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Whitmire, If you’re reading this fine publication, you obviously fall into the demographic of automotive enthusiast. Further research and extensive analysis also indicate that you are most likely male, between the ages of 55 to 64, you are married with 2.4 children, gainfully employed, and you have an inherited ability to know exactly where to park your ride so it will be safe from a wayward shopping cart or the occasional flock of blackbirds that have just dined on a five acre field of black berries.
Doug Whitmire is a personable, fun loving individual that falls well within the demographic mentioned above. He was raised in the small town of Newton in west central North Carolina by a family of self proclaimed “car nuts” and was taught early on that the automobile had more important functions than being a means of transportation.
Growing up in the small town of Newton, there were not a lot of things the younger folks could do. A popular pastime was to pile into the car, drive downtown to the town square, and cruise around the seven blocks that comprised the square. Young Mr. Whitmire quickly learned the sole purpose of this nightly ritual was to be seen by your peers, and attract the attention of as many young ladies as possible. Whitmire also noticed that the guys with the coolest cars seemed to attract a majority of the ladies. It didn’t take the young man long to figure out exactly what needed to be done.
The 3-inch drop on the front axle gives the car that slight rake so common with rods from this era.
At 14 years old, Whitmire was of course, too young to drive legally. He was working at the family’s trucking business changing oil and cleaning the fleet of semis belonging to his father. Even at this young age, Whitmire could easily maneuver the trucks around the lot without incident, or at least none that he will admit to. As he had done with his brothers before him, Whitmire’s dad offered to pay one half the cost of his first car, but made it clear to his son that he would be responsible for earning the other half; he could have whatever car he wanted as long as he could pay the piper, so to speak.
The grille shell is from a 1932 Ford, this was done to accommodate the custom AFCO aluminum radiator.
When Whitmire turned 16 years old, his first priority was to secure his driver’s license and purchase a car that would be cool enough to attract his fair share of the town square beauties. Whitmire approached his dad and announced he wanted to purchase a new Corvette as his first car. Dad did not agree, he explained to his son the Corvette was not practical, and it was a bit out of his price range. After some discussion, Whitmire purchased a brand new 1969 SS Chevelle, (which he still owns today). He and his new ride quickly became one of the most popular 16 year olds in Newton.
Light assemblies are original. Maybe Whitmire could find a plate that reads Wedding Chariot versus horseless carriage.
When Whitmire graduated high school, his brothers convinced him he had to have another car. His trusted Chevelle was no longer one of the most popular cars on the square. The newest trend around town was the street rod, a two seat, open wheeled, high horse powered chick magnet.
Within a few weeks, Whitmire had located a 1931 Ford, five-window hot rod. The car needed some paint and the interior would require some attention, however, the fuel injected Corvette engine purred like the proverbial kitten. The custom designed two inch headers and side pipes produced that deep throaty growl that you would expect to hear from a little red hot rod.
Whitmire’s new ride was what you might refer to as somewhat old school, even back then. The car was built in 1965 and employed the same technologies current to the era. The car definitely needed some updating, but at this point in time it was perfect for what Whitmire had in mind–cruising the square and attracting the ladies.
The little red hot rod is the same as it was when it was built in 1965, the fuzzy dice are not original.
In 1974 Whitmire decided he was really tired of the North Carolina winters and wanted to be somewhere with plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures, and white sand beaches. He also wanted to go somewhere that he could cruise with his little red hot rod year around and not have to park it for six months out of the year due to nasty, cold weather. With all of this in mind, Whitmire packed his duffel bag and headed south. He had relatives living in Saint Petersburg, Florida and figured that might be a good place to camp out for awhile.
Once in St. Pete, Whitmire quickly secured gainful employment and found residence a short drive from the beaches. He found he could cruise the entire expanse of Gulf Boulevard (the primary north south roadway adjacent to the beach) from St. Pete Beach to the south, all the way to Clearwater Beach to the north. Whitmire readily admits, he would spend most, if not all of his spare time doing just that–cruising the little red hot rod up and down Gulf Boulevard enjoying the warm weather, the sights, and bikinis that can be found nowhere else but on the beach. Left: The five-spoke Crager Mags are true to the era and the Hoosier rubber has proven to be very durable. Right: The 11-inch drum brakes supply plenty of stopping power for this lightweight little beast.
The locals became accustomed to seeing the young man and his little red hot rod, until one day they noticed something different. The young man looked the same and the little red hot rod looked and sounded the same, but now, without warning, there was a dark eyed, blonde haired, bikini clad beauty with white rimmed sunglasses riding shotgun.
There seems to be some dispute about what this dark eyed, blonde haired beauty was actually wearing at the time when she was first spotted riding shotgun in the little red hot rod, some say the sunglasses were red.
After a period of nearly four years, Whitmire asked this dark eyed, blonde haired beauty with the white, or red, sunglasses to be his bride. She accepted.
The couple began planning for their big day and as with any formal wedding there were a number of details to sort out: the dress fitting, the invitations, the caterers, flowers, gifts for the wedding party, the photographer, and last but not least, the rental of the stretch limo to whisk them away at the conclusion of the ceremony.
When the big day finally arrived everything went off exactly as planned. As the couple exited the church Whitmire’s new bride was very surprised to find her official wedding chariot was none other than the little red hot rod. Whitmire looked lovingly at his new bride and said simply, ”Surprise.”
The red and white pleated leather interior has been upgraded, interior space is somewhat limited. Not much room for a formal wedding gown in here.
The 327 CID fuel injected Corvette supplies Whitmire with 375 horses.
There was a problem with a fuel leak somewhere deep in the injection system and Whitmire planned to have his mechanic tend to the problem at his next opportunity. As is common with this sort of thing, Whitmire discovered the funds allocated for fuel injection repair had been diverted to the “kids need new shoes” account.
As Whitmire remembers it, “Life got in the way, it happens to all of us.” Whitmire’s priorities shifted to providing for his family. His beloved little red hot rod would remain in the garage for the next twenty years. “The car became a storage bin, the kids would play in it from time to time, but that was about it.” Whitmire recalled. “I knew someday I would get it back out and put it back on the road. I just didn’t know when.”
The little red hot rod complements the Florida landscape. It’s easy to see why the ladies are attracted to this pretty little ride.
That day finally came when daughter Crystal approached her mom and dad with the announcement of her engagement, and her plans to be married. She wanted to have a wedding just like her mom and dad, and that included driving away from the church in the little red hot rod.
After some discussions with his bride, Whitmire rolled the hot rod back out of the garage, repaired the fuel injection, did some cosmetic work on the interior and the exterior of the car, put his dark eyed, blonde haired bride in the car and took the little red hot rod on its first cruise in over twenty years. Crystal’s wedding went without any complications, and she too, was able to drive away from the church in her mom’s wedding chariot.
The Whitemire ladies, Crystal (left) and Gwen (right) pose with their Wedding Chariot, as you can see, the little red hot rod does attract the pretty ladies.
Today, the little red hot rod is essentially identical to the way it was when it was built in 1965. The car still sits on the same 1932 stock Ford frame with a 3-inch drop, straight axle, and leaf spring rear suspension.
The drivetrain is all GM from the 327 CID LS based Rochester fuel injected Corvette motor, paired to the standard Borg-Warner 4-speed manual transmission with a Hurst Hot Plus shifter. The differential is a standard GM housing carrying a 4.56 rear gear.
The 11-inch drum brakes provide the stopping power. The car rides on chromed Crager five spoke wheels wrapped in Hoosier rubber front and rear. The interior is custom pleated leather with a hand fabricated dash and instrument panel. Instrumentation is all Stewart-Warner. The steering column comes from a late model Cadillac. This was added by Whitmire later on for the tilt wheel. The radiator is a custom designed AFCO unit constructed out of aluminum with high flow capacity and a standard GM pump. All lighting is original, and the two inch headers and side pipes are custom fabricated by the original builder .
Whitmire and his dark eyed, blonde haired bride of 37 years still take the hot rod out at least once a week for a cruise down Gulf Boulevard. “I still take my bride to the beach, we take the hot rod, grab a bite to eat, and normally stay long enough to enjoy the sunset.”As of this writing, the couple has no plans of doing anything different. So, if you happen to be on Gulf Boulevard between St. Pete and Clearwater Beach and you come across a guy driving a pretty little red hot rod wearing an ear to ear grin with a dark eyed, blonde haired beauty with white, or red, sunglasses riding shotgun–let him know you read about him in Rod Authority.
