A Knights Tale

A person's character is not defined by what they take, but by what they can give. As I stated in my last article, everybody has a story. This is one of them…11 years ago, a very meticulous man named Bob Knight was searching for a rust free 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The 57 is one of the most sought after of the Tri Five Chevy’s. Often referred to as “The Dream Car”, car enthusiasts can search for decades just to find the right one. Fortunately, after only one decade of looking, Bob found just what he was after. Having one when he was 18, he’s definitely no stranger to them. His dream was to recreate the car used to drag race back in the day at Famoso Drag strip in Bakersfield where he was well known as “The Hawk”. For his 12th grade graduation, his dad gave him a 57 as a gift. His dad made him promise that if he did give him one, that after he graduated, he wouldn’t just take it and leave town. Well, needless was he where dad one, needless to say, Bob did exactly what his dad was hoping he wouldn’t do. In 1958, immediately after graduation, he left Austin Texas and moved to California. To say that Bob was a talented man would be a complete understatement. From playing football, weight lifting, being a gym trainer to working at Rockwell as an engineer, he somehow found time to develop multiple items that we still use today. As an engineer, not only did he invent parts for multiple space shuttles, he also invented the tools to make the parts! Who does this? I’ll tell you who does this, The Hawk! Since Bob was into cars, it was a no brainer that he would start to develop parts for his dragster. On one particular day, he was trying to get into his dragster and discovered that because of his consistent joy of eating he gained some weight. After many attempts to slide into the driver’s seat, his frustration grew into curiosity. He realized that the steering wheel was too close to his stomach. “Did the steering wheel get larger, or was it just me?” Frustrated, he decided to invent what we now know as the “dragster” steering wheel. His original cardboard template turned into one made of magnesium and walnut grips in a pyramid shape. At the drag strip, the steering wheel became so popular, that he applied for a patent. Since then, he‘s sold over 600 of them all custom made. His most notable user was the Smirnoff Top Fuel Alcohol Dragster. Being a hobby bicyclist, he also developed many lightweight aluminum parts for the bikes he owned. Some of them were developed specifically for The U.S. Olympic Bicycle racing team. They tested his parts on the team’s bikes at the infamous Balboa bike-racing track. Now that I’ve given you a picture of Bob, lets get back to the 57 shall we? Once Bob found the car, he knew it would take a lot of work to get it to where it needed to be. Luckily, with all his knowledge and skills he developed as an engineer, he was able to fabricate a lot of the parts that he used on it. He spent countless hours working on it, but unfortunately in 2017 he passed away.

Now fate has a funny way of working out. Bobs family knew of the car but had no idea where all the paperwork was or the keys for it. Enter Bob’s good friend John. He had the box that contained everything about the car build, paperwork and keys. After some time trying to get a hold of Bob’s family members, John was able to get a hold of Bob’s son Brett. He gave Brett the box that contained everything about the car, and as Brett puts it, “This is what lit the fire!”

And now the story begins:

On one particular morning, I was with my good friend Barry “The Hat" Buchanan taking photos of a car we just finished building. It was a beautiful custom early 50's Chevy convertible that we called “The Gray Bomber”. I brought along my hot rod “The 30 Rat" for some background eye candy and we parked them near the Panavision building in Warner Center. As usual, a lot of the cars that were passing by either honked or slowed down to look at our hot rods. We were about 10 minutes in when all of a sudden this truck pulls up and parks by us. This guy gets out and starts talking to us about how cool the cars are. He introduces himself and tells us his name. “I’m Brett Knight but my friends call me Tigger, like the tiger in Winnie the Pooh!” Barry and I look at each other with a smile and say “ok”. We introduced ourselves and started talking about our cars. He then proceeds to tell us about his dad's 57 Chevy that he's just starting to rebuild. He asks us if we know where to find parts for it as well as a shop that could put it all together. He explains to us he’s already spent a large amount of money and how expensive it is to get it back together. Barry and I look at each other and without saying a single word we just smile. Muscle cars and hot rods are expensive to own and build. Not only that, we’ve just met this guy and he's telling us about this incredible build that he's taken on. How many times have all of us listened to someone you don't even know, tell you about this awesome car that they have and you never ever see it? We’ve all been there, but there’s something about Tigger that I find interesting. He’s extremely intense to put it mildly, but his passion about his “Phantom” car is undeniable. We tell him about Supercar Sunday and that he should go and check it out. He says he will and before he gets into his truck and drives away, he notices that our cars have a “Rock n’ Roll Hot Rods” car club plaque mounted on them. He asks us about the plaques and we tell him about the car club that were in. He announces proudly, “When I finish my Chevy, I want to be a member! Barry and I look at each other and both say, “ok!”

Since that first day we met him, Tigger started attending Supercar Sunday regularly. As we all know, the car community is a tight knit group and everybody pretty much knows everybody. Sure enough, Tigger would run into his dad's old friends at Supercar Sunday! Each time we would see and talk to him, he would update us on what’s been done to the Chevy. On some occasions he would even bring a custom part to show us and tell us of all the research he had been doing on the paint or a specific engine part. As we got to know him better and better, we realized that Tigger is a cool guy, and he really is rebuilding his Dad's old Chevy!

With all his plans set, Tigger entrusted George of “G’s Collision and Restoration in Chatsworth with the complete build. A 383 Stroker mated to a Tremec 5 speed transmission powers the 57. Everything was powdercoated black to show off the incredible purple finish. It took 6 months to get the color just right. Custom parts and finishing are everywhere on the car. Every time you see it, something else pops out at you. With its wicked rear stance, you know that this 57

Chevy gasser is all business.

When Tigger first drove it to Supercar Sunday, everyone was flabbergasted. It was incredibly beautiful and the crowd around it was endless. Beaming and glowing like a kid with his first ice cream, Tigger finalized his dad’s dream of finishing the car. It was awesome! Of course I held up my promise and welcomed Tigger into Rock n’ Roll Hot Rods car club with a plaque and t-shirt. Well done Tigger, well done.

Now you would think that it’s a happy ending and I would love to end it here. Everyone hold on to your seats! Let me tell you what happened 2 months after the completion of the 57.

Tigger was hit by a guy making a u-turn on Mulholland. He was driving to a meeting for work to show off “The Hawk”. As he was cruising in the early morning a guy pulled out right in front of him trying to make a u turn. The front passenger side was destroyed and Brett sustained massive injuries such as a broken collarbone, chipped hip-bone, bulged disc and a shattered wrist. I remember seeing him for the first time after the accident. He had been a no show at

Supercar Sunday for months. It was devastating listening to him describe what had happened and hearing about his injuries. But even though he was hurting emotionally and physically, he vowed to rebuild “The Hawk”. Fortunately, the damage was isolated to the right front body as well as the frame. Presently, he’s in the process of working out the details to rebuild the damaged 57. To keep himself busy while he’s recovering and waiting for all the insurance money, he went out and bought another muscle car. It’s a beau- tiful 1970 SS Chevy Chevelle with countless custom parts. I’m sure all of you that attend Supercar Sunday have seen and admired it.

As I stated earlier in the article, “everybody has a story”. Some people even have more than one story. Bob Knights story didn’t end when Tigger was involved in the accident; it’s just now beginning a new chapter with Tigger.