The Red Devils Car Club was started in 1973. Club founder, Dave Gale, needed a plaque for his newly completed 1927 Ford Modified. He came up with the idea when he spied a can of Red Devil Lighter Fluid on his workshop shelves.

Dedicated to the memory of Dave Gale
(1948-2007)

Picture at left of Red Devils Car Club President Joe Clifford with his Model A Coupe, was taken in his garage in Columbus, Ohio about 1973.
Note: Above the window in chalk it says: Red Devils Hot Rod Club.
 

Fast forward to the L.A. Roadster Show in 2007…Joe, Jim, and Richard are sitting in a hotel room after a long day at the swap meet and show.  Joe is talking about the old days back in Ohio with his friend Dave and the lighter fluid can that inspired ‘The Red Devils’ name and the original club.  (Ultimately it was just to be Dave and Joe.)  Maybe it was the sun stroke, the southern California air pollution, or Richard’s diesel fuel up in Palm Springs, (instantly and forever tagging him as ‘Diesel Dick’ and man did that flattie smoke!), but right then and there it was decided that ‘The Red Devils’ would be resurrected as a hot rod club.  The choice of ‘hot rod’ club vs. ‘car’ club was very deliberate.  Simply put, a ‘car’ is merely transportation, generic, and has no soul.  To us, our humble home-built hot rods are as unique as the builder behind it and this is what distinguishes us from the ‘car’ of the masses.  Shortly thereafter, the club plaque was designed by the founding three with artistic input from Joe’s long time friend and original Red Devils founder Dave Gale.  The first batch of club plaques was cast, painted, and bolted on the rods.  A Red Devils club plaque was sent to Dave back in Ohio.  Later that year, an unknown heart problem landed Dave in the hospital where he underwent surgery but later passed away.  Dave had just completed the ’28 pickup shown here, which is now Joe’s.  It’s known as the ‘Frog Truck’ and that is a whole other story…