Hansen: Car connections cross generations
He’s tall and wears a gentleman’s haircut with just the right amount of pomade to make a statement. But it’s not his quarterback good looks or rugged fashion that sets him apart. It’s his pale-yellow, 1955 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
Danny Schmitz, 35, is the founder of the car club Sled Kings, whose motto is “No Meetings. No Rules. No Dues.”
The Huntington Beach resident started the private club (sledkings.com) in 2012 as a way to better connect with fellow enthusiasts of cars built before 1960.
But why would a young man with a wife and two small daughters fall in love with a generation well before his time?
“I think I just connected with the ‘50s,” he said. “I like the styles, I like the mannerisms, I like the family ethics and I like the cars. Everything about that era just spoke to me. A lot of people say I have an old soul.”
It also helped that Schmitz was born with a wrench in his hand. His grandfather was the founder of the Harbor Area Model A Club.
“He’s always had a large collection of Model A’s, and we’re actually restoring a 1940 Ford of his right now. It’s in paint as we speak,” Schmitz said. “He was always someone I looked up to, and he taught me how to wrench on cars and gave me a lot of opportunities to fail and coach me through the failures.”
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FOR THE RECORD
May 20, 2:38 p.m.: A previous version of this post referred to a 1944 Model A. It should have said a 1940 Ford.
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It’s the process of success and failure that drives these car owners in particular. They are not buying cherry cars at auction. They are buying project cars and rebuilding, scouring Craigslist for parts and searching club boards — and when they find something that works, sometimes flying across the country to get it.
Schmitz’s Cadillac is very much a work in progress — an amazing work in progress. He is charting his efforts in a detailed blog on Jalopy Journal. He has more than 40,000 hits from supporters cheering him on. Just search “1955 Cadillac conversion project” and you will find it.
Here’s the difference between a stock Cadillac that you might see at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and what Schmitz is doing with his visionary modifications. The speedometer in all old cars is analog, but what Schmitz has done is installed a discrete digital version as well.
The result is a blending of old and new, a nod to period-correct analog in a digital world. It’s the very reason genres don’t matter anymore. The blurring of lines has become so pervasive — in car design, music and art — that our cultural signposts are just that: only markers for historians.
“The gaps are being bridged,” Schmitz said. “I think it’s a lot more appreciated these days, and it does draw together some different crowds.”
Car guys still have their preferences: hot rodders, roadsters, restored or kustom with a “k.” Even between kustom there are differences. There can be mild kustom, full kustom and “bombs,” which were the original lowriders. They started in the 1940s and became especially popular in Southern California throughout ‘60s and ‘70s.
For Schmitz, the history is important for authenticity’s sake, but there’s also the here and now, where it’s more about lifestyle and camaraderie.
“The only reason we formed Sled Kings is I didn’t want to put a label or box myself into a corner of someone else’s vision. You just want to have your own image,” he said. “I think everyone in the club shares the same ethics and family values. They’re hard-working.”
The club’s next trip is to the Whitewall Nationals in San Pedro on July 16.
With a day job and a busy family, Schmitz gets to his car work when he can. But it’s not about speed. It’s about imagination and fulfillment.
“This is my dream car, he said. “Just about everywhere I go, it gets attention. Even guys with Ferraris will give me a thumbs-up. That’s what I’ve noticed most since starting the car game in my early teens; there’s a lot more appreciation across the board. Everybody seems to appreciate it.”
Elbow grease, creativity and the love of something intangible.
What’s not to like?
DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.
