Culver City Screwdrivers

Photo courtesy of Karen Boren.

A 1948 Culver City Screwdrivers group photo. Bill Boren is the fellow on the top row to the far right wearing a striped shirt. Jerry Keldrauk is the big guy in front, to the lower left. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

An early photo of Bill Boren's Model T Pick Up. Bill was born in in St Charles, Iowa in 1927. In 1941, when Bill was 14 years old, there were opportunities for his parents to earn much better money in the rapidly expanding defense industry in Southern California, so the family moved out West. Living in California sparked Bill's interest in hot rodding, and this photo shows one of Bill’s early gow jobs. A flathead V-­8 powered 1926 - ­1927 Ford Model T Roadster that he ran without the turtle deck. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

A rear-end shot of Bill's gow job. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

Bill Boren next to a later iteration of his gow job. Now sporting a truck bed, this version did also feature a 1932 Ford frame, a homemade hood, and a 1932 Ford grille shell. Running as number “220” in the A-class, we believe this photo was taken in 1948. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

Two 1932 Ford roadsters photographed in front of Palmdale Inn in Palmdale, California. We believe the roadster in the back belonged to fellow Screwdrivers member Jim Papworth. The roadster was Jim’s first car, and he bought it in 1947. He ran it without fenders and running boards. The windshield was chopped, and it featured a shortened front bumper. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

A photo of Bill Boren with his roadster pick up on the dry lakes circa 1948. The firewall has been dressed up with a painting of a screwdriver. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

A later version of roadster pick up, sporting a convertible top. A few years ago, while watching a So Cal car chase on the news, Bill told Karen about a convertible he had with a removable truck bed; "He was driving one night with the top down and the cops were chasing him down Washington in Culver City. When he got to the little hill where the train tracks were, he had to reach over and grab his passenger by the belt and yank him back down into the seat. Back then the cop cars couldn't keep up with the hot rods, but dad did get caught enough to get his license suspended for too many tickets." Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

A street-legal version of Bill’s roadster pick up at a dry lakes event, running headlights and a license plate. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

Bill Boren ran his roadster pickup as the “Nothin’ Special” at El Mirage in 1949. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

The timing tag from El Mirage July 24, 1949 shows that Bill Boren achieved a top speed of 103.53 MPH with his roadster pickup. Photo from The Bill Boren Photo Collection.

Fred Larsen's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Culver City, California. Built in 1948, the car was driven on the streets in addition to being raced on the dry lakes and drag strips. After building the car, Fred became a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers.

Ed and Bill Perry's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster - The Perry Boys Roadster

Jim Papworth's 1932 Ford Roadster of Culver City, California. Jim was a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers, and the roadster, that he bought in 1947, was his first car.

Screwdrivers member Bob Arner bought The Ralph Schenck Streamliner.

Chuck Quesnel's belly-pan'ed 1927 Ford Model T lakester. The caption on the back of the photo says "Chuck's Car. Ed Olson in car, Janet Olson in jacket." Photo from The Chuck and Joanna Quesnel Photo Collection.

Chuck Quesnel's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster as it appeared when Bob Kuykendall owned it.

Bob Kuykendall's 1931 Ford Model A roadster of Culver City, California.

Joanna Quesnel's 1932 Ford roadster. Joanna was married to Chuck Quesnel. Chuck was a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers. Joanna was also a part of the club, but she was not considered a member as she was a girl. Joanna told her son Douglas that the girls were never allowed to race the guys. She liked to race, but her car never had any race numbers on. Photo from The Chuck and Joanna Quesnel Photo Collection.

Bob Kuykendall's 1933 Ford cabriolet of Culver City, California.

Bob Calahan's 1939 Ford convertible sedan of Culver City, California.

Bill Boren's 1941 Ford convertible of Culver City, California. Bill was a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers.

A young Don Cummins next to an early iteration of his pickup. In 1952 Fred met Don in the Navy. Both were from Southern California, and they became neighbours in civilian life and successful partners in racing. Don was also a member of the Culver City Screwdrivers. Photo from The Fred Larsen Photo Collection.

A 1953 Culver City Screwdrivers group photo. Photo provided by Karen Boren.

"Beauty and the Beast." A photo of Marylou Larsen with "Miller's Missile" during the 1955 Bonneville Nationals. Photo from The Fred Larsen Photo Collection.

A 1956 Culver City Screwdrivers group photo. Photo provided by Karen Boren.

A photo of Bill Boren's Screwdrivers jacket from 2014. Photo by Karen Boren.

The Screwdrivers were car club from Culver City, California. Formed in 1947, the club that was organized under Rusetta Timing Association.

The drink or the tool?

Karen Boren, the daughter of Bill Boren, was always told the name the Screwdrivers was a reference to the cocktail, not the tool. She was also told that the club invented the drink; "I remember asking my dad if they really did invent the drink as I’d always heard, or if the name meant the tool, and he laughed and told me the name had nothing to do with the tool, it was a reference to the cocktail." In March of 2015, Ed Olson, another old Screwdrivers member, reached out to Karen and Sondre Kvipt. According to Ed, it was pretty clear that the drink was named after the club, not the other way around; "Some of the guys that started importing vodka from Germany introduced vodka to our local bar for him to carry and serve. Prior to that, vodka was rarely known in the US. The bartender entered the drink in the cocktails competition and won Best New Cocktail of the Year. He named his creation after the Culver City Screwdrivers."

Members

Al "Shakey" McKee
Alan Thomas
Andy Minorini
Bill Boren
Bill Likes
Bill Million
Bill Perry
Bob Arner
Bob Calahan
Bob Kuykendall
Bob Shields
Bob Solomon
Bob Thomas
Carmon Pisano
Chuck Metcalf
Chuck Quesnel
Craig Breedlove
Dale Johnson
David James
Dean Musgrove
Don Cummins
Don Johnson
Don Lindsay
Don Rackmann
Ed Harper
Ed Olson
Ed Perry
Ed Safarik
Fred Larsen
Fred Larson
Gene Adams
George Hale
Gilbert Reed
Jack Hershey
Jack Nelson
Jan Musgrove
Jerry Booth
Jerry Keldrauk
Jim Hildreth
Jim Lindsay
Jim Nelson
Jim Papworth
Joe Piesano
John Stephenson
John Sundoen
Kenny Arnold
Lee Titus
Lou Baney
Lynn Arner
Mickey Redding
Neal Buck
Neal Burns
Nick Arias Jr.
Nick Matranga
Reece Adams
Robert Kuykendall
Ronald Brown
Ted Frye
Tom Cobb
Vern Larson

Club Cars

Bob Kuykendall's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Chuck Quesnel's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Jim Papworth's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Ed and Bill Perry's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster - The Perry Boys Roadster
Fred Larsen's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Bob Kuykendall's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster
Jerry Keldrauk and Bill Boren's 1932 Ford Sedan
Jim Papworth's 1932 Ford 2 Door Sedan
Jim Papworth's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bob Kuykendall's 1933 Ford Cabriolet
Nick Arias Jr.'s 1937 Chevrolet Coupe
Bob Calahan's 1939 Ford Convertible Sedan
Bill Boren's 1941 Ford Convertible
The Ralph Schenck Streamliner

Resources

Click here to visit the Culver City Screwdrivers Facebook Page