Undeterred by daylong drizzle, die-hard hot-rodders gathered on a Saturday in May at Harry Fleming’s junkyard in Egg Harbor Township to show off their four-wheeled darlings and ogle others. “It’s a very social scene,” says John Taylor, a TV repairman. “We enjoy getting together with the other owners.” There were representatives from the Street Aces, a Jersey club, and from a local chapter of the Wheelers, a national group. Behind each gleaming paint job and throaty exhaust lie huge expenditures of sweat and savings—and a unique story. Jim Rawa, for example, found his 1959 Plymouth under 13 feet of water in a flooded basement after 1999’s hurricane Floyd.
Paws off: “I drive it a lot, but nobody touches it or sits in it,” says Eric Schroeck (top picture, right) of his 1958 Chevy Yeoman. The 32-year-old Nutley resident apparently made an exception for fellow hot-rodders Russ Monte (left) and Jim Rawa. Rawa, 30, lit up spectators with his 1959 Plymouth Fury (below), which he had customized to belch fire. “It shoots about a gallon of gas every 30 seconds, a little expensive now with gas prices,” Rawa allows. The Fury is just one of his roughly 36 cars, most of 1950s vintage. Since retiring from biomedical engineering two years ago, Rawa has kept busy customizing cars for others. “New Jersey and California really are the Meccas of this type of car culture,” he says. Note: The bowser at right is not doing dirt. He’s an attention-getting figurine.
Time machines: Linda Taylor (third picture down) and husband John (not pictured), of Sussex County, bought this 1924 Ford, nicknamed The Reaper, about a year ago. How is she received in hot rodding’s overwhelmingly male culture? “As long as a woman knows what she’s talking about, people don’t mind,” she says. “I don’t feel discriminated against.” Paul Lauriello, 65, of Wildwood worked on and off for ten years turning a stock 1941 Ford Business Coupe into this swooping showstopper. “Every car is someone’s own expression,” he says. Jack Mattle (two pictures below), 66, of Mays Landing, sits on the running board of his 1931 Chevy Sport. “I’ve played with cars since I was about 12 or 13,” he says. “I bought this car about 43 years ago and made improvements over time. Over the years I’ve probably put $30,000 and about 5,000 hours into it.” Old gas station signs add to the atmosphere at Harry Fleming’s junkyard (directly below).
Click here to read Thunder Road-a more in-depth look at the world of hot rodding.