Come Join Grumpy’s For Another Cars & Coffee!
We Will Have Raffle Prizes And Are Giving Away 2 Dyno Pulls (Valued At $175!)
We’ll See You There Hot Rodders!!
937 Von Geldern Way Yuba City, Ca 95991
Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 9 AM–1 PM
Tag: Yuba City
A 1941 Ford: Some Dreams Do Come True
“Some Dreams Do Come True” is painted on the back of Jim Martin’s beautiful 1941 Ford. I recently got the chance to talk to Jim after my Dad who is Jim’s neighbor in Yuba City, sent me some pictures of his car. Like a lot of us, Jim has always had a love for his first car, a 41 Ford, and when he got a little older and had the opportunity to buy another one, he did. Jim bought this car about 10 years ago. He said he not only bought it because it was a 41 but because of how nice it was. A father and son team in Yuba City had built it and had given it a nice custom paint job.
It has a strong Chevy 350 with an RV cam and a big carb. They added power brakes, power steering and a nice CD stereo system. The gray interior is super comfortable for the occasional runs Jim takes with the Central Valley Knights Car Club. He says it is a great driver and he needs to take it out more often.
Jim grew up in Santa Cruz in the 1950’s and loved fast cars. He fixed up his first 1941 Ford with a big flathead V-8 and 3 carburetors in his auto shop class at school. He belonged to the Santa Cruz Dragons an early car club in the area. He said they had cool jackets and club plaques. Next time I’m in Yuba City, I’ll get a picture of his plaque that he still has hanging on the wall in his garage. Jim and his buddies would often find a deserted road in the hills outside Santa Cruz and test out their cars by drag racing each other. He said it was a simpler time, no fights or drugs, just fun with fast cars. The other car club in town was the Santa Cruz Clockers, who were older and had more money and faster cars. They would all go to the Salinas Drag Strip and watch them race on a track instead of the street. Jim is a 1954 graduate of Santa Cruz High School and still goes back for the reunions, occasionally driving his car and participating in the Hot Rods at the Beach car show in Santa Cruz.
Our thanks to Jim Martin for allowing us to photograph his beautiful car and sharing his interesting story of growing up in Santa Cruz and his first 41 Ford.