Table of contents for Volume 4, Issue 32 - May 2023 in Modern Rodding

Stare long enough at this ’36 Willys sedan and you begin to see where a creative idea crosses over into practical form. In other words, “Imagineering” (a registered trademark of Disney Enterprises) is a hallmark within our hobby. It’s the very nature of hot rodding to “think outside of the box” and imagine a great idea and then pull it off. Such is the case of our ’36 Willys sedan pictured here that belongs to Ron and Vicki Ernsberger of Ohio. No strangers to hot rods, especially the Willys (see accompanying feature on pages 20-23), they teamed up with Brian Limberg of The Tin Man’s Garage (TMG) to yield an imaginative and trendsetting effort with their ’36 Willys four-door sedan. The “other” ’36 in Ron and Vicki’s garage is the…

The 73rd Annual O’Reilly Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) held at the Pomona Fairplex in Southern California is still “The Grand Daddy of Them All!” of indoor car shows. While it’s true that it is the kickoff of the indoor car show season, with some 600-plus cars and trucks (competition, display only, and the Suede Palace) under roof, there were another 900 or so cars and trucks that partook in the outdoor show. Yep, the GNRS is two shows in one, each bringing plenty of excitement and entertainment to those who attend. It is well located in SoCal, making it an easy drive for thousands of rodders to attend. The outdoor show is in its 16th year and is referred to as the “Annual Grand Daddy Drive-in” held all three…

If you’re like me, you learned that masking keeps color from going places where it wasn’t supposed to go. If that’s the case, we have great news: You’re right. But if that’s all you thought masking was good for, you’re only half right. Masking also protects the surfaces that you’re painting. If you’ve ever blown dust into a freshly painted surface while spraying rockers or ’jambs, you know exactly what I’m talking about. “So, masking has two folds to it,” collision-tech instructor and former PPG rep Glenn Sinon says. “One is that you do not want the paint that you are spraying to go where it shouldn’t go. You’re trying to mask everything off so that none of it gets on any other surface. But masking also prevents the sprayed…

In the early days of forced induction, almost all the blowers adapted by rodders were ingeniously based on compressors not designed for pumping more power out of the Ford Flathead. In fact, not even the famous “Jimmy” Roots-type blowers were designed to increase output of the diesel engines on which they were originally fitted. The GMC 71-series blowers were developed as air compressors to pull in fresh air and push out exhaust gases on Detroit Diesel two-stroke diesel engines. A 6-71 blower was a compressor on a six-cylinder engine, while a 4-71 was a four-cylinder application. Hot rodders adapted the GMC blowers to their four-stroke engines. It should be noted that the number “71” represents the number of cubic inches per cylinder. In Italy, however, at the start of the…

The Fairlane has a long history at Ford. Beginning back in 1955, by its fourth generation (1962-65) it had begun to settle into its calling. It was Ford’s new intermediate-size passenger car. But there were more exciting times on the horizon. It was also ideally placed to compete against GM’s A-body and the Plymouth Belvedere. And when we say compete, we mean “compete” at the dragstrip where “win on Sunday and sell on Monday” was taken to heart. Displayed before you is Gary Brown’s ’63 Ford Fairlane built at Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop (AHRS). It may not be what one would have found at the dragstrip, then or now, but it most assuredly will hold its own against anything on four rubber tires in these days. It was late in…

https://youtu.be/qVS51hF8tT4 Southern California’s own Joe Kugel has literally grown up in a “car” family and is well versed in what it takes to build or race a hot rod. He has fabricated and ultimately been involved in a number of hot rods of all makes, models, and years for customers of the family business. His personal tastes lean toward the Deuce, such as the ’32 Ford roadster pictured here. He has raced at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the family’s highly successful and well-known Model A roadster on Deuce ’rails (#265) followed by the ’92 Pontiac Firebird that Joe surpassed the 300-mph mark, setting a record in the process. (Joe reached 307 mph but his record run was 300.787 mph set in 1999 in the Pontiac. As for the roadster…

1. WIDER IS BETTER Auto Metal Direct (AMD) recently released their new 3-inch-wider inner wheelhouses (PN 760-1570-1L driver side, PN 760-1570-1R passenger side) for ’70-74 Dodge Challengers and Plymouth Barracudas. The 3-inch-wider inner wheelhouse is constructed from high-quality stamped steel and is an exact reproduction of the original equipment with additional room. It is designed to fit seamlessly with the factory outer wheelhouses, ensuring a perfect fit and a straightforward installation. The product is also finished in a durable black E-coat for maximum protection against rust and corrosion prior to installation. For more info, call Auto Metal Direct at (877) 575-3586 or visit autometaldirect.com. 2. MOPAR DELIGHT Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) has introduced an impactful upgrade to the ’66-70 B-body Mopar platform with the introduction of their new direct bolt-on…

Jack Chisenhall is probably best known as the founder of Vintage Air, but he is also a hands-on hot rodder who drives the wheels off the cars he creates. His ’39 Ford sedan has racked up close to 200,000 miles and he’s gone 240 mph at Bonneville in his ’53 Studebaker with the air conditioning on. Chisenhall’s automotive interests are best described as varied, his collection has included everything from vintage race cars to a French Facel Vega sports coupe. But it’s safe to say that the inspiration for his latest creation, and the winner of the 2023 Grand National Roadster Show’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy, came from Chisenhall’s fascination with the Indianapolis 500. Interestingly, the name “Champ Deuce” was bestowed on Chisenhall’s ’32 long before winning the AMBR…

Every car has a story. David Bodenhamer, of Gulf Shore, Alabama, has a good one for his two-door ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop: He didn’t even buy it! Bel Air Hardtop: He didn’t even buy it! David got the ’57 in the summer of 1969 when he was home from college at Troy State University. Earlier in the year he had traded for a ’56 Chevy and spent the whole summer “running the hell out of that car,” drag racing in a remote area of town. As the new semester approached, the car started to pump oil and David had no time or money to fix it. Instead, he traded the ’56 and a hopped-up Corvette engine to the same guy for the ’57 Bel Air, which he had just…

There is no doubt that complete chassis swaps have become commonplace in the world of street rods, but oftentimes that doesn’t fit budget or driving requirements. The basic concept of street rodding is to improve the power, handling, and braking of a vintage car. To that end this old ’34 Chrysler had already seen plenty of road miles with the original suspension upgraded to a late-model steering box, tube shocks, and disc brakes. (In an upcoming issue we will show you how to repair the frame damage on this Chrysler. We followed along as Ken Denney and the team at Hot Rod Specialties repaired some frame damage on Terry Thompson’s ’34 Chrysler Fordor Sedan. This repair was in preparation for a complete front suspension swap.) Thompson wanted an improved stance…

This month I thought it would be fun to look back at a few “keeper” shots from bygone National Street Rod Association Nationals, back in the days when each summer we traveled to a different city, traveled familiar highways, and met up with our summer friends. One thing that this trip down memory lane has proved … yes, we are getting older, but we still appreciate hot rods; they always look cool and the friends we made early will always be our friends whether they are here or not. Take a drive down memory lane and see if these photos bring back any early memories of where and when our hobby really began to “take off.”…