Innehållsförteckning för Issue# 22 från Rodding USA

It all started for me when I was around 13. I got a ride in my neighbors’ forty-nine Ford coupe which had a 3-deuce flathead with some serious pipes. He took it through the gears and that was it for me. When my Dad got a new lawnmower, I used the old “reel” type mower to build a go-kart. Several karts and mini bikes later I got my first car. I traded a mini bike for a ’53 Studebaker Commander hard top, flathead six, stick with OD. It smoked so badly I pulled the motor out and did a rebuild. It didn’t smoke any more but it wasn’t any quicker. There were two other ‘Bakers in town, one with a 270hp Chevy and another with an Olds 303. Finances didn’t…

Rod Tops, a division of DTS Enterprises Inc. of Ellsworth, MI has built convertible top systems for Model As through `34 Fords with a variety of custom and standard windshields, and recently added the `32 Wanlass/Rodwell angled/curved version to their inventory. Rodding USA reader Chick Koszis recently had Hot Rods and Custom Stuff of Escondido, CA add a Rod Top to the `32 Ford roadster they built for him a few years ago. Each top : powder adjustable , zip-out stainless steel framed rear window, attaches only at windshield and B-pillar, hidden snaps on the Haartz Stayfast fabric and it all stores in the trunk. Here is a simplified look at the installation process and the final look at this high quality Rod Top kit and its excellent fit and…

Ronnie and Avis Beasly of Mobile, Alabama already owned a 1932 Ford coupe which was built by Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop and were sitting with friends at the Street Rod Nationals a few years back. One of those friends was Alan Johnson who commented that they should all go out to California the following June to the 50th anniversary L.A. Roadster Show. His only condition was that those willing to join in would have to drive their hot rods and it blossomed from there. The Beaslys decided right then to build a Deuce roadster and then their thoughts shifted to color and flat black was the first choice. As they attended shows over the next few months they saw many cars in flat black and decided that it wasn’t the…

BOLT-IN CHASSIS THE Schwartz G-Machine chassis will roll right in place of the clunky factory 1955-59 Chevy and GMC ½-ton chassis to update the stance, overall ride and handling of the truck. The G-Machine chassis is engineered to bolt into the factory mounting points of the cab, bed, and bumper mounts. There are no body modifications required to fit the chassis. The G-Machine Chassis is formed with a pair of heavy duty 2x6-inch main frame rails. Extra-long coil-overs are positioned at each corner to improve the handling and ride quality. The updated front suspension includes needle bearing supported A-arms for smooth bind-free movement along with separate caster and camber adjustments. The rear suspension consists of a triangulated 4-bar system with Teflon-lined spherical rod-ends coupled to a full-floating Moser 9-inch rear…

If you’ve been in our old car hobby for many decades or in my case 45 years you would’ve heard plenty of old stories or myths about the old car awaiting discovery in an old shed or barn: some are true, some are not. The internet is full of these stories of diamonds in the rough and there are even a couple of books printed on the subject. In our hobby the 1932 Ford has been one of the most popular icons worldwide whether it was in hot rod circles or in the Early Ford V8 club. In the fifties and sixties many of these cars were destroyed from either early stock car racing or the rather crude backyard building of jalopies. Luckily over the years the value of these…

1957 Custom Corvette The transformation of this 1957 Corvette which was featured in our Issue 16 Artist Showcase is well underway within the walls of Steve’s Auto Restorations located in Portland Oregon. S.A.R.’s in-house designer David Brost was given the task of rendering the collective design. The tired and ragged body is receiving the full deluxe treatment which began with replacing the entire nose of the car from the cowl forward. The more streamlined design utilizes ’53 – ’55 windshield frame and trunk lid. The doors have been capped off and custom trim fabricated making this a true roadster. Custom front and rear bumperettes have been fabricated with the front bumperettes serving as the turn signal housings. The one-off hood incorporates a stinger style scoop, the only visual hint of…

         600 plus Deuces and another 600 rods descended on Victoria, B.C. the weekend of July 21-24 for the Northwest Deuce Days which is held every three years. The event’s location on Victoria’s Inner Harbor provides what has to be the best setting ever for a rod run/show. Event promoter Al Clark and his crew went beyond the call of duty to provide the rodders with an incredible weekend of fun. The event is set up so rodders can participate in all of the events or whichever ones they wanted to. The activities included tours of rodder’s shops, a golf tournament, poker run, gala dinner and of course the incredible Sunday car show. With many hotels within walking distance of the show and downtown Victoria, everyone had plenty to do.…

The Plymouth marque was created in 1928 to give an affordable option to the then current Chrysler group of cars. 28,433 coupes were produced, rolling off the Lynch Road Assembly Plant line in August 1934. The PE model was thought to be the most up-to-date vehicle in its price range, considering that it had IFS, all wheel hydraulic brakes, and rubber engine mounts. The wheelbase was 114 inches; longer than the year before. And its modern six-cylinder engine was increased to 77 horsepower. However, this old coupe has just a bit more than that….. Some hot rod projects take just a little longer than others. Larry’s ’34 Plymouth PE coupe took twenty-six years. As you can see, it was worth the effort. The car was discovered in 1990 with a…

Tom Hardy of Athens, Georgia was having an automotive conversation with a neighbor who mentioned that he had an original 1932 Ford grille shell complete with insert, bullnose and radiator cap. He acquired it in Iowa some thirty-five years ago complete with original paint. After months of persuasion it moved into Tom’s garage and he knew that one day it would sit on a 1932 Ford roadster but didn’t have a clue at the time it would turn out like this. During the pursuit of a ’39 Ford coupe he happened upon ’32 Ford guru Bob Everts and through many phone conversations and business dealings the two became friends. Tom looked to Bob for advice as he became a student of the 1932 Ford; in one of their many conversations…

In June of 1982 I took a flight from Los Angeles to Albuquerque to cover the Duke’s City Rod Run for the magazine which employed me at the time. It was a fun event and while I was at the fairgrounds I picked out a few cars to shoot for features. One of them was a new build which its owner, Jim Johnson had just finished and was attending his first run with the car. Fast forward 34 years and Rodding USA presents you with Jim’s same 1929 Ford roadster which recently underwent a complete rebuild with the assistance of his son, noted car builder Jamie Johnson. The story of Jim’s acquisition of the car is an interesting one and begins in 1971. He was fresh out of the Navy…

Our first venture to the Northeastern part of the United States was a huge success in both sales at our vendor booth, along with being in a new area providing 8,000- plus cars that we had never seen before. We met many fantastic rodders from both the US and Canada. This was the 17th annual event which was presented by the Right Coast Association and held on the massive 365 acre New Your State Fairgrounds. The July 15-17 event also included 90,000 spectators and upwards of 400 vendors. The three-day event provided plenty of activities for both the car owners and spectators including: a huge swap meet, cars “for sale” corral, women’s world, mini-nationals, live music on the main stage, gasoline alley, Ol’ School Roundup and the infamous Artie’s…

We loaded up the ’32 Ford roadster pickup on our JIMGLO trailer and headed to Steve Codianni’s Lone Wolf Speed & Custom shop in southeast Tucson. This will make the next steps much easier to accomplish having a shop full of all the necessary tools and fabrication equipment. Steve installed several of the Lokar components including the shifter, emergency brake handle, transmission dip stick and gas pedal which attached to the new firewall sub frame. He also installed the Vintage Air drier and bulkhead fitting to the firewall and began running the a/c and heater hoses and attaching the fittings. Flaming River’s Roadster tilt steering column provides a smaller tilt mechanism than the frequently used GM style which provides a better aesthetic fit in the roadster pickup. The column is…