Indholdsfortegnelse for March 1993 i Hot Rod

THAT’S THE BRAKES COOL CALIPERS The Dynalite III caliper from Will wood is a permanent mold aluminum racing caliper with rust-resistant stainless-steel pistons. It also features an internal fluid passage to eliminate the external tube and is available in black or polished for street or race applications. For more information contact Will wood Engineering, Dept. HR03, 461 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA 93012, 805/3881188. CHIPS OFF THE BLOCK PERFORMANCE COMPUTER CHIPS Superchips now offers performance-enhancing chips for most European and Japanese cars and is developing a line for American vehicles. First on its list are Ford EEC-IV-equipped cars. For more information contact Superchips, Inc., Dept. HR03, 1958 N. Country Rd. 427, Suite 112, Big Tree Center, Longwood, FL 32750, 407/260-0838. A DASH OF LIFE DASH PAD RESTORATION Your cracked dash…

Ken Fenical, better known to rod fanciers as Posie, is on a car quest. During last year’s rod run season, he was amazed by the number of bitchin’ cars that were built by men and women under the age of 25. “There were all kinds al kids with all kinds of rods,” said Posie, “including an 18-year-old with a bitchin’ Toyota sport truck and a young lady who owned o ’40s Mopar. My idea,” he continued, “is to have the readers of HOT ROD send me photos of their cars [these can be anything having four wheels and an engine] and I will pick the ones I like and forward my choices Io HOT ROD. I’m even thinking of paying for a jacket, inscribed “93—25-years-and-younger pick’ sent by HOT ROD…

In every town, there’s a local loudmouth who’s never built a bitchin’ car but nevertheless brags nonstop about how fast his car is going to be “once it’s finished.” In an attempt to impress and intimidate the bench racing masses, he rattles on and on about how trick the pistons are, how radical the roller cam is, the high dollar unobtanium crank, and the huge wads of cash thrown into the local speed shop’s coffers. Of course, he plans on assembling it all himself, and eventually does so in a single afternoon. “It’ll run 8s, guaranteed!” Yeah right. Chances are, this bucks-up, knowledge-down assembly of parts will barely turn a tire, and Joe Blow’s empty checking account will be rewarded with mid-16-second passes at speeds approaching a trick moped. Throwing…

If your goal is to the most power with the lest number of hassles in a Chevy street machine, the big-block is the only way to go. True, small-blocks can be built to grunt out some amazing power figures, but usually at the cost of both doll are and strret manners .A big –inch Rat motors with 450 horsepower will still have a good idle, will run okay on junk gas, and won’t require investing in high-dollar cylinder heads and a lumpy camshaft, which is usually necessary with a potent mouse. The cliché “There’s no replacement for displacement” is a cliché simply because it’s true. If you’re starting from scratch, don’t waste your time with a 396—go for the gusto and get a 454. The cost difference between the two…

Every sport has a clearly marked path to glory that starts at a very young age. Baseball hopefuls can start Tee-ball just out of the crib and progress all the way to AAA farm teams before breaking into the majors. Many NFL stars rode their Big Wheels to midget football practice, and for all we know there may even be a Toddler Golf Association (TGA, for short). Even racing has its training grounds. Wanna be the next Steve Kinser or Dale Earnhardt? About the time Kindergarten begins, you can start turning left to your heart’s content in quarter midgets, and today’s pre-teen Kart jockeys are next year’s Indy Car and Formula 1 heroes. But for those kids who idolize the dragstrip prowess of Joe Amato and get turned on by…

In television speak, the wrapup is the end of a show; the final punchline or plot explanation. In drag racing, the wrapup usually means the end of the race just as it’s getting started, as the rear leaf springs wrap up under engine torque, sending the rear wheels into wheelhop. Aside from sundial 60-foot times and a tainted dragstrip reputation, leaf spring wrapup can also cost you money in broken parts. There is a simple fix for a wheelhop problem, and it’s been around for years—traction bars. Properly chosen and installed, traction bars will eliminate wheelhop, improve acceleration, and lessen parts breakage. They’re also much easier to install and less expensive than trick ladder bar or four-link rear suspensions, and unless you’re running deep, deep into the 10s, they’ll work…

With few exceptions, valve covers on domestic performance engines serve two purposes: to cover the valvetrain and retain oil. Simple, easy, uncomplicated. Stock stamped-steel covers carry out these duties with ease and are lightweight, so why would you ever want to use anything else? For one, they don’t do much for the appearance of the engine compartment, especially when compared to some of the trick valve cover designs. Two, stock covers are fine for a stock engine, but how many of us have stock engines? On this page, we’ll show you some specialty valve covers, parts, and tricks to make your covers both look and function better. Here’s a tip guaranteed to save your sanity. When drilling a hole in a valve cover for a breather or PCV grommet, carefully…

Sometime, someday, somewhere you are going to have to adjust valves. For some reason, this relatively simple task carries with it an ominous cloud of expected problems or disaster for first-timers. In reality, it’s very easy. You will need to adjust your valves when the heads or cam are removed from the motor or if you’re building a motor from scratch. The following photos show the step-by-step procedures for a separate adjustable valvetrain and give you some tips to make it even easier.…

When Alan Hench says that he’s a truck driver, he’s talking both vocation and hobby. And while he views the workaday world from high in a long-haul 18-wheeler he spends his leisure hours in the cab of a ground-pounding ’57 Chevy Pro Street pickup. Alan does the freight-shuttle boogie from his hometown of Madera, California, where he and wife Karen are raising one child. Their other offspring—the mechanical one—actually started as a ’58 Chevy pickup project, with the ’57 coming into the picture strictly as a parts source. As Alan got into the nuts and bolts of things though, circumstances took him to the earlier model. At the time, he had three ’57s parked in front of his house, and he simply took the best of the best and parted…

If you’ve been following the “How It Works” series, then you’ve read about the four-stroke cycle, the V8 engine reciprocating assembly, the camshaft and valvetrain, and how all these work together to make power. What we haven’t mentioned is that power makes heat, and that all these moving metal parts create friction, which also produces heat. Excessive friction and heat can cause engine failure, so this month we’ll look at how a typical V8 engine is cooled and lubricated to avoid this burning problem. OTHER STUFF YOU OUGHTA KNOW Antifreeze: The product called antifreeze is an acidic mixture of ethylene glycol combined with rust inhibitors and other additives. When mixed in a 50/50 ratio with water, antifreeze both lowers the freezing temperature and raises the boiling temperature. Unfortunately, it also…

FIRECHICKEN FIXES Q I own an ’88 Pontiac Firebird Formula with a 305 throttle body injected (TBI) engine. I want to install Thrush’s dual high-flow exhaust system. My problem is that the only headers with AIR hookups and O2 locations go into a single collector. Where can I find headers with AIR fittings that are for real dual exhaust? Also, would you recommend replacing the stock TBI in favor of Holley’s Projection system combined with the Edelbrock TBI intake? Edward Tucker Jr.Dover, Delaware A While Thrush Performance (Dept. HR03, 2401 W. 1st St., Tempe, AZ 85281. 602/894-1530) does make high-flow replacement catalytic converters for third-generation Camaros, including its 3-inch in-and-out cat, it does not make a complete H-pipe, dual-cat system for cars similar to the kit it offers for late-model…

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE I’m writing to both compliment you and criticize you. I really enjoy your articles, but I dislike it when you say that a 300-horsepower engine can be built for $1000. All too often you just assemble a kit that was ordered through the mail. You fail to specify what cam was used and what heads you had. Mike LibraFairmont, Minnesota My dad and I read your article in the November ’92 issue of HOT ROD concerning kids dragsters (“Kids, Start Your Engines,” Roddin at Random) on page 35. We would appreciate-any help you can give us on how to get involved with racing Jr. Dragsters. Phil MahargNewark, Ohio Both requests are covered in this issue. Check out the Budget Power Combos stories for the straight…

I know one hard-core Ford lover who actually believes the first and last Ford ever built was in 1932. To augment that reet-on but somewhat elitist Deuceophile feeling, H. Eric Vaughn, rod machinist supreme, celebrated the 60th anniversary of the ’32 Ford by hosting Deuce Day at Brookside Park, located within a punt of Pasadena, California’s famed Rose Bowl. According to Vaughn, a total of 172 “Dooses” were in attendance, highlighted by California Car Cover’s Jim DeFrank’s black, full-fender roadster. In fact, DeFrank’s righteous ragtop stroked away with the “People’s Choice” award. A partial breakdown by models included 56 roadsters, 23 three-windows 17 five-windows, 21 Tudors, seven Fordors, nine Phaetons, one B-400, and one Cabriolet…plus trucks, buses, stake beds, and expresses.…

Thirty-three years ago, the late Mickey Thompson made international motorsports history by being the first man to travel over 400 mph in a piston-powered/wheel-driven car when he was timed at 406 during a September ’60 rim on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Unfortunately, a driveshaft failure, which occurred while Thompson was traveling over 390 mph on the return run, kept the world’s fastest hot rodder from breaking the existing 394-mph land speed record held by Britain’s John Cobb. Since 1961, Thompson’s Challenger has been kept in limbo, exposed to the elements, which eventually reduced the dark blue, blown, four-Pontiac-V8-powered, four-wheel-drive streamliner to near junk. It was after Thompson’s death that Jim Travis and Thompson’s son Danny decided to restore this most-important chapter of American automotive history. Included in the presentation ceremony,…

For high speed unencumbered by asphalt or guardrails, check out desert racing sanctioned by such groups as La Rana Desert Racing, SCORE (Short Course Off Road Enterprises), and the H DRA (High Desert Racing Association). There are classes for stock cars and trucks all the way up to unlimited trucks that spend a lot of time in the air, screaming over unpredictable terrain at 130 mph! These feats of engineering require a combination of acceleration, speed, braking, suspension science, and endurance unmatched by most car racing. BFGoodrich even designed a special Baja T/A tire with race designed tread and a four-ply sidewall since a standard tire just won’t survive. With the rough and desolate nature of desert racing, drivers also rely on creativity for survival. A good example is Darren…

We thought it only fair to make you aware of a potential source of embarrassment. Lincoln’s new MK VIII is a road pillow that burns the balonies in the classic Hot Rod Lincoln style. How come? Credit Ford’s new 4.6 liter, four-cam, 32-valve modular motor. Yes, it moves—purportedly to the tune of 15.30s! Considering their cosmopolitan image, it would be very bad form to get blown away by one of these cruisers. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.…

The ’60s. A kaleidoscope of sometimes conflicting forces. If the decade didn’t actually live up to its promise, perhaps it’s because too much was expected. For those fortunate enough to hit their mid-teens during the first half of the decade, the experience was nearly idyllic. Romance on the run, if you will. Bucky Wilkin was in high school during those manic days, somewhere in between the rich and poor kids. But the universal language of the day was of the automotive dialect. Everyone wanted wheels. “I had a ’58 MGA. A black roadster—a convertible. It was the first car I ever had, and I got it in 1962 when 1 got my driver’s license. It cost $800,” he says with a laugh. He also played guitar in a little rock…

When the discussion of building power on a budget is brought up, it’s almost always centered around the small-block Chevrolet. These engines are very common and dirt cheap to buy and build. If you own a Chevy, it probably has a small-block in it. That same engine can be built to make serious power just as easily as it can be assembled to cruise dependably to and from work everyday. It all comes down to what you want and how fast you can afford to go. It is much easier to make more power with a larger engine (400 versus 265), but if you can’t afford to move up in the cubic inches, then make the most of what you’ve got. A big advantage to the small-block is that almost…

“What kind of car do these headers fit?” “What kinda car ya got?” Naturally, those headers are custom designed for whatever vehicle you happen to mention. Sure. Buying used parts is a proven method for either getting a screaming deal or getting hopelessly shafted. Some weathered veterans of the speed wars may be ready for retirement, but a good buyer recognizes that there are great deals to be had on well-seasoned, experienced goodies that are ready to be put back into action. Whether you buy at I the swap meet, from buddies, browsing the boneyards, from the speed shop’s used-parts table, or through classified ads, this story will tell you what to look for to save major moolah by buying the choice swap meat . without getting a raw deal.…

It’s been over 22 years since Jerry Kugel—racer, repairman, and rod builder par excellence—did the unthinkable. He became the first rodder in history to adapt Jaguar’s front and rear XKE suspension to his stock-appearing ’32 Ford roadster. Publicity and jobs generated by the swap ultimately led the 200 MPH Club member to sell his general repairs garage in Whittier, California, and open Kugel Komponents in nearby La Habra, a shop that now specializes in rod-related assemblies including his own stainless-steel independent front ends. Over the years, Kugel has built a number of rods for himself to serve as testbeds for his various components. Like Kugel and his ’komponents,” most have been relatively “konservative.” Then he met Darrel Zipp. Zippster was in the process of developing a new and salt-flat swoopy…

I can pull the engine in three hours.” “Yeah, well I can do it in two.” I “I’ll yank it in an hour and a half.” “Yank that motor!” At the HOT ROD shop, any engine-removal project begins with the glory stories of jerking an engine out of a car, rebuilding it, and getting it running in a different car in less than two hours. The reality is that an engine-pull usually stretches into an evening of labor, but the point is that removing a motor isn’t as intimidating as it might seem. This story will give first-timers the basics of engine pulling and pointers to make the job easier. THINGS YOU’LL HAVE TO REMOVE • Motor mount bolts. • Headers or manifolds. It helps to disconnect the exhaust system…

Holley 1850s are inexpensive, factory rebuilds are even cheaper, and swap meet 1850s are nearly free. Their 600-cfm, square-bore, vacuum-secondary design makes them a universal performer for mild small-block applications. But let’s face it: those side-hung float bowls are homely, and a secondary metering block isn’t stock on the 4160-series 1850. Here we’ll show you how to fix these problems to improve the appearance, performance, and tuneability of the venerable 1850. SOURCE Holley Replacement Parts A Division of Coltec Industries Dept. HR03 11955 E. Nine Mile Rd. Warren, MI 48090 313/497-4000…

HOLY GUACAMOLE! With nearly 100 cars under his belt, Ken Korkosz is no greenhorn to rodding—but he also wasn’t too jaded to go wild with his new “Pro UFO” ’54 Stude project. Not one to . be left out of the limelight, Ken had Ron Batson chop the top 3 inches in front; french the lights and license plate; fill the rain gutters, air vents, gas door, and moldings; smooth the bumpers; and remove the trunk and door handles. There are nearly as many louvers in the rear belly pan as there are in the hood, and that’s a Fiero wing you’re staring at. It’s mounted on a Hawk decklid that’s more angular than the stock Commander lid. The pigment of Ken’s imagination is Porsche Lime Green, which sets the…

Whether you call ’em Novas, Chevy Ils, Deuces, or even Acadians, Chevy’s little boxcars are hot. From the fairgrounds to the dragstrips, 1992 saw more new Nova projects than Camaros! The most popular models seem to be the ’66s and ’67s; the smaller ’62 through ’65 cars have a more nostalgic feel and the ’68 through ’74 Novas offer a swoopier look. The ’90s models have been relegated to obscurity as import road urchins, but the early Novas are shining brighter than ever! Here we’ll take a look at a few done right. NOUVEAU NOVA Mark and Diana Grimes’ ’62 Chevy il represents the high end of subtlety that works so well on first-generation Novas. You might take it for stock, but the deuce sports a 2x3-inch tube frame, a…

Who’s he kiddin’? Chevelles don’t turn corners!” “What happened, man? You take a wrong turn off the dragstrip?” You’re not serious about this, areyou?” There were many disbelievers. They all thought it a ridiculous effort. After all, cheese boxes can’t turn corners. Just ask anybody—except us. We believed different. Last year we participated in the inaugural Triathlon ofMotor Sports staged by the LaVegas Motorsports Association (“TriAutoThon,” March ’92) and had a blast. It also got us thinking about what would make the perfect kick-ass triathlon car. Everybody would expect a . Corvette or Camaro to do well, so we thought \ it’d be more fun to compete with a car 11 that no one would ever take seriously—like a ’65 Chevelle! The Triathlon of Motor Sports race is an interesting…

We all know of products that have been around for-that claim to do more than we can believe, even if countless people swear by the product. Because many hot rodders don’t believe in miracle chemicals, they’ve never used them. Then, through some twist of fate, like a hole in the gas tank in a town with one gas station and one general automotive store, we are faced with a grand opportunity to try the product. And in the case of J-B Weld, we were extremely pleased, and the gas tank is still holding! J-B Weld is a cold-weld process that consists of two parts. One part is a mixture of fine steel in a liquid base. The second part is an activator or hardener. The combination of the two etches…

HEINOUS CRIME What do you get when you cross an “ugly” HOT ROD editor with an “ugly” ’71 Charger? A pretty picture of a murderous Mopar! Oh, how I am enjoying this controversy! Dallas SheltonEnfield, Connecticut Okay, okay! This was the hands-down winner in the “’71 Chargers are ugly” debate. However, lest you think we speak no Mopar, we’d like to point out that your ’71 was is not just a Charger, but it’s a Charger Super Bee. We also grudgingly admit that HOT ROD’S road test of the ’71 (“And Super It Is,” February ’71) said, “It still looks good—and like a Charger.” By the way, those aren’t the correct exhaust tips and the bee caricature on the fender usually goes behind the Super Bee lettering on the driver’s…

HOT ROD REUNTION SWEET MEMORIES Last year, the National Hot Rod Association, hot rodding’s most visible entity, remembered its roots. The association took a couple of days off from its quest for bigger and better “Pro/motions” and spent a November weekend at Bakersfield producing the first California Hot Rod Reunion. For two days, visitors and racers alike were given a serious case of the “nostalgias.” The symptoms were everywhere. Legends—both two-legged and four-wheeled—crowded Smokersville’s huge pits. Cars and stars mingled with their fans. Exhibition passes were interspersed with hot iron parades and golden trophy presentations. There was even a monster barbecue that attracted more than 3000 guests. To say the Hot Rod Reunion was a blast from the past would be an understatement. The “Rodunion” was so totally bitchin’ that…

As much as we rifle ’em, once in a while the guys over at Car Craft get it right. The staff of our little sister publication has been working with Ford Motorsport and BFGoodrich on a 200-mph street Mustang. Realizing that the swoopy NASCAR Luminas need about 675 horsepower to turn 220 mph, the idea was to overcome stock aerodynamics with sheer horsepower. The buildup, covered in the January, February, and March ’93 issues of Car Craft, details how the guys took a stock ’93 Mustang Cobra and overpowered it with a Vortech-blown, Accel-injected, Duttweiler-tuned, 742hp, 305ci Ford mill. The killer motor pushed the Streeter to 201.97 mph—on street tires! The meats in question were BFGoodrich 255/50ZR16 Comp T/A Rls riding a Baer Racing suspension at stock ride height. Car…

If you were with us last month, you might remember a short piece concerning the fact that the legendary team of Gene Adams and Don Enriquez has returned to the Top Alcohol/Dragster wars with a vengeance. At last year’s NHRA World Finals they upped the ante, with Roger Odell’s A/Fuel Dragster, when substitute driver “Junkyard” Ed Vickroy put the unblown, 567-inch, Arias-urged nitro-burning dragster through Pomona’s eyes at 253 mph in just 5.78 seconds. To better put this pass in perspective, that level of performance would have been an NHRA Top Fuel speed record (250.63 set by Don Garlits at Ontario in 1975 that stood until 1980) and quick enough to be a winner at Indy in 1980. “Better yet,” said Adams, “there’s still more left."…

It’s that time of year, time once again to wash and wax the hot rod, find a nice location, break out the Nikon and blast off about a million rolls of film, all in the hopes of seeing your car/truck/rod/go-cart/whatever in HOT ROD. Your trusty HOT ROD staff will sift through the letters, choose the ones we like the best, privately ridicule the ones we don’t like, throw away the inevitable out-of-focus photos and incomplete tech sheets, and eventually put it all together for the August issue. A little tip here to better your chances—no Polaroids, watch the background and foreground for things that don’t belong there (like trees or show displays—we hate show displays). Make sure to include detailed information and a phone number with area code! Fill out…

Even though a Top Fuel motor operates under full throttle for less than five seconds (a little more if it happens to be in a Funny Car or Al Teague’s ’liner), the cylinder pressure caused by huge loads of nitro pumped in by an overdriven 14-71 supercharger leads to what engineer’s call “catastrophic engine failure.” Hence the term grenade. To add a little more fuse to these eight-cylinder bombs, John “Indian” Morgan has developed a three-piece billet aluminum block that he has machined from three separate chunks of 7075 T-6 aluminum. The finished piece—which took Morgan 320 man hours to complete—is built much like an Off and features a pair of interchangeable (and removable) sleeved cylinder blocks supported by a single crankcase. The finished assembly, including sleeves, is said to…

No, this isn’t on action shot from our most recent road test. Il’s o demonstration of the new Triton Barrier from Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. (Dept. HR03, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601). The portable, water-filled car barrier was originally designed by Mickey Thompson for use in his Off-Road Grand Prix stadium races, but has recently been updated for highway vehicle “crashability.” That Taurus may not be faring too well, but the barrier sections, each filled with 145 gallons of water, catch the car rather than bounce it as a cement barrier would, saving injury to the driver as well as people on the other side of the barrier. This could be the hot setup to replace the used tires stacked in the corners of your racetrack!…

Chevy guys have it easy. Their parts all interchange, the aftermarket is over-run with trick stuff, and every possible combination has been tried and blown-up at least a million times. Life is not so easy if your attention is focused on Ford power plants. At times it seems that nothing interchanges, even among the same engine size and family. And looking at some of the strange designs and head/block combinations that have found their way under Ford hoods, you’d think the engineers were fond of weird experiments. Making good horse-power with stock Ford small-block parts is not impossible, but it takes some careful planning and judicious parts swapping. The Bow-Tie builders can just slap together a bunch of parts and run Ils, but that’s too easy. If you like a…

Do you remember your first Willys sighting? I do…like it was yesterday. Mine was a powder blue, flathead-powered ’37 B/Fuel Coupe making a pass at the Pomona drags. McKinleyville, California’s Tommy Smith can remember his first Willys, too. ’I’ve always wanted a Willys,” said Smith, “since the first time I saw a picture of Stone, Woods, & Cook. But I rebuilt this Willys in memory of my Mom, who was always there when I needed her and who passed away two days after its first public outing.” Smith’s mother was there when he purchased the $400 rust bucket in nearby Napa 13 years ago. She was there when its fly-wheel broke, causing Smith, again in his words, “to lift up the body and throw everything else away save the rearend…

Put yourself in the place of 16-year-old Frank Guidace. He drove his newly purchased, canary yellow 71 Chevelle with green velour threads into the local high school parking lot 10 years ago. Even Guidace admitted his commuter was ugly. His pals, noting the fact that he had shelled out $1600 on April Fools’ Day for the “Chev-ill.” called him an “April Fool.” Nevertheless Guidace’s goof served him well, while the Mercer, Pennsylvania, resident acquired a number of winners including a ’54 Corvette, a ’68 Chevelle SS 396, and an RS/SS ’69 Camaro. As the others went down the road, the old ugly stayed put until a couple of years ago when the now 27-year-old recon manager for Interstate Auto Auction, Inc., was bit by the do-it-different bug. Old ugly was…

It’s common knowledge that stiffer-than-stock suspension bushings will make a car handle better thanks to less deflection and quicker reaction. Unfortunately, it is also commonly believed that aftermarket bushings squeak. This myth is not necessarily true, and there a couple of ways you can minimize the noise to maximize your driving excitement. It’s important to realize that a squeak occurs due to vibration between two surfaces. Stock rubber bushings are held in compression, which means there is no slippage on the inside or outside diameter surfaces. Most aftermarket bushings are designed to rotate inside the bushing location; they’re not loose enough to rotate by hand, but road forces and the car’s weight will rotate them. When the bushing rotates, there is friction and the potential for some very aggravating noise.…

It seems as if spark plug wires are always in the way. If they’re not cooking themselves on a header tube, they’re contributing to that errant misfire that took you half a day to track down! As long as we have to deal with them, you might as well make the best of the situation. Take a break for a few minutes for a quick high-voltage lesson on plug wires. There are three types of plug wires: solid-core metallic, suppression, and spiral-wound or monel-wrapped wires. The solid-core plug wires are simply copper wire strands that offer the least resistance to current flow but also create tremendous amounts of electrical noise, referred to as radio frequency interference (RFI). RFI is especially troublesome to electronically controlled fuel injected cars and should not…

Ask anyone the two secrets of going fast and the answer will be tons o’ power and no weight. But nobody told Danny Scott this when he was building his ’67 Camaro. Actually, the / Goodrich, Michigan-based hot rodder has more than 10 years of professional drag racing and a lifetime of car construction under his belt and knows what it takes to run fast, but he wanted to build this car a little different. He wanted to build a real street car that was the epitome of speak softly and carry a big stick. What this meant to Danny was an all-steel, stock-bodied car with a tubbed rear for traction and a stock front chassis. Furthermore, there would be no gutting of this car, and all the necessary safety…

Rods built by Danny BrentexmmUi certain elan. They have a style all of their own. They’re low in profile, medium in horsepower, and high in “eye-peel. “ That’s because Brent, a 50-year-old shop foreman from Santee, California, knows stance, style, and shape. He also knows how to spend wisely. True to his formula, Brent’s latest is a mix that combines the shape of a fiberglass ’36 Ford roadster body laced with aftermarket components and -produced performance. To be more exact, Brent commissioned Nick Nicholson to update his gennie ’36 frame by upgrading its ancient suspension. He did so by swapping in a Mustang II pussyfooter and an 8-inch Maverick/Posies buggy springer. You’ll also note that the ’36’s Goodyear rubber (195/60R15 front; 225/70R15 rear) and billet aluminum rollers (15x6 front; 15x8…