RPM Nationals Flathead Drags Santa Margarita CA

When arriving at this year's RPM Nationals, there was no missing the entry road as there was a gorgeous 1931 Ford Model A Sport Coupe sitting at the entrance to the event. The turnout was fantastic at this year's event. Many new hotrods that we hadn't seen before made the trip to the Santa Margarita Ranch. And many of our favorites returned to the nostalgia drags; RPM Nationals is by far the funnest hotrod event on the West Coast, and many would say in the US.

The yearly event is held at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, a short 30 min drive from the California coast in Santa Margarita, CA. The drag strip is an old aircraft landing strip located on the Ranch. Along with the Drag Races, they had a fantastic car show, swap-meet, and food trucks were also on site.

1931 Ford Model A Sport Coupe at RPM Nationals

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The cars that were out at this year's RPM Nationals were remarkable. Three historic cars that came out to the races were exciting to see. They were the "Baldwin Special" built by Willis Baldwin of Santa Barbara. There were four "Baldwin Special's" that Baldwin produced; all four were built for road racing. Unfortunately, there are only three known remaining cars that are left. The roadsters raced in Northern and Southern CA in the early 1950s. Even today, you can catch these cars running in events at Laguna Seca Raceway and RPM Nationals.

The 1947 Baldwin "Payne Special" that was once owned and raced by Philip Payne had a 1932 Ford Frame, Mercury flathead v8. The 1949 Baldwin "Mercury Special" had a Mercury flathead v8. Rob Manson now owns both these road racers. The third Baldwin Special, also raced in Northern and Southern CA, was a 1951 Baldwin "Hanssen Special" powered by a Ford flathead v8 with an Ardun overhead-valve conversion; William Hanssen originally owned this car.

William sold the car back in 1959, and it eventually ended up in Connecticut and was found by Williams son Stu Hanssen in 2010. Stu brought it back into the Hanssen family. So there are the only three Baldwin Specials that are known to be left, and all three were together at this year's RPM Nationals.

Rob Manson took the winning honors in his 1949 Baldwin "Mercury Special" in his race class at this year's RPM Nationals.

left - 1947 Baldwin “Payne Special”Middle - 1949 Baldwin “Mercury Special”Right - 1951 Baldwin “Hanssen Special” — *left* - 1947 Baldwin “Payne Special”
*Middle* - 1949 Baldwin “Mercury Special”
*Right* - 1951 Baldwin “Hanssen Special”

The racers who participate in the RPM Nationals Drag Races come from western states like Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Washington, and other nearby States. One of the participants was Bret Richardson that came up from Utah to run at RPM Nationals for the first time. Brets 1930 Model A gets lots of attention with its yellow color and a bee painted on the grille with "Mean Bee" painted on the side, this car sounded fantastic. I had a long list of favorites this year, and this Model A was one of them

The car show at RPM Nations was excellent. One of the vehicles that attended the show was a 1937 Ford truck. What first caught my attention was the Flying A signage on the door. Near the Flying A signage was a painting of a woman below that read “Miss Fit.” It turns out that the "Miss Fit" is referring to the 2332cc high-performance VW engine that the truck has in it. That was a first for me, I didn't expect to see a VW engine in a '37 Ford truck.

Mark, the owner of this unique build, said the truck keeps up with the traffic flow nicely on the freeway. He also pulls a trailer with this Ford "VW" truck; Mark drove the unique ride from Redding CA to RPM Nationals to attend the event, about 450 mi. one way.

1937 Ford Truck with a high performance VW engine at RPM Nationals

Great times at this years RPM Nationals in Santa Margarita, CA

Along with the interesting cars, met some interesting people at the event. One of them was Guido. He built one of the most incredible 1923 Model T's that I've seen. The Model T had a Lincoln v12; the Root Beer Metalic paint job was remarkable. The choice of the 16” wire wheels in the rear and the custom 15” wire wheels in the front are a perfect addition to this 23T.

It was a tribute to the car in the song “Hot Rod Lincoln” that was originally written and recorded by Charlie Ryan in 1955. Many others have recorded "Hot Rod Lincoln" since its first release. Charlie's own 1941 Lincoln Zephyr v12 powered Model A, influenced him to write the song "Hot Rod Lincoln."

Guido calls his Model T v12 "The Stinkin' Hot Rod Lincoln" Guido built other interesting cars, one of which won two awards at the LA Roadster show. If you go to an event like RPM Nationals, I recommend chatting with the builders and racers.

Guido and his 1923 Model T v12 “The Stinkin’ Hot Rod Lincoln” at RPM Nationals

The races were terrific; the participants were pumped the spectators were having a blast no wonder they call RPM Nationals one of the premier hotrod events on the West Coast.

The grudge matches are the funnest to watch; in my opinion, you can see the grudge match-ups building up leading up to the event, especially on social media. The grudge races are the first races in the morning and after the finals.

The grudge matches are great, but the elimination rounds and the final trophy rounds, well, after all, a win is what everyone is going for, but in the end, it's all about having fun.

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