LEGEND: DAVE FETHERSTON
Remembering one of Street Machine’s most prolific contributors
DAVID DOCUMENTED THE PRO STREET ERA AT ITS PEAK, AND DID THE SAME FOR PRO TOURING AND HIGHEND CUSTOMS
THE world of custom cars lost one of its most important chronologists with the passing of Us-based expat David Fetherston on 27 February. Raised in Canberra, Dave had overcome dyslexia to build an incredible career in journalism, photography, marketing and publishing.
His involvement with the world of car mags began with Eddie Ford’s Custom Rodder in 1982, after which Geoff Paradise snaffled him up to work on a new magazine called Street Machine.
Dave moved to California in 1984 and continued to ply his trade. When Phil Scott took over the reins at SM the following year, he gave Fethers his own column – Cruisn’ California – that ran from 1985 through to 2002.
Dave also supplied SM for decades with event coverage and feature cars, including builds by Troy Trepanier, Tim Strange, John
D’agostino and many more. He documented the pro street era at its peak, and did the same for pro touring and high-end customs.
SM was just a small part of Dave’s incredible creative output. He contributed to countless other mags across the globe and branched out to build his own publishing empire.
One of his great achievements was his work documenting the lives of our sport’s original legends, including Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Dean Moon and Vic Edelbrock. This wasn’t a fashionable activity in the 1980s, but Dave pursued it with relish, bringing the achievements of these heroes to new audiences in countless magazine articles and his 1992 book, Heroes of Hot Rodding.
Notable books among the flurry of titles Dave published over the past three decades include Moon Equipped: Sixty Years of Hot Rod Photo Memories; The Big Book of Barris; American Woodys; and Barris Cars of the Stars. He also worked with legendary hot rodder Vern Tardel on Hot Rod Your Model A.
One book Dave was most proud of was his collaboration with land speed racer Ron Main, Bonneville: A Century of Speed. Sales of the book raised a stack of funds for the Save Our Salt campaign.
Dave was also heavily involved in marketing, including a stint as director of marketing at Flowmaster Mufflers. He won numerous awards for journalism, was a dab hand behind the wheel, and successfully undertook the herculean task of restoring a 1977 Maserati Khamsin.
While Dave suffered health issues in his later years, he remained a creative powerhouse, branching out into the world of podcasting in 2019 and publishing a series of children’s books in 2020.
He is survived by his wife Nanette and children Kate and Ben.
I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM WITHOUT HIM BELIEVING IN ME
TIM STRANGE
MEETING David Fetherston at the 1994 Street Machine Nationals in Du Quoin, Illinois changed my life forever. I had been attending the event since I was 13 or 14 and I knew it was a huge deal in a world I wanted very badly to be a part of. I took my first build – a ’64 Chevelle – to the event in 1991. It won an award but garnered no press, outgunned by the pro street monsters that ruled the roost in those days.
I returned in ’94 with a ’54 Chev that was a mix of custom and pro street, with the dream that it would be my ticket out of my day job at a Chevy dealership and into a life building hot rods full-time.
Sure enough, the ’54 was a hit, and I was approached by quite a few photographers asking to shoot the car, including a funnysounding guy called David. He wanted to submit a story on my car to magazines all around the world. Was this really happening? I couldn’t believe it.
From that weekend, the car received five full features around the world, including two by David. And sure enough, once the magazines started appearing, the phone started ringing, and it was enough to open our shop, Strange Motion, full-time.
That weekend also started a lifelong friendship. David and I would always see each other at the many events we all attended. We hung out, went to dinner, and, yes, he shot pictures of most everything we built through the years.
When David started working in marketing with Flowmaster, he put me and the revamped ’54 in an ad campaign that went around the world. That led to more campaigns with other builds, and I’m still involved with Flowmaster today.
I would not be where I am without him believing in me, and I will be forever grateful for what he did for us and our shop over 27 years ago. But I am just one of many he did the same for. He believed in this industry, and worked so hard to promote it in a positive and artistic way.
The day I heard he passed, I stood in my hot rod shop, looked around and saw many photos and features of his work. I shed some tears for my friend and said: “Thanks, buddy.”
A KIND SOUL, ALWAYS READY WITH ADVICE OR AN ENCOURAGING WORD
WARWICK KENT
IMET David at the Street Machine Nationals in Canberra – pre-summernats – where we were both working as photographers for Street Machine. We stayed in touch when he moved to California and I was soon attending the Street Machine Nationals at the State Fairground in Du Quoin, Illinois.
The site was massive – have a look on Google Earth. It was a three-day event drawing huge, well-behaved crowds – quite different to our Summernats! It could have been overwhelming, but David was always very generous in helping me find the best locations and introducing me to the top guys. He knew everyone and was liked by everyone!
David was always shooting, and he had a very effective system – always on a medium-format Mamiya RB67 camera, and always using gels. He didn’t waste his time shooting second-rate cars, only the best.
David was a guy who loved his life, cars, the people in the industry, and had a genuine love of photography. A true pro.
THOM TAYLOR
THERE was a time when I would see David a lot, which was strange, seeing as he lived almost 500 miles north of me. But he was in the LA area often for events or to photograph cars. No matter what he was doing, he would take the time to find out what I was up to and fill me in on his latest book or adventure. So it was always fun catching up.
David was a kind soul, always ready with advice or an encouraging word.
He photographed a number of my cars over the years. I remember the time he photographed my Chevy Caprice wagon. It was black and lowered and large. All polished and shiny, I drove it on almost a dirt road with construction signs. David thought it was a perfect backdrop, but now there was a slight coat of dirt covering the whole car. I started to wipe it down and he just about screamed: “Stop! Don’t touch it!” I thought that was crazy and asked why. He said that a slight coating of dust helped define the body and was a perfect situation for photographing a black car.
I’d never heard of that before, or since. But he was right! When you see images he shot, you don’t see a fine coating of dust. You just see a shiny car with well-defined shapes. It was one of those simple things that, when taken all together, made his photography stand out. I’ll miss David.