Hollywood Spring & Axle – Legendary Springs, Unparalleled Performance
Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop continues to push tradition perfected form and function by working to bring new additions to the signature parts line with a name from the past which some of you may recognize. They introduce to you, Hollywood Spring & Axle.
The story of Hollywood Spring & Axle began in 1920 when Marvin Edwards started making springs during the heyday for the Miller Indy style race cars. Race car springs were Marvin’s specialty, as he was already making springs for racing greats such as Miller and Kurtis. When in 1939 seeking relief from the Great Depression, Marvin decided to shut down his Arizona based spring business to move to Hollywood, California to re-open at 6009 W. Sunset Blvd. The shop became a trusted source for race car and hot rod pioneers from the West Coast all the way to Indianapolis, where virtually every American built race car during these times ran Hollywood Springs as the standard when leaf spring tuning was critical to race car set up. Marvin Edwards developed the Hollywood Spring Special into a true American Racing legend as he and Rallie Alamillo fielded race cars driven by racing greats Parnelli Jones, A.J. Foyt, Elmer George and others.
“In the early days of rodding a Hollywood spring was as well-known as a Dago axle. In the street rod era, guys like Pete & Jake and Pete Eastwood relied on Hollywood Spring & Axle for good-looking and good-working reversed-eye springs for early Ford applications.” – Pat Ganahl, Issue 34 of The Rodder’s Journal.
Through the efforts of Jack Chisenhall of Vintage Air, Hollywood Spring & Axle’s name has been preserved to live on to write a new chapter with Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop picking up the torch to continue the legacy of producing high quality springs for early Ford and vintage race car applications.
What made the Hollywood Spring & Axle springs iconic were their distinctive tapered leaf spring design and true spring rate. Great lengths were spent on details matching spring material and spring leaf thickness as used on the originals. Test articles have gone through extensive testing to prove spring integrity stays tuned to provide no settling when installed on dropped axle hot rods while providing the ultimate ride quality compared to other alternatives available. The results are a spring with tapered leaves, correct spring rates and no settling while paying tribute to the heritage of the past.
As we have all been waiting this year for something good to come out of 2020, Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop has stayed busy in the shop on a new project they refer to as the “Test Mule”. The concept behind the roadster pickup is to be a rolling test bed for new products they are developing for their signature parts line as well as an opportunity for partners to have new products tested in real time road conditions. During a normal show season, the roadster pickup will be driven to all the events Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop will be attending with their semi display at an assortment of hot rod shows.
Now with the cat out of the bag, Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop looks forward to introducing you to “The Test Mule”. The ’32 Ford roadster pick up recently hit the road in early-October and will continue to through the upcoming new year. Its maiden journey was with the Barrett-Jackson road tour followed by the Gathering at the Roc traditional hot rod show. To learn more on the Hollywood Springs or “The Test Mule”, please visit www.johnsonshotrodshop.com.
