1949 Studebaker Commander.

[tlap]

I haven't updated in a while, we've been taking the Studey to shows and gatherings and just enjoying cruising this thing.
Last week I finally got to take it to our local pin striper, Tim at Fast stripe.
I knew exactly what I wanted and that was to pay tribute to the men who started the drag race scene here in Santa Maria, Ca. back in the '50's.
One of our Bent Axle club members and long time president, Jerry Gaskill was drag racing at the Goleta airport until it shut down in the mid fifties.
Instead of traveling all the way to LA, he decided to open a drag strip here in Santa Maria on Foster road, then he opened another strip in San Luis Obispo on airport property.
The Santa Maria drag strip was the third NHRA sanctioned strip in the country. He also ran an auto parts store, "Jack and Jerry's Auto Supply", and he and his partner Jerry Hathaway created the San Luis Obispo California Timing Association S.L.O.C.T.A.

Another club member who helped get the tracks going also raced a rail dragster. He too ran an auto supply store in Guadalupe, Ca. and belonged to the local club The Dragons. His name is Vic Diamond, he is still with us and in our club and still plays with hot rods.

I copied as closely as I could with pictures and articles to their original signage, addresses and phone numbers of their shops.
My friend Dave Miller, who guided me as to what is period correct, suggested the name Stude-A-Shaker, so that's what I went with.

[tlap]

This weekend I will "distress" the lettering a bit to make it look older.

[tlap]

Tim also added some cool, old school Von Dutch pin striping......

[Road Angels]

Way cool...I bet jaws drop when you drive down the street...thanks for sharing the story behind the lettering...also very cool

[1946Austin]

Nicely done! A great tribute to local shops of the era too! I used 900 grit paper to distress the name on my Austin back when I first built it and it had it's original black paint. Decided not to do it again after I painted the car with new paint as I figured new paint and new lettering went together. But older paint just cries out for a little patina on the lettering.