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SO-CAL SPEED SHOP – The history of So-Cal
Speed Shop goes back 60 years when a young man, Alex Xydias,
opened the first So-Cal Speed Shop on Olive Avenue in Burbank on
March 3, 1946. Xydias recalls that during the war all they
talked about was cars and during a furlough a friend took him to
a street race. He was surprised at the speed of the cars and
got the idea to open a speed shop. For the next 15 years, So-Cal led the way in setting speed records. In 1948 So-Cal cars were the first hot rods to go 160, 170, 180, and 190 mph. They were named by Mechanix Illustrated magazine as the Number One Racing Team. In 1961 Xydias closed the doors as the flathead Ford was no longer the hot rodder’s favorite and the speed equipment business was changing. Pete Chapouris, a legendary street rod builder, revived the So-Cal name in 1997. Xydias and Chapouris teamed to continue the legacy and today So-Cal is an icon in the industry. Today, So-Cal specializes in automotive restoration, develops new hot rod products, and maintains an award winning body and paint team of master craftsmen, and designs and builds motorcycles. |
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