Unlike many tales, the story of the So-Cal Speed Shop is not one made up by some clever marketing types; it’s a true story of friendship, hot rods and the need for speed.

Our story begins on March 22, 1922, in Los Angeles, California, with the birth of Alex Xydias. Although his father was a prominent producer of silent movies, Alex’s childhood was fairly normal, and like most young boys, he naturally gravitated towards automobiles. His first hot rod, a ‘29 Ford roadster with a milled head and a chopped flywheel, which he drove to Fairfax High School, was paid for with part-time earnings. After graduating, Alex worked in a gas station and saved enough for a ‘34 three-window coupe which was followed by a beautifully customized ‘34 cabriolet-found in the lower basement garage at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In 1940, Alex joined The Wheelers, a Southern California Timing Association club located in Norwalk, California. However, his life, like that of so many young men, was about to change when, in 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps, serving as a B-17 engineer. According to Alex, “All we talked about during the war was cars, and once, when on furlough, a friend took me to a street race out in the San Fernando Valley. I was really surprised at how fast the cars ran, and I got the idea to open a speed shop.” On the day of his discharge – March 3, 1946 – using some borrowed money, Alex opened the first So-Cal Speed Shop on Olive Avenue in Burbank. >>