My hot rod story started in 1954, while in the fifth grade, I purchased "Street Rod” a book offered by the Bantam book club.... Then, my older brother and buddies chopped a forty in the driveway, by age eleven I had become a street rod addict.... When offered the opportunity to relocate to San Fernando Valley in 1961, I cooperated when my Mother told me I could buy any car I wanted to pay for.... I bought a full fender 32 Roadster from "Andy Andrews, House of Originals" in the fall of 1962.

Andy was the sponsor for Dick Landy Dodge and was located at the corner of Van Nuys and Ventura.... The car was from Orange County, was nicely finished with a 59 Corvette engine and T-10 trans....It was a pleasure to drive, even in Fernando with no freeways... I drove and drove for days in total ecstasy. Eventually, while in a newly developed sub division in Newhall an older man ran down his drive and stopped me....

He wanted to look over my roadster as he thought it might be his old car or perhaps his wife's as “we both had one, Mine black with red and my wife's red with black”... Seeing the look on my face… he decided that I needed to come in and meet the wife... The house was new, and the large family room had no room on the walls due to all the trophy's... I met Vida and took the shop tour seeing the boat tail speedster and the Grandson’s "A" with a Hemi....

I was greatly impressed an yet had no idea really how big these two were in the So-Cal car culture... I took a business card, which I keep all these years and after reading several bio's in rod magazines realized what an opportunity it had been to have met Carl and Vida Orr.... I went to an L.A. Roadster club meeting and parked my roadster a block away as I was concerned about meeting the standards of the big dogs in the L.A. Roadsters....

Near the end of the meeting, Norm Gorbooski burst in wearing a full set of leathers with all the stars and bangles and a leather aviation cap... He was teased about attending the meeting and having no roadster as he had sold his "T" roadster... He ask for volunteers to ride in his new roadster, on the after meeting cruise to Tuluka Lake. Bob but found no takers but me... So I rode in a motorcycle sidecar made of a T-bucket body....
I Cruised to L.A. and checked out Von Dutch who was working on rocket powered roller skates in a small garage

Started the Showman Car Club at Monroe High out in San Fernando... Made annual runs to Montana in the roadster in the early 60’s during high school before rod runs and, before my neighbor Tex Smith discover that gold mine... I did the valley car scene and made visits to see all the big dogs shops ... I always admired these early guys and consider my self a "first generation wanna be"... Later I moved back to my home town of Yakima, Washington and built cars... 

I kept my roadster with the help of Mom and Buddy Dave Bethard’s of Camarillo, California and drug it around, some times as a trailer for tools in transport.... My response to those who would comment “if I had that car" would be "if you had that car you would have sold it years ago"... While occupying a shop in Yakima some neighbor kids became good friends... One kid, a cousin of my neighbors from the coast, with a dead Dodge Charger in the driveway, offered me his Grandmother's last car.... It was a clean 49 Plymouth, 4 door....

Kurt and his cousin Billy had broke the motor, in what had become their party car, and it was headed for the bone yard.... I cut the rear 3/4 off the back of the top, and constructed a steel top for the roadster from it.... Then later Kurt "wasted" the $1500, on a Strato caster and speakers...Kurt, Billy and the neighbor kid put on a concert for about six of their homies, myself included, in the Uncles garage.... This young man later went on to be the lead for Nirvana... So now I tell people I have a deuce roadster with a Cobain top.... I’ve got to call the car NIRVANA.... I still have the car and recently finished rebuilding the frame to except the 283 c.i., 4-speed and also can switch to a fresh 59 AB flathead and Ford top loader.... First Generation, Old School, Dennis Pierce, Moxee, Washington

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