Innehållsförteckning för July/August 2019 från Rodding USA

On Sunday, April 28, 2019, Shelby’s Way hosted the inaugural version of their Deuces of the Bluegrass event. The Club at UK’s Spindletop Hall, located north of Lexington, Kentucky provided a scenic location for an intimate gathering of hot rods from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. This 2000-acre farm is the former home of Pansy Yount, wife of Miles Franklin Yount of the Yount-Lee Oil Company. It is currently the home of the University of Kentucky’s staff, faculty, and alumni club, which was founded in 1962. Mark Cain, President/Founder of Shelby’s Way, organizes multiple events throughout the year to raise suicide and depression awareness. These include the Hot Rod Hullabaloo, Shelby’s Hot Rod Roundup, and now Deuces of the Bluegrass. It was at this location in May 2018…

Are you building an old style car with 1935 Ford wire wheels and want new style brakes? We started this project with the idea of running F-100 drum brakes on the front of the Model A. Somewhere along the building path, we obtained a beautiful set of 1935 Ford, 16-inch wire wheels and changed course. The 1935 wheels are five lugs on a five and one-half-inch bolt pattern. The problem is these wheels will not work with the F-100 brakes. The search began for a brake system which will work with the wire wheels. We found the perfect set-up from Pete and Jakes Hot Rod Parts in Peculiar, Missouri. Their Power Stopper disc brake kit (part#1135D) comes complete with: hubs, rotors, calipers, and nice looking brackets and best of all,…

The Los Angeles Roadster club had the great fortune of perfect weather, and enthusiastic rodders and swap meet vendors, which equaled an extraordinary event, which was held for the 55th time on June 13 & 14, 2019. This was the 39th year that the show/swap has been held at the L.A. County Fairplex in Pomona. The show returned to its Friday set-up day and Saturday/ Sunday show & swap, which seemed to make everyone happy. The significant change this year was to eliminate the indoor commercial vendor building and take the whole event outdoors. They also condensed the footprint by moving the event northwest of the Avalon building and continuing to the normal swap meet area. The commercial vendors and roadsters were placed on either side of the main road,…

I started working for my first car, a ’69 Ford Mustang Fastback at age 15. The area I grew up in had five local taverns (that’s what a bar was called back in my teenage years) near my house. My Dad visited all of them frequently, so he got me a Saturday job which entailed going to each one and cleaning the parking lots. (tons of old pull type beer tabs and cigarette butts.) I also cleaned up around the billiard tables and pinball machines and even cleaned and restocked the beer cooler. (yes I handled beer.) The money I earned allowed me to buy the car from a man at General Electric, where my Dad worked. I did everything on that car, and it was all self-taught. I installed…

The 1939 Fords were introduced to the public on November 4, 1938, with 532,152 cars built at the end of production. After being blocked for many years by Henry Ford who thought they were not safe, Ford Motor Company finally introduced Lockheed style hydraulic brakes. Many believe that the ’39 Ford was one of the most beautiful cars of the era that Ford ever built. The lines are long and curvy and were conceived during the Art Deco era by Henry Ford’s son Edsel and ET “Bob” Gregorie. Steve Frisbie worked on this car over 30 years ago doing fluff and buff along with regular maintenance. It was in very nice original shape with the flathead motor topped off with dual carbs and a lumpy cam. Steve took a real…

No other part on a car gets as much abuse, simply by using it, like the doors, especially the driver’s door. Early Ford doors are relatively simple, with very few moving parts. The only problem is the components do wear out. I doubt Ford thought so many of these 70, 80, or 90-year-old cars would still be on the road. That’s one heck of a legacy! The basic design of these doors remained much the same for years and consists of, hinges, a remote latch, strikers & dovetails with only a few minor changes from the ’30s to the ’50s. As I mentioned in previous articles, before starting any rebuild/restoration project, get yourself in the right mood to help make the project a success, remember, this is our hobby, it’s…

If you’ve ever stopped by the bright red tractor-trailer featuring the iconic Edelbrock logo on the side which is parked at any one of the many shows across the country, you may have met Smitty Smith. You may have also had the opportunity to see his stunning 1937 Ford truck, which sits right and rides like a dream. He tries to drive it to as many events as possible, even when he is working in the Edelbrock vendor area. Smitty has been with Edelbrock for 28 years with the tile of Technical Sales Coordinator and the Media Technical & Application Information Specialists. Before being employed by Edelbrock, he worked for several speed shops in Southern California. He has drag raced for many years while also being involved in custom car…

This is the first ground-up hot rod the owner has ever built. The strange part of the story is he and his wife have made a life-long career in the motorsports and street rodding industry for over thirty years. Alan Middleton has designed and managed the marketing for many of the top street rod manufacturers, from Vintage Air, to FatMan Fabrications, and Brookville Roadster to Painless Performance, and many more. His wife Pam King-Middleton was well known as an advertising rep for Rod & Custom magazine for many years before becoming publisher of Mustang Monthly and other Ford magazines. Together they have seen more great hot rods than almost anyone has. Alan has “built” dozens of modified muscle cars and classic trucks over his lifetime, but it wasn’t until he…

The crew of the Havasu Deuces Show (see Issue #38 for story) in Lake Havasu City, AZ set up a tour of some exceedingly cool collections of cars and shops in the area. The Garage Tour took place on Friday morning (March 1) of the weekend event. You were given a map that guided you to five personal shops, and you chose how long each visit lasted. The final stop was at Lakeside Speed & Shine, which was also the meeting point for the afternoon tour to Parker, AZ. A special thank you is to the owners for their hospitality. Unfortunately, due to a previous commitment, I was unable to make it to Bill Verboon’s shop, but I hope to catch it next year. Dick Raczuk Dick’s shop includes a…

The annual Yellow Brick Road car show is held in the quaint town of Liberal, Kansas which is located in the southwest corner of Kansas. Bill Hill, proprietor of Billy’s Blue Duck BBQ restaurant and Ayrs Lanes bowling alley is the gracious host of the event. He, along with family and friends, put on the event to benefit local charities. This year’s car count was down due to terrible Friday weather, which included snow in Colorado and tornado warnings in Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. However, despite all that, nearly 300 cars attended and once again made the event an overwhelming success. The show is open to all customized cars and includes a free BBQ and outdoor concert on Friday at Billy’s. The Saturday show takes place at Light Park and…

New Zealand has long been a repository of American cars, and Kiwi hot rodding was born long ago from the seeds sewn by USA hot rod mags and old cars and parts sitting in wrecking yards. Jump forward 50 years to a renewed interest and growth spurt thanks to the internet and ease of shipping. Dave’s interest in collector cars has always been keen and was rekindled following a chance meeting in 2012. From there the collection grew quickly from just one car (a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe) to four with another on the way. This presented a problem because there were more cars to house than there was space available in the home garage. An exhaustive search on Auckland’s North Shore failed to provide a suitable commercial building but…

During the 50 years of the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, a lot has changed since the first event was held in 1970 at a Peoria, IL park. Several milestones have been reached and are being celebrated this year from events to businesses to publications within the hot rod community. With what is an annual tradition at the Nationals since 1982, going on its 38th year in a row of a turn-key street rod being given away to a lucky registered participant of the event. The past giveaway cars reflect the times and trends happening as the street rod market has grown to what it is today. Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop is honored to be a part of the NSRA’s 50th Annual celebration of the Street Rod Nationals with the presentation…

When you shut your car door, does it ring like your old gym locker? You may have insulated your ride against heat, but how is it doing on sound problems? Sound or acoustic insulation is just as important as protecting against heat. And much like matching a gear ratio to the type of driving you do, using the right insulation is key. Our friends at Design Engineering Inc. (DEI) in Avon Lake, Ohio, told us what anyone building a car needs to know about acoustic insulation. The core thing to remember is: sounds are vibrations, and acoustic insulation is the blocking of unwanted vibrations and noise. These vibrations come from engines, the driveline, moving parts, road noise, and other creating sources. Those aggressive looking racing tires may fit your look…

Nitro Revival 1 was initially conceived and organized by Steve Gibbs, a 48-year veteran of the NHRA, and well-known drag racing icon and the late Ron Johnson and held at Barona Dragstrip in 2017. The success of this first event then led to Nitro Revival 2 being held at Laguna Seca in 2018, which was also a big hit. With the success of NR1 and NR2 Steve and Cindy Gibbs knew they had a monumental task in front of them to surpass these previous events in putting on Nitro Revival 3. As with most events, planning the next one starts right after the present one finishes. Like the other Nitro Revivals this one was to be a gathering of nostalgic dragsters, altereds, and Funny Cars, plus an area for lots…

STEEL TUBE & BELL V8 QUICK CHANGE NOSTALGIA has never been better! This amazing assembly separates extraordinary from ordinary! Built to your specs, our Steel Tube & Bell V8 Quick Change includes a 3.78 ring & pinion, Wedgelock differential, inner tube seals, and one set of straight cut, 6-spline gears of your choice. Gear covers are offered in several styles and finishes. Winters Performance Products (717) 764-9844 www.WintersPerformance.com GATED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTER CLAYTON Machine Works recently introduced their gated shifter for automatic transmissions which allows for virtually any shifter lever and knob combination including Tremec style shifter levers. The gated, side detent feature completely eliminates the need for a shifter button, making gear selection as easy as a flick of the wrist. Available with mounting options such as transmission mount,…