Table of contents for March/April 2021 in Rodding USA

Ray Tognarelli of Scottsdale, Arizona, grew up 20 miles west of Chicago in Lombard, Illinois, and was very fortunate to have a ‘40 Ford as his first car while attending high school in the late 50s. He then built a ‘32 Ford 5-window coupe A/G drag car powered by a Pontiac V8 with fuel injection. After the drag racing phase of his life passed, he moved on to stock Model T Fords and street rodding several V8 cars. In 1996, he and his wife decided it was time for a change in climate and chose Scottsdale, Arizona, as their destination. He had a Deuce coupe he had owned for 18 years when in 2001, the opportunity to purchase a ‘46 Ford Woody Wagon crossed his path. The car was initially…

Don has taken the OHV conversion for the flathead to the limit of modern technology, which is backed by a ton of experience and passion. Production numbers of the reproduction heads may not be huge, and the opportunity to produce more is, in fact, limited by the numbers of flathead V8s still around: the last production year was 1953. On the other hand, there’s a ton of opportunity for an OHV Hemi-head conversion for the small-block Chevrolet, whose production numbers are prolific, and its crossover into the performance segment is mind-boggling. This opportunity is not lost on Don Ferguson, who has stepped up to the plate and created what he calls the ultimate small-block. The Ardun Chevrolet has been developed specifically for the street rod market because that’s where Don…

ISSUE 16 (Aug-Sept, 2015) This issue featured Part 1 of Project Hot Rod Roadster Pickup. We showed the rendering illustrated by automotive artist Darrell Mayabb and the assembly of the Brookville Roadster frame that we picked up in Pomona at the L.A. Roadster Show. We also showed the assembly of the Currie 9-inch rear end at their manufacturing facility in Corona, CA. The build’s premise was to show that you could have a traditional style hot rod without using any original parts. We covered events from the United Pacific show in Long Beach, CA, to the Jalopy Jam Up in Ontario, Canada, the Syracuse Nationals in New York, and the NSRA Street Rod Nats in Louisville. ISSUE 17 (Oct-Nov, 2015) A half dozen car features included a Model T…

Horton Hot Rod Parts was established by Paul Horton in 1978 when I was only 18. Looking back through the early invoices, it seems that I was one of his first customers. Who could have guessed that I would someday be the proprietor? In my early years out of high school, I started a mechanics apprenticeship program at the local Chrysler Dealership. After that, I worked at my Dad’s auto parts business, spending the next 15 years there. I spent the next ten years at a NAPA Auto Parts store. Always having something on the go car-wise kept me buying parts at Horton’s. Several 50s Dodge trucks, a ‘37 Dodge sedan delivery, and a ‘33 Plymouth sedan. As you can see, there is a pattern to my madness? In 2005,…

Dan Cassidy moved to Phoenix, AZ from Boston, Massachusetts, in 1947 and entered the world of hot rodding in 1964 when he stuffed a Corvette engine in his Model A coupe. He worked in Phoenix, AZ, and had a long career in the newspaper and book business. He then moved north to Prescott, AZ, where he has continued to play with hot rods. His beautiful shop’s current occupants include three Deuces; a Tudor sedan, a three-window coupe, and a chopped five-window coupe project that is almost finished. His shop provides plenty of room to work on his cars and a library area for relaxing and reading. You’ll also note that he has an excellent collection of hot rods sculpted in bronze by several famous artists. As you can see, Dan…

Hello, I’m B.O.B. (affectionately nicknamed Bucket of Bolts by my owner), I am a 1939 Chevrolet sedan, and Jake Perry of Westerville, Ohio, owns me. He purchased me and three of my siblings in a package deal for $500.00 from my original owner, Basil Denalle of Imperial, Nebraska, about 15 miles from Colorado in 1989. Jake got me on the road in about six months, and I was sporting a primer white paint job when I took my first road trip to the NSRA Nats South in Knoxville, TN. I performed flawlessly on the 700-mile round trip. About a year later, my owner changed my color to green, and I stayed that way for the next 20 years. Since my first trip, I’ve been driven over 220,000 miles and have…

Little did the Havasu Deuces know that their 2020 event would be one of the last shows before the Covid quarantines took effect. Fortunately, they were able to work with the city and state to ensure that the 2021 event could occur. The only significant change from past events was the Thursday show on McCulloch Boulevard. The city closed the street and parked the cars at an angle to the curb in the past. This year, they did not close the street to traffic and parked the cars parallel to the curb. The thought behind this was to limit groups of people gathering in the street. The street show went off without a hitch, and everyone was happy and safe and enjoyed the local restaurants and shops. Friday’s Garage Tours…

For most hot rodders, nothing feels more gratifying than spending time in a nicely decked out garage. Decoration might start with a few pictures and posters, followed by a handful of goodies gathered at swap meets, plus broken engine parts serving as mementos. After all, a jukebox, a pinball machine, plus vintage signs perfectly complement any old automobile. With time and space, the most hardcore collectors can morph a garage into something extraordinary. This is the story of such a place, which could almost qualify as a warehouse considering its size. It features over a dozen cars, about 850 enamel and neon signs, tons of car-related memorabilia, and a lot more: 1934 popcorn machine, 1939 pinball machine (it came from the Long Beach Pike in California), 1950s peanut machine, old…

It all started with a phone call from Jim McAlister, who had just finished an appraisal on a 1932 Plymouth 3-window coupe basket case for an estate. He immediately thought of me. The family had mocked the car up as best they could to show what was there, so I looked at the pictures and agreed to make the drive to see it; when I walked into the barn, and saw the pile of parts and what appeared to be a very old build. We agreed on a price after establishing the title was included and made plans to come back and pick it up. Once it arrived home, I started making plans for my ‘32 Hi-Boy Coupe. Many of my friends have had ‘32 Ford Hi-Boys, and I always…

Sometimes hot rods get built because you have an idea in your mind, and the constant thought of the car will get you to take the plunge and pursue it to reality. Other times, it’s an accumulation of spare parts, and swap meet finds the guide the process. Jamie Johnson had some Model A sheet metal and other miscellaneous parts and an idea that morphed together to create a slick 1928 Ford Modified roadster. He began by building a custom frame from scratch with the front half of it kicked up to achieve a raked body appearance while keeping the hood level. This was January 2003, and his wife Roni was pregnant with their first daughter Morgan. Jamie says he mentioned the car to her, and she responded, “it would…

While attending the Grand National Roadster Show held in January 2019, Bill Whetstone of Michigan discovered a 1940 Ford Standard Coupe on display. The single-stage polo green point color instantly caught his attention, considering he had just sold a 1940 Ford Sedan of the same color. He was taking time to pause and read the Coupe’s information, and he noticed it was built by the well-known hot rod builder Bob Bauder for Vern Luce, piquing Bill’s interest even more. Bob Bauder worked with Boyd Coddington, where the shop birthed the definition of a smooth hotrod with the 1933 engine red ‘Vern Luce Coupe’ in the eighties. This style is what put them on the map and just one of many built for Vern Luce. Bill decided to have lunch while…

Flaming River, located in Berea, Ohio, was founded in 1987 with a vision to offer quality Steering Systems for street rods, muscle cars, classics, and trucks. Each of their products is designed to incorporate new parts, and absolutely nothing is rebuilt. This ensures that they can maintain stringent quality standards, improve the design and offer long-range product availability and lifetime serviceability. Over the past 30+ years, Flaming River has designed many award-winning products, including the Tilt Steering Column program and the Rack and Pinion Cradle Kits. Best of all, these products are Made in the USA. Recent additions to their product lineup have won a variety of awards. The first being the VDog® Variable Angle Gear which won SEMA Best New Street Rod and SEMA Best Engineered new product 2019.…

We featured Dave Elliott’s ultra-cool and extremely detailed 1931 Ford roadster pickup in Issue 47, and after seeing his home shop, I thought our readers would like a peek inside. The nearly 1,600 square foot shop’s final dimensions are 28’ x 56’, which provides ample workspace and storage for his ‘32 Ford sedan and the roadster pickup. Dave said when he began planning the garage, he thought an oversize two-car would be adequate, but his wife encouraged him to go larger and include a restroom. She stated, “we only want to do this once.” On the left side bay, the ceiling was left open, and the drywall followed the trusses’ angle. This allowed room for a 4-post lift to be raised to full height with a full-size car on it.…

In the mid-50s, Bob Diehl, a high school teenager in Fresno, California, would go to the Kearney Bowl Speedway on Friday nights. The “hardtops,” as Bob called them, ran the 1/4-mile oval running flathead V-8’s or inline 6-cylinder engines. They were modified to run wide open and as fast as possible. Watching from the stands, Bob would stare at a black 1929 Ford roadster pickup sitting in the infield of the track. On the door, it had “Johnny’s Muffler Shop” was painted on the door and was used as the push truck. Bob thought this truck would make the coolest hot rod. Fast forward some 30 years. Bob heard about a roadster pickup for sale at a sign shop on Belmont Avenue in Fresno, not far from where he lived.…