Tags
Hot rod painting, Motor Monarchs, santa maria racing, Unibody roadster, Vintage car club, vintage drag racing
Motor Monarchs 60″x48″
This is a painting of Dave Marquez of Santa Paula and fellow members of the Motor Monarchs of Ventura. In this photo, they were at the races at Santa Maria Airport. I really loved the faces on these fellows, and the classic California Eucalyptus trees in the background.
I was amazed when my husband Eric found a copy of Hot Rod Magazine that featured this car! So great to see more detail and read the story. Regarding the color: The car was listed as having a paint job of Fluorescent Orange and Refrigerator White, so the painting and Dad’s photo are correct. Hot Rod Magazine always tweaked their covers to be red blue and yellow.
The article (July 1956) may be from later than Dad’s photo, because the car shows some new numbers. It was special for it’s time because the body could be removed in one piece, and it had won “America’s Most Beautiful Competition Roadster” at the Oakland Roadster Show. So now we know Dad had good taste, even back then.
Click the photos to see larger and read the story.
Bob Richardson said:
#880 was first a 3 window coupe until I located the roadster body that Dave and the other Monarch’s built the car that was famous in it’s day. They actually ran it in more than one class at the very first NHRA National Drag Races in Kansas.