Alex Xydias lived a remarkable life. A hotrod enthusiast from a young age, he served as a B-17 crew member in WWII, founded the So-Cal Speed Shop and later set speed records, made documentaries, ran Car Craft magazine, and helped shape the automotive aftermarket into what it is today. He died last week, leaving behind a fantastic legacy of innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment in the hotrod community.
Xydias is probably best known for the So-Cal Speed Shop he founded in Burbank after leaving the Army Air Corps in 1946. He got a lot of publicity for his So-Cal Speed Shop when his belly tank Lakester, built to promote his business, was photographed for the January 1949 cover of Hot Rod magazine. He had pushed the car to over 100 mph with a V-8-60, a miniature version of Ford’s flathead V-8, but he had more up his sleeve. It got a new chassis and ran even faster with the small engine, but Xydias knew a streamlined car would be even faster.
The So-Cal Streamliner was developed with input from Xydias, his racing partner Dean Batchelor, and Valley Customs owner Neil Emory, who designed the body. Initially it was powered by the same V-8-60 as the Belly Tanker, but soon it got a full-size Mercury Flathead that pushed the sleek body to much higher speeds. The Streamliner was the fastest on the Bonneville Salt Road in 1949, but it really became famous when it set a Bonneville record and earned another spot on the Hot Rod magazine trophy as the first hot rod to hit 200 mph with a passing time of 210.8962 mph. That was enough to put the Streamliner on the cover of the October 1949 issue of Hot Rod.
Xydias was editor of Car Craft and soon became editor of Hot Rod Industry News. Much more than just a racer and hot rod innovator, Xydias was also a good friend to many in the industry and active in the community. In 2012, the Alex Xydias & Pete Chapouris Center for Automotive Arts (AXC) was established in Pomona, a two-year program that teaches students automotive diagnostics and repair. It is fitting that the AXC is located in the Pomona Fairplex near the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, as the two pioneers were lifelong friends and their legacy will live on together.
