From the Midnight Oil File:
This stuff no longer surprises me, yet never ceases to amaze
me. In the course of researching for a recent book project, I stumbled across
an iconic car that’s been missing for four decades, along with its builder,
who’s been presumed dead during the same period of time.
It was late at night and I was weary. On page 12 of a Google
search, a website popped up in his name. I reacted with a sad resignation of
the parasites weak and bold enough to live off someone else’s legacy. Depressed,
I shut down the computer and went to bed. It was 1:45 AM. At 3:00 AM, I got up
and clicked on the website’s “contact” button. I sent a message, inquiring if
perhaps they knew of any actual family members of the hot rod hero they were
exploiting who might be of help with my research. To my astonishment, I
received an instant reply, stating that it was indeed the hero in question, and
he was feeling chatty. After a few cautious hours on the phone and a few dozen
revealing e-mails, I was 99% convinced it was really him. And I had an
ace-in-the-hole deal clincher in the wings: My boss at Hot Rod Deluxe, Dave
Wallace, who had once worked with many of the same people where Mr. Hero had
made his name. Wallace grilled him over the phone and confirmed he was the real
deal. Despite the warnings of some acknowledged experts, I took the leap of
faith and dove in. It turns out that this legend and I have enough in common to
base a friendship on.
Steve Scott was a fairly typical 1963 hot rod teenager,
until he built the Uncertain-T and set the custom car world on its ear. Due to
the feverish media crush around the Roth-meets-Dali styled car, Steve soon
found himself on the payroll at Petersen Publishing Company – perfectly
postured to promote the car to even greater fame. The ensuing ego party was
rich and sweet, until it wasn’t anymore – 1967. That’s when Steve Scott vanished
from sight, along with the Uncertain T. Rather than relay his twisty story to
you here, I’ll refer you to Steve’s Facebook page, where he’s revealing answers
to the questions thousands have been asking for decades. Meanwhile, Steve is
building a website dedicated to the Uncertain- T, among many other projects (www.SteveScottsUncertainT.com).
Yes, he’d be a natural for an SGE Interview, and that may happen, but for
today, I sense that he has many other priorities. However, I can say with
Certain-T that this needle-in-a-haystack story is the stuff of journalistic
dreams and I count myself blessed to have realized yet another one. Again, I’m
the luckiest guy in town…
Photos courtesy of
Steve Scott
Did you know Steve
Scott took all of his own photos (often employing a timer to place himself in
the shots)? He is currently searching for many images that mysteriously
disappeared from storage at his mother’s home in North Hollywood, California while he was serving his country. Please
contact Steve if you come across any of these bootlegs.
I can’t wait to hear
the story behind this intriguing image. That’s mid-sixties Steve, leaning on
the tire.
Steve tells me he
often passed through my area while road-tripping to shows around the country,
as this billboard outside of Walla Walla, Washington attests.
Screaming down Famoso
Raceway with Don Garlits riding shotgun!
Modern-day Steve, in
his secret lair, where he’s finally savoring the success that drove him away so
long ago. If only I had a modern-day photo of the Uncertain-T to go with this
shot. Hopefully soon…
From behind the Behind the Scenes File:
A recent Behind the Scenes post eluded to a photo shoot with
House of Mouse staff pilot Eily Stafford at October’s NHRA Hot Rod Reunion. I
was initially disappointed when none of those images appeared in the March 2013
Hot Rod Deluxe event coverage. Then I discovered Paul Sadler’s uber-cool
two-page “Invisible Man” photo of Eily in action on pages 10 & 11. Wow! Now
I get it. And now I can share a tease of said photo shoot with you. I have the
goods for a decent feature story on Eily and the Strange Brew crew, if desired
(Editors, I know you guys are reading this).
This pose was Eily’s
idea and I made no attempt to stop her. This could almost be an HRD cover shot.
Maybe some day.
This has been posted
here before, but I couldn’t resist an encore.
Eily warming up in the
bull pin.
With the official
House of Mouse back-up girl. It worked – Eily’s opponent was distracted to the
point of parts breakage.
About one second
before Paul Sadler snagged the Invisible Man shot.
After the run, towing
back to…
…Pit, sweet pit.
The end. This grease
monkey mockup was installed many years ago. Eily updated it to suit the car’s
new estrogen infusion.
Also in HRD’s coverage was a mention of meeting Richard
Harmon. He’s still wheeling the Deuce roadster he built 60+ years ago. Not
mentioned in the caption: As I interviewed Richard in the swap meet area, he
reached into a vendor’s bin and pulled out the Oct. ’59 issue of Hot Rod
Magazine featuring his car! Yet again, amazing, but not necessarily surprising.
Rare sighting of Mr.
Richard Harmon out of his car, yet still in his natural habitat.
I just love this
stuff…
From the Going
Nowhere Fast File (of which this is the World Premeir):
A special shout-out to my pals who are enjoying the Grand
National Roadster Show without me this year. Finances dictated my absence. You guys will have to have my share of the fun. I’ve spotted several of
you in online photos of the event and it appears that you’re doing just fine
without me – the guy known for his disdain for car shows, until he walks into
one. By the way, Steve Scott wishes he were there too and sends his regards.
Rik Hoving reuniting Jack Stewart with the '41 Ford custom he built in 1947, at the GNRS! Rik wrote a book about the car's adventures ("The Bob Stewart 1941 Ford"), which I contributed to in a tiny way. Wish I were there for this once-in-a-lifetime moment.
