"The entry in the Los Angeles Times on June 6th 1987 read thus: “Dean Moon, a drag racing pioneer and speed equipment manufacturer from Whittier, died Thursday at the La Hambra Convalescent Hospital of complications of a lengthy illness. He was 60.” "
Mantaray by Dean Jeffries
The young Californian fused two old Maserati single seater chassis he had acquired and welded them together. The suspension, brakes, and steering were kept on for the finished article but apart from four Weber carburetors, the car was, he told Street Rodder Magazine recently “true-blue American, right down to the 15-inch magnesium-cast Halibrand wheels and the bred-for-Indianapolis Goodyear Blue Streak Speedway Special tires.”
Unsurprisingly, the gorgeously curvacious body Jeffries created (which was, apparently, hand-built from no less than 86 sheets of metal), was enough to win him the ‘contest of fame’. This not only won him a prize of $10,000 and a trip to Europe, but also changed the way the world thought about Hot Rods.
This is what we call truly creative car culture. And we love it.
Images via Street Rodder Magazine
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