In 2002, seven enthusiasts who were interested in the traditional early “Roadster” and the history of the Southern California Hot Rodding met and discussed the idea of re-creating the Pasadena Roadster Club. Some had running “Roadsters” while others had a project sitting in the garage waiting to be put together. Later that year, The Pasadena Roadster Club was re-born.

It was thought that there was not a lot of interest in the old traditional “Roadsters” but as the club members got their cars on the street where they could be seen, others came forth who also had early Hot Rods or the makings of one. In the next few years, the club grew to sixteen members, most with a running “Roadster”. Members are required to have an original bodied, 1936 or older, traditional “Roadster”, which includes Roadsters, Roadster Pickups, Phaetons, Tourings, Cabriolets and Modifieds, with engine and other major mechanical components of 1953 or earlier manufacture. Vehicles with newly constructed bodywork, frames and/or chassis components are not eligible.

club Meetings are held once a month with special events and outings thru the year. Some of our members compete at our local Dry lakes and also make the annual trek to Bonneville. Each spring, the Pasadena Roadster Club stages a re-creation of the original Reliability Runs which brings out traditional “Roadsters” with participants not only from California but also other states.

Hot rods did not have a good reputation with the public in the late 1940s. The cars were seen as dangerous nuisances on the roads of Southern California. The Pasadena Roadster Club worked hard to try to counter this reputation by working with local law enforcement, civic and community leaders to cast the rodding activity in a more positive light. In this endeavor, one of the Club’s main activities was the hosting of an annual Reliability Run. The Run focused on adherence to the rules of the road, and the ability of the machines to reliably negotiate a variety of road and driving conditions.

The first run was held in late 1947 and was restricted to earlier open hot rods which included Roadsters, Roadster Pickups, Phaetons, Tourings, Cabriolets and Modifieds.  The run was later opened up to other cars including a few coupes and even some Sports Cars were welcomed. The Reliability Runs were eventually jointly sponsored with another Pasadena club, the Pacers, and were held until the Pasadena Roadster Club became inactive in the early 1950s.

Five runs in all were staged with all of them starting from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The routes were over one hundred miles long and varied from year to year. Our local mountains and desert provided a good test of the reliability of the hot rods with Check Points set up along the way to insure each participant stayed on the prescribed course and adhered to the average speed set fourth in the route instructions. There were secret speed traps and those found to be exceeding the posted speed limit were penalized. The early runs proved to be very popular and garnered national attention with articles in widely distributed publications.

Early in 2004, The Club discussed the possibility of re-creating the original Reliability Run. Thru research, the original route information was found. The original route started at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and went thru Little Tujunga Canyon and on to Acton. The return route was over the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles Crest Highway and finished at the Rose bowl.  A reconnaissance was made and it was determined that most of the original roads were still in place and the route of the first Reliability Run could be duplicated.

A list of some known roadster owners was put together and invitations were sent out. The Run would be restricted to early open hot rod “Roadsters” with emphasis placed on engines and other major mechanical components of 1953 or older manufacturer. The Club tried to replicate the original run and the cars as closely as practical. Prior to the date of the run, there was a lot of apprehension among the members. Would anyone really be interested in our passion to preserve a bit of hot rod history and could we organize and put on such of an event? Not only was there interest, the first re-creation was a great success.

Early on the morning of October 23rd, more than sixty “Roadsters” showed up at the Rose Bowl for the start. The participants were individually waved off and drove the original prescribed route with several check points, just like the old days. At the finish, after all the cars were accounted for, score sheets were tallied, and trophies were awarded. The participants had a great time and appreciated the efforts the Pasadena Roadster Club put into the event. The only question they had was “When is the next one?”.

In October of 2005, the second re-creation, Run #7, was held and also started and finished at the Rose Bowl. Thru word-of-mouth, more great traditional “Roadsters” turned out to make this run even better then the one before. Starting with Run #8, the Start/Finish was moved to the Pasadena City College, Adult Education Center in the eastern part of Pasadena, as The Club was encountering many difficulties with conflicting activities at the Rose Bowl. Starting with Run #9 lunch was included at the finish for the drivers and navigators.

This annual event has become so popular that some applicants have to be turned away. The run is restricted to traditional style “Roadsters” with special consideration given to historically significant cars and cars that participated in the original runs. Only one hundred “Roadsters” are accepted, the same number as the original runs. The Selection Committee has a difficult job with all the quality traditional “Roadsters” applying for a starting number.