Innehållsförteckning för Issue# 25 från Rodding USA

Michigan manufacturer John’s Industries is a one-stop shop for all your rear end and driveshaft needs. They offer housing centers, axles and assorted parts to complete, ready to bolt-in units. In addition they also offer brakes from a finned aluminum rear drum kit to 10 & 11-inch drums plus a complete line of Wilwood disc brakes. Shown here is John’s polished aluminum big bearing pinon support with billet aluminum 1310 yoke w/ polished u-bolts. The 31-spline Detroit Locker with Motive 3.70 ratio ring and pinion. Other features include forged aluminum main caps and solid adjuster nuts of this unit that is designed for lightweight vehicles where weight reduction is critical. All units are available in your choice of gear ratios. If you’re building a show rod or just want to…

I realize that this is not something you will use on your hot rod or street rod but I know many of you have yellowing headlights on your daily drivers. I wanted to try this out to see what kind of results it would provide on my wife Malena’s 2004 Ford Thunderbird. The headlights had become foggy and yellow which of course is going to limit the light passing through. Besides the unsightly look of the lenses they were also a safety hazard. You provide your own drill motor and 3M provides everything else. Following the simple directions I spent about 20 minutes on each lens and the results were outstanding. Not only is the road easier to see, the car looks 100% better with nice and clear lenses. Follow…

Despite the unseasonably cooler temperatures and a few wet days the 48th annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona drew over 300,000 spectators and saw 1,719 vehicles cross the block. The 2017 sales totaled $102.4 million dollars (unaudited) and over $2,000,000 was raised for charity.…

The progress continues on the Rodding USA 1932 Ford as we roll into the 85th anniversary of the Deuce. Steve Codianni/Lone Wolf Customs continued working on the fuel system including the lines and a fuel regulator from Edelbrock. fabricated a new brake line to replace one that he wasn’t happy with and installed the Edelbrock Fuel Regulator. He also made a few modifications to the bed which included narrowing the fuel door box to allow the new aluminum bed strips to fit. On another note we found out that Hot Rods by Dean in Phoenix, AZ manufactures a slick under-seat mount for the Optima 6-volt battery. It was the perfect solution since that’s where our batteries were to be installed. In the last installment we showed the new gauge…

Henry Kaidenbaugh of Camp Verde, Arizona took a drive to the Los Angeles Roadster Show in June of 2015 looking for a new car. After scouring the swap meet and the show he ran across this classy 1935 Ford phaeton. The car had been restored by the late owner Bill Reeves. It was being sold by Bill’s son and daughter after having sat idle for over six years. At the time of purchase it was powered by a 1941 Mercury with two Stromberg 97 carbs mated to a ’39 Ford 3-speed transmission. The chassis is the original Ford x-frame which still runs the original front suspension with the exception of Houdaille shock absorbers which were rebuilt in 1995 and the 1940 Ford hydraulic brakes. The rear suspension features the original…

The massive 68th Annual Grand National Roadster Show took place on January 27-29, 2017 at its usual Fairplex venue in Pomona, CA. The unusually cool temperatures at the beginning of the event warmed in time for the Saturday/Sunday drive-in event which allows participants to drive their custom vehicles into the grounds and provide spectators with more cars to see. Nearly 1,000 cars filled up the nine buildings with every type of custom car imaginable. While the various buildings featured a plethora of vehicles, building 9 hosted nearly 100 1955-57 Chevrolets to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the 1957 Chevy. Building 10, better known as the Suede Palace had a fresh look with more shiny cars than suede ones in attendance this year. Of course, the highlight of the show takes…

Like a lot of people, Gord Gray’s interest in cars started at a very young age. Watching his father and a friend service cars, and looking up at all the old pictures on the wall of his dad and friend Gary working on ‘30s and ‘40s hot rods in their small old school performance shop, had a big impact on him. At age 6 a wild ‘test ride’ with his dad in a customer’s ’69 R/T Hemi Charger, with a ‘supposedly’ poor running engine, got Gord truly hooked. Buckled in, windows down, (to hear the exhaust note better) Gord’s dad floored it as they drove onto the highway. The rush that ran through his body when he was pinned back in his seat as rubber was laid in 2nd and…

“While his buddies were smoothing thier cars in the early '80s Mike was looking at traditional from the get go.” In the last issue of Rodding USA we introduced you to Mike DeVriendt and his incredible collection of cars and memorabilia. Mike’s current collection consists of nearly 50 cars and he’s owned hundreds in his lifetime, but one of those has always held a special spot in his heart and is the one car that is “not for sale.” He located this 1934 Ford coupe in 1983 in Lawrence, Kansas and purchased the car which was being restored and was 80% completed. The body color was 1934 Ford Cordova tan with the original drivetrain powering it. His initial plan was to add some performance to the engine, but we all…

It seems like every week we see and hear about lost hot rods. Pat Ganahl has even written two books about them. But when it happens right in your own back yard, and it is a car you remembered in high school which gets your attention… Dale Reed, of Portland, Oregon, has had hot cars back to his high school days. Many of us remember cars from school that we haven’t seen since. Dale still gets together with some of those guys on Friday mornings for breakfast at a place called The Hanger, in Carver, Oregon. One of those mornings, he is talking with a guy, and the guy mentions a man who still has a Model A Ford that he bought for his daughters to drive in high school.…

“PPG primer covers the body along with pin striping by Bob Bond adding to that “old style” hot rod look.” Pete and Jake’s Jerry and Jason Slover own a handful of hot rods including the Californina Kid (’34 Ford coupe) and the Fat Attack (’46 Ford convertible) which were built by the late Pete Chapouris along with Jake’s coupe (’34 Ford) built by Jake Jacobs. Those are some of the most famous hot rods ever built but for years they’ve wanted a ’33 Ford coupe to be powered by a big engine. Sometime back they ran across the perfect candidate in that the steel body they located was in need of floors along with some serious lower body rust issues. The body was shipped off to Jeff’s Customs where it…

Stuart Archibald first set eyes on this 1958 Chevy Fleetside truck in 1993 when he was in the market for something different, having outgrown his love of British performance Fords. The truck was for sale by an American car dealer in the Northeast city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The pickup was pure ‘70s style, sat sky high with wide modular chrome wheels, a Chevy V8 under under the hood and it was painted metallic purple with gold highlights. Stuart didn’t go for it at that time as the investment and time to change it to what he aspired didn’t fit within his available budget. However, 30 miles away another Scottish hot rod enthusiast also spotted the truck and set out on the 100 mile trip north from Glasgow and bought it.…

In late February I took a day trip to Los Angeles, CA via Southwest Airlines to visit the enormous Edelbrock facility located close to LAX in Torrance. Smitty Smith (Edelbrocks Technical Sales Coordinator) picked me up at the airport on his way into work and after a quick stop at IHOP he took me to the Edelbrock corporate office. Here we met with Director of Advertising, Eric Blakely for a visit and to make plans for my day stay in LA. After making our plans Smitty proceeded to take me on a three hour tour which included every aspect on how this 79 year old company is run and to be very honest it was both incredible and overwhelming. (In a future issue of Rodding USA I will provide you,…

Early in the construction phase of this 1934 Ford sedan, we spent many hours working on door alignment. We have the belt molding aligned at the door/ cowl gap and the latches properly adjusted. So we should be done with the doors. But when we installed the dovetails on the front doors, the doors would not latch. Both dovetail wedges were 3/16-inch too low. Murphy’s Law strikes again, since neither half of the dovetail is adjustable. Many builders simply leave the male dovetail off and hope for the best. Ford knew they had a problem and supplied offset dovetails. To the best of our knowledge, no offset dovetails are currently available. When you cannot buy it you make it. The reproduction male dovetails that are available are fabricated from sheet…