Innehållsförteckning för Issue# 29 från Rodding USA

As automotive styling progressed from the Model T, Ford Motor Company was softening the sharp edges and rounding the shape of their cars. By 1933 the progress was evident in the overall design. However we always felt that the design group either forgot the tail lights or just ran out of time. The 1933-34 tail lights have hard edges and the footprint of the tail light stand on the fender rivaled the size and shape of a young Sasquatch. The shorty tail light stands are a “Band-Aid” fix. We wanted something that looked better without looking too modern. The 1937 Ford tail lights are a classic design but how to mount them proved to be the challenge. Cutting off the back of the tail light at an angle and mounting…

Corvettes have always been a part of the rodding/custom car culture and the early years provided us with many unique and innovative design elements. Many Corvettes have been customized and restored but not to the extent of what Steve Frisbie and his Steve’s Auto Restoration crew have done to Don & Donna Habben’s 1957, which combines components from all 7 decades of production. This incredible car was inspired by the C1, C2 and C3 Corvettes and began with a tired 1957 body and an incredible rendering by S.A.R.’s David Brost. The body was repaired and restored to perfection while the doors, hood and deck lid were rebuilt or replaced and all gaps were perfected. All of these components remained on the car during the body work and prep so the…

In 2011 while attending the Barett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, my wife Barbara and I walked past a beautiful red 1933 Ford sedan delivery. I said to my wife that this is one hot rod I’ve always wanted to own. Who would have thought that four years later it would be sitting in my garage. After the car sold, I thought maybe, just maybe in a year or two it would show up for sale again. Sure enough, in 2015 it showed up at the Mechum auction in Kissimmee, Florida. The car did not meet the reserve. “Of course it didn’t take long to come up with a list of needed changes and the delivery was due for an update and freshening up.” Later that year it again showed up at…

This is a true story of a 1934 Ford coupe that sat in plain view on a fairly busy street in Tucson, Arizona for many years. Of course every car guy in the state knew of the car and many had seen it but it was never offered for sale. The owner, Sonny Earl, parked it at his mother-in-law’s home when he joined the U.S. Air Force and never went to pick it up on his return to civilian life. He and his wife Cathy moved to Central Arizona where they still live. Over the years you would hear rodders talking about the ’34 coupe on South Park Avenue, and how they were going to buy it and turn it into a hot rod. Those stories went on for sixty…

We started going to Wings Cafe at the Auburn, CA Airport about 12 years ago, as a fun bunch of hot rodders. After about 6 years some of the rodders moved away or some went to Hot Rod Heaven, so I started a breakfast at our home. That was a blast. We did that for 6 years until we got new (not so friendly) neighbors who started complaining about all the rods. With the help of some good friends we started meeting at Wings Cafe in the back patio which overlooks the runway in the Auburn foothills. Now 8 years later we meet once-a-month during the summer and we get 30 to 60 cool hot rods, street rods and customs. We fill the patio with super guys and gals under…

Thanks to his dad, Robert Kenny of La Verne, CA grew up around cars and has always enjoyed anything car and engine related. His dad was a private pilot so Robert spent plenty of time at the airport learning how to build things the right way and to never cut corners. With those type of values instilled at an early age you can understand why his Deuce roadster would come to life and end up looking like it does. In the late 1980s and being established in his career he was now financially able to have fun with cars, so he and his friends got involved in the local Southern California drag racing scene. He had been building engines since the age of 14 and the hot rod bug was…

It’s in his blood” is uttered in all sectors of automotive driving be it by hot rodders, Formula One and Indy car drivers, drag racing guys, sprint car pilots, stock car jocks, those doing drifting, or the salt flats racers. We all know what it means, we all struggle to express what it is, we all envy those who have it, and somewhere along the line we all want at least a taste of it. Some are lucky to have a double dose of it and some a triple dose. Northern California resident Chet Thomas might just qualify for that triple dose. He has hot rodding in his blood having owned numerous hot rods over the years. He has racing in his blood being an accomplished drag racer, plus salt…

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’d like to thank Dan & Tami Fillingim of Elk City, Oklahoma for inviting me to visit their farm and to share their incredible sign collection housed in the barn. They’ve been collecting signs for several years and have come across some incredibly rare ones. The Fillingims have located them on extended travels across the USA while vacationing in their RV, along with locating them at car show swap meets and various auctions.…

The infamous words of many rodders, “I was not looking for a new project when I purchased this truck” is what Steve Nightingale mentioned when discussing his very cool 1950 Chevy. He went to a local swap meet and saw the old pickup sitting on a trailer and it piqued his interest. While at the swap meet he says he was really surprised at how straight the old Chevy sheet-metal was and the fact that the body was rust-free. By the end of the day and after giving the project much thought he “bit the bullet” and purchased the truck. During negotiations he also managed to get the truck delivered to the farm in exchange for a leg of lamb they had in the freezer…not a bad deal. Steve and…

The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, California held a one-day show on July 15th at their facility on Wilshire Boulevard commemorating the 85th Anniversary of the 1932 Ford. It was attended by over 200 ’32 Fords and their owners. The show was held on the roof of their parking garage on a clear and sunny day. The event drew Deuces of almost all the body styles that Ford built in 1932 and in colors that they never thought of using. Editor’s Note: Thank you to Ken Stephens who took his Issue 28 cover car to the show and snapped these photos for Rodding USA so that we could share them with our readers.…

United Pacific Industries held their Third Annual Rigs & Rods show at their facility in Long Beach, California on September 23, 2017. The well attended event included hot rods, customs, street rods, muscle cars and more, along with plenty of vendors to keep the car enthusiasts busy. UPAC also offered tours of their enormous facility which houses thousands of restoration parts along with their 1932 Ford coupe assembly area. The show also included live music and food trucks. For information website on : www  next . year UAPAC ’s event .com you can visit the company…

From the very moment the automobile appeared on the scene, the car hood was all about function and NOT about form. The hood served one very simple purpose - to cover the engine using four hinged sides filling the gap between the body and the radiator shell. In 1937, when the streamlined grille hit the market the hood started to dictate the design of the car. But from 1932-36 the hood is just a plain Jane without much glitz or glamour and in my experience, if you don’t give her the attention she deserves, she will make your life miserable. There are a lot of little parts to repair or replace. Here are some pointers I’ve picked up over the years. FLOPPING THE SIDE OVER I’m not sure why, but…

Mel’s Diner in Auburn, CA hosts a weekly cruise night on Wednesday evenings every week of the year with varying numbers of custom cars attending. Rodding USA dropped by in mid-July and found 30-plus cars that evening. If you’re ever in the area be sure to stop in with your street rod and enjoy a really good meal. MEL’S ORIGINAL DINER 1730 GRASS VALLEY HIGHWAY AUBURN, CA 95603 (503) 823-6357…