Wed, 12 Nov 2014, 00:03 AM Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum Adds Two Iconic Hot Rods to Extensive Collection

Courtesy of NHRA Communications

GLENDORA, Calif. -- The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum will add two new iconic hot rods to its extensive collection through a generous donation from a distinguished collector, museum officials announced today. A 1949 Ford Custom Shop Truck and a 1927 Ford Modified Roadster, which were both featured in a recent article in Rodder's Journal, were donated by Richard Munz of Madison, Wisconsin.

The vehicles will be on display in the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum full time for the immediate future. Both will help celebrate the American car culture and will tell the history of hot rodding as Munz believes, "cars without stories are just cars."

Both vehicles were created by Chuck Porter, a legendary hot rodder, customizer, drag racer and a superb metal man. Porter fabricated both striking hot rods in his legendary shop located outside of Hollywood, California.

The Chuck Porter 1949 Ford Custom Shop Truck is a perfect restoration of a custom hot rod. The truck debuted at the 1954 International Motor Review to critical acclaim and Car Craft Magazine called it "one of the show's biggest hits." The stunning goldenrod yellow truck was also featured in the March 1955 Hot Rod Magazine. The street driven truck went on to compete in early organized drag races at Santa Ana and the drag strip at Pomona, setting records in the quickly evolving classes including A/Altered. During a two-year span the radically designed pickup won more than 60 trophies in shows and drag races, solidly placing it among the most recognized vehicles of the era.

The second addition to the collection is the Tom Ruddy and Marty Weinstein 1927 Ford Modified Roadster, which has been restored completely from the ground up and used a large amount of original parts in the completion of the car. The parts that are not originals were hand-fabricated to best match the time period of the pieces. The 1927 Modified Roadster, also built by Porter, is again painted in yellow and has "Chuck Porter's Body Shop, Hollywood," proudly painted on the side of the vehicle. The stunning vehicle with a unique aluminum nose is a rear-engine vehicle powered by an Ardun overhead-valve converted flathead Mercury. In 1956, Ruddy achieved a two-way average speed of 200.09 mph earning him membership in the exclusive Bonneville 200 MPH Club. Its best speed came in 1958 at 211.64 mph.

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, opened to the public April 4, 1998. Housed in a 28,500-square-foot building on the edge of the historic Los Angeles County Fairplex, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum's mission is to celebrate the impact of motorsports on our culture. The facility collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets the vehicles, stories, and artifacts that represent the affection for, and the influence of, automotive speed and style in all its forms. The Museum features an impressive array of vintage and historical racing vehicles along with photographs, trophies, helmets and driving uniforms, artifacts, paintings, and other memorabilia chronicling more than 50 years of American motorsports. The Museum is a 501 c3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

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