I tagged along today with Jack Petitt as he went to visit with his buddy Stan. We rolled in his 57 Pontiac Star Chief, the one you may have seen in the special 50th issue of Ol’ Skool Rodz. A very nice car and of course lots of thumbs up as we bumped along north on the 710.
We arrived at Stans shop, just a stones throw from Masterson’s Customs, behind a residential neighborhood in South LA. Stan has a huge collection of car-club plaques. Stan’s business is Sta-Mik Metals. He provides aluminum ingots to manufacturers all around the country. If you have a foundry and are pouring aluminum, you most likely get your metal from Stan or one of his dealers. He specializes in providing primary and secondary aluminum alloys. And, he purchases Aluminum scrap.
The shop looks to be about 5000 square feet of cinderblock structure and on the walls of the back rooms are hundreds if not thousands of car club plaques. It has to be the largest collection of club plaques in the world.
Between the walls are a pair of 55 gassers. In one room is the blue “Lynwood Flash” which had the engine ripped out as he was repairing the bell-housing that decided to let loose of a big chunk while running it at the Mooneyes X-mas Show a couple of weeks earlier. It’s also a daily driver of sorts. With cup holders, and 8-track radio I imagine Stan sipping a cool beverage and cranking the Eagles at the 1000 foot mark as he shifts into another gear.
In the next room over is “Quicksilver”. A regular at the Thursday night drags at Irwindale. Stan got in the rig and started it up with a roar to back it out and get some sun. It was awesome to hear the 496 Chevy BB fire-up. Stan recently installed an 8.71 Blower with 2 Holley double pumper 750 carbs, roller cam, lifter and JE pistons, and Edelbrock heads. He hasn’t taken it on the track just yet, but without the blower config, he was running 12.2’s at appx 110mph. I believe the blower should get him across the line a bit quicker don’t you?
If you are in need of some aluminum for your foundry, give Stan a call at 310-605-5080 or visit StaMikMetals.com.
– Story/Photos by T-Bone