Fresno

Dick Noble's 1932 Ford Roadster of Burbank, California. Dick bought the car as a coupe in 1938. He wanted a roadster and ended up trading the coupe body for a roadster body. A padded top with side curtains was added in 1941 along with a shiny black paint job. Dick was a meticulous builder, and the roadster ended up as one of Burbank's finest. In 1942, when Dick went off to war, his dad sold the roadster to Ottie Junkins of Fresno, California.

A photo of Blackie and Amos Torosian with Blackie's roadster taken in Fresno, California in 1947. Clean Gene Sadoian was 14 years old the first time he saw Blackie in his cut down black hot rod in 1948. " The driver was a scary looking guy with cut off t-shirt sleeves. He looked at me and smiled. I saw gold leaf letters on the side of car—"Blackie". He did a burn out for me, I was forever hooked." Photo from The Clean Gene Sadoian Collection.

A photo of Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian with his 1934 Ford four-door sedan taken at United Automotive in Fresno in 1950. Gene was 15 years old when this photo was taken, and his mother had just sewed up quilted door panels in Naugahyde chartreuse for the car. "My father brought me home from the hospital in his just purchased 1934 4 door sedan," Gene told Kustomrama in December of 2020. "He purchased it in Fowler, California, just 10 miles from our home in Fresno, California. The car cost $640, a lot of money at the time. It was our family car until 1949 when he purchased a Lincoln Cosmopolitan, giving me the 34 to fix up." At age 14 Gene was able to have a driver's license, but no garage, so he had to remove their backyard fence to park the car in the dirt. "My father gave me the tool bag that came with the car, and piece by piece I removed all fenders, running boards, hood, bumpers, spare tire to build a Hot Rod."^[1] Photo by Richard Peters, from The Clean Gene Sadoian Collection.

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Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. Inspired by Blackie Gejeian's 1926 Ford Model T Roadster, the car was dressed up with a black paint job and plenty of chrome. This iteration was shown at the 1952 Oakland Roadster Show.

A photo of Richard Shirinian's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster taken in 1953. From left to right in the photo are Hermen Shirinian, Robert Kalyfan, John Shirinian, Eddie Kalyfan, and John Tikijian. According to Gene, a kid named Babe Obradovich had the fastest car in school until Shirinian completed his roadster. Shirinian built an engine to beat the braggart Babe. "I remember Richard telling me he polished the crank throws to reduce friction, ported and relieved heads, 4 pot manifold, electric fuel pump. His father built two battery storage mounts, two 6V batteries for 12 Volts, to turn over the high-compression motor. His frame was reinforced so as not to twist. Richard raced Babe and beat him for the bragging rights." Photo from The Clean Gene Sadoian Photo Collection.

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. The car went trough several iterations in the 1950s. In 1953, after attending the 1953 Oakland Roadster Show, Gene installed a 1950 Oldsmobile V-8 in the car. He also painted it fire engine red and had Tommy the Greek dress it up with pinstriping. Other modifications included a fully chromed and louvered hood, nerf bar bumpers, and copper-plated Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels.

Mel Lehman's 1940 Mercury 4-Door Sedan

Joe Urritta's 1941 Ford

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. The car went trough several iterations in the 1950s. In 1956 it received a Candy cold and red scallop paint job by "Screwy Looie" of Fresno.

Kelly & Mark Skipper's 1951 Ford Victoria - The Royal Victoria of Fresno, California was finished in 2013.

Buddy Katlik's 1953 Plymouth 4-door, was restyled by Jess Sandoval of Renewal Body Shop in Clovis for Fresno Pan Draggers member Buddy Katlik, of Fresno, California around 1960/1961.

Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup, The Wild Kat, was completed in 1956. Restyled by Barris Kustoms, the Wild Kat is known as the first vehicle ever to feature quad headlight styling, beating Detroit by two years.

Clif Inman's 1957 Chrysler

Jim Morgan's 1960 Ford

Blackie Gejeian of Fresno, California bought Bob Huffman's 1965 Chevrolet Impala. Blackie still owned the car in 2013.

The Creepers was a car club out of Fresno.

The first annual Fresno Autorama was held March 7 thru 9, 1958 at the National Guard Armory in Fresno, California.

Tim Morton's 1940 Ford Pickup of Kingsburg, California. Morton owned the sectioned and channeled truck in 1980, but it is rumored to have been running around Fresno in the late 1950s. It was also supposedly featured in a 1950s hot rod magazine. Austin Thornton of Fresno bought the old truck in July of 2020.

Early Days of Hot Rodding in Fresno

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian was a local Fresno teenager who in 1948 spent his weekly allowance of $.25 cents on a new monthly magazine called Hot Rod Magazine. "In the 7th grade we had one hour of study hall," he told Kustomrama in February of 2021. "I put the magazine inside of my books and read about Fran Hernandez, Barney Navarro, and Bill Burke, building and racing on the salt, dirt and oval tracks. Hot Rodders had a bad image, so we had to hide images just as porno is now considered. Wally Parks wrote articles about illegal street racing, encouraging legal dragstrips and working with the police." At age 14, while delivering Fresno Bee newspapers on his chromed up Schwinn bike, Gene heard a loud rumble. "Like I never heard before. I saw this cut down hot rod, black with two carburetors sitting so high they blocked the drivers view. The driver was a scary looking guy with cut off t-shirt sleeves. He looked at me and smiled. I saw gold leaf letters on the side of car—"Blackie". He did a burn out for me, I was forever hooked."^[2]