....the "rest of the story" on "Fred the Magnificent" as he calls
himself....
-so here is the entire uncut article I did for Hop Up 2001......
-hope ya' enjoy it, let me what you thought of it... fair enough?
oh and for the rest of you who do not know Fred: he deserves this; -for all
the times he's busted on ever'body else......
(which you can believe is often....)
*******************************
The Fred Steele Story-
50 years of whacked out, whacked on, Hot Rodding
by Doug Anderson
Get comfortable and grab a cold one cause this is a pretty amazing
tale
about an unforgettable guy; a Hot Rodders Hot Rodder, -a guy whos not only
got the same passions about cars he started with, but thats still got the
same cars! -just wait til you learn the rest of the story.
When our editor asked me to write something to tie in with HOP UPs Golden
Anniversary, I immediately thought of Bostons Fred Steele. Heres why; I
became acquainted with Fred and his exploits a lot later than I would have
liked; because you see, hes been at this roddin game now for more than
fifty years and he still doesnt show any signs of wanting to throw in the
towel any time soon. Fred and I first met about eight or nine years ago,
when I was doing a big spring swap meet in Rhinebeck, N.Y. As usual, I had
lots of stuff out for swappin but the thing that caught Freds eye, was my
Racing Decal collection. Because nice old decals are fairly rare to see
any more, Freds memory bank went into recollection mode and he stopped to
take a look-see. With him was sidekick Paul Aldrich, whos own record
goes back almost as far as Freds,-but I digress. Anyway, both were
interested and we ended up doin some business. But more importantly, we
became fast friends. I was amazed that we had so much in common -even
though wed only just met. Both Paul and Fred have an affinity of all that
is HOT ROD simply for the sheer love of it and I really appreciate that.
I call it soul. Because of that passion, both of these yay-hoos are on my
short list of hot rod buddies to this day.
But let me tell you a bit of his fascinating story -and give you a little
insight into Fred Steele, the man.
Fred tells me that he was born at a very early age, in Boston, to parents
who, while they loved him well enough, traded him off to some nomadic
Bedouins for an ancient Egyptian fertility bracelet while on an expedition
in Morocco when he was eight. As you can imagine, it had a dramatic affect
on Fred from that time on. Anyway, as related to me, it seems that his
parents were completely caught up in the beauty of the gold bracelet and
its potential value, and with Fred being a boy of somewhat unremarkable
appearance, they knew theyd really pulled one over on the Arabs. Fred was
getting very expensive to feed. Knowing theyd get a fine price from an
antique dealer in Monte Carlo, they quickly left the Desert and Fred behind
as they sped off to their next stop gathering rare stuff around the world.
But- they hadnt counted on Freds dislike for sand, or his natural ability
to improvise, -to make a plan come together in a pinch. Fred promptly
bit the guy in charge, and from that time on the dude wanted none of Fred,
sending him out of his sight to guard the camels and horses at night. After
almost a year in the unbearable heat, he escaped while watering the beasts
at an oasis by jumping a passing truck hauling figs to Casablanca. He
managed to stow away on a tramp steamer, finding his way back to Boston 63
days later. As soon as he arrived, he walked all the way home to rejoin his
parents. Upon finding him at her door, tanned and brown, dressed in rags,
his mother was struck speechless. When she regained her composure, she
pleaded with him to understand that they had done it for Freds own good
because they were so poor, but Fred never quite forgave her. He told me
though, that he does remember that one time money got so scarce around the
house that the Butler stole the familys English silver to pawn it to get
cash for the gardener who needed it to give to the maid who was, well, -
shall we say,blackmailing him. Fred remembers that right after that
happened, his father sold his mothers baby blue supercharged Cord and took
four plug wires off the V16 Caddy Towncar in order to save on gas -and that
was before they took in the boarders from Chicago that caught the carriage
house on fire down by the lake. He told me that he thinks those peoples
name was Luciano but hes not sure.
Times were indeed tough on the young lad, but at 15, he moved out on his own
and found a job and a place to sleep next to the air compressor at the Jenny
gas station in nearby Boxborough, Mass. He became friends with the local
gearheads that hung out at the station, and many of them had hot cars -and
the more he rode around with these guys racin and chasin-as he calls it,
the more he wanted a rod of his own. Besides,It was a good way to pick up
chicks. Though it was tough on a pump jockeys pay, he began building the
Deuce roadster that would become PURPLE PRIDE in 1951. He started it right
after hed gone to see a gypsy fortuneteller to learn how to get more
girls when he was 16. Lucky for us, the fortuneteller told him he would
become a big wheel and Fred misinterpreted her (she spoke broken English)
and he thought she said hed have lots OF wheels. Little did he know
what a path hed chosen for his entire life. Or how many cars he'd have.
Manys the night he would prowl downtown Boston in search of chrome, girls,
and flathead speed parts not necessarily in that order. It was during
this period, that he supplemented his income by selling sombrero hubcaps
from late model Caddys to local customizers. Theyre still a hot item in
some circles.
After three or four years building the Deuce, doing car shows, and moonlight
street races, his pride and joy was featured in the July 56 issue of ROD &
CUSTOM beginning an illustrious career in hot rodding spanning over fifty
years. While building the roadster in the summer of 52, Fred became one of
the founding members of the Boston area TY-RODS, -a rowdy bunch if there
ever was one. Theres been an incredible trail of projects, wacky
adventures, and magazine articles ever since
I dont believe Fred ever sold a car hes been intimate with; choosing
instead to stash them away in cubbyholes in and around the greater Boston
area. A veritable black hole of hot rodding, its no wonder the rest of
us have such a hard time finding Deuce grille shells, -his motto being;
What sell a car? -wash your mouth out with soap. Most of his rides are in
prime shape and ready at a moments notice for another midnight cruise to
Marrakech or some such. According to Fred, his collection is part of the
secret of eternal life -that, and what he found buried in a pyramid in Gaza
while visiting his daughter in the Foreign Service a couple years ago. It
seems that his prior knowledge of camels got him in good with the locals,
and they showed him a few things that only a camel jockey could know. Fred
says the general public and the tourists havent got a clue. He may well
be right.
Because theres so many cool cars in Freds varied collection, well let the
photos tell most of the story, but heres a highlight of some of his more
memorable; After finishing the purple Deuce in 1955, the next car he tackled
was a 28 A sedan, built in 1957 from the ground up and painted to match the
Deuce. For the sedan he chose a 265 Chevy mill, as by that time he could
see they were a general terror on the streets. A 39 Lincoln Zephyr lost
its tranny, and it was hooked to a Columbia two speed rear. The wheels
were hand made from A centers cut down and mated to 14 and 15 inch rims. No
wheel companies or credit cards back then boys you either do it yourself
or it dont get done. In the summer of 61 Fred and friend Tommy Dawes
drove the car cross country to Tijuana for a white tuck n roll job -which
it still has. The tequilas all gone. On the way, they attended the
National Drags in Indianapolis, and saw the awesome Bonneville Salt Flats
for the first time. The A sedans a great car -even now, unrestored as it
is. Cool man. It's still got the participant's stickers on the driver's
side rear window to prove it.
Next on Freds build list ( after watching one too many 77 Sunset
Strips on TV ) was a cute little 20 T roadster that Fred and Don Spinney
built in 1961. Fred bought out Dons interest in the car in 62 and flat
towed it all the way to California, where it was photographed overlooking
L.A. for a Ventures record Album in 1964. While living there, Fred joined
the LA Roadsters, and remains an associate member to this day.
After returning from California, Fred and Don Spinney again collaborated
this time on a butter yellow full fendered Deuce roadster,installing a 283
Chev mated to an early Ford driveline. Again, Fred bought out Don in 1966.
The car still sits in the same condition, in the same garage, and ready to
hit the road. A very simple, very nice, Hot Rod.
As part of his ongoing saga Fred, and wife Pat went on a round the
world
trip to Australia in July 1970. I just recently read of their trip in an
old issue of the Auzzie Rod magazine, CUSTOM RODDER that I got in a care
parcel from downunder pal Peter Carpenter of Victoria who I met at
Bonneville In 1998. Anyway, this guy Steele gets around. In this thirty
year old article, Fred was immediately referred to as The Living Legend of
Hot Rodding and the article went on to describe the people and places he
and Pat visited. They toured Australia far and wide, visiting rodders and
seeing the sights in a borrowed 60 Falcon ( whooo-eee!) -all the while
driving on the wrong side of the road as Fred puts it. In Brisbane he
found a twin spinner (a 51 Ford to us) Hearse that he thought was too
cool and tried to swap it for a Gila monster he had in his suitcase. But it
was too big. The article went on to mention the 22 cars that Fred owned
that included a 27 T center door sedan, a 40 Ford coupe, a 39 sedan, an
EDSEL Ranchero, an Olds ragtop, and the cars mentioned here. Fred told me
that they had a great time on the trip and that he liked the animals best of
all. But I found out that upon departure from Australia, the authorities
had all they could handle with Fred because they caught him trying to
smuggle a tiny joey back to America in the vest pocket of his sports jacket
in the Melbourne airport. It seems that its national crime over there to
steal Kangaroos so they threatened deportation. Lucky for him, he was on
his way home anyway.
The next year, back in Boston, Fred bought a nice original Deuce
phaeton
and drove to the Street Rod Nationals in Columbus Ohio hauling along a crate
full of chickens. Its not known what became of the chickens, but I think
Fred may have traded the phaeton for his WW II US Army Half-track.-perhaps
because of the odor ? -or stains on the paint ?
A couple years later, he found and rescued an old orphaned 50 Merc
Custom
that had had a hard life and proceeded to save it by re-doing the entire car
to suit. This is the car alongside the 72 boattail Riviera, his latest,
-which lost four inches of its factory defective roof pillars in 1993.
Fred must like the Merc best though because thats what we usually see him
drivin lately. He says its like driving his living room sofa. Go figure.
I could go on and on, because Freds been at this game fora long, long
time, but you get the idea. Hes got ALL the T-shirts and theres just no
catching up to him. Hes had way too much of a head start on all of us so
dont even try but check out the photos and see for yourself how nice his
cars are and if you happen to see a bright yella Merc sneakin up in your
rearview some day, wait and see who it is. It just might be nice guy Fred.
Talk with him a while, and see if what Ive written about him isnt true.
Like I said, Hes an amazing guy.
Finis
Original text for HOP UP Magazine Fall, 2000 ) Doug Anderson
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