“Just Wait a Minute…I always Wanted One of Those!”
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“Listen for a Minute..I’ve Always Wanted One of Those!”
The Jack Slaymaker Collection
I’m sure all of us have heard a teacher or your mother yell, “Quit daydreaming and pay attention!” Jack Slaymaker would often get caught Daydreaming, but to Jack, it wasn’t wasted time, he was thinking up his next hotrod build. Jack and Dennis Slaymaker grew up in Spencer, Iowa and spent many hours going through the pages of Hotrod Magazine, Hop-Up, or Car Craft and devising their plans to go faster. Absorbing the information on every page and filing it away in their heads and for someday. The two brothers loved building cars and well, let’s face it, just loved going fast. Jack graduated High School in 1965 and headed to California in the middle of the Hotrod Scene. Jack was working at his uncle’s gas station and working on all those cool cars. He honed his skills at fabrication building hotrods in the California car culture style. It was a a wild time and Jack spent many hours at the drag trips, swap meets, and hanging with friends in the Long Beach.
Iowa was calling and Jack came back home to work with new skills he learned in metal fabrication and worked at Christians Sheet Metal & HVAC in Spencer, Iowa. The metal fabrication business allowed Jack to further develop his skills at custom fabrication and it was a perfect fit for hotrod builds. About that time, more than a car caught his eye and he married his wife Lorri. She fell for this fun-loving Big Guy with Bear paws. Lorri also had an affinity for cars and they loved going to Good Guys car shows, and many hours going to auctions and swap meets to get parts and cars Jack needed for his next hotrod build. Jack would always say, “Hey wait a minute, I’ve always wanted one of those!” That was one of Jack’s many sayings. Now Jack would never haggle on a price, but he had a secret weapon, Lorri. Lorri was the haggler and helped him get deals. Jack was always buying, but never selling. But he did sell a few. It was a tough decision, but he sold a 1932 Ford coupe as a down payment on their home in Spencer, IA. But Jack would say, “Ah, I’ll buy another one,” and he did. Many cars and hundreds of parts.
Jack and the guys were hanging out in the garage talking cars and he started looking at a 34 Coupe that he had in the corner. He looked at the car and told the guys, “You know that car would look good at Bonneville. Let’s build a car that will go Faster.” Jack and Dennis Slaymaker along with the Jamison brothers built a Blown 1950 Merc Flathead V8 and fit it into that 1934 Ford coupe to specs for the XF/BVGCC Salt Racer class specs. They loaded up the car and left the cornfields of Iowa in search of the white sands of Bonneville and setting a land speed record. That 34 Coupe that had slumbered for 19 years in the corner of the shop was now speeding down the white salt and set a new land speed record for the XF/BVGCC class. With Dennis at the wheel, that coupe set a new Land Speed record of 152.494mph for the Rigor Mortis Racing team. According to Jack, “It was just a trip down memory lane by a bunch of guys who just dig hot rodding and going fast.” They would come back to Bonneville to set another record and fulfill Jack’s dreams of going fast.
Jack sold his share of the fabrication business with plans of more time for builds and going to shows. Lorri and Jack kept filling up the shop with parts, cars, and memorabilia. Jack loved Halloween and playing tricks on his friends. Jack had an alien mannequin that rode in a hotrod, masks and worked with the area haunted house. Jack and Lorri had many great times at the car shows. Jack wouldn’t sit by his car, but loved to watch people look at his rides and listen to what they were saying. Jack would take credit in what they were say but always had a saying, “Everybody is entitled to their own stupid opinion!” Jack believed that Cars had a soul and it was his job to bring it to life with his builds. Lorri started to notice that he was slowing a bit. Less time in the shop and shows. He would always say, “Don’t Ask, I’m Ok,“ But soon his health started fade and he passed away unexpectantly. It was a sad day for the hot-rodding community. His brother, Dennis, is the now the keeper of the Blown 34 Ford Coupe and the many memories of Bonneville. Lorri is keeping some of the cars and especially the 1936 Ford Panel that Jack proposed to her in, along with a few others she will keep those Slaymaker memories going. Lorri has decided to sell the remainder of Jack’s collection of hot rods, hundreds of parts, memorabilia, and more. Now it’s your chance to buy a part of this unique collection.
VanDerBrink Auctions will sell the collection July 24th, 2021 at 9:30 at his shop in Fostoria, Iowa. The collection has many unique builds including a 1934 Ford 3 window Coupe that was featured on the cover of the Jalopy Journal #39. A Chopped 32 Ford coupe, Model A hotrods, 1948 Chevrolet that is built in line of the California Culture and dropped and low. A 1940 Mercury modeled after the Barris Customs Matranga Coupe. Jack styled many of his builds with old school techniques. The collection has several rare Chevrolet panel projects and sedans. A 1929 Ford Woody Wagon, beautifully restored. Lorri and Jack spent many hours going to shows and hanging with friends. If you are looking to build a ride, there are hundreds of parts for your hotrod. To finish off your build, there are many unique speed parts, hood ornaments, steering wheels, and even a helmet that is believed to be Von Dutch painted, and much more. The auction will be Live Onsite along with online bidding. At Jack’s Shop in Fostoria, Iowa.
You won’t want to miss this auction. It’s the perfect auction for the hot rodder and builder. For catalog, pictures, video, and more auctions www.vanderbrinkauctions.com . See you at the Auction!
