February 2024 Members of the Month - American Hot Rod Foundation

Augie Esposito, Bob Kenz, J.D. Massey, and Warwick Nethercoat … and the revival of the Pasadena Reliability Run!

Everyone here at The American Hot Rod Foundation loves nothing more than to see our great tradition of hot rodding being carried on. Whether it takes the form of nostalgia drag racing, vintage style hill climbs, or racing on a sandy beach, we are all for it. That said, one tradition that we feel doesn’t get enough attention or reenactment is the immediate post-war practice of reliability runs. These were well thought out and highly effective events put on by various roadster, car, and hot rod clubs all around the country during the late ‘40s and through the 1950s. It was a way to test the build quality of your hot rod while demonstrating to your community that these cars could be driven safely and responsibly, and no reliability run is more famous than the original Pasadena Roadster Club Reliability Run.

Started in late 1947, the PRC’s first run was a direct result of several club members wanting nothing more than for local law enforcement to realize that not all hot rods and hot rodders were bad. It was an extended olive branch that was not only accepted as a gesture of peace, but was the start of a friendship between this group of roadster drivers and Pasadena area police. As far as our research has shown, this was the first time that hot rodders banded together and voluntarily walked into a police department! According to first hand accounts from original PRC members from the era, these annual runs not only built a bridge between the young hot rodding community and law enforcement but it changed some minds for the better within the general population (at least for a little while) regarding these kids and their favorite activity. Soon this annual event would make the cover of Hot Rod Magazine (February 1951) and garner positive coverage in other publications. It even received a pleasant nod from local newspapers.

Well, we’re pleased to say that the revived version of the Pasadena Roadster Club (which includes our above-mentioned AHRF supporting members, Esposito, Kenz, Massey, and Nethercoat) wasted no time in also reviving their original PRC Reliability Runs. Re-formed in 2002, the Pasadena Roadster Club has now been back up and running for over 20 years and has announced that this year, they will be putting on their 12th PRC Reliability Run since its revival. Run on the same and mostly unchanged roads as the original runs of the late ‘40s and 1950s, this year’s run will take place on Sunday, April 28th, and will begin and end at the historic Pasadena Elks Lodge on the NW side of town. The run will take participants up and over the legendary Angeles Crest Forest, with drivers and their cars getting to enjoy some of the most scenic and challenging mountain passes in all of southern California over what will approximately be a 100-mile drive.

As per the original PRC Reliability Run rules that were finalized by the club in the fall of 1950, any and all open (roadsters, etc.) or closed (coupes, sedans, etc.) vehicles of a hot rod or custom car type are eligible. As is stated on the club’s website,” ALL TRADITIONALLY STYLED AND EQUIPPED HOT ROD OR CUSTOM CARS (ROADSTERS OR COUPES) WITH A 1954 OR EALIER AESTHETIC ARE ELIGIBLE. HOT RODS THAT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS BUT ARE RUNNING A LATER OHV ENGINE WILL BE CONSIDERED IF EQUIPPED WITH A FULL HOOD COVERING, TOP AND SIDES. ALL HISTORIC CARS FROM THE ERA WILL BE CONSIDERED.”

So we recommend you hop on over to www.pasadenaroadsterclub.org and sign up today for what will surely be one of the better time travel experiences you’ll find in today’s traditional hot rod world. The run is limited to 100 or so spots and they’re filling up fast.

We want to thank all of our AHRF supporting members who are active members of the Pasadena Roadster Club (as well as all PRC members!) for putting on this great event and for keeping the tradition alive and well.