Chancellors of Van Nuys

A Chancellors car club plaque. Photo courtesy of www.relicsandrods.com.

Karl Krone's Bantam. Karl built the Bantam himself. It was originally powered by a Flathead engine, but Karl rebuilt it and installed a Chevrolet V8. Photo courtesy of Fred Austin.

Rick Menz' 1934 Ford Tudor-Sedan of Sepulveda, California. Rick began building the car in 1960. At the time he was a member of the Chancellors car club. He sold the Ford in 1962 before the build was completed.

A construction photo of the Chancellors Dragster. Photo from The Fred Austin Photo Collection.

A photo of Bob Booth with the Chancellors dragster around 1962. Photo from The Fred Austin Photo Collection.

The Chancellors of Van Nuys were also into motorcycles. Here is a photo of Eric Cleveland dated 1962. Photo from The Fred Austin Photo Collection.

Fred Austin's Model A roadster. Fred bought the roadster the way it looks in this photo for $ 300 USD. It had a 5/16x1/4 flathead. Photo from The Fred Austin Photo Collection.

A photo of Dave Booth with his in-progress 23T Bucket with a Chevy 350 engine. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Booth.

A photo of Dave Booth with the body of his in-progress 23T Bucket. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Booth.

Dave and his two older brothers, Jack and Bob were all members of the Chancellors. "Together they attended countless show events and were part of the cruise scene on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, Southern California," Dave's widow Rosemary Booth told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in April of 2024. According to Rosemary, Dave learned a lot about Street Rodding from his brothers. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Booth.

One of Dave Booth's old club jackets. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Booth.

Photo courtesy of Rosemary Booth.

The Chancellors was a car club from Van Nuys, California. The club was founded in the mid 1950s. Fred Austin became a member of the club around 1961. By then, the club had a clubhouse and a dragster, and it consisted of about 30 members. The Chancellors put on some big car shows at Devonshire Downs in the San Fernando Valley, something that really helped build up the club's name and reputation. While Fred was a member of the club, Leon Clutterham was the President.

Members

Bob Booth
Dave Booth
Eric Cleveland
Fred Austin
Jack Booth
Jim Spain
Joe Cardalouce
Karl Krone
Larry Delaney
Leo Clutterham
Polk Riley
Rick Menz
Rick Valese
Ronnie Fontana

Club Cars

Karl Krone's Bantam
Jack Booth's 1932 Ford Pick Up
Rick Menz' 1934 Ford Tudor
Rick Menz' 1956 Pontiac