Motor Masters

The Official New York Division Supporter Shirt - Click here to order yours today.

Motor Masters was a car club that grew out of a group of hot rodders in Hollis, a neighborhood on Long Island in the borough of Queens, New York. Rudy Johanson was a mechanic working for New York Airways. In his spare time he used to work on a customized 1950 Ford he had. Frank Cappa and Charlie Ahrens managed two neighboring gas stations in Hollis, and they both had a number of hot rod projects on their own. The guys met somewhere down the road, and in 1952 they established the Motor Masters. At the time the club rented a corrugated four-bay shed a few blocks away from Charlie and Frank's gas stations. Charlie was the President of the club for many years before he went on to become the President of the Long Island Timing Association. Members were placed in four categories: apprentice, member, senior member, and serviceman. The club had a board in the garage, and each member had a nameplate that was a hand-painted aluminum plaque that was used to indicate if they were in good standing or not. If you were in good standing you could borrow tools from the club such as body grinders, floor jacks and torque wrenches. You could sign the tools out to work on your car. They would flip your nameplate over if you hadn't paid your dues or took tools without returning them or whatever. Embroidered on their shirts above the club logo were the words "Devotees of Competitive Speed and Timing". The club organized a number of successful car shows and campaigned an Ardun-powered 1934 Ford Coupe at drag races throughout New York and Pennsylvania. The club disbanded in the early 1980s.

Members

Charlie Ahrens
Charlie Gilcrest
Dick Yarkin
Frank Cappa
Hank Cozzi
Marty Zickerman
Mike Sforza
Paul Levine
Rudy Johanson