and all the right parts, next stop was SO-Cal Speed Shop to make some sparks and smoke.
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Pete Chapouris donated a very rare ‘46 331 c.i. pre-production Cadillac motor to the project. A turbo 350 transmission was modified to fit, and of course, a Halibrand banjo rearend to push it along. Jimmy became the project manager and worked closely with both Billy and Pete. Ideas are never in short supply and sometimes the more obscure ones actually work. Case in point: the “cyclops” light idea that came to Billy in a dream. Yup, a dream. The 24 Volt part itself came from an unknown aircraft landing system. Some wiring tricks were used to make that work! The car has many “one-off” features and is very unique but still not complete.
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Billy chose to have the car in primered form play center stage in ZZ Top’s ‘I Gotsta Get Paid’ music video (below). The car was also featured in the Grand Lobby of the 2014 SEMA Show and will be featured again for 2015’s event in finished form.
Devine’s 1932 Roadster
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This ‘32 Ford roadster had been a burning ember in the mind of John Devine for many years.
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The body is a Brookville and the chassis components are SO-Cal Speed Shop—some of them heavily modified, per the discerning eye of Mr. Devine. An LS3 engine topped with an MSD Atomic E.F.I. system was put through a TREMEC 5-speed and mated to a 9” Ford rearend.
SO-Cal wheels on Excelsior tires complete the visual. The modified DuVall windshield has the center bar incorporated into the hood hinge over the cowl and even ties into the “bullnose” on the grille shell. The burgundy paint, cinnamon Ultra Leather interior and 30‘s-era Chevrolet olive drab accents make John’s roadster really stand out in a sea of fine automobiles.
MICHAEL SINACOLA'S 1934 FORD TRUCK
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Michael started building this truck when he was just 13 years old. An idea in his head and help from many including a local hot rod shop in his home town of Dallas, Texas he was able to drive it for the first time in 2005 and take it to the Detroit Autorama where he won 1st place best in class. Not being the man to let good enough be enough, Mike changed many ideas of how and what he wanted the truck to ultimately be. He contacted Jimmy and rest is history, we chopped the front end down 4 ½” to make it shorter, a new hood with 13 louvers and a “blister” to conceal the 3 Stromberg carburetors, ladder bars and wishbones, a bell crank-thru chassis steering assembly, 18” milk truck rims on Firestone Dirt Tack tires. Powder coated chassis and suspension by Pacific Coast Powder Coating. A hot 277 inch flathead backed up to a Tremec TKO 500 5-speed trans then sent sideways through a Halibrand Quick Change. Gabe Lopez did his magic on the interior and finished in “Cognac” German leather from Relicate . . . .
Ernie Nagamatsu – the Bob Spurgin / Chuck Giovannine Roadster
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This 1925 Chevrolet roadster was built back in the mid 1940’s and raced at the S.C.T.A. events out on the dry lakes such as El Mirage, Muroc and Harpers. In 1948 the car was untouchable and set records with every pass. Lost to the years Dr. Ernie was able to track it down and buy the dilapidated remnants with which to restore. The car was finished in time to make the invitation to Pebble Beach Concourse where she won 1st place in the vintage American built race car class. The engine is a 1925 Chevy with a 1926 Oldsmobile head, they made their own rods, pistons, cam, oil pump drive and even the rockers. It ran on alcohol and 16:5:1 compression with gas welded carburetor bodies by Duke Hallock . . . quite the formidable machine! In 2016 the car came out of the display at the S.C.T.A. museum and the J.S.W.S. was commissioned to make the car run and drive. . . . stay tuned as the time approaches that she once again runs across the flat desert of El Mirage and sings a song that only that little motor can sing.
Ernie Nagamatsu –
Shelby Cobra CSX 2203
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Yes, it is a real one . . . everybody asks. Dr. Ernie and his wife Elaine have owned and raced this car for nearly 40 years! A factory 289 4-speed car that has seen many a track and still races to this day. The J.S.W.S. has been working closely with Ernie and improving the performance of the car all the while adhering to the rules of the sanctioning bodies. An all Ford, all iron, solid cam, stamped rocker, 306 cubic inch engine by John Beck of Pro Machine in Chico California provides the power. The original 48 IDA Weber carburetors from Bologne, Italy are the real deal, prepped by Jack Sachette of Jaycee in Santa Ana. Big thanks to Rich Waitas and MAGNAFLOW for the custom engineered exhaust system and also Don Armstrong of U.S. Radiator who replicated the original race radiator that unfortunately blew up . . . . This car is heading to Phillip Island in Australia to be a guest at the race and run with the pack!
Randy Kunkle 1961 Pro Touring T-Bird “El Pajaro Malo” . . . the bad bird
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Randy’s Aunt Bea bought this car brand new in 1961 and was the favorite ride of Randy’s when he was a young boy. When Aunt Bea passed away a few years back Randy inherited the car and had to decide what his favorite Aunt would want him to do with it . . . . he decided a fire breathing monster for the street was the calling. The J.S.W.S. was the destination and a full kill tube chassis was built within the confines of the factory uni-body construction. Paul Bosserman was given the task as “father of the project” and was able to work closely with Jimmy and Randy to complete the vision. Allen Bessant built the Inglese stack injected 427 Ford and its hooked to a C-6 trans and Gear Vendors O.D. But wait . . . there’s more. The horn buttons on the steering wheel are now the controls for the paddle shift. . . . . and the steering wheel is still the O.G. with the “swing away” feature. Theresa Contreras and crew did the paint at LGE/CTS in San Dimas and Todd Aho stitched the black leather interior . . . . coming to a stop light near you soon.
Gus Orendain 1967 C-10 Chevrolet Truck
Gus Orendain 1967 C-10 Chevrolet Truck
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This truck was given to Gus by his father back when Gus was in his first year of high school. Gus and his then girlfriend Tanya ( now wife and mother to their son Alex ) would rattle back and forth to school and around town as a young couple. Gus always thought he would someday build the dream truck he always wanted from the bones of this special truck. The day came, a phone call to the Shine speed shop was made, the stock chassis was the first part to arrive on a flatbed trailer and sparks and fire commenced! A stock frame but we added a drop center cross-member, tubular control arms, disc brakes on all 4 corners, drop coils that brought us down 6” and 4”, a 20 gallon fuel tank between the rails, all parts powder coated by Pacific Coast Powder Coating, and riding on 20” MOBSTEEL rims by Adam Genai. Toyo tires provide the traction to hook up the crate 350 Chevy engine ( 405 HP and 385 torque ) through a 4L70-E transmission. The engine is detailed to look as though it was plucked right out of the 60’s and even has the air cleaner off of Gus’s brothers Chev. Painted at RMD Group, by Ralph Holguin who did the awesome custom paint work and Upholstery by Deluxe interiors... As of 10/22 pushing to debut at SEMA
Pat Nevin . . . “the Five Six"
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The grandma 56 Chevy 2 door 150 post is the sleeper creeper mochine of Pat’s minds eye. Pat found this car while he was looking for one. The car had once belonged to Jackie Howerton and then Steve Moal. A “cupcake” of a car that was always well taken care of, we promptly cut the suspension out of it and installed a 4-bar and coil over 9” Ford then carefully knocked in the mini wheel tubs for some room to place the Halibrand 10” hoops on Hoosiers. A custom 3” MAGNAFLOW exhaust system barks like an angry dog! The engine? . . . some kind of LS and some discreet tweaking has taken place but don’t know for sure as Pat doesn’t tell me. Smells funny. Two sets of shoes for this girl as we have the Halibrands and some factory looking steelies from Wheelsmith that sport the stock “poverty” caps. I think Pat’s middle name might be Falfa . . . . get it?
Brett Irving 1930 Ford Model “A” pickup truck
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Longtime friend and fellow hot rodder / Harley bike guy and also one who puts out fires in places fires shouldn’t be ( he’s a Fireman ). Anyway, Brett picked up this bone stock “A” pickup a few years back after he sold his 1952 Chevy truck that he bought from me 25 years ago, wouldn’t sell back to me, then one day he decided to sell it and I wasn’t on his call list . . . I’m not bitter. Vengeance will be mine. Brett and I talked about the build and the smartest decision was to do the chassis with a So-Cal Speed Shop roller that we all worked on to develop over the years. Brett decided that a 1956 Cadillac 365 was the engine of choice and we were able to mate it to a 700-R4. The core build is being done here at the J.S.W.S. so it can be taken home for the family to complete together, wife Laura and their daughter Castle to enjoy finishing the details. . . . . still on the table is to chop or not to chop? The proportions of this machine with the full fenders is so spot on, an exercise in restraint this will be.