In this space in the Sept. ’16 issue I wrote about several topics, including the Screwdrivers car club of Culver City, California, and whether or not the famous cocktail was named after the club.
Not long after that issue hit the newsstands I got a call from Mort Smith, a Screwdrivers member in the ’50s, who invited me to join him and other Screwdrivers to get the true lowdown on the club’s history.
That led to a fun afternoon spent reminiscing with Mort; Cecil Sutton, one of the cofounders of the club; and Ron Browne, son of Ronald (Rollo) Browne, who was one of the Screwdrivers’ past presidents.
Right off the bat Cecil debunked the myth about the club’s name. “We didn’t get our name because we were drinking screwdrivers at the bar. We got our name all because of Steve.”
Steve Hoffman, a friend of Cecil’s, “made a little bug of a car” in 1946. “Took the doors off and pushed it together and drove around Culver City. The cops was on him all the time, and I said to him, ‘They’re getting you for being a screwball, huh?’ And that started the name.”
Cecil and Steve were among a half-dozen or so Culver City hot rodders who wanted to form a club. They met for the first time in a garage belonging to former child actor Wally Albright.
“That would have been in 1946, before September,” says Cecil, “because I went into the Army in September 1946. Wally wanted to figure out a name, and Steve came up with the name Screwdrivers. Well, Wally wanted to call it the Road Hogs. We took a vote and decided on Screwdrivers. Wally wasn’t happy with that, so he didn’t join the club.”
This story is from the January 2017 edition of Hot Rod Deluxe.
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This story is from the January 2017 edition of Hot Rod Deluxe.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Cal, Nick & T-33
REBORN.
Backstage Past Part 10:1963
This Glendale, California, photo session produced the Bob D’Olivo (behind camera, right) transparency that became one of HOT ROD’s most-artistic covers.
Travellin Deuce
A stock height windshield, in conjunction with a body that’s been channeled the full width of the frame, gives the ex–De Fillipi/La Masa ’32 roadster a chunky, almost perky appearance. Discrete lakes pipes peek out beneath the framerails, just behind the firewall. In the mid-’50s, the lakes plugs exited (curiously) in front of the rear wheels.
back to basics
bountiful. the ’32 ford has become the quintessential hot rod, thanks to its good looks and the fact that the model year coincided with ford’s release of a v-8 engine in addition to the reliable four-cylinder.
his purple passion
eli english was a grade schooler when he first spotted this '34 couple peering through the open doors of a local garage. thirty years later, he got to work on this period-perfect late-'50s hot rod and put her back on the road.
Nothing Screwy About It
In this space in the Sept. ’16 issue I wrote about several topics, including the Screwdrivers car club of Culver City, California, and whether or not the famous cocktail was named after the club.
Blue Bird
Fathers. The plan was this: My son Sebastian and I had just finished one of many restorations, the Blood Sweat & Gears 1948 Prefect.
Mark of Excellence
Tilt. Somewhere in a small farming town in central Illinois is a garage with a couple of car builders who live in a time warp that starts and ends in the 1960s.
waterlogged trog
waterlogged trog
