Tabla de contenidos para Volume 4, Issue 29 - February 2023 en Modern Rodding

Owning a hot rod of this caliber is no small feat. Knowing this, should you find yourself speaking with Sonny Freeman from Lafayette, Louisiana, about his ’32 Ford three-window coupe you might find out he has a simple philosophy about owning a topflight hot rod. According to Sonny it’s not a difficult decision. “My view on awards is very simple. Pick a car you like and would like to own. Pick a builder who is good at what they do and communicates well with you. Then, how do you lose?” Sonny will tell you that once you have the car of your dreams, “Love the car first, awards become added appreciation.” Good advice. Sonny worked with Talbert Goldman (Mike’s son) of Mike Goldman Customs (MGC) out of Meridian, Mississippi, to…

On any automotive project the chassis is the foundation that holds all the components together. Sometimes a stock chassis can be used, but when the suspension and drivetrain are updated, the chassis usually needs to be strengthened and reconfigured. This is the first in a series of articles about Greg Heinrich’s outstanding ’35 Chevrolet coupe being built by Ironworks Speed & Kustom, in Bakersfield, California. This is a multi-year, no-holds-barred project and we think you’ll enjoy seeing the bleeding-edge design and fabrication lavished on every component. The body modifications on this project are subtle, and Eric Black, of e. Black Design Co. was called in at an early stage to make renderings, which was key to keeping all the modifications harmonious and on track. The top has a sweet chop,…

Oftentimes the “beauty” of any hot rod lies in the subtleness of the build. It can be said that the key to constructing a good-looking hot rod for the street, regardless of year, make, or model, rests in your eluding the exaggeration of the build. We believe this can be applied to George Lange of St. Louis, Missouri’s ’56 Chevy 210. It was built under the care of Bobby Alloway at Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop. The subtle yet eye-catching build was also noted by the judges at the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals this past year. While in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the panel selected this ’56 as the Tri-Five of the Year. It was literally selected from a field of thousands to take home the honors. As is the customary practice at…

https://youtu.be/3ZHnVwaLtxY Signs of a charging system that’s on the brink can vary from dim headlights to a dead battery. But, regardless of the symptoms, they’re not to be ignored. An improperly operating alternator can damage sensitive electronic components if not adequately addressed, not to mention the potential of leaving one stranded once the battery is sufficiently discharged. Speaking of a deeply discharged battery, oftentimes traditional flooded cell batteries cannot be recharged once significantly discharged, requiring the replacement of not only the impaired alternator but what may have been a perfectly fine battery as well. Long story short, if you find that voltmeter reading anything less than 13 V going down the road, you might want to have a look at your charging system and give the guys at Powermaster Performance…

Our industry has accumulated history (lots of it) over the past many years. It’s because of this history that we now have iconic hot rods. Many of us know of and can talk about these memory makers. Interestingly, many of these hot rods are so well known we can speak of their peculiarities without having seen them in person. Such is the case with “The California Kid,” a chopped ’34 Ford three-window coupe that once belonged to Pete Chapouris of then Pete & Jake’s Hot Rod Parts. Oh, did I mention it has a distinctive flame paint scheme and the highly specific lettering on the door at the base of the window opening? (Today The Kid is owned by Jerry and Jason Slover, the current owners of Pete & Jakes,…

The Newest Major Show of 2023 The Triple Crown of Rodding (TCR) continues its march to be one of the exclusive events within the hot rod world. Come September 8-9, 2023 (weekend after Labor Day), TCR is coming to Nashville Superspeedway, brought to you by Bobby Alloway and Gary Case. TCR will showcase the best in pre-’49 and post-’48 hot rods, muscle cars, and street cruisers/customs through 1972. For the first time, American-made trucks through 1998 will be represented and participate in their own three TCR categories. There will be six Triple Crown winners: Best Street Rod, Best Street Machine, Best Street Cruiser and (new this year) Best Truck Up To 1972, Best Truck 1973-87, and Best Truck 1988-98. Also, a brand-new ’23 Chevrolet pickup will be given away to…

If there was ever a ’61 Chevy Impala bubbletop that has captured hot rodders’ attention nationwide it’s Dan Duffy of Marietta, Georgia’s Chevy built by Big Oak Garage (BOG). It should also be mentioned that it has brought home the awards to warrant this attention. The ’61 Chevy Impala bubbletop has taken home Goodguys Custom of the Year, helped BOG, under the direction of Will Posey, take home Builder of the Year, and a Meguiar’s Top 12. It was also a multi-award winner at the Grand National Roadster Show by capturing the Sam Foose Design Award and the Sid Chavers Stitch of Excellence honor. Added to this it won the “Go For The Gold” Award at Darryl Starbird’s National Rod & Custom. However, there is one more significant award to…

https://youtu.be/Dwl888bSaFc It’s been a longtime coming. Finally, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 7th Annual Jalopy Jam Up in Canada is back. Back in 2014 a trio of like-minded hot rodders gathered their collective thoughts to lay down plans for creating a unique traditional hot-rodding experience with a dynamic fusion of all the right elements. Fresh from the inventive minds of Jeff Norwell, Brandon Roberts, and Jay Tyrrell, the initial ideas for the Jalopy Jam Up evolved to spotlight pre-’64 traditionally styled hot rods and customs built to reflect eras from the ’40s-60s. Initially, the ghoulish twist was that it took place in the sleepy town of Durham, Ontario, within the rustic confines of Frontier Ghost Town. Flanked by small rustic structures creating the town, it was…

Our project ’36 phaeton is making steady progress. Reshaping and modifying the dashboard has been a fun project that has been involved and has also evolved. One example of this was putting the final touches of detail on the dashboard. We had already mounted our ’47 Ford speedometer and clock, then we hit SpeedwayMotors.com to order up some super traditional black Stewart-Warner gauges. Once all the gauges were mounted we thought the dash could use a bit more sparkle, so we are searching for some small stainless steel moldings for the dashboard. After a bit of research, we discovered ’35 Ford hood trim was 9/32-inch wide, making it the perfect width for our application. We also found the ’35 Ford stainless steel hood trim to be affordable. As an added…

If you grew up near a dragstrip you always dreamed of having a dual-threat hot rod. You know your dream ride, one that would get you back and forth from school in “kool” style and one that was quick enough to have fun on the weekends. Brad Sather has such a hot rod. His ’69 Pontiac Firebird can be driven on the street, but its goal is a bit loftier than a dragstrip. You see, his ’69 Firebird is very capable of registering speeds into the triple digits. To be exact, the Firebird has seen 199.027 mph (203 mph past the traps) at the “flying mile” Harvest 2022 event hosted by ECTA Motorsports. There are plenty of street-quick Firebirds, but we doubt there are many, if any, that are as…

Swapping a late-model engine into an old car isn’t a new concept, but there have always been challenges along the way. When early hot rodders were installing overhead valve V-8s between the ’rails of their ’32 Ford, there were plenty of hiccups that were eventually sorted out with custommade and aftermarket components. Today, the technological obstacles can be much more complicated, but trusted companies in the automotive aftermarket bring new products to the marketplace to make engine swaps and customization much easier. While Lokar is known for its famous shifters, the Tennessee-based company manufactures a wide variety of parts, including this Billet Drive-by-Wire Electronic Throttle Control Pedal Assembly, which is part of the Clayton Machine Works product line. This product offers an easy solution to a tricky issue when swapping…

The history of old Fords and engine swaps practically began with the first one of Henry’s cars called a Model A in 1903. By the time the ’32 came around and changed history forever, guys had tried every way possible to make their Fords faster—and 112 years later it is still going on. Doug Beattie, of Vancouver, Washington, has gone back to the early days of the OHV V-8 swap and emulated that practice, but at a higher level than was possible at the time. His ’32 Ford highboy five-window coupe is just such an example. Starting with an original Ford Sport Coupe body, restored by Donne Lowe master metalman, the plan was to make a five-window coupe using sheetmetal from Brookville. While doing this, he gave it a haircut…

It’s been said that “the devil is in the details,” which is another way of saying that many things are more complicated than they appear and overlooking all the factors involved are sure to cause problems. That more or less describes building a hot rod in general and is especially true when choosing and installing drivetrain components. Drivelines seem simple enough: they connect the transmission to the differential. The universal joint accommodates the changes in driveshaft angle as the suspension moves up and down. A slip joint absorbs changes in the distance between the transmission and the differential as the axle housing moves up and down and rotates during acceleration and braking. But while none of that seems all that complicated, the wrong parts and/or improper installation can cause problems…