About the Shafters Car Club
Our History
In 1951 there were enough guys in Fallbrook hopping up their cars and hanging around the shops that they decided to form their own car club. So, on April 4, 1952, they became an official club. They held their first club meeting with Dode Martin as president and Don Higbee as secretary/treasurer. They gave themselves the name Fallbrook Shafters, subscribed to Hot Rod Magazine, and joined the San Diego Timing Association.
The club had bylaws to govern themselves and discipline misbehavior. They carried these bylaws out democratically in a very business-like manner. Not only were you very “cool” by being part of this elite club, but there were incentives to join such as membership cards, car plaques, club shirts, and by mid-year 1952 they had their club jackets. The members had to have a street legal car that would reach a speed of at least 65 miles per hour and to join the car had to beat the third fastest car of the club.
Before having a shop to work out of, the guys would meet at places like the packing shed on Hill Ave., the I.O.O.F. building on Beech St., the Boy Scout hut on Hawthorne St., the Hotel Ellis on Alvarado St., and Mel’s Root Beer stand on Main Ave. and Iowa St.
The club built a crude but well-built B/Street Roadster with a ’27 T Roadster pickup cab setting on a Model A chassis. It had an overhead valve engine with two Stromberg 97 carburetors. It ran at one of the early drags strips in Santa Ana at the Naval “Blind Landing” practice strip. Since there weren’t any real drag strips around back then they used anything available.
As time went on they did a lot of drag racing, gained a lot of experience, and came in contact with many other clubs. They became very serious and began their journey to becoming the “top guns” in drag racing. They built the World Record Holding B/Modified Roadster and were undefeated from 1955 to 1957 winning 34 Trophies.
Here is how Richard W. Brain, an original member, tells the story about that B/Modified Roadster and the club.
During the three-year life of that car and its many modifications along the way, it picked up 34 trophies from the old but not forgotten strips like Colton, Paradise Mesa, Saugus, Holtville, and Pomona. Racing against legends like Joaquine Arnett, the Bean Bandits, and Lloyd Sirkel along with many others. Defeating them because the Shafters had what no one else had, the “Purple Fuel” concocted by none other than Dode Martin. It was several bottles of Aqua Velvet Aftershave mixed with the fuel. After the smoke cleared everyone was wondering what sort of sweet, burnt shoe polish smell it was. It sure made the little B/Modified roadster churn “em and burn ‘em and eventually blow ‘em away.
Many of the small-town car clubs were involved in community services as were the Shafters of Fallbrook. They were doing good deeds and keeping up their good reputation as concerned the people of the community, as well as being lovers of speed and customs. Living out their obsessions and dreams, and yet being the law-abiding citizens that they were.
The racing community is still involved with benefits and charities of all sorts to help out the less fortunate, and probably always will be a long as there are racers with big hearts in big and small towns throughout the country
Richard W. Brain
Ahwahnee, CA
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