Innehållsförteckning för Issue# 24 från Rodding USA

25 years ago, NHRA employee Steve Gibbs decided to get some of the old drag racers together for what was to be a one-time social gathering at Famoso Raceway. An event where they could reminisce over the “Glory Days” of drag racing, have an old style drag race competition, and honour some of the early guys involved in hot rodding and drag racing. Little did Steve Gibbs and the 5 or so other NHRA staff who helped him, realize what they had given birth to. Expecting around 1,000 people it has been reported that close to 15,000 came for that first event, and that was the start of what is now considered the largest Nostalgia Drag Meet in the world. With previous reunions being such a great success, many were…

The car was built in the early 1980s and Mike was told that Boyd Coddington had built all or some of the car but that remains unconfirmed. The underside features a louvered bellypan above the frame and a chrome plated rear end. When Mike acquired the coupe it had a tweed interior which he promptly replaced with leather. He drives this car frequently and recently took it on a Route 66 tour with fellow rodders Bill Hill, Tony Bruce and Greg Morris. Of the tour Mike says “there were lots of laughs, a few beers at the evening stops and more laughs. Another reason I enjoy this hobby is the friends you meet over the year.” ENGINE: 351ci Ford Windsor, 385hp. TRANSMISSION: Ford C4. FRONT SUSPENSION: Tube axle, disc brakes.…

Mike has an affection for 1933-34 Fords and woodies which led to the purchase of this vehicle. This car was an estate car used to transport guests in the Martha’s Vineyard area. A guy from Massachusetts who was a member of the National Early V8 club bought it and restored it in the early ‘70s. He took the car to Dearborn in 1973 and won the Best Commercial award. Mike Welch, a friend of Mike DeVriendt’s saw the car at that event and ended up buying it and bringing it to Denver. Once the car made it to Denver Mike D. ran across it and had to have it. Since purchasing the woody the only thing done was to repaint the sheet metal. The car even has the original glovebox…

To acquire this car Mike had to purchase a lot of 6 cars which also included a ’55 Chevy convertible and a ’52 Mercury convertible… the purchase price in 1989 was $24,000. After selling off the other five the cost of the Sportsman was rather reasonable. At that time he owned two other Sportsmans, one stock and one a hot rod, but his plan for this one was to have a restored look but with some upgrades underneath the sheet metal and wood. One of Mike’s favorite engines is the flathead but that wasn’t special enough for this car so he upped the ante and decided that an Ardun would make for a rare engine in a rare car. It took 10 years to rebuild it to perfection with many…

Lexington, Kentucky is horse capital of the world and is known as the “Bluegrass”, beautiful rolling hills, bright green foliage, bourbon distilleries, long rolls of plank fencing holding in the nation’s most beautiful and expensive thoroughbreds. On the first Saturday of Labor Day Weekend sees hot rods, customs and street machines coming into town for the 10th Annual Hot Rod Hullabaloo... this year 580 to be exact. Thoroughbreds being bought and sold at auction is a regular occurrence here, but at the Hot Rod Hullabaloo the only thing you will pay for is great BBQ, vendor items and souvenirs. This event has been free since the first one in 2007, free entry for participants, spectators and vendors...you see this hot rod event is about community, fellowship, the passion for hot…

SO-CAL Speed Shop Arizon - The Next Generation Frank and Mary Streff are proud to announce as of January 1st 2017, our longtime trusted manager, Brian Benzing and his wife Angie will be the new owners of SO-CAL Speed Shop Arizona and Vintage Ford Parts of Arizona. Brian has been an integral part of the shop for nearly 25 years and Frank’s right hand man; a perfect fit to continue the SO-CAL legacy. Frank states “with 42 years in our rear view mirror, we are ready to take on a new role in semi-retirement and Brian and Angie are both enthusiastically ready for ownership and looking forward to new horizons in the classic car and truck industry and hobby.” Brian says, “Angie and I are excited for all the adventures…

In 1955 (5 years before I was born), my father purchased the 1932 Ford 5 window coupe from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s auction in Phoenix. The car consisted of the body and frame only – the story I remember was the car was found upside down in the Salt River near Mesa, AZ. He won the auction for $50.00 and brought the car home to start what would end up being a 7 year project. He worked on the car in our backyard, chopping the top and channeling the body while keeping the fenders. He also built the custom taillights by fabricating 2 sets of 1948 Ford rear lights along with many other mods. The car was completed in 1962 but he was not satisfied with the steering and front…

“The build began with a Morrison chassis with Mustang II style suspension...” In issue 18 of Rodding USA we featured an incredible collection of Chevrolets housed at Greg Heinrich’s Fairway Chevrolet dealership in Las Vegas, NV. At the time Greg had mentioned to me he was having a car which his dad had purchased or taken in as a trade turned into a resto-rod by Rods & Restos in Centre, AL. I mentioned that I was interested in shooting a feature on it when completed and recently he gave me a call to let me know it was done. On a recent trip to Sin City I had the opportunity to see and shoot the incredible work Neal Lea performed on the 1951 convertible. Neal gave me a rundown on…

Mike purchased this roadster last year from an elderly guy in Northern California who was downsizing his car collection. He restored the ’34 fifteen years ago and started with a rust free body. Mike has owned a few 1934 Ford roadsters over the years and decided it was time for another. He has a few changes in store for the car in 2017 which include a dropped axle and big & little wheels and tires. ENGINE: 1959 AB flathead V8. TRANSMISSION: 1939 Ford. FRONT SUSPENSION: Stock with 1948 Ford brakes. REAR SUSPENSION: Stock. FRONT & REAR TIRES/WHEELS: 16 inch Kelsey Hayes with Firestone 600/16s. BODY MODS: All original sheet metal. Color is 1934 Dearborn blue. INTERIOR: LeBaron Bonney leather and top. ACQUIRED: 2015.…

Another recent acquisition is this wooden beauty which was owned for 50 years by Dan Krehbiel. Dan purchased this 1939 Ford from a classified ad he saw in the L.A. Times on Sunday, October 23 1966 with an asking price of $600.00 for an original jewel, A-1 except for the varnish and engine. Dan went to inspect the car, gave the owner $480.00 and towed it home with a 1950 Ford convertible. He proceeded to drive to shows all across the country and even made trips to Canada and the tip of Baja California, Mexico. The car was chosen by Ford Motor Company to be on the station wagon brochure in 1976. In the ‘70s Dan was asked to display the woody at a Beach Boys concert. During one of…

Mike first ran across this coupe when he saw it in a Pueblo, CO Ford dealership in 1973. It was owned by the service department manager. The car was then sold and resold to three of Mike’s friends and then two years ago he had the opportunity to buy it and he did. He traded a restored 1933 Ford sedan and cash for the car which has no rust or body damage and perfect floors. The interior has been partially done for the last 20 years and Mike says “my first intentions were to get that done but have not yet. I hope it is not another 20 years until it’s complete.” ENGINE: 1967 289ci Ford. TRANSMISSION: 1939 Ford. FRONT SUSPENSION: Dropped axle w/’48 style hydraulic brakes. REAR SUSPENSION: 1932…

It’s been a busy schedule as we hit early November which is SEMA time in Las Vegas. It was good to visit with many of Project RPU’s sponsors at the show and finalize components which will go into the car. While at SEMA I had the pleasure of meeting with Eric Blakely and Smitty Smith of Edelbrock. During our brief visit they mentioned not to forget that Edelbrock owns Russell Perfomance which was perfect timing since we were getting ready to run the fuel lines and finish up the brake lines. As mentioned previously the car will run a carburetor in the beginning and then we will switch over to fuel injection. We spoke to Justin Somerville at Tanks Inc. and he suggested we install their in-tank Walbro fuel pump…

Way back in 1976 a Texas hot rodder named Charlie Duran decided that Deuce lovers needed an event to bring them and their cars together and held the first annual Deuce Reunion in Austin. The event was a success and now we fast forward to 2016 and the 40th reunion which was held September 16th & 17th at the Hyatt Lost Pines Restort & Spa which is 12 miles Southeast of Austin. Due to weather forecasts calling for rain all weekend some chose not to attend and of course it never rained. As for the 90-plus hot rodders who drove their ‘32s to the event they were greeted with no rain and some Texas heat. The event included 6 folks who’d attended the first event in ’76 (two of them…

1937-40 CHEVY BUSINESS COUPE GAS TANK YOU we Inc. proud announce the release of its new 1937-40 Chevy Business coupe gas tank. This tank fits in the original location inside of the car. Stock dimensions and capacity make this tank an easy swap from original. Made from laser straight dies this reproduction is like the original tank with two key changes. The filler neck is removable and the supply and drain plugs are a larger 3/8” NPT fitting to feed today’s larger motors. The price for the tank is $300. For more information on this as well as the complete Tanks Inc. line Contact us at 877-596-3842 www.tanksinc.com MAX-FIRE PLUG WIRES EDELBROCK Max-Fire Ultra-Spark performance spark plug wires are manufactured in USA highest quality . have an extremely high EMI/RFI…

A problem for many rodders is how to get the required electrical current to power safety deadbolts on their car. Here is a solution which worked on a 1934 Ford fordor sedan. The four “suicide” doors benefit from safety locks. The car will be equipped with four power deadbolts because manual deadbolts on the back doors would require physical gyrations to operate which the owner does not want to do. We are using four power deadbolts from Carolina Custom (phone 910-564-6123). These units are equipped with a micro switch for a status indicator light or alarm. Each unit requires two wires for the actuator and two wires for the micro switch. The center post between the doors is too narrow to contain the power deadbolt assembly. The front post area,…

Mike grew up on a dairy farm in the northern state of Minnesota so he was used to working long hours and learned to drive a tractor at age 10. His uncle owned a scrap iron yard and he remembers visiting often and was fascinated by that business, and the huge piles of scrap iron and cars. He says that’s what led him into the auto and truck salvage business. Over the years Mike has owned many businesses including a paint and body shop, a So-Cal Speed Shop franchise and his Pike’s Peak Motor Company in Penrose, Colorado which is now run by his partner. Mike is no longer involved in the day to day operations of the business after moving to Arizona a couple of years ago. The…

Mike has a soft spot for 1933 Victorias and has owned 5 of them over the years. The others were either street rods or projects which were never completed and this is the original one. The car has 36,000 original miles and has had a partial restoration performed on it in the 1970s. Everything on it is stock including the 1933 engine with a one barrel Detroit lubricater carburetor. Mike purchased the Vicky in Denver in 1982. ENGINE: Original 21-stud flathead. TRANSMISSION: Original 3-speed. Front Suspension: Stock with mechanical brakes. REAR SUSPENSION: Stock. FRONT & REAR TIRES/WHEELS: 17-inch wheels with 5.50x17 Firestone whitewalls. BODY MODS: Original steel with 1933 coach maroon paint on the body and black on the fenders. INTERIOR: Mohair. ACQUIRED: 1982.…

In 1982 a friend of Mike’s was restoring this ’40 Ford and borrowed the paint booth at his body shop to paint it. He took the convertible home and partially assembled it but never finished it. It sat for 20 years in his basement garage with its now aged new maroon paint. Mike purchased it from him in 2002 and finished it 6 years later. Rather than restore it as the previous owner planned Mike went the resto-rod route. He used Chassis Engineering suspension components to modernize the chassis and updated the drivetrain with a Chevy crate engine and transmission. During the rebuild Mike decided to freshen up the new/old paint with a fresh paint job in Cloudmist Gray which is actually a stock ’40 color. ENGINE: 350ci Chevy V8.…

Paul Wesler purchased this 1932 Ford in 1957 off a car lot in Guyman, OK for $125.00. Rodding USA reader Greg Morris was a neighbor to Paul and rode in this same sedan when he was 9 years old in 1959. Mr Wesler did not like hot rods and was in the process of restoring this car many years later and put notes in and around it stating that whomever purchased the car in the future that he would be looking over them and they were not to hot rod the car and if they did it would be their demise. We hope Mike doesn’t decide one day to hot rod this sedan… ENGINE: 1932 Ford V8. TRANSMISSION: 1932 Ford. FRONT SUSPENSION: Stock, mechanical brakes. REAR SUSPENSION: Stock. BODY MODS:…