The So-Cal Speed Shop is a specialty parts shop for

hot rods Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

, specializing in cars built in the 1940s. It offers parts online, as well as a number of retail stores in the western United States and two in Canada. The headquarters is located in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...

. Originally built in 1946, it was one of the first hot rod parts stores to open in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. Founder Alex Xydias opened the shop on Olive Avenue in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

on March 3, 1946, the same day he was discharged from the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

.So-Cal Speedhop.com History
Xydias's first idea to open the speed shop came while watching a

street race Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles i ...

in San Fernando Valley during a furlough from the Army Air Forces.so-calspeedshop.com Alex Xydias History
Retrieved November 10, 2009 Xydias' shop offered only parts; no mechanical work was done. After his year lease was up, Xydias moved to 1104 South Victory Boulevard. Numerous cars set records, mostly on the

salt flats Salt flats, Salt flat, Salt Flats, or Salt Flat may refer to: Geology *Salt pan (geology), a flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals * Dry lake, an ephemeral lakebed that consists of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali sal ...

, flying the So-Cal banner and the shop became synonymous with winners. The first streamliner powered by a Flathead Ford to go over is the

Edelbrock Edelbrock, LLC is an American manufacturer of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in Olive Branch, Mississippi, with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and ...

-equipped Bachelor- Xydias SoCal Special;Oilstick.com NHRA museum article
Groak, Bill, 2004. it was featured on the cover of the January 1949 issue of

Hot Rod magazine ''Hot Rod'' is a monthly American car magazine devoted to hot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance. History ''Hot Rod'' is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding, having been published ...

.Supercars.net article
Retrieved November 30, 2009 Bill Burke of the So-Cal Speed Shop was the first to attempt to convert a

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

belly

drop tank In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...

to a hot rod roadster.{{cite web , title=2003 So-Cal Lakester , website=Supercars.net , date=2016-04-22 , url=https://www.supercars.net/blog/2003-cal-lakester/ , access-date=2021-06-12 Because of its small size (168 gallons), Burke then switched to the larger 305-gallon belly tank used on a

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

. See also

lakester alt=photo of a drop tank on a P-51 mustang, An example of a drop tank on a P-51, though it is a 75-gallon tank, and mounted on a wing hardpoint. A Lakester is a car with a streamlined body but with four exposed wheels. It is most often made o ...

. The So-Cal gang was voted the Number One Racing Team in 1952 by

Mechanix Illustrated ''Mechanix Illustrated'' was an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications. Its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older ''Popular Science'' and ''Popular Mechanics''. Billed as "The How-To-Do Ma ...

magazine. Tony Thacker was the marketing vice president for So-Cal Speed Shop.

Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum houses a collection of memorabilia, automobiles, and motorcycles related to the sport of hot-rodding. It is located on the edge of the Los Angeles County Fairplex. History The museum was created by a grou ...

, for which Thacker is executive director, features an exhibit on So-Cal Speed Shop. Lead guitarist for ZZ Top,

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

made guest appearances for the shop's "Hard Shine" series. In May 2011 launched the 'Miler', its first line of limited edition motorcycle kits. Inspired by 1960s and 1970s flat track Triumph racing bikes, and based on their Streetmaster and Mule Motorcycles concept bike, the Miler is powered by an 865cc twin-cylinder

Triumph Bonneville The Triumph Bonneville is a standard motorcycle featuring a parallel-twin four-stroke engine and manufactured in three generations over three separate production runs. The first two generations, by the defunct Triumph Engineering in Meriden, Wes ...

. A combination of high-compression pistons, precision-engineered head porting, and exhaust tuning enhance the recreational aspect of the reliable street rider."Annual Quail Gathering" Cyril Huze
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References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080208094036/http://www.so-calspeedshop.com/stores.html * http://www.est1946.com/ * http://www.so-callasvegas.com * https://www.est1946.com/stores.aspx * https://performanceimprovements.com/pages/so-cal-eastern-canada Automotive motorsports and performance companies