John spent a little time working for his Uncle Sam in the early ’50s and had the pleasure of playing with this banger-powered drag machine while stationed at a West Texas Air Force base. We don’t know how fast it was, but John was a serious competitor.
©AHRF/John Wolf Collection
Rodcast Episode #24 // Hot Rod Pioneer John Wolf was a master engine builder whose reputation was on par with fellow masters such as Art Chrisman, Bobby Meeks, and Ed Pink. With his trusty ’36 Ford coupe, John made his name during the early and mid-1950s on the drag strips and dry lake beds of southern California, as well as on the salt flats of Bonneville. After fully establishing his talents by supplying the powerplant for the record-setting Shadoff Special, John Wolf would go on to have one success after another during his decades-long career that included National Championships and one record-breaking run after another.
We thank John for sitting down with us in 2003 for one of the very first interviews conducted by the AHRF, and we know that any fan of early hot rodding will enjoy hearing his story in his own words.
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